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[CrashCash]

One thing I want on a 2015: a Factory Service Manual.

This is the first bike I've had since my '82 CB450SC where I haven't had a service manual, and I at least had a Clymers. I just installed a power tank and it made a bunch of references to the service manual... that I don't have access to.

Very annoying.

[KenMac]

One thing I want on a 2015: a Factory Service Manual.

Couldn't agree more on this!

[dkw12002]

My 2013 S 8.5 is almost perfect. 355 lbs, low seat ht. and plenty of range for me. In 2014 and 15, they added more range, but that meant more weight which is my enemy. The 2015 Zero S has a slightly higher seat and weighs 20 lbs. more. Not a deal breaker, but hardly an improvement for me. I see 2013 as the banner year for the S model and improvements since then have been moot.

[Straightedg4lif]

My 2013 S 8.5 is almost perfect. 355 lbs, low seat ht. and plenty of range for me. In 2014 and 15, they added more range, but that meant more weight which is my enemy. The 2015 Zero S has a slightly higher seat and weighs 20 lbs.
 more. Not a deal breaker, but hardly an improvement for me. I see 2013 as the banner year for the S model and improvements since then have been moot.

What is the seat height on the '13?

[dkw12002]

The 2013 S seat ht. is 31.3 in. The 2015 is 31.8 in. Actually the 2013 doesn't seem quite that tall. I'm just under 5'7" and notice seat hts. The bike is narrow and the front forks compress a bit when you sit on it which is probably why. I have not sat on the 2015 to compare the two model years. I can easily flat foot my Zero S.

[ultrarnr]

Seat height is only part of it. You have to factor in seat width as well in order to know if you can have both feet down if that is what you want. If you have a very narrow seat it can be a few inches taller than a short and wide seat and still be better for having both feet flat on the ground.

[Straightedg4lif]

Seat height is only part of it. You have to factor in seat width as well in order to know if you can have both feet down if that is what you want. If you have a very narrow seat it can be a few inches taller than a short and wide seat and still be better for having both feet flat on the ground.

How wide are the Zero S and SR seats?

[Richard230]

My 2014 Zero S seat is about 11" wide where I plant my butt.  Slightly narrower closer to the "tank".  I have yet to see a 2015 Zero up close in the flesh, so I don't know if the seat design has changed any.

[dkw12002]

One other thing the Zero S has going for it for a shorter rider is that the tail is not raised very much, so it is not as difficult to get on and off. Short people have a tendency to scrape their right foot on the top of the pillion area when mounting and dismounting. I haven't had that problem with my 13 Zero S. In a bad case scenario, you could catch your foot on the pillion and fall down. I guess the worse case scenario would look like something from "Final Destination" where you catch your foot on the bike, fall down, the bike falls on top of you and rolls out into the street where a garbage truck then runs over you swerving to avoid the motorcycle.

[Richard230]

One other thing the Zero S has going for it for a shorter rider is that the tail is not raised very much, so it is not as difficult to get on and off. Short people have a tendency to scrape their right foot on the top of the pillion area when mounting and dismounting. I haven't had that problem with my 13 Zero S. In a bad case scenario, you could catch your foot on the pillion and fall down. I guess the worse case scenario would look like something from "Final Destination" where you catch your foot on the bike, fall down, the bike falls on top of you and rolls out into the street where a garbage truck then runs over you swerving to avoid the motorcycle.

Something like that happened to me one time on my 1997 BMW Funduro.  While getting off the bike my foot caught the luggage strapped to my passenger seat, I lost my balance and knocked the bike over onto me.  It broke the gear change lever (darn transmissions), but I wasn't hurt since I was wearing my riding gear.  However, ever since that episode, I always deploy the side stand to support the bike first before getting off, instead of trying to balance it while swinging my foot over the seat.   

[CrashCash]

Something like that happened to me one time...

I was coming back to work on my SV-650, and I waved to one of my riding buddies.

So I step off and swing my leg. It's got a long spike coming off the side-stand, and this spike buried itself in my shoe under my instep, pinning my foot as I tried to swivel around.

Not only did this trip me, but it retracted the stand and I fell with the bike landing on top of me. Fortunately an SV is not that heavy, but I ended up waving my arms and legs like a flipped turtle, with no leverage. My riding buddy shook his head and came over and lifted the bike off me.

