ElectricMotorcycleForum.com

Item                                                   Cost
   
Touring Screen                                      $250
Hand guards by Cycra                            $170
Drop (crash) bars                                  $250
Parking brake kit                                   $300
Charge tank, 6Kw                               $2,299
12VDC Access harness*                         $116
Belt tension gauge                                  $25
Installation labor                                   $550
Tesla Destination Charger adapter            $150
Clearwater "Darla" conspicuity lights*       $599
Kickstand , expanded footprint                 $51
Happy Trail side racks*                          $269
Custom Corbin saddle*                          $618

                 Sub-Total                                     $5,647
   
Zero DSR 15th Anniversary Edition      $16,494
Taxes                                             $1,285
license                                              $261
Document fees                                     $85
   
                                              Grand Total   $23,771

                                              Less 20%     $19,017
   
*Items are not installed on bike

This bike was purchased new in September of this year. I had an issue with the charge tank which took several weeks to get through, (See posts elsewhere) but the bike is now performing well and obviously still under warranty.   Odo has just over 100 miles on it so it isn't even broken in!

Why am I selling? I live in a mountain canyon and my daily ride is another 11 miles uphill, including a few miles of freeway speeds. Overall the bike handles well, but the battery drain because of higher speeds (for safety!) and terrain is more than I anticipated. At 6' 5" I'm a bit tall for this frame (Think 'Grasshopper on a tricycle'  )  I wanted to dip my toe into the EV waters and this has been quite the earning experience.

This bike would be a great ride for someone in the flatlands. If you are looking for a DSR this one is going for 80% of purchase price. My loss could be your gain.  Located near Wrightwood, California.

Last update on this repair...
Nov 23 - The dealer replaced the Charge Tank per Zero's instruction.  Obviously the holiday delayed things a bit. but I picked up the bike on December 1st, nearly 8 weeks after I returned it for repair. The test ride went well and I trailered the bike back home.

While at the dealer we discussed the whole process, and I finally got to talk to the tech. It seems Zero does little training of their techs, at least at this dealership. The tech downloads the bike's logs, Zero diagnoses based on those logs and then makes a decision what to replace.  Although I have not been billed for anything the Service Manager did say he was only about 90% sure they would cover the cost of the charger. All other items were covered without question by Zero.
I reviewed the warranty information and it looks like I should be okay. Formerly the chargers were installed at the factory and warranted as part of the purchase. Now the verbiage says they are warranted for 1 year if installed by the dealer post-purchase. The warranty is for 2 years if dealer-installed at time of purchase, which mine was.

End of Saga.

Thanks

Update: I used the charge tank twice today with no issues.

The only odd thing I noticed during the second charge was that the remaining time cycled from 0:00 to around double the realistic time, then settled at a realistic time. For example, at 70% charge it would show 0:00 then 1:00 then 0:30 over the course of about one minute. It seemed to be doing this whenever I checked on the bike during the charge.

Mr A
Like you, I am trying to figure out what went on during my first, and disastrous, charging attempt. I read somewhere in the charging instructions that the small on-board charger (OBC) works in tandem with the Charge Tank Charger (CTC). At the very start of the charge cycle the dash reads out the information from the OBC, after 15 or more seconds the dash will then update the anticipated charge time calculated after the delayed activation of the CTC. This may account for the differences in reported charging time calculations you mentioned. If that activity cycled during charging WITHOUT turning the key off and on it may indicate and unstable CTC?

In my case my ignorance of this behavior may explain why I did not notice anything amiss. I simply connected the bike to my home Level 2 charger, scanned the read-out on the Lectron, turned off the key and walked away.  My bad?   If I ever get my bike back you can bet I will be hyper vigilant during my first few charges.   DonTom's explanation of the nature of the charging cord's role in charging was VERY helpful.

Safe travels,
Mike

The dealer called late in the afternoon of Nov 19, the Charge Tank they installed for me at purchase is apparently the current (No pun intended.  ) issue. They offered to let me come get the bike but I'm just going to leave it there. They will update me on the ETA for the new Charge Tank on Tuesday.

I agree with Richard230, Zero seems to focus on part swaps rather than item repair. That said, it may be the best business model for this industry. Analysis and diagnosis take time, which is $$$. A quick part swap SHOULD take care of the issue and get the happy customer out the door. Fortunately there aren't too many parts left that haven't been swapped out, so how long could it take?  :O

In the meantime my GS gives me all the Asphalt Therapy I need to get through this mini-crisis. 

Hi everyone, I wonder if you can help me with a charging problem.

I recently purchased a 2018 DSR with a charge tank and tried out level 2 charging for the first time this weekend. I charged at two locations, both with 6kW ChargePoint stations. The first charge went pretty well. The bike was at about 70%. It charged up to 95% and then the bike shut down. I thought it was weird that it stopped by itself before 100% but I didn’t want to wait around for the last 5% anyway so I moved on.

