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[ronny.groenwals@telenet.b]

Hello everyone,

My name is Ronny and I live in Belgium. I have had a Zero SR/S since April 2022. I equipped the motorcycle with smoked LED indicator lights and a center stand options. But then a few weeks later the misery begins.
Below is a list of the problems :

06/17/2022 - Battery percentage changes when the engine is turned off and then turned back on.
Action: Replace the battery in April 2023. During the replacement of the main battery, the brake disc bushings
were cleaned again together with a Zero Motorcycles technician.

??-09-2022 - Saddle "folds" in the middle.
Action: Replace saddle with a new one (dealer's initiative)

05-12-2022 - Moisture in the display: Moisture is entering the display.
Action: Replace the display.

05-12-2022 - Right front brake disc: Brake disc is bent. The customer noticed while driving that the brake was
not working properly. After analysis it turned out that the front right brake disc was bent. We cleaned the
disc bushings as Pepijn from Hofland Motoren advised us, but the problem persisted. We then marked lines on
the disc and rotated the front wheel. This showed that the lines disappear without braking, indicating that the disc
is bent.
Action: Replace brake discs, brake pads and front rim.

06-12-2022 - Isolation Error: Customer reported an insulation error. After a remote session it turned out that the error came
from the controller.
Action: Replace controller.

08-29-2023 - Vibrating front brakes: Customer is still experiencing a vibrating front brake.
Action: New rim, new discs, new brake pads. Cleaned the brake pads with brake cleaner and rotated them using
a drill.
This helped for 2 weeks and afterwards the vibrations in the front brake returned. This needs to be resolved
urgently!

All of the above errors also took a very long time (at least 2 months or more) before action was taken. Dealer
cannot be blamed! Did/is doing everything he can to get this resolved.

Dealer first had to report the defect to Zero. It then took weeks (at least 6-8 weeks) to respond.
When the dealer received the "green" light, the part was ordered. Waiting weeks again!
In the meantime, neither my dealer nor I received any feedback on the state of affairs.

14-12-2023 - Motorcycle picked up by Zero Motorcycles itself.
I have been informed that they have identified the following defects: (this was passed on to my dealer by Zero Benelux)
- Brake disc bent again (3rd time!)
- Broken headset bearing! (new engine with 12,000 km on the odometer!)
- Driving the motorcycle crookedly. This can be seen from the uneven wear of the tires! (This can of course
indicate a bent frame or a bent swingarm).
What are they going to do with my crooked tires? Are they going to replace those too? !

In the meantime, the engine has been at Zero's main distributor in the Netherlands for 2 months! Once again we
receive NO feedback from Zero.
It is also very difficult for Zero to admit that my engine is a worthless pile of iron that is full of manufacturing errors.
Why don't they at Zero take the time to talk to the customer and offer a fair solution.

My dealer cannot be blamed, he does his utmost, but he is hitting a wall himself !

Conclusion: Zero America can you help me ?
My observations from Zero Benelux:

- Communication, not to my dealer or to me = Zero
- Customer friendliness = Zero
- Solving the problems (takes a very long time) = Zero

I'm still willing to listen to Zero's proposals, but the way things are going now, it's really no longer possible.
Can anyone here on the forum help me ?

[princec]

I've had most of these issues, multiple times, until the correct solution was applied, over the course of 2 years...

Replace the front discs with EBC discs. Problem gone, and not coming back. Brake feel improved too.

Magic charging - yes, the only solution is the new 15.6 battery. So far so good, but only done a couple of hundred miles on the new battery so too soon to tell.

Isolation faults - cracked busbar, had some sign of electrical corrosion and arcing (replaced), then discovered that both the fans on the 2019-2022 model bikes are completely unprotected from water.  Took months to get them replaced with the new IP67 rated ones. No isolation trouble since.

Dash - got foggy. Replaced with the much nicer new version of the dash on the later models. No trouble since.

Headset bearings - no trouble with mine (yet!) but as I understand it, incredibly, they are ball bearings not roller bearings! Cheapasses. If they go - and they will, I've done 15k miles so far - I'll be replacing them with proper quality parts.

Belt drive - snaps every time the dealer touches it. Nobody can prove anything but both times mine snapped it was less than one charge after the dealer adjusted it. Solution: don't let anyone else ever touch your belt, and if they do, sort it yourself afterwards till you're happy with it.

Apart from the belt issues things are now finally going pretty smoothly... can't wait for some actual pleasant weather now. I've worked out I have to put at least 80,000 miles on the bike to break even on costs compared to something vaguely equivalent - so another 65,000 miles to go!

Cas

[Richard230]

It sure sounds like warranty claims are costing Zero a bundle. Maybe it is time for them to put more effort and money into quality control. I would likely save them money in the long run, as well as improving customer relations and their reputation.

[princec]

And yet at the same time they have to figure out how to literally halve the retail price of their machines if they are to have any hope of expanding. Their bikes cost very nearly as much as some EV cars now... ridiculous.

Cas

[zeronimbus]

Hi, I had almost all of your problems.
To begin with, I replaced the brakes with EBC, the problem is permanently resolved.
for the insulation problems, I removed the controller, I found 2 anomalies, seals incorrectly replaced on a connector which had almost come out of its housing, trace of water in the bus bars.
every winter, I had to take it back to my bad mechanic, now it's over, the bike is no longer guaranteed, I do everything myself.
There is no risk of electric shock or short circuit if all contact fuse components are deactivated.
my bike has 40,000 kms, I just have the new CCM of the 2022 model to activate, I'm waiting for the nice weather to make a trip to the Tours dept37 mechanic in France.
really sorry for you

[gadgetgirl]

I've had a number of those problems too. Defective main battery pack (warranty replaced), foggy display (warranty replaced), faulty compartment lid hinge (warranty replaced), recalled compartment door design (manufacturer replaced), and warped front brake disc. I haven't fixed the front brake yet, and might just do it myself (or a local shop) because the 2 closest dealers near me stopped being dealers.

[2020_SRS_Commuter]

Those OEM front brake disks are trash. Or at least WAYYYY too many of them are. I purchased four in my first 6k miles or so before I was assisted by forum members here in switching to the EBC disks. Its a simple swap, you need only the disks and two sets of screws.... I think they were from a Gixxer or something. There is a thread here. Dont waste another penny on those JJuan ones, just get EBC. I now have 50k miles on my bike and the EBC disks are still in great shape.

The ISO problems caused by the chargers getting water in the cooling ducts I solved by making a crude little shroud with coroplast and door sealer foam. I understand many people cant accept the way that looks for their own bikes, but it worked. Im too old to care how it looks. I absolutely verified that was the issue by doing super precise testing with syringes of water over a period of weeks, little testing sessions. With the shroud in place FL rains are no longer an issue.

As for battery, mine has that "magic charging" in a range of 10-15% that appears particularly after highway riding, turning off, waiting a few minutes, then turning on. I never did anything about it. The packs capacity hasnt changed enough for me to notice in 50k miles, except that it heats up faster at speeds over 95mph.