That spike had a chat with Mr. Dremel Tool the moment I got home.

[MichaelJohn]

My 2014 Zero S seat is about 11" wide where I plant my butt.  Slightly narrower closer to the "tank".  I have yet to see a 2015 Zero up close in the flesh, so I don't know if the seat design has changed any.

The 2015 SR seat is just under 12" at the widest point at the back and the top surface tapers down to 5" at the tank with a run of about 11" from the widest point to the narrowest point. I assume that the S seat is the same.

[MostlyBonkers]

For me, a reduction in price would be the best thing they could do. I think Zero need to keep their focus on the commuter market. Often people ride to work because they love biking but also to save money. These are the people who use their bikes enough that they have a chance of making an electric bike economically viable.

As many of you know, I have given electric bikes a lot of thought over a considerable amount of time. My best estimate for the ex-demo Streetbike had on sale was a break even point of four years. With the best will in the world, I think that's too long. 

Buying an electric bike is not like buying an ICE bike. The second hand market is extremely small and depreciation is very high. Would you want to buy a five year old bike? I know I would want proof of the bike's current range, so I could get an estimate of battery health at the very least. Even if battery health was good, I'd be worried about cell failure when the internal components have suffered five years of ageing. You can go out and buy a used ICE bike that's ten years old and still have confidence that the components will be good for another ten, depending on mileage of course. My Fazer is twelve and has 50,000 miles on the clock. Even without a full service history and being the type of bike that gets ragged, it runs like new and needs less than half a cup of oil between changes.

I would like to see electric bikes at a price that's the same or very close to the price of a comparable ICE bike. I haven't seen a price for a UK registered 2015 Zero S yet, but I suspect it will be in the region of £14,000. The nearest comparable ICE that I can find odds the Honda NC750 DCT. They cost about £6,500 new, on the road. You don't have to change gear, you can store a full size helmet in the faux tank, it has long service intervals and does 70-80 miles per gallon (UK gallons).

If I could buy a new 2015 S for £8,000 I would consider it. I was very seriously considering the 2014 S at £9,000 even without the benefits of the 2015 model which are absolutely necessary to compete.

Just a few more years and I think we'll see the gap shrink so that ebike buyers can start benefiting from the reduced running costs within a year or two. How many bikers keep their bikes for longer? We like a bit of variety and to try something new. It's not like driving a Volvo.

I wish I could afford to be an early adopter, but I just can't.

By the way, I have half a mind to go the other way and buy a second hand ZZR 1400. A nice upgrade to my Fazer with the fun factor set to 11!

[Falco]

The main thing I think zero needs to do to really get into markets outside the US is to have the standard on board charger at least be rated to what those countries standard wall sockets are. In Australia it is 2400watts. 240v and 10amps. No need to carry a 1000w power supply here as the bike charges fast enough with 2400watts instead of 1300. Range issues half with this simple cheap fix! The 2015sr is epic. My 2014 issue were fixed in 2015. My last concern is standard onboard charging. Time to fix this!
Oh and 10% more torque and battery capacity next year would have me buying another

[roma258]

Buying an electric bike is not like buying an ICE bike. The second hand market is extremely small and depreciation is very high. Would you want to buy a five year old bike? I know I would want proof of the bike's current range, so I could get an estimate of battery health at the very least. Even if battery health was good, I'd be worried about cell failure when the internal components have suffered five years of ageing. You can go out and buy a used ICE bike that's ten years old and still have confidence that the components will be good for another ten, depending on mileage of course. My Fazer is twelve and has 50,000 miles on the clock. Even without a full service history and being the type of bike that gets ragged, it runs like new and needs less than half a cup of oil between changes.

I don't know that this is true. First of all, most electrics have pretty robust warranties on their batteries. Second, my understanding is that the motors have much fewer moving parts than ICE engine, and much fewer things that can go wrong, espcially with Zeros considering they don't even have gearboxes. As far as cell failure, we should have pretty good data by now about how batteries age. Last, I think if you're going to be holding on to an electric bike for 5 years or so, it might be a pretty safe assumption that when the time comes to replace batteries, the costs for replacements will have come down some. Not that I don't want the bikes to get cheaper, but it's a bit of a catch 22- bikes won't get cheaper until there's the economies of scale, and economies of scale won't happen till more people buy the bikes.