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A couple of months ago the charger on my 2015 Zero S stopped working. I took it to my local dealer and they said the charger needed to be replaced. Almost exactly a year previous my battery died and was replaced under warranty. The original battery was  9.4 Ah. The battery was replaced with a 14.4 Ah battery, which was great, except that I am wondering if the original charger was not capable of charging the 14.4 battery without overheating.  The reason I question this is I rarely depleted the battery below 50 percent (I don't think ever durring the year I had the 14.4 ah battery) until the point the charger failed. When the charger burned out it was the one time I had depleted the battery down to 15 percent. The charger lasted until the SOC was 98 percent before it failed.  What are the chances the original charger was not up to the task of charging a 14.4 ah battery in the first place, or perhaps not for any significant period of time?  Has anyone else had a similar experience? According to the dealer, Zero would not cover the charger under warranty.  Ironically at the same time my charger died, the dealer had another 2015 Zero S in the shop with a dead charger.  So maybe the chargers  were just not very reliable in the first place. If that that were the case, wouldn't there be a recall on the charger, or wouldn't Zero at least cover the cost of the charger even if out if warranty?  I am presuming Zero will stand behind  their product like other companies.
My Honda motorcycle has had a couple of recalls that were taken care of outside the warranty period.  Wouldn't you think Zero would do the same?  Anyone heard if there may be a recall issued for chargers? 

Yesterday I traveled to my local dealer for a test ride of the 2019 SR/F. I decided to ride my 2013 Honda VFR1200F down to the dealer for a comparison since it is a relatively quick bike compared to my 14.4 Zero S. I love my Zero, it is my daily commuter, but when I feel the need for speed, I hop on the VFR which can move along quite nicely with 170HP on tap.

My first thought after looking at the SR/F before even getting on it, was it is a totaly different level of refinement compared to other Zero's. From pictures I had seen before hand, I wasn't quite sure I liked the look of the steel frame, but once I saw it in person, I really liked the aesthetics. The new motor and battery case in particular are beautiful and the whole bike just comes across as a real work of art.  I really like the full color display with its modern readout.  I also quite liked the look of bike from the front with the led lights.

I'm not going to say much more about features, other than I appreciate the substantial upgrades compared to the previous Zero bikes. I want to focus more on what it was like to ride the SR/F. Once I got on the bike, I became aware of the higher foot peg height relative to the seat height.  I am 6' tall and the space initially felt a little cramped compared to what I was used to, but not uncomfortably so. The seating position feels more sporty than my S, with a little longer stretch to the handlebars and I liked that. After being on the bike for a minute or two I felt completely settled in and comfortable for the duration of the test ride. The seat was very comfortable,  a definite improvement over my S. The battery charge was 100%. I started out in eco mode just to get used to the bike.  In this mode, the SR/F felt at least as fast as my S in sport mode if not slightly faster.  I soon switched to street mode, the acceleration felt on par with previous SR's I have riden in sport mode.  From there I went to sport mode, which was "ludicrously" fast. The torque of the new motor is simply amazing!  Wether from a stand still or at any speed, a twist of the throttle could result in what felt like face warping acceleration. I should note the throttle never had an on/off feel, even in sport mode there was good degree of variation. At one point I was crusing at about 40mph when i gunned the throttle. Immediately the back wheel broke loose, but before it could slide out more than a few inches,  the traction control kicked in and the rear tire hooked with the bike launching forward with almost surreal acceleration. All of this happened before I could ease off the throttle. By the time time I looked down at the display to see how fast I was going , I was doing 90mph.  The traction control seemed to be very effective without negatively interrupting forward thrust. It felt very similar to the seemless traction control on my VFR.  At that point I had the opportunity to put the brakes to the test given I was on city roads. Brake feel and modulation was excellent.  Regarding handling, I didn't have  opportunity to ride anywhere twisty, but the SR/F felt very nimble. I would say more so than my S. It just didn't feel like a heavier bike to me, probably due to the lower center of gravity.   I can sum up my test ride by saying I was thoroughly impressed with the SR/F. It was a much higher level of quality and refinement than the other Zero bikes and I felt worth every penny of the price they are asking for it.  I hope to be able to have one in my garage sometime in the near future.   The only drawback I could find is it made my VFR feel slow    Special thanks to Monarch Power Sports for the test ride.

I have a 2015 Zero S and have put 25k miles on it. It is my daily commuter, so I ride it as much as possible year round as long as temperatures are above 35 degrees and no snow or ice(I live in Utah) . For the past couple of years,  I have noticed that the outside temperature at which the speed starts to be limited has been rising each year. Last year anything below 50 degrees seemed to limit the speed usually to about 70 miles an hour.  This is typically about my max speed I travel on the freeway for my 15 mile ride to work. Today I noticed speed limiting  while riding at 55 degrees. The first year I had the bike it didn't seem to be noticeably affected by outside temperatures until they dropped into the low 40's. As soon as I got home from my ride this evening I checked the temp on the battery and controller through the app on my phone. Temp of battery was 93 degrees. Temp of controller was 103 degrees. Temp on motor was 155 degrees Fahrenheit.   Any ideas as to the cause of the limiting at relatively high cool temperatures?  I know at some point with the outside temperatures cold enough,  the battery will be limited as to the amount of current it can deliver due to rising internal resistance at cold temperatures. But the fact that every passing year seems to bring a higher limiting temperature makes me think something else may be factoring in (other than just temperature)  to cause the limiting.  Corrosion between contact points?  Battery breakdown? What do you think?

I have noticed this type of slowdown with my 2015 Zero S on particularly cold mornings when the temperature in my garage is down to the low to mid 40's. I live pretty close to the freeway, within about 1/4 mile.   Over the last several weeks on cold mornings I have had the speed limited to around 75 mph while getting on the freeway on the way to work in the morning.  Doesn't seem to happen on my my way home when the bike has been stored in a warmer environment at work while charging.  I figure it must have to do with higher internal resistance of the battery at colder temperatures causing current limiting, but don't know for sure.  It can be a little disconcerting when this happens right as I am trying to overtake slower vehicles. 

Next week i will have a brand new original 75-7 motor and a Sevcon gen 4 controller for sale. These come fro a brand new 2015 S that i will upgrade to SR 775A and IPM R motor.

both retail 3000$USD total ... I'm asking 1750$USD for both

Pm me

Doc

I am interested in doing the same upgrade you are doing, also on a 2015 Zero S.  Can you please share how you are going about the upgrade.   Where can I buy the new 2017 SR IPM motor and controller.  What are the associated costs with the upgrade?  I would really like to do this upgrade so any info would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Been in that same situation, done that. Will not let anyone touch my bike with a wrench unsupervised ever again.

Dry silicone spray is not tested by the belt manufacturer but is purported to reduce noise by some people who own Zero bikes and happen to be Zero employees.

See the belt alignment advice at Zeromanual website: http://zeromanual.com/index.php/Unofficial_Service_Manual#Belt_Adjustment

Where in the world are you?

Thanks everyone for all the feedback.  I called the dealer and he suggested putting more silicone spray or lithium grease on the belt, but I would guess it is the belt alignment as was mentioned by many of you.  I'll try adjusting the belt tonight and see how it turns out.  What is strange is that the belt appears to have come out of alignment after being being treated at the dealer.  I didn't have any work done on the back end of the bike while it was there, other than I think they probably tightened the rear axle nut to spec.  I guess it is possible they tried tensioning the belt as well and just didn't get it right .  If just treating the belt caused it to loosen (or tighten?), then the stated recommendation from the belt manufacturer that the belt not be treated seems to make sense. I would not think a belt would change size from being sprayed, but maybe it absorbed some of the silicon spray causing it to expand slightly? Just a guess.

Last Saturday,  I rode my 2015 Zero S down to my dealer (about 40 miles away) to have my front tire replaced and have the bike checked for the Auxillary power recall.  I made the appointment specifically so the Zero tech could work on my bike (of course he was not there as was promised). I was told I would have to reschedule to have the recall checked into but that they could replace the tire. They also mentioned they would spray the belt with silicone which would help it to last longer. Once the tire was replaced I payed my $60 (which seemed extravagant for labor to replace a front tire,I had purchased the tire separately before) and rode home. After arriving home, I took my helmet off and took my earplugs out and moved my bike and heard a strange grinding noise. While moving it. I had never heard this sound before until then. I noticed a couple of things while checking the bike. It looked like the bike had been thoroughly drenched with with whatever they sprayed on the belt and back sprocket. Everything had a white residue on it, almost like it had been sprayed with cabarator cleaner.  I also noticed the rear wheel nut had been dramatically tightened.  Bottom line is after I visit my dealer the bike has an issue it didn't have before I took it there. I know this because I have a Biker Pro video camera. I reviewed the video before and after being at the dealer. The wheel wasn't making the grinding  sound before I got to the dealer. Within a few miles of leaving the dealer, I can distinctly hear the grinding when slowing to a stop and just after staring again. Once I am going over 15 miles an hour the sound disappears. I am presuming in must be bearings. See what you think. Here is the video link of what I recorded today.


Question is do you think over tightening the nut on the rear wheel cause the issue along with whatever they spayed on the belt? I t know the 2015's have sealed bearings so what would cause a failure like this?

Puig Universal