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« on: May 21, 2019, 12:54:02 AM »
Very bummed about it but I also pulled my deposit after a test ride today.
Effortless power is definitely a perfect slogan for SR/F. Its a noticeable step up in power. Thanks to the larger tire profile, bike also feels more planted, less nervous over uneven pavement. Break feel and modulation is also significantly improved. Suspension still feels a bit gummy to me but it could be improved with additional tweaking. Dash is nice and bright and works great in all lighting conditions. And that's about where the pros end for me.
Before my test ride I did the same route I was planning to take on my 2018 SR for comparison. I rode both in sport mode, at the same pace, same temperature/weather conditions, etc. SR/F used around 27% more battery. I did the same route again after. Even more aggressively and it still used significantly less battery than SR/F. First red flag. Also noticed a lot more regen breaking on SR/F's sport mode by default in comparison to my bike. But I didn't mind that. Plenty of custom modes available to create a desired setup.
Second issue I had was ergonomics. I just couldn't get comfortable on it. Even though I'm only 5'10" all Zeros always felt a bit low for me. It's just what I got used to I guess. SR/F felt even more so. I wished the seat was at least 2" higher. To add to that, bike also felt quite cramped. Also out of habit I always ride on the balls of my feet so that only made things worse. I had to stretch my legs several times during the ride because they were falling asleep. Seat also felt like there are two potential positions on it - closer to the 'tank' resulting in a more upright position and further back, with the butt against the pillion seat, requiring more of a reach towards the handlebars. Neither one felt quite right but I settled on the former.
Mode switch control is also in an awkward position. It's larger than the turn signal control and it actually has a more positive feedback than the turn signal control so I often found myself hitting the mode switch instead of turn signals. Even when I hit the turn signal correctly I often had to look down because there is no positive notch/click/haptic feedback/anything indicating that the signal is engaged. I personally think it's a mistake to put similarly activated controls on the same hand and then make the less important one larger and better feeling. But, that's just me.
Another thing that concerned me was design and placement of the charge port housing and the bottom air inlet. I live in a pacific north west and ride all year round. At least half of that time is spent riding in wet conditions. Charge port housing looks like a water collection dish to me. While storage compartment hatch has a rubber seal around it, charge port only has a plastic insert that would not prevent water from coming in. Even if that amount of water was minuscule there is still no place for it to run off, no drainage. So you'd literally have to wait for it to evaporate. Not to mention it's one of the worst possible places to have any amount of water collecting for any amount of time. Issue with the bottom air inlet is similar. In wet conditions front tire will throw a lot of water into it. I know they moved the chargers on top of the battery this time but controller is now sitting on the bottom. I hope it's water ingress rating is adequate for that placement.
I also noticed quite pronounced vibration at lower speeds that I could only assume comes from the belt. Whether it's a sizing or tension issue I'm not sure. But like I said it's only noticeable below 30. Also, high voltage relay chewbacca groan it considerably louder too.
I really wanted this bike but I'll be sticking with my SR for the time being.
