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[Richard230]

As much as I (and many others here) would hate to say it, maybe Zero needs to slow down their technical progress for a while and concentrate on making the technology, parts, design and build quality more reliable so that their products are more able to stand up to the typical rough handling of U.S. motorcycle riders who tend to beat the crap out of their bikes.   

[MostlyBonkers]

Here, here! Not only that, but to make them more affordable to the average biker. An 8.5kWh Zero S, 2015 spec for £7,000 on the road would sell here in the UK.

[flexydude]

so almost 6 months in the shop, dealer has had the new motor for 3 weeks, haven't heard from them, must be having trouble getting it installed, don't know don't care anymore as soon as i get it back it's getting sold for whatever i can get for it so i can be done with zero

[MostlyBonkers]

That is so utterly rubbish. Isn't someone from zero reading this forum? Don't you think that if you were running a business you'd see this forum as a valuable way of monitoring customer satisfaction and being made aware of problems like this?

Someone needs to go to Zero's HQ and bang senior management's heads together!

[flexydude]

zero absolutely reads this forum, I recieved an email regarding my "negative" postings from some guy naked ryan. Nothing i have posted has been untrue or inaccurate. I found a lemmon law attourney who is just itching to start a case, but I'm not going there yet. I'm being extremely patient because zero has "bent over backwards" to help me with my 2 broke bikes.

[MostlyBonkers]

2 broken bikes? Oh my God! If Zero had been bending over backwards they would have replaced your bike for one that works. They should keep a stock of bikes for swap outs when situations like yours occur. The only one who is bending over is you my friend and you're taking it in ways that would be impolite to describe any further!

I love the fact that zero produce electric bikes. It seems they provide a good product overall, considering the constraints they are under. However, they do need to sort out their customer service and it seems they need a nudge.

Get your lawyer on the case. The treatment you've had is despicable.

[peter]

Bonkers, your comments presume that Zero is as interested in keeping bikes running as they are in making and selling them in the first place.

They should have a large enough stock of spares available, even for discontinued bikes, to fix ones that break, and fix them in a reasonable amount of time. It would appear that's not how they operate. Maybe they don't expect their <=2012 bikes to last very long anyway? Who knows.

Peter

[Richard230]

BMW has been making motorcycles since 1923 and has thousands of employees designing and building motorcycles in semi-automated factories in Germany and elsewhere.  Even they can have problems:

According to an article in the April issue of City Bike magazine BMW is recalling 300,000 R and K bikes built between November 2003 and April 2011. BMW says that the rear wheel flange on these models may crack if either the brake disc bolts, or the nuts that attach the wheel, are over tightened by the bike's owner. This may result in cracks and damage to the wheel flange. "BMW Motorrad has therefore decided to exchange the wheel flange with a more robust part as a precaution."

[flexydude]

see my posts under uncommanded acceleration, and parting out 2010ds. You'll see what i been dealing with

[Chocula]

As much as I (and many others here) would hate to say it, maybe Zero needs to slow down their technical progress for a while and concentrate on making the technology, parts, design and build quality more reliable so that their products are more able to stand up to the typical rough handling of U.S. motorcycle riders who tend to beat the crap out of their bikes.   

I don't own a Zero, but it seems like the older model Zero's were more likely to have had problems, and not just with the electronics.  I would like to see Zero continue their technical progress which I believe results in better and more reliable motorcycles.

The problems I have seen described don't strike me as issues with Zero so much as issues with the dealer/repair shops not understanding how to fix them.  Sadly, a bike sitting in a repair shop for 6 months is not that uncommon.  I have also found, the longer anything is at the shop, the less likely to have a satisfactory outcome.  A bike that has been there for 6 months has been stuffed in a corner and forgotten about.  With gas bikes, you have more options available to take it someplace else if they don't fix it in a timely manner.  You will have more options for electric bikes in time, but for now, choices are limited.  After some bad experiences with my Honda, the only garage I trust is the one attached to my house.  This does not in any way reflect poorly on Honda, rather the shops I took it too and my not being aggressive enough and demanding either progress or the return of my bike.

Where Zero could do much better is making the knowledge about how to repair and maintain their motorcycles easier to obtain.  I think it is completely reasonable for customers to require a factory service manual be included with any new bike.  While I don't think Zero should undercut their dealers, making parts available at MSRP ensures customers will have access even if they don't have a dealer nearby.

[MostlyBonkers]

There are some great comments here. Zero, I really hope you're reading them. These are the people who will either encourage or discourage people to buy your products.

I'm not saying that any of this is easy, but more effort is needed quickly. What I'm hearing is criminal behavior. You're stealing the most precious possession from your most valuable customers; their time.

[peter]

Richard - this post of yours - BMW has been making motorcycles since 1923 and has thousands of employees designing and building motorcycles in semi-automated factories in Germany and elsewhere.  Even they can have problems: --etc.

Sorry, but that reads like false equivalence.

Peter

[MostlyBonkers]

LOL, I had to look up false equivalence! I have to say that I think Peter is right though.

NASA works very hard to make sure their products are reliable and they still have problems. It's what happens after those problems are found that matters. How the situation is dealt with.

We can all say that problems should be ironed out before products are let loose on the public, but that can never be the case. We learn from our mistakes and make good as much as we can.

BMW are clearly going to great lengths to recall thousands of bikes to fix an issue that is only likely to cause problems for people who don't know what they're doing and over tighten bolts.

Zero are well aware of the issues posted here and choose to do nothing about them. When they do make things right, it's often at the expense of the customer and after a lot of time and effort has been wasted getting zero to do the right thing. Manufacturing the bikes is only half the story. Their mentality seems to be that sales numbers are all that counts and are what will eventually make the difference when someone decides to buy the company.

My heart goes out to the unlucky few here that have had their dreams of enjoying the benefits of riding their Zeros stolen.

[Richard230]

Although I have never had an actual problem with any of my current BMW motorcycles, I am getting a little tired of continually bringing them in to the shop for recall and field upgrade repairs for things that should have been fixed before they left the factory.  When I saw the most recent recall, it finally got to me.   

The only real problems that ever left me stranded was when my new 1985 R80 dropped a pile of roller bearings in my lap when I went to check the valve lash, my 1991 K100RS broke its drive shaft without warning after 46K miles ($1200 to repair) and my R1150R locked up when a key sensor ring failed and required a 100-mile tow to the nearest dealer.  But I keep on buying the things, anyway.

However I will agree that my dealer always repaired my bikes as quickly as possible (once they were able to obtain the parts). My Zero dealer (now closed) rarely had Zeros sitting around the shop waiting to be repaired.  Zero may be the problem, but it could also be the dealer, too.  So far I haven't heard a single complaint from anyone who has had an issue with after-sales service or repairs after buying their Zero from Hollywood Electrics.   

[Justin Andrews]

So far I haven't heard a single complaint from anyone who has had an issue with after-sales service or repairs after buying their Zero from Hollywood Electrics.   

THIS!