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[Andrew Zero S]

I drove my son around town today and the handling of my 2017 Zero S was awful. I looked up the online manual and was shocked to see that the maximum carrying capacity is only 149kg. We weigh about 85kg each. I have carried a lot of pillion passengers on smallish high performance bikes before (an RGV 250, RD 350s, an RD 250 , a CZ 125, and even an FS1E) and of course the geometry changes but not to the extent of this loss of handling performance.

Is the "carrying capacity" limit an immutable safety issue? Are there rigid bits of the frame or wheels that could fail under the strain? Or can it be corrected with suspension adjustments?

I don't mean to moan, I love my Zero and the acceleration, responsiveness and handling enliven my dull commute. I could perfectly well live with it being a solo bike, but my boy would miss out.

I'd be grateful for any advice and I will forward this text to Zero.

Andrew

[Burton]

Partner and I are about 130kg and we ride two up regularly on the DSR MY17 ... haven't noticed any issues even with stock suspension settings though I have been thinking about modifying it so it is set up correctly.

What did you experience with the S that you didn't like? What type of riding were you doing?

[heroto]

Not addressing the OP's primary question, but I have to ask: did you change the preload and other suspension settings when adding a passenger?

[jnef]

Stock suspension settings is for 82kg, so you probably need to adjust it. I’d expect one could change the springs out if you’re normally 2up.

[Andrew Zero S]

We were doing 30mph in moderate London traffic.

Acceleration was fine with plenty more than we could use safely. Brakes were perfect.

The problem was manoeuvrability. I didn't have confidence in where it would go next. I felt I could only corner very slowly. I felt very unsteady filterring through traffic, having to put my feet on the ground a lot and constantly readjust the steering through small gaps. I suppose the most telling was that we had to lean to the right to get the kickstand off the ground to get it up.

I hope you're all right and suspension adjustments can sort it out.

Many thanks for the replies,

Andrew

[Michael Moore]

Keep in mind that the passenger's added mass is both high and well towards the back of the bike.  Steering can be degraded if a lot of load is shifted off the front wheel and that is usually worse under acceleration.  The Zero wheelbase is (per their website) about 55" so it will be a bit more sensitive to this than a bike with a longer wheelbase.

[dukecola]

I ride 2-up almost exclusively, have 2 side cases and a top case filled with chargers. When loaded for a trip, these add 75lbs themselves. So with all the other accessories, a passenger and full cases, I ride way over the weight limit. However, I have no ride-ability issues whatsoever, maneuvering is a piece of cake, acceleration no problem. I adjusted suspension when bike was new, it rides pretty smooth. So, I'm having a hard time conceptualizing what your feeling.

[Rugby4life]

The fact that you had to lean to the right to get the kickstand up proves you had used most of your rear suspension travel just on sag. Bump up your rear shock spring preload at least 3 notches. I'm a heavy guy so it's like riding 2-up all the time. I run 1 notch from max preload. The side benefit is I can run a softer compression setting without compromising stability.

[Andrew Zero S]

Thankyou for all your kind advice.

Yes, I'm sure everything can be sorted with just suspension tuning. Aren't the frame and wheels used by much heavier bikes with higher rated carrying capacities? All the same it would be nice to hear from the maker that the carrying capacity can be uprated by suspension adjustments.

Having googled around I suppose I want to stiften up the rear, drop the yoke, and decrease the sag. But I don'really understand how this would work. Can anyone recommend a suspension expert in London? I commute from West London to North East London.

Andrew