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« on: August 05, 2009, 06:48:22 AM »
Wait for it... REGEN!
I just got of the phone with Bryan from Zero Motorcycles. I had sent an email asking what the specific differences were between the S and DS and if I could switch my order if I decided to. And instead of simply responding to my email I quickly received a phone call to answer all my questions.
â— Ship date - I was told that my bike was scheduled to ship on 8/24/09 for delivery in early September. He thanked me for my patience and assured me that the final delays to tweak the bike have made it much better.
â— Specs - I mentioned that I had noticed that the specs for the S had changed on the website (top speed: 55, range: 50) and I asked if these were final. He quickly said that those were not the final specs and they would only go up!
â— Zero S vs. DS - I asked what the specific differences there were between the S and DS. It sounds like it's just the rear tire, front wheel & tire, and front fork. I asked if I could get some kind of "conversion kit" to convert my S to a DS, and he said that could be a possibility. Or if I wanted to switch my order to the DS to just let him know.
â— Regen! - I'm very excited about this. Bryan mentioned regenerative breaking and I said "oh, is that something you're going to offer down the road?" and he said "no, your bike will have it when it ships". Worst case, if the regen wasn't finalized yet when they shipped my bike they would send a regen add-on kit out to me asap. Since I had never heard anyone mention regen on the Zero S I was curious and asked a lot of questions. It sounds like they haven't decided if it a) it will be integrated into the throttle and would kick in when you let off the throttle (like engine breaking), with a sweet spot so you could free-wheel coast, or b) would be a separate lever on the left side of the handlebar (where the clutch would be on a gas bike or the rear brake on a mountain bike). I think I like the b option better, more control.
Finally, I've had both the Enertia and the Zero S reserved for some time, my thought being that I would simply buy whichever one actually made it to production first. Now that it seems they will both be reaching the market at almost the exact same time, I was torn, which should I buy... However, the exceptional customer support I have received from Zero from the very beginning of this process. From the first phone call within minutes of making my reservation, to a free t-shirt and thank you letter, to the follow up phone calls answering any and all questions I had makes it an easy choice. Zero baby!
Sorry for the long post,
Russ
