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[JJ2525]

Hello all,

I just purchased a '16 S (my very first motorcycle) and love it. Tons of fun! I have a few questions:

1) When braking uphill, rather than apply the brakes, there have been a couple instances where I've just slightly engaged the throttle. That seems easier, but I'm guessing it's bad for the belt. Is this the proper procedure? : 1) apply front brake 2) step on rear brake and let go of front brake 3) when ready to go, twist throttle until you feel the belt move and then ease off the brake whilst twisting the throttle. Is it damaging to the belt to twist the throttle while the brake is applied?

2) I have a small area in my garage that I put the bike in, but it is very difficult+time-consuming to get the bike out of the garage when I want to ride. It's hard to back it out of the garage. Any tips/best practices here to minimize time getting in/out of garage?

3) When I ride ~7 miles to work, the battery is down to somewhere between 95-97%. Several hours later when I turn the bike back on, the battery says 100%, even though it's definitely not full. Then I'll get home and it will say 95%, then I turn it off and plug it in, and while charging it shows 89-90%, which I presume to be its true battery level. Anything amiss there?

4) As a general best practice, when I can charge it, should I leave it plugged in at all times? Even if it's for a couple of days?

5) The bike seems to lean quite a bit with the kickstand. Do people get bigger kickstands or this just is what it is?

6) There is a lot of squeaking/sounds with the wheels/brakes and from the bars (from presumably holding them too tight). Are these sounds synonymous with a new bike or should I get them checked out by my dealer?

7) How do I go about getting the custom-color plastic kits rather than the stock yellow?

Thank you in advance for any and all help. Any other tips for not only a first time electric moto owner, but a first time moto owner? I am all ears!

[MostlyBonkers]

Hi and welcome.

Don't use the throttle to hold the bike on a hill, it's bad for the motor. I think there's a note about not doing that in the manual. Just hold the bike on the rear brake.

The best advice I can give you is to seek out some advanced training. It often takes the form of going out for a ride with an observer and discussing techniques over a coffee at the end. It is a pleasant experience, it may get you involved in a club, you'll get more out of your riding and it could save your life.

[Kocho]

There is a lot of squeaking noises from the plastics of the "gas tank" rubbing against the front of the seat and the sides of the frame. The brakes might also be squeaky at low speeds.

Don't keep it in place uphill with the throttle - as mentioned, the manual warns against it.

The stand is fine. People complain about it, but try to pull the bike over towards you then to push it away from you as it is on the stand - it is about centered in my experience. If the stand was taller, it would tend to fall away from you on uneven ground, which is worse than it falling towards you where you can catch it better

The manual says to keep it plugged in as often as possible. I don't like that idea for several reasons, but I guess each of us decides how to manage their charging...

I wish it had a reverse gear! I miss that from my Vectrix a lot.

I have a 2-car garage and I park the bike perpendicular to an behind one of the cars. So I can get in and out easy - go in from the left side, turn right, back up towards the left, park there. Going out I just make a right turn out of the garage, no fiddling needed. Pretty easy. If I park front-first, then I have to do an n-point turn to get out again, too much trouble...

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I do wish for a more robust kickstand option (or a centerstand!), but I've not seen any replacements supported, and I suppose that the kickstand bracket may be unique to Zero (but it would be good to ask/check).

Ask your dealer about getting different color plastics. The tank is very easy to change to any of Zero's existing supported colors. The tail plastics are apparently pretty difficult to change, as a procedure, but I've heard the plastics are not expensive. If you want a color that Zero doesn't have - well, try vinyl wraps or plastidip or a paint job.

[evtricity]

5) The bike seems to lean quite a bit with the kickstand. Do people get bigger kickstands or this just is what it is?

Yep, the 2014 kicktand on my SR was too short too with bike leaning over too far. I lowered my bike (both front and rear suspension) by about 2cm (for track riding) and the stand is now a good length with good lean.

Unfortunately I'm not aware of a suitable stand replacement.

[Richard230]

There are some after-market manufacturers who supply a steel bolt-on foot for side stands to keep the stands from sinking into soft ground (something useful for some BMW models).  They also raise the stand's height slightly.  If it really bothered me, I would probably glue a piece of hard rubber to the end of my stand.  (If you want to see a motorcycle lean on the side stand, you should see my Royal Enfield.  That thing looks like it leans at a 45 degree angle when on the side stand.   )

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

The bolt-on foot needs to mate to the kickstand foot, though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DPsSRnSD]

1) When braking uphill, rather than apply the brakes, there have been a couple instances where I've just slightly engaged the throttle. That seems easier, but I'm guessing it's bad for the belt. Is this the proper procedure? : 1) apply front brake 2) step on rear brake and let go of front brake 3) when ready to go, twist throttle until you feel the belt move and then ease off the brake whilst twisting the throttle. Is it damaging to the belt to twist the throttle while the brake is applied?

2) I have a small area in my garage that I put the bike in, but it is very difficult+time-consuming to get the bike out of the garage when I want to ride. It's hard to back it out of the garage. Any tips/best practices here to minimize time getting in/out of garage?

3) When I ride ~7 miles to work, the battery is down to somewhere between 95-97%. Several hours later when I turn the bike back on, the battery says 100%, even though it's definitely not full. Then I'll get home and it will say 95%, then I turn it off and plug it in, and while charging it shows 89-90%, which I presume to be its true battery level. Anything amiss there?

6) There is a lot of squeaking/sounds with the wheels/brakes and from the bars (from presumably holding them too tight). Are these sounds synonymous with a new bike or should I get them checked out by my dealer?

My bike shows 100% when it's time to go home too. I thought it was because of the long downhill to the parking lot. It probably has more to do with battery temperature.

Is it possible to back the bike in when you get home? I do that now for a faster getaway in the morning.

You definitely don't want to hold the bike with the throttle. Also, don't let the bike roll back when you start to apply the throttle. On my hill at work I simultaneously ease off the rear brake and ease on the throttle.

I don't notice any excessive noises from my bike, except maybe when I'm backing up. I don't know if what I hear then is motor squeal or an ABS pump. If you don't have any wobble or pulsating associated with the noise, maybe it's okay. If you have any doubts, definitely talk to your dealer about it.

[gingerjet]

S isn't my first bike but its been 15 years since I last owned one so it feels like my first bike.

1) as other said - ease off the rear brake and apply throttle at the same time
2) I have the same problem - I switched up how we park the car in the driveway so I back the bike into the garage but its still a challenge as the driveway is on a hill.  Plan on rearranging the garage so I can drive in and then turn the bike around on even ground.
3) Noticed the same thing. 
4) Leave it plugged in all the time.
5) Haven't really noticed this.  It leans about the same as other bikes I am familiar with.  Anyways it hasn't been an issue for me.
6) My rear break squeaks after I engage it.  Tapping on the break makes the squeak go away.  As I put more miles on the bike I've noticed the squeak happening less so I'm contributing it it being just a new bike.  Although I'm monitoring it.  However the charger has started triggering GFCI breaker when it didn't use to do so.  I've since moved it to a non-GFCI plug and its been fine.
7) Have no idea - everyone loves the yellow. 

[buutvrij for life]

Hi Ju2525,
Congrats on the bike!

I had the same squeaks on my rear brake. After a while it dissapeared. My dealer said that it's no big issue.
Maybe you can have it checked out during first service check.

Regarding your SOC (state of charge) my bike is behaving the same. No big deal.
When driving a very short distance it says 100% when i turn it on again.
If you have a petrol bike and drive 4 miles or kilometers, your gauge won't move at all. Same thing.

I don't leave the bike plugged in all the time or at full charge, but that's personal.
Lithium cells degrade faster when fully charged or hot all the time. Read about it somewhere on this forum (battery notes farasis engineer) or at batteryuniversity.com. I do fully charge and leave it plugged in every now and then for the batterycells to balance. But often it rest at some 40% soc in my garagebox. But other people on the forum have other ideas about 'leaving it plugged in'
Good luck!

[hein]

>> When braking uphill, rather than apply the brakes, there have been a couple instances where I've just slightly engaged the throttle. That seems easier, but I'm guessing it's bad for the belt.

I don't understand. What am I missing here? Regeneration is supposed to be a big positive thing.
The system is designed to use that. How can it be bad for the belt?
Yeah the forces will go one way (driving, accelerating) one second and reverse the next for 'engine braking = re-generation', but why would that be bad for it? It is designed for that.
I drive avoiding the brakes, notably the rear brake to the max and let the generator (aka motor) do that job. I only use (tap) the rear brake for weight transfer to the front for heavy breaking.

fwiw,
Hein.

[Kocho]

This is not about regen, it is about holding position while standing still on an uphill. Engine RPM is 0 (or negative if you are gently rolling backwards). Applying power at 0 RPM heats-up the motor unnecessarily, best to use the friction brakes instead.

[hein]

Ah, now I see what I was missing. Sorry.
Yeah, why waste electrons when you can simply hold the brake.
Hein