I have a 2014 SR, one of the first, if not the first available to the public (I put my deposit down in October 2013, the day the SR was announced). I've been positively and proudly vociferous in my praise of the brand and the model...it's been an incredible joy to own and to ride.
But I'm beginning to wonder if I can continue saying that.
Earlier today, I had a guy come up to me and pepper me with question after question about the bike, which has happened before, and which I love. I honestly elucidated point after point, and as is usual in my experience EVERY point is in favor of the EV, until the very last question. "What did you pay for it, $6000?" came the question. "No", I answered, "it was $17,000". No apologies for facts. It did cost $17,000.
"Wow."
"Yeah, it's a little pricey, but I've ridden it almost 12,000 miles in the last 13 months, and I figure I've saved around 50c per mile over driving my car. So I've saved well over $5000; that's pretty good return on investment in my book."
The look of astonishment softened. "Yeah, that's not too bad," came the answer. This guy gets it. It may take a while, but like any good investment, it pays for itself, even in the most narrow view -- dollar for dollar. The intangibles don't need to be measured...it's a good investment in the strictest terms. I doubt this gentleman can afford a Zero at present prices, but he's a customer fairly soon. He gets it, he sees the benefits. When he can afford the upfront cost to save some longterm money, he'll spring for it. He wishes he could now, and sees the wisdom in stretching to do it. All Zero needs to do is get the price down within his grasp. The untapped market potential is really, really big.
So I was feeling really good about my decision to spring for the best available solution, when my bike died later this evening. I'd run to the local 7-11 for a quick bite, and the bike refused to take me home...it wouldn't "start". I had to call the local tow truck, he was an idiot and wound up turning my bike on its side, and the bike still doesn't run. The "charging" indicator on the dash won't turn off, which leads me to believe that the failure is related to the charger, which was replaced just a few weeks ago (bike wouldn't charge). Of course, if the bike thinks it's charging, it won't give you any power.
So what caused the failure? Can't be sure, but I'd washed the bike earlier, first time since the new charger was installed. It ran fine from the car wash home, but then wouldn't "start" later when I wanted to run to the local minimart. But I pushed and tweaked a few buttons and it did start, and got me there just fine...and then adamantly refused to take me home.
So I've owned the bike for 13 months and almost 12,000 miles now. First shop time that happened was when Zero took it back under recall and replaced the motor, which cost me nothing, unless you count the week's worth of driving the car instead of riding the bike...which is, in fact, a real expense. I figure I save about $20 per day riding the bike over driving the car, so a week out of action for the bike costs me around $100 in real costs.
Then the rear tire had to be replaced; of course that's normal maintenance.
But then the rear shock failed, which was a warranty repair, again costing me "nothing", by which I mean only the cost of driving the car to work for three days instead of saving money riding the bike.
Then the front tire and brake pads had to be replaced, of course normal maintenance again. If you don't expect normal expenses, you're an idiot.
But then one day, I went out to ride to work and the gauge still said 34%, which is what it had said the night before. Obviously it hadn't charged overnight. A warranty repair gave me a new, "free" charger, notwithstanding the $80 cost of towing the bike to the shop, and another week of driving my car to work. That's a $180 "free" warranty repair, by my accounting.
This evening, it failed again, for the first time actually leaving me stranded away from home. I suspect the new charger failed, though I don't have any proof (though I'm an EE and pretty good at this sort of diagnosis).
I really, really don't want to start hating this bike. I want to ride it, and continue loving it, and continue to have reason to love it. It's still a wicked hot rod, and actually still saves me a ton of money. But the inconvenience factor is mounting, and the expenses of having it not operate really reliably are starting to add up. I've always felt pretty smug about my purchase over my brother's Yamaha cruiser (Harley wannabe), which of course has much higher fuel and maintenance costs than my ride. Or does it? You can't pay for many tows with a couple of oil changes. You can replace a LOT of spark plugs for the cost of a week's downtime.
I know it still qualifies as an early model. I know I'm still an early adopter. But I also know that the primary arguments against the bike are range, recharging time and initial cost. I refute the first argument (range) by explaining that the bike meets my commuting needs and a fair amount beyond, so it meets 95% of my needs in spite of limited range. Recharging time isn't an issue for me; recharging overnight works just great, again for 95% of my needs. But the only argument against initial cost is saved costs over the life of the vehicle, and I'm beginning to lose that argument. If my bike breaks down a lot, and requires a lot of "free" $180 repairs, it's really not cashing in the lower running cost argument. So far...well, it seems to be breaking down a lot. Nobody would be impressed with my bike's reliability record.
I worry that it's only going get worse. A failed shock absorber is one thing, but it's a cheap Chinese unit, and it failed at 9000 miles. What are the odds that the new one is going to last significantly longer? If the charger's failed twice now, just a few weeks apart, can I trust it longterm? The signs aren't good. AND, of course, those $180 "free" warranty repairs aren't going to go on forever. When the bike is out of warranty, the full cost of any and all repairs will fall directly on you-know-who's shoulders.
I'm probably just disillusioned by a bad day. It's never good when your ride arrives home on a flatbed, and it doesn't make for warm fuzzy feelings. But so far, the Zero has spent far more time on a flatbed than any other vehicle I've ever owned, and it has a ways to go to make up any ground. I love my bike very, very much, but it's disappointing me too. I worry that the (REAL) costs per mile are still too high to defeat the initial cost argument, and that pretty much loses the whole argument.
The fact is, my brother's ICE bike requires some regular maintenance, but given those, it's astoundingly reliable. Any of us would be appalled by an ICE vehicle that required towing more than once in 10,000 miles -- or even once. In reality, if an ICE motorcycle required towing even once before 50,000 miles, I'd be very disappointed in it. It's a very high bar they've set, with the hundred years of development they've had, and so far, my Zero just isn't clearing it.
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Topic: Trouble in paradise (Read 5692 times)