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[nevetsyad]

Harley, Lightening Strike, Zero SR/F, and others, are on the way this year. I have a feeling ebike sales numbers are going to double in 2019. Good times and tech are coming!

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.

[SR2016]

11,000 km so far, daily commuter.  No real problem except loose wire on a headlight.  Fixed with electrical tape.  oh, the dealer did the firmware update wrong the first time and I had to go back to fix it.  No cost but inconvenient.

Still best bike I have ever owned.  I would buy it again.

Three years old.  Range is only 2% less than new bike.  Better than I expected.

[Jarrett]

This thread certainly doesn't instill confidence in the brand for sure. 

I suspect there is a slant here towards people that have had issues with their bikes (and sought out advice on the Internet) versus owners who have had no issue with them and just blissfully ride.

That said, it seems like the OEM chargers have been an issue in the past, maybe still.  Makes me wonder what your options are for that when the 2 year warranty runs out. 

I called both of the service departments of my local dealers and asked about how frequently they see Zero's in the shop and the answer was rarely.  Mostly for tires and brakes.  Rarely for faulty parts that are replaced under warranty.

Another thing I was looking at for Zero is resale.   I don't see a lot on the used market, but I wonder if they will hold value like an ICE bike or will be more like consumer electronics that rush to zero value once the newer tech is released.

[hubert]

It's now 2 years almost that I started the Zero adventure with a second hand '14S. I added about 11kkm so it's about 10kmiles old now. No issues except the charger fading slowly away, no idea how it will end.

One year ago I had a crash at slow speed caused by a blind car driver, with some body damage, well repaired now, and minor Zero damage (windscreen, blinker, handelbar, mirror broken front fork skewed) The plastic fairing parts were more or less broken but could be glued together. Everything else could also be repaired at reasonable cost, all by myself.

It's still a pleasure riding a Zero, even during wintertime, as long as the roads are not icy.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

My two Zeros went as follows:
- 2013 DS, had a BMS replaced under recall for weather protection, and much later had fork seal troubles and then had the battery replaced under recall.26000 miles before it was stolen, still checking on its post recovery state.
- 2016 DSR, up to 37500 miles now. Replaced the DC 12V converter myself and removed the onboard charger, at 30,000 miles. Running fine with DigiNow charging systems.

[dennis-NL]

Lets  not forget normal ICE bikes also still have issues, even after being on the market for so long.
I have had Honda, Yamaha and Moto Guzzi.
All had problems (and no, not the Moto Guzzi with most errors.. 😎).
Friends with Suzuki, BMW, Yamaha also had problems.
The first bike I didn't need a dealer besides changing tires and brakes is:   my Zero 2013DS.....

[Moto7575]

Of course. And we all love these bikes, when they dont have issues - i am currently owning three models, and with the problems I had my wife call this is "a victory of hope against experience".

I had a Honda, and when I had an issue it was super cheap to solve (deep second hand and adaptable parts market). When my dealer was repeatedly bad at solving problems I just picked a new one. Experience was much less good with Triumph (specific parts, one dealer only).

Most of the problems I had would have been solved this way. With Zero this is often not an option (people here seem very knowledgeable about e-bikes, but many Zero dealer master the mechanical part plus only the operations they were trained to solve).

This is why they should make an escalation process ensuring we do not see here and there customers with really ugly experiences. Even if this is now less frequent (maybe 5%) nobody wants to be in this position, nor should be.

Lets  not forget normal ICE bikes also still have issues, even after being on the market for so long.
I have had Honda, Yamaha and Moto Guzzi.
All had problems (and no, not the Moto Guzzi with most errors.. 😎).
Friends with Suzuki, BMW, Yamaha also had problems.
The first bike I didn't need a dealer besides changing tires and brakes is:   my Zero 2013DS.....

[centra12]

Lets  not forget normal ICE bikes also still have issues, even after being on the market for so long.
I have had Honda, Yamaha and Moto Guzzi.
All had problems (and no, not the Moto Guzzi with most errors.. 😎).
Friends with Suzuki, BMW, Yamaha also had problems.
The first bike I didn't need a dealer besides changing tires and brakes is:   my Zero 2013DS.....

How do you drive yours  Zero?
Is the driving dynamics as well as with the Yamaha,Moto Guzzi or a lot slower to create longer distances?
How much kWh does yours zero need for 100kM / 62miles?

Everything under 13kWH is  pensioner  nevau

NewZeroland is also happy if he can keep up with a 300 Ninja (39PS).
In this case, 10% battery energy was burned in 2 minutes.



What do you think the Zero would do if she was constantly charged like that?

[nevetsyad]

How much charge was regained while heading DOWN the hill though?

[centra12]

Not more than 1% if the ninja really wants to follow 

[dennis-NL]

To answer the questions.
Well, my battery is 12,5 so I allways use less than 13kW.... 

Commuting is 80km highway.
I am like allways driving the speed limits (10% 100-110km/h and 80% 120-130km/h, 10% 30-60km/h).
Battery <10% on arrival.

Touring is for me currently only backroads and villages going 30-90km for 160km without taking a break.
Battery is <20%.

I am old (42) but I think not ride old, but thats for others to deside, I don't care 
I ride the same as with the Honda, Yamaha and Moto Guzzi, else I wouldn't ride.

Now with supercharging on board I gonna test highway - touring - highway this year.
That was the only thing missing from ICE.
The powertrain and driving on my 2013DS is equal and slightly better to the Yamaha 850tdm from 2000 (new) I had.

[nevetsyad]

Lets  not forget normal ICE bikes also still have issues, even after being on the market for so long.
I have had Honda, Yamaha and Moto Guzzi.
All had problems (and no, not the Moto Guzzi with most errors.. 😎).
Friends with Suzuki, BMW, Yamaha also had problems.
The first bike I didn't need a dealer besides changing tires and brakes is:   my Zero 2013DS.....

How do you drive yours  Zero?
Is the driving dynamics as well as with the Yamaha,Moto Guzzi or a lot slower to create longer distances?
How much kWh does yours zero need for 100kM / 62miles?

Everything under 13kWH is  pensioner  nevau

NewZeroland is also happy if he can keep up with a 300 Ninja (39PS).
In this case, 10% battery energy was burned in 2 minutes.



What do you think the Zero would do if she was constantly charged like that?

59% to 55% in 2 minutes is 10%?

I burned through a ton of power going up into the hills quickly, but coming back down, I used pretty much zero power, and regained like 10%, and I was cooking down a mountain.

[centra12]

Who can read is clearly in the advantage.

NewZeroland
Am 17.10.2016 veröffentlicht
A fun hill climb in New Zealand.  I managed to use 10% of my battery in around 2 minutes blasting up this hill

You have to go to an ophthalmologist, I think.

The 10% get it only in the slow downhill together.Also that  have you read over.

You can calculate this yourself:   Down: FW=FR+FL-FS


As long as the air resistance is higher than the downhill gradients  is impossible !!!!
Since they have to drive quite slow or go down a ski slope


Lie stories

As "Ex Zero Advocate" would she have to know about the technology, right?.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdEMqkiM5I-98gxZKJXQ65Q

[nevetsyad]

I literally have no idea what you just said. Where are you getting the 10% number from? Looking at the video, it doesn't go down 10%.

[centra12]

Was schreibt NewZeroland in seiner Videobeschreibung?!
Und wenn er es so schreibt, ist es richtig. Er weiß mehr über den Zero als wir zwei zusammen?

Vergleiche das Video bei 0,03 und 2,55