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[Zen]

Will Zero let the owner wrench on his own bike. By that I mean that that all of my bikes from my Ural, Honda, Yamaha, Harley, CSC, etc from day one while under warranty I have done my own repairs and maintenance. The companies have sent parts and etc while under warranty with no issues. I also own a machine shop with high voltage CNC machines and do all repairs and maintenance on them as well. These companies have also been very cooperative.

Thanks I did a search and didn't find any thing.

[MrDude_1]

Will Zero let the owner wrench on his own bike. By that I mean that that all of my bikes from my Ural, Honda, Yamaha, Harley, CSC, etc from day one while under warranty I have done my own repairs and maintenance. The companies have sent parts and etc while under warranty with no issues. I also own a machine shop with high voltage CNC machines and do all repairs and maintenance on them as well. These companies have also been very cooperative.

Thanks I did a search and didn't find any thing.

Where do you live?

[Zen]

Mt Washington valley NH

[ZEM Tahiti]

By wrenching, what do you mean? If it's about changing wheels, handlebars, shocks, brakes or appearance, I'm almost sure you're fine wrenching, even if the warranty can be voided when not done by your dealer.
If it is getting in the motor/ BMS / charger/ power module, you can easily understand that this is not conventionnal mechanic.  On top of the high tech aspect, there are a lot of patents that ZERO HQ don't want to disclose, even to dealers. The motor for example is sealed for everybody, except the factory.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Zero is a small company and hasn't yet assembled a coherent service manual. Also, their parts lookup system seems to be non-standard and tightly restricted to dealer licensees. For a particularly frustrating example, they don't report their brake pad sizes. Zero tends to reply to customer service requests by directing you to a dealer.

That said, if you figure out how to work on a Zero outside of the powertrain, your warrantee will still be honored. I think the type of work that escapes the warrantee would be if you opened up any high-voltage systems like the battery, or tried reprogramming or rewiring the powertrain.

For what it's worth, this is why MrDude, myself, and others are contributing to this forum and to a wiki-based set of resources here, including an unofficial manual: http://www.zeromanual.com/

[Zen]

When I say wrenching I am not talking about opening the engine or battery pack, but I read on here some where that it took 3 weeks to receive a bolt in part and their bike sat at the dealers the whole time. I am talking about bearings, belts, switches, relays, realistically I have not heard of too many issues with motors or batteries on these bikes, but I am new here.  I am assuming that the dealers most likely cannot open many units on the bike either and would require sending it back to the factory. Even removing the part and sending it to the dealer or factory would be convenient in most cases.

My closest dealer would be 3.5 hrs. drive minimum one way and enough miles that most of these bikes cannot make it straight through without a charge in between. This is why I ask.

[stevenh]

I assume that the nearest to you would be Rahn's in Abington MA?  I live in Newington NH and that's where I picked my DSR up.  It is too bad there is not direct access to parts, you do have to go through a dealer for pretty much anything.  I trailered my bike back from the dealer since it was a bit to far to go without a charge.  Rahn is pretty good to work with in getting stuff to you fast.  I ordered a top box rack and got it in a couple of days.  He stocks some items.

Hopefully as interest in these bikes continues to grow there will be better on-line options (and a dealer in our state!).

Steve

[Zen]

I assume that the nearest to you would be Rahn's in Abington MA?  I live in Newington NH and that's where I picked my DSR up.  It is too bad there is not direct access to parts, you do have to go through a dealer for pretty much anything.  I trailered my bike back from the dealer since it was a bit to far to go without a charge.  Rahn is pretty good to work with in getting stuff to you fast.  I ordered a top box rack and got it in a couple of days.  He stocks some items.

Hopefully as interest in these bikes continues to grow there will be better on-line options (and a dealer in our state!).

Steve

Yes Steve it is either Rahn or Cyclewise in VT almost exactly the same distance and time.
Thanks for your input, nice to see others from NH with Zero motorcycles.

[MrDude_1]

There are a couple aspects here...
Since you're in the USA, they cannot remove your warranty for working on the bike, unless your work causes the problem.  This doesnt apply outside of the USA, and thats why I asked where you are first.

That said... Parts availability sucks.  The parts themselves are fairly priced, but they only ship to dealers. Some dealers will reship them to you (at your cost) but this is far from ideal.
The parts are generally not stocked either.  They MAY have an extra belt in stock, but not always.

There is no service manual. So if you need a walkthrough of torque values and how to... there isnt one.  This is what prompted ZeroManual.com

Finally, there are electrical and software aspects that you're not going to be able to work on, and will have to take it to the dealer for. It doesnt matter if you're an electrical engineer and firmware developer... you just dont have the tools and info to do what needs to be done, and zero only shares it with dealers.

So if the parts thing and the no-electrical/firmware thing doesnt scare you off... hopefully the forum as a group can help you do things like bearing cross referance, brake pad replacements, fork disassembly, etc.. thats what this forum is here to figure out, and what the ZeroManual site is there to record... but the manual is a new site, and Zero is always updating bikes... so nothing is 100% covered yet.

I suppose the best advice is, expect to occasionally see your dealer, but know that you're not alone when it comes to figuring out how to do it yourself.

[Zen]

thanks  MrDude_1

the first reason I am looking into the purchase of the Zero is the fact that always having a few bikes to maintain does keep me busy. So having one bike needing very little in the maintenance department frees up time to work on my other projects. My Ural now under going cancer restoration she was my Primary vehicle for 4 years running Maine to NH. Everyday no matter the weather sun, rain, snow, sleet, hail, from -22°F to 98°F  45,000 miles of snow and salt has taken it's toll. I am planning to ride the Zero daily until the snow falls.

[Richard230]

If you like to work on new motorcycles to keep them running, purchase a Royal Enfield.   

[Zen]

If you like to work on new motorcycles to keep them running, purchase a Royal Enfield.   

Your a funny guy. I love the classic style of Royal Enfields but I don't own one. I have enough to wrench on, just don't like driving a cage with trailer to get service either. I really like the electric motorcycle idea and really want to make one work for me, my style and riding area. Right now it is a research and weighing options mode. I also love the near silence when riding, my Goldwing is the closest I have gotten.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I will say that buying a Zero cleaned up my gas bike garage just by lengthening the maintenance cycles. For cold weather, the Aerostitch blog kept last winter with an FX might help you out. I do admire that they made a battery cozy.

[Zen]

Thanks Brian I will check it out.

[Olle]

If you like to work on new motorcycles to keep them running, purchase a Royal Enfield.   

Your a funny guy. I love the classic style of Royal Enfields but I don't own one. I have enough to wrench on, just don't like driving a cage with trailer to get service either. I really like the electric motorcycle idea and really want to make one work for me, my style and riding area. Right now it is a research and weighing options mode. I also love the near silence when riding, my Goldwing is the closest I have gotten.

I have a Dnepr (similar to your Ural) with spiked tyres that I use in the winter season. I would really like to convert it to electric, but never had the time. That could make a good project?