The second location was where I ran into trouble. The bike was at about 50%. I plugged in, verified that it was charging at about 6kW, turned the key off, took it out and walked away. When I came back maybe 10 minutes later the bike was completely shut down: no battery indicator or flashing charge light.

The ChargePoint indicated that it was still charging so I tuned the bike back on. It resumed charging and indicated that it was at about 60%. Then it shut down again after a few minutes with another 3-5% charge. I turned it on and it resumed again, then shut down again. At one point I ended the charge and started from scratch. Then I tried a different charging station (there were several at this location). Same thing every time. The bike shut down after a few minutes but the ChargePoint indicated that it was still charging.

I kept charging the bike up in small increments until I reached about 75% then I rode home. I never saw any error codes but I’m not sure if I was ever watching the screen at exactly the moment it shut down.

Has anyone else expierienced this? Any tips or troubleshooting techniques I should try?

FYI, the bike is in virtually showroom condition with only about 1300 miles and the charge tank was already installed when the original owner purchased it. Other than the wonky charging, the bike operates perfectly and the battery pack appears to be in great condition. Cell balance is 1-2 mV at 100% and I get about one mile per 1% even when riding aggressively or at freeway speeds. The original owner said he kept the onboard charger plugged in all the time and only used the charge tank once to test it out.

I purchased a new 2021 DSR, equipped with a Level 2 compatible Charge Tank, a month ago. I took it for a short test ride, then trailered it home. At home I took it for a 22 mile familiarization ride, ending at 76% remaining charge. I plugged it in to a brand new Lectron level 2 charger I purchased online through Amazon. The charger indicated 235 Volts at about 32 Amps and a calculated charge time of 30 minutes. The Lectron was plugged into a 240 VAC, 40 Amp circuit. I switched the DSR off, set a timer and walked away. Thirty minutes later I found the breakers tripped and the bike inoperable. There were several "flashing" codes and a couple of numeric codes. It took me a while to sort through them. Mostly they were about the contactors. Because it was a brand new bike I didn't want to void the warranty by messing with it so I loaded it back into the trailer and returned it to the dealer.

Both Zero and the dealer have been very cooperative. Zero is covering all repairs. They have replaced the MBB (Main Bike Board), then the motor controller, and now they are replacing the motor.  I have also contacted Letron to ask if their unit was compatible with a Zero motorcycle. They responded quickly and stated they were handing it over to their technical people and I would receive a reply within 24 to 48 hours. There has been no further reply from Lectron, even with one email prompt after waiting several days. At this point I have no confidence in the Lectron unit and will be replacing it with something manufactured, or at least endorsed by Zero.

To say that I am disappointed would be an understatement, however, I have been happy with the attitudes at both the dealer and Zero. I am confident Zero will make appropriate repair decisions and get the bike back to me in good working order, just as importantly will be hearing about what they think happened and what I can do to prevent a re-occurrence.   This episode also makes me quite leery of random charging stations, even though the industry claims they are safe to use.

Any thoughts?

I recently purchased a Lectron 240V 40 Amp Level 2 Electric Vehicle (EV) Charger with 18ft Extension Cord J1772 Cable & NEMA 14-50 plug for charging my new Zero DSR motorcycle. After my very first ride I followed the instructions and plugged the unit into an outlet wired as a Single-phase three-conductor/split-phase 40 Amp circuit. Following the Zero motorcycle instructions I plugged the Level 2 charger "nozzle" into the motorcycle's charge tank and waited for the charger's message that it was ready to communicate with the vehicle. At this point I turned the key to "On". The charger then indicated that it was charging at just over 30 Amps, 235 VAC and it would take 30 minutes to charge. I turned the key back to off, as instructed, and walked away.  All good!

30 minutes later I returned only to find the power in the garage was out, the breakers tripped, and the motorcycle was no longer functional. A few "trouble" codes and lights lit up but I was unable to operate it so I took it back to the dealer. Today they called to say the main circuit board burned up. YIKES!!!  Zero says they will cover the cost of the repairs for me since it was a brand new bike, however I still have some concerns, obviously.


Is the Lectron 240VAC 40A charger appropriate for use on a motorcycle, the Zero, in particular?
Have there been any other reports of such a malfunction?

I am new to this whole EV world so I have no specific knowledge to fall back upon.  I do understand basic electronic circuitry and have worked on electrical wiring and repair projects for decades so I am not completely in the dark regarding electricity.  Right now I am very concerned about using either the Lectron unit or a public charging station. How will I know if it is safe for my bike? It seems the only way to know for sure is to plug it in, and the first time didn't go so well.

Any information or guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated. I am excited about owning the DSR and hope for a quick resolution.