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[dukecola]

Last year a nearby dealer took on the Zero line.  I was very happy as the nearest one was 2 hrs away.  They are a Victory dealer in Tyngsboro Mass.  I've been trying to support them, bought some plastics, foot pegs, getting new tires next week.  Want them to know they can make money on Zeros too. I think that's key.

I purchased my 2016 DSR from Rahn's Motorcycle Engineering in Abington MA, he still shows up as a dealer, but I have not really had a reason to go back yet (still sticking with original firmware since it works fine for me).  I saw that Indian of North Boston is selling them now, that's a little closer for me, I assume that's the dealer you are talking about?  I was considering going in there for re-timing the controller since I am a bit over 8K.  I suppose I'll be stuck with new firmware at that point.  Rahn is a great guy, but it looks like Tyngsboro will be a quicker ride/drive for me.

Steve

Yes, that's them.  I was their first zero in for maint, they did the software update for me. They had just got their dealership and had not sold a bike yet.  Nice bunch of folks, the service guys are super friendly.  I've ordered parts twice, both times i got them in a week.  For me, the 10 mi trip there is WAY better than 4hr RT to Conn.  From Newington for you, a stress-less traffic free ride is way better than venturing thru Boston area.

[gyrocyclist]

Maybe we all need these:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/OBD2-OBDII-Port-Cover-Do-Not-Reflash/253216956448?epid=2184420272&hash=item3af4e82020:g:XeYAAOSwBD9Zlm4p&vxp=mtr

My 2016 SR just hit 10K miles; last time at dealer was 4K. Dealer is 40 miles away. A good local motorcycle shop is 1/2 mile away. Since I DO NOT want my software upgraded, but DO want someone with an expert eye to check out my bike ... am thinking I'll take it to the local guy.  I'm sure he can do all the non-electrical stuph as well (and cheaper than) the dealer: check bearings, steering, brakes, etc. The one thing I'm curious about is "motor commissioning." I'm unsure how important -- or what -- this is. I've googled -- but all the top hits are quite technical (i.e, I've yet to find a simple explanation as to what commissioning is, and why I might need it). Since my bike's been running with no problems, I'm inclined to ignore it.

[shaleh]

The dealer I bought from charges me a half hour of mechanic time for service. It is hard to beat that.

[francesco]

Honestly it doesn't make sense to me that traditional motorcycle dealers would carry Zero with lower sale margins and service revenues (and often without in-house technical expertise).

The Hollywood Electrics' seems a much better business model, and it shows. It's ludicrous that it's easier to get Zero parts/accessories from HE than from Bay Area dealers a few miles away from the factory!

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Honestly it doesn't make sense to me that traditional motorcycle dealers would carry Zero with lower sale margins and service revenues (and often without in-house technical expertise).

The Hollywood Electrics' seems a much better business model, and it shows. It's ludicrous that it's easier to get Zero parts/accessories from HE than from Bay Area dealers a few miles away from the factory!

Hollywood Electrics definitely provides a better customer experience, but this hinges on Harlan having a very good pro-active relationship with Zero.

Also, I'm not sure that one can take Hollywood Electrics' business model for granted. The fact that they picked up the Ubco 2x2 and have generally tried to diversify over the years suggests that they'd feel more secure without having to rely on Zero so strongly for servicing revenue, because (from what I've gleaned) Zero's dealership sales and servicing deals aren't exactly generous.

I don't think the Energica relationships are any better except by the investors pouring money into it, and Brammo sales were definitely terrible, so all I can say is that no one knows how to do this sustainably yet, and the economy is still broken, so try not to be a pain for anybody involved, please.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

My 2016 SR just hit 10K miles; last time at dealer was 4K. Dealer is 40 miles away. A good local motorcycle shop is 1/2 mile away. Since I DO NOT want my software upgraded, but DO want someone with an expert eye to check out my bike ... am thinking I'll take it to the local guy.  I'm sure he can do all the non-electrical stuph as well (and cheaper than) the dealer: check bearings, steering, brakes, etc. The one thing I'm curious about is "motor commissioning." I'm unsure how important -- or what -- this is. I've googled -- but all the top hits are quite technical (i.e, I've yet to find a simple explanation as to what commissioning is, and why I might need it). Since my bike's been running with no problems, I'm inclined to ignore it.

Motor commissioning is preventative maintenance, ensuring that the controller applies the magnetic field to the rotor in a perfectly-aligned way so that it doesn't wear on the bearings. It's analogous to fuel injection (EFI) tuning.

You basically don't need it, until you do, and there's not an easy set of symptoms identified to signal that commissioning is worth doing ahead of time. I think Zero's recommendation is a little aggressive but worth minding if you can.

We have a tiny handful of reports of failed motors that were traced to a lack of field alignment, and it's closer to catastrophic than gradual in its failure mode.

I really wish it could be done more casually; the Sevcon tooling isn't that hard to interpret.

[francesco]

Also, I'm not sure that one can take Hollywood Electrics' business model for granted. The fact that they picked up the Ubco 2x2 and have generally tried to diversify over the years suggests that they'd feel more secure without having to rely on Zero so strongly for servicing revenue, because (from what I've gleaned) Zero's dealership sales and servicing deals aren't exactly generous.

With HE's business model, I'm referring to the focus on (diversified) electric mobility on two (or less) wheels in urban context. It seems more sustainable because they are familiar with the core technology -batteries, motors and controllers- and, on the business side, with the target customers, mainly urban commuters with an interest in new/green technologies. In addition, they are used to working with smaller startups.

There must also be a turning point for Zero where direct sale and service (maybe only for the electrical aspects) becomes a more efficient and profitable solution. I wonder if Zero is looking into it and if the current sale numbers are close to that point.