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[lobos]

In March 2022, I purchased a Zero S. It is a motorcycle that was imported from Holland with a price of around €18,500, im from Barcelona. From the very beginning, the motorcycle had issues such as faulty screws and non-functioning turn signals. It should also be noted that I was told the motorcycle was a display model with 0 kilometers, but upon delivery, it had 1,300 kilometers on it.

At 3,000 kilometers, the motorcycle began experiencing problems such as a very annoying noise when "letting off the gas." I took it to the dealership, and after waiting for about 2 months, they returned the motorcycle, claiming that it was a problem with the engine rotor. However, a week after receiving the motorcycle, I experienced the same issue, but it was worse as the motorcycle had lost power. I took it back to the dealership, and after waiting for several more months, they returned it to me in September with yet again, another new engine.

It is worth mentioning that the motorcycle has been in the dealership's shop for most of the time since purchase due to various issues. Out of the first 6 months of ownership, the motorcycle spent 5 of them in the shop.

Jumping to a month ago, with the good weather, I wanted to start using the motorcycle again, but after only a few hundred kilometers, the same issue occurred. This will be the third motor that has failed within one year of use and 7,000 kilometers (excluding the 1,300 kilometers that the motorcycle had upon delivery). Currently, the motorcycle is back in the dealership's shop, being inspected to determine the cause of the issue, and with the intention of replacing the engine once again.

Between the dealer and zero, all they do is pass on the problem and not solve anything.

Don't waste your money like I did.

[JaimeC]

FWIW, I only had one motor go bad on my 2018 S.  It sounded like the bearings were going.  Since it was within the first two years of ownership, the dealer replaced the motor free of charge and the issue never popped up again.  It does seem odd that worn bearings would warrant a complete motor replacement, but since I wasn't being charged for it, I wasn't going to argue.

[Richard230]

I have owned three Zero S bikes. A 2012, a 2014 and my current 2018, all have been very reliable, other than failures of the on-board charger on the 2014 and 2018 models and a DC-DC converter on the 2018 bike. I have never had a running issue.

[ESokoloff]

Don't waste your money like I did.

I don’t intend too.

In 2017 I purchased a lovingly used 2016 DSR with only 2.8k (miles). 
In the past 6 yrs I’ve put almost 85k (miles) on it.
Sure I’ve had issues. Charger & battery were both replaced under warranty (thank you Zero & Hollywood Electric).
There’s not much maintenance required on these motorcycles but one item is EXTREMELY important & that is to check/maintain proper belt tension. I do that at least once a month.
I have the narrow belt with the lower tension range so keep it at the high end of the range.
With the wider belt you have a broader & higher tolerance range so I would keep it on the lower range as the bearings are the same & bearings like less tension as you’ve likely discovered with so many motor failures.
My employer encourages me to charge at work so I expect to recover much of the cost of ownership so I’ve not wasted my money at all.

[lobos]

FWIW, I only had one motor go bad on my 2018 S.  It sounded like the bearings were going.  Since it was within the first two years of ownership, the dealer replaced the motor free of charge and the issue never popped up again.  It does seem odd that worn bearings would warrant a complete motor replacement, but since I wasn't being charged for it, I wasn't going to argue.

I have 3 new engines and I haven't paid anything either. That is not the point, the point is that it's unacceptable that a €20,000 motorcycle has the same quality as any shit made in China. Not to mention its slow and ineffective technical service. I can tell that because I'm going for the fourth fucking engine and they don't even know where the problem originates. I am not going to spend motors until my warranty runs out and I have to pay for them

[princec]

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting something to be different is ... nuts. What is it with mechanics these days and a total inability to diagnose failure?

One motor busting is unlucky, two going the same way might just be a coincidence but 3 means there is definitely something causing it that is not quality control and I'll bet a fiver that it's a massively overtightened belt.

Cas

[MVetter]

That's some rough luck. In my experience the motors are some of the more robust components on these bikes. I've had encoders fail, but never a motor itself.

[Specter]

Either a massively overtightened belt, which should probably stretch /break if it is THAT bad or a pretty serious alignment problem.
Only other thing I can even begin to think of is, wrong bearing type in the motor,  ie axial .vs. thrust .  thats just insane.

aaron

[Curt]

I wonder if warrantied motors are being replaced by refurbished ones that haven't necessarily been fully repaired.

[lobos]

I wonder if warrantied motors are being replaced by refurbished ones that haven't necessarily been fully repaired.

I wonder that too

[JaimeC]

Either a massively overtightened belt, which should probably stretch /break if it is THAT bad or a pretty serious alignment problem.
Only other thing I can even begin to think of is, wrong bearing type in the motor,  ie axial .vs. thrust .  thats just insane.

aaron

I always keep my belt at the looser end of the specification.  As belts age, they get TIGHTER, not looser, so keeping it at the tight end is an invitation to premature motor wear.

[lobos]

update on my case: after bothering as much as possible and saturating all the mails I have found from Zero Europe, they have finally deigned to answer me and analyze my case with "the highest priority".  They have offered me a new 2023 Zero S. I want to believe that what I had is bad luck and a dealership full of incompetent people who do not know how to fix a motorcycle, so I have accepted the offer. And in the process I save myself the time and money of going to court. Let's see how long it takes them to deliver the bike... as for my 2021 Zero S I guess they will fix it and sell it. If you get an offer for a 7k km bike from Spain don't buy it, it clearly has something wrong with it.

[ESokoloff]

Good for you.

Get a Gates Krikit & keep the belt properly tensioned.

https://www.google.com/search?q=gates+belt+krikit&client=safari&hl=en-us&sxsrf=APwXEdff6OY9k3SIWr2LDu5fjSSoXwWuBA%3A1683729759710&ei=X61bZLr3KvXAkPIP8rG6-A0&oq=gates+belt+krikit&gs_lcp=ChNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwEAMyBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMggIABCKBRCGAzIICAAQigUQhgMyCAgAEIoFEIYDMgUIIRCgATIICCEQFhAeEB06CggAEEcQ1gQQsAM6BAgjECc6CAgAEBYQHhAPOggIABCKBRCRAjoFCAAQgAQ6BwghEKABