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[squirreljihad]

I bought a 2020 SR/F Premium in August of 2019. I've now got about 5,500 miles on my bike, and while I like it in some ways, it bugs me in others. Here's my list of gripes:

1. The software (firmware?) has seemed buggy from the get-go. Every new version has new, weird bugs. Sometimes old bugs get fixed, sometimes they don't.
2. The clock on my bike shows the right time about half the time.
3. The cruise control sucks. Seriously sucks. My 2003 BMW K1200RS has MUCH better cruise control. My SR/F just won't hold a set speed on anything but downhill terrain and drops below the set speed by 3 or sometimes 4 MPH on uphills. This seems ridiculous to me. It's an electric motor, for f!ck's sake. And the on/off switch is just dumb - no resume? No speed +/-? Just on/off? BMW did a far better job 20 years ago.
4. The lack of a parking brake is also ridiculous. Has nobody at Zero ever parked a bike on a hill? I've "solved" that with a piece of velcro wrap I run around the front brake when I'm parked, but that seems dumb on a $20k motorcycle.
5. The ride is stiff as hell, even with the shocks set full soft.
6. The bike eats tires. That's probably my fault.
7. The rear brake on my bike is so weak it's damn near useless. That one could be my bike needing an adjustment.
8. The UI on the screen is awful, even in "dark" mode. It's like they let a graphic designer who has never designed a vehicle gauge put their idea of what would look neat on the screen. The things I want to see, like regen or torque, are rendered in such tiny lines that they're hard to see, the customization is quirky and weird, and it's just not as legible as it could be.
9. The odometer has no tenths readout. Neither does the trip odometer. The bike is a goddamn rolling computer - don't tell me it can't show me I've traveled one tenth of a mile. 
10. The trip odometer resets itself now, which annoys me greatly.
11. The high beam headlight doesn't do much. The low beam seems pretty good, but the high just adds a little fill. This might be me, as I live in a very dark place (literally and figuratively).
12. I'm on my third belt already. Maybe I should complain to Gates.
13. The bike seems to have weird harmonic vibrations/resonances with the motor or drive belt that seem like NVH that shouldn't be there on a $20k moto.
14. Seemingly every other firmware upgrade takes multiple tries to install, with the bike dropping connection or failing the update for no apparent reason.
15. I've never been able to get the app to download the motor/battery log. It makes me stand next to the bike for 15 minutes while the scroll bar moves to 100%, then fails. Every dang time.
16. The app is not very good for a $20k moto. Like the bike's screen, the UI is poorly laid out and not intuitive.
17. I'm currently dealing with a bug on the bike where the range estimate and SOC readout is WILDLY pessimistic. Like 50 miles of range out of a 100% charge, riding on level ground at 40mph. I run it all the way down to 0% charge and 0% SOC, shut it off for 10 minutes, and when I turn it back on, my range magically pops up to 45 miles and 60% SOC. This seems to have started happening with a recent firmware.

It's a frustrating machine. I love zipping around on a quiet, incredibly torquey machine, but so much of this thing feels half-baked. Like Zero hasn't been making motorcycles for 20 years. And it hasn't hardly improved in the two years I've had it. In some ways, it has gotten worse.

Is it just me?

steve

2005 BMW R1200GS
2018 Yamaha WR250R
2003 BMW K1200RS

[princec]

I've got a 2020 SR/F Premium too and basically... I agree on every single one of those points to some extent. I don't seem to suffer the wild range estimates, and my belt's still fine after 7k miles, and I've only replaced the tyres once at 6k. I quite like the belt resonances; they could solve that with a V-toothed belt I suppose. I don't usually ever feel the need to use a parking brake - never had one in over 30 years, I just choose where and how to park quite carefully (I never left bikes in gear either).

I still love it though.

Cas

[stevenh]

I agree on most of the points (SR/F Premium since July of '19).  I don't I need a parking brake most of the time, and if I do I have the Zero branded front brake clamp that works fine.  I never use the app (other than upgrading firmware and setting my custom mode), so I don't much care about that either.  The firmware updates are a joke for sure, it should not be so hit and miss for something so basic, my last upgrade went well, but before that, it would take 5-6 tries to get it to stick.

I don't think it's just you on the rear brake, it is almost useless.  I was shocked at how little it did from day 1.  I realize most of the stopping power is on the front brake due to physics, but compared to previous bikes, the rear brake is broken.

I think the wild range estimates may have been linked to a weak cell along with newer firmware?  You might want to look at that more closely, or ask your dealer.

Steve

[TheRan]

I'm surprised Zero don't off a parking brake for the SR/F (just checked the accessories catalogue) seeing as they have one for the S/DS.

When it comes to getting logs through the app they may still be saved on your phone even though the process doesn't finish. It used to be the same with my DS (I think it works properly now), it would just hang at 100% and not give me the option to email the logs.

[squirreljihad]

I just remembered a couple more!

18. The auto-cancel feature on the turn signals has never worked for me, even after I brought it in and had it looked at. Shop told me it worked fine, but they didn't test ride it.
19. The fit on the storage tank lid is atrocious, even after the recall.

OK, that's enough of my gripes. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with these issues.

I need to find a new dealer - I bought the bike from San Jose BMW, which was a bad experience. First they sold me the wrong bike, and their service department has been a drag to deal with. I'm going to give the Sacramento dealer a try.

Thanks for the feedback on the other items. I'll take the bike in if the range estimate problem doesn't fix itself soon.

steve

[princec]

Auto-cancel does allegedly work... if you don't mind riding half a mile with it flashing...

Top tip for cheapskates: get a hairband and put it round your brake master cylinder. Then when you need a parking brake.... tada!

Cas

[MVetter]

17. I'm currently dealing with a bug on the bike where the range estimate and SOC readout is WILDLY pessimistic. Like 50 miles of range out of a 100% charge, riding on level ground at 40mph. I run it all the way down to 0% charge and 0% SOC, shut it off for 10 minutes, and when I turn it back on, my range magically pops up to 45 miles and 60% SOC. This seems to have started happening with a recent firmware.

We documented this thoroughly in December of 2020.

[princec]

Most vexing at all (for someone else ) is that despite my bike being presumably identical otherwise... it doesn't do it. Well it does, a tiny bit, but we're talking a few %.

Cas

[peterwarm]

Ha, brilliant List!

You missed off the riding in the rain bit - over here in the UK required a 3 month trip to the Netherlands to be rebuilt.
After second rewire seems OK now, but then I'm now super cautious about rain.

The Soc on mine isn't so bad as yours, (I'm on V19  as updating to V20 keeps failing..)  but it does magically go from 6% to 15% when I stop.  As under 10% is restricted power, makes sense to stop for 5 mins!  Slightly mad.

But it is a fantastic machine, just needs all those bugs sorting out :-)

pete

[Electrobike]

2. The clock on my bike shows the right time about half the time.

I have a Zero S (2019) and the clock freezes, mostly during charging, the only time the clock is correct is when I have the courage to set it right, knowing it will go nuts, during one of the next charge...


An other very odd thing on the bike : the battery level indicator never shows 21%, 41%, 61%, or 81%
Do any of you have already noticed this ? Is this the same on SR/F ?

[Richard230]

2. The clock on my bike shows the right time about half the time.

I have a Zero S (2019) and the clock freezes, mostly during charging, the only time the clock is correct is when I have the courage to set it right, knowing it will go nuts, during one of the next charge...


An other very odd thing on the bike : the battery level indicator never shows 21%, 41%, 61%, or 81%
Do any of you have already noticed this ? Is this the same on SR/F ?

My 2018 S doesn't have a problem showing odd numbers on its SOC, but this issue has been discussed a while ago on a long thread. So it does seem to be an issue. I don't think anyone knows why. It is just another "feature" (one of many) of many Zero motorcycles.

[Tony]

I am glad to see I am not the only one who has those issues. Including the range estimate problem, which can be very troubling on longer trips. Currently my bike is at service to look into this exact problem.

Totally agree on the rear brake. For emergency stops a properly working rear brake is important, but on the Zero it is basically just decoration, a tool to get it to pass as street legal I suppose.

About the cruise control, I havent used it at all, it is just in such an awkward location.

Software, very flimsy all over the place, from updating to functionality generally. And what is up with the forever "coming soon" on the Cypher Store? It's been a year of "coming soon"

As for other gripes. I do not have much experience with other motorbikes, but the throttle control did nothing for me when I needed it. Not sure if this is a SR/F specific issue, or perhaps I just gave it an impossible problem for this tech (wet grass, while on TC Street mode).

[princec]

A bit worryingly apparently the shop have just updated all the firmware on my SR/F to the latest version... worrying because it worked properly before.

Cas

[opengl]

I am glad to see I am not the only one who has those issues. Including the range estimate problem, which can be very troubling on longer trips. Currently my bike is at service to look into this exact problem.

Totally agree on the rear brake. For emergency stops a properly working rear brake is important, but on the Zero it is basically just decoration, a tool to get it to pass as street legal I suppose.

About the cruise control, I havent used it at all, it is just in such an awkward location.

Software, very flimsy all over the place, from updating to functionality generally. And what is up with the forever "coming soon" on the Cypher Store? It's been a year of "coming soon"

As for other gripes. I do not have much experience with other motorbikes, but the throttle control did nothing for me when I needed it. Not sure if this is a SR/F specific issue, or perhaps I just gave it an impossible problem for this tech (wet grass, while on TC Street mode).

Agreed on rear brake and TC. The rear brake is useless. Every other bike I've owned, if I had to, I could easily ride home on just the rear brake if I left a little extra room. This bike that would be a death sentence.

And yeah, I was maneuvering into a gravel parking spot and must have barely touched the throttle and next thing I knew I was on the ground with the bike on top of me. I now use the kill switch like a neutral switch and never ever move the bike around unless it's switched off.