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[Jarrett]

In your opinion, are the late model Zero motorcycles reliable?

[Richard230]

I have owned a 2012, 2014, and 2018 Zero. I have found them all to be reliable.  Only the 2012 bike had to visit the dealer for a couple of recalls. The 2014 and my current 2018 have never needed to visit a dealer, other than the 600 mile servicing for the 2018.

[nevetsyad]

I'm not allowed to discuss my 2015 SR or 2016 S, but I'll say my 2018 DSR has been perfect. It seems like they've fixed a lot of issues in recent models.

[munchie33]

My 2016SR had the charger die at 7000 miles. It was replaced under dealer warranty. Contactor won't always release after charging but a few key switches gets it to drop. Only get about 70 miles of range on my my battery (don't know what it's supposed to get, but that seems bad). I love it anyway.

[dpmcdonald]

I'm not allowed to discuss my 2015 SR or 2016 S, but I'll say my 2018 DSR has been perfect. It seems like they've fixed a lot of issues in recent models.

Your signature says it all, lol.

My 2016SR had the charger die at 7000 miles. It was replaced under dealer warranty. Contactor won't always release after charging but a few key switches gets it to drop. Only get about 70 miles of range on my my battery (don't know what it's supposed to get, but that seems bad). I love it anyway.

What battery pack are you rocking? ZF9.8 or 13.0?

[Moto7575]

From my experience there are two things:

    1) The intrinsic reliability. It was low in the early years, and it improved somehow. There is a list of recalls in the zero unofficial manual, which gives you an idea of the number and severity of the issues

    2) The quality of the customer service at zero. I had a better experience in the early years (Zero 2012), but less later, and awful after the warranty period. This seems to be very bad in Europe (the Eu CEO seems more focused on sales than customer satisfaction), but better in the US.

    3) The quality of the service shop of your dealer, and their negotiation power / talent at dealing with 1+2. Several of the issues i had could have been solved in days instead of seeing my bike seating for months. The root cause was that my dealer knowing the Zero Europe will say no to everything and ask the dealer to pay for the problems, the dealers pushes on the customer and does the minimal, even in cases in which things could have been solved in 30 minutes.

My feeling is that Zero should pay much more attention at 2+3 : having minor issues, or bigger (battery losing charge) if they're fixed for free and quickly is not a problem. It means not dealing with statistics ("it is ok to have 3% of angry customers") but with individuals ("unless it is proven the customer was faulty, we try hard to find a solution").

In your opinion, are the late model Zero motorcycles reliable?

[Moto7575]

Why aren't you allowed to discuss them ?

I'm not allowed to discuss my 2015 SR or 2016 S, but I'll say my 2018 DSR has been perfect. It seems like they've fixed a lot of issues in recent models.

[domingo3]

Why aren't you allowed to discuss them ?

I'm not allowed to discuss my 2015 SR or 2016 S, but I'll say my 2018 DSR has been perfect. It seems like they've fixed a lot of issues in recent models.

  Not sure if he can say, but I'm going to assume that there was a non-disclosure agreement as part of a settlement.  I have heard from some that had really significant issues with their bikes that Zero was aggressive with their lawyers.  I've also heard from others the Zero has gone out of their way to hook people up that were mildly inconvenienced or had issues that were past warranty just as a matter of goodwill.  I really don't understand the apparent inconsistency.

  To answer the OP, I think that most Zeros are very reliable.  If you happen to have an issue, you're likely to get it resolved quickly if you have a stellar dealer.  If you don't have a stellar dealer, you may need a long-term backup mode of transportation.

[Moto7575]

This is a shame...  I dont see the point of doing that. This is 2019, people talk and look at other's experience. I feel an "ex advocate" too : i would have bought a new Sr every two years if I only had couple of quickly fixed issues - when it is working, this is a great experience. But now no way I can recommend the brand after the problems I had, and the way it was (not) solved.

By the way how happy are you with your 2018 FX ?

Why aren't you allowed to discuss them ?

I'm not allowed to discuss my 2015 SR or 2016 S, but I'll say my 2018 DSR has been perfect. It seems like they've fixed a lot of issues in recent models.

  Not sure if he can say, but I'm going to assume that there was a non-disclosure agreement as part of a settlement.  I have heard from some that had really significant issues with their bikes that Zero was aggressive with their lawyers.  I've also heard from others the Zero has gone out of their way to hook people up that were mildly inconvenienced or had issues that were past warranty just as a matter of goodwill.  I really don't understand the apparent inconsistency.

  To answer the OP, I think that most Zeros are very reliable.  If you happen to have an issue, you're likely to get it resolved quickly if you have a stellar dealer.  If you don't have a stellar dealer, you may need a long-term backup mode of transportation.

[centra12]

If Zero would build good technology, the dealers would not have to sell the motorcycles but make a waiting list

The best Zero EU employee in Holland is Michel de Wit.
If you get him, you lost !!!!!

[JaimeC]

My 2016 S was PRETTY reliable.  Just before the two year warranty expired, I had to have the motor replaced.  At that point, the bike already had over 16,000 miles on it, and the replacement motor was covered by the warranty.  It did take Zero an uncomfortably long time to work with my dealer to finally diagnose the problem and ship them the replacement motor though.  Unfortunately that bike was totaled in an accident last June (it had a little over 17,000 miles on it by that point) so I can't vouch for any further reliability issues but I was satisfied enough with it to buy a 2018 S model this past October.  That one just turned over 2,000 miles yesterday.  So far so good, but it's early days yet.

[dennis-NL]

Tho many say older Zero's are not good, I'm proud to say I drive year round commuting a Zero 2013 DS and it never let me down so far!
😎

[domingo3]

By the way how happy are you with your 2018 FX ?

I love it. My commute is short, so I only have 2000 miles or so on it, but I ride it nearly every day.   

[wavelet]

In your opinion, are the late model Zero motorcycles reliable?

Can't talk to the specific reliability of Zero, as I don't own one (in fact, I very recently came to the conclusion there will not be an e-motorcycle supporting my reqs for at least 5 more years, more likely 10+, and  bought an ICE bike).
But there's a rather important piece of info you may be missing, if you're thinking "electric motorcycle as transportation appliance" or "reliable leisure machine". No e-motorcycle is there yet (e-scooters -- Vespa-type, not tiny-wheel-stand-on-it-devices -- excepted). Zero is the largest player worldwide, and they only make ~2000 bikes/year.
That severely limits the scope of their R&D, production/assembly line & customer service investments. There are regularly complaints here about why Zero's Customer Service appears to be neglected: Answer is, they can't afford to do much better at this point.
They also apparently can't fund development of a  second family of larger bikes (larger frame, for making sport-tourers or tourers, or comfortable 2-up bikes, capable of handling large battery capacities like 25-30kWh), or development of a fairing, or, apparently, a decent L2 or L3 charging system.

[heroto]

I own a 2018 7.2 S with 2k+ commuter and errand running miles. One sidestand fault fixed with jiggling the connection, no biggie. More annoying: I am having ongoing front brake issues that I'm pretty sure are manufacturer defects. Brake chatter leading to front rotor warping. Zero gave me a new front rotor, but still chattering. Problem is not resolved.
Not seeing other Zero forumites with this problem, so it most likely is an unlucky random issue that would be unlikely to affect you or anyone else.
Hopefully.
Still, for 10+k, I don't need this sh*t.