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General Discussion / Re: Interested in kicking the gasoline addiction
« on: June 28, 2015, 04:41:36 AM »Hi, uh, "Reddy".
I think you'll find pretty much overwhelming happiness among this community that we made the leap. EVs in general are pretty marvelous machines, and ours are some of the best.
I agree with Brian that the reliability among the more recent years has been decent. I've had my 2014 SR for 18 months now, and have put 16,000 miles on it. I've had two failures, both covered by warranty: my rear shock failed prematurely and the onboard charger failed. In addition, there was a recall for the early SRs, my bike failed their test, and wound up with a new motor, which was also under warranty and didn't cost me anything. It's not a great record, but considering it's a small manufacturer and a relatively young market, I'm not complaining.
Don't underestimate the amount of money you'll save on maintenance, though....in my 16,000 miles my only maintenance items have been front and rear tires and front brake pads. No oil, no plugs, no filters, no coolant, no valve adjustments, it adds up quicker than you might think it does.
Doug, the Reddy Kilowatt character was the advertising mascot for Salt River Project, our local power company in the 1960's, Haha I guess it just popped in my head when I was coming up with a moniker for the site.
Anyway, yeah I was reading your trouble in paradise post elsewhere in this forum, it does sound like a fair bit of problems you've experienced, I haven't been around long enough to tell if that was an anomaly or a pretty common experience. I had a brand new Triumph in 2007 that was in the shop constantly with one problem or another, it can happen I suppose to any brand, but it has made me a little touchy about being stranded. As you yourself have experienced it's no fun to be away from home with a bike that won't get you home.
Regarding my current bike, the Suzuki, it could not be more reliable and it is fun to ride and pretty economical. It is the service work at the dealerships that kill me. My service agreement just expired. A major service that would include a valve adjustment is over $500, a minor service that includes oil change and a general going over including throttle body synchronizing is over $120. An air filter alone is over $50!!!
Well I appreciate your comments and I will be around, trying to broaden my knowledge. Hey by the way I noticed another forum just for Zero motorcycles but man it looks like a ghost town over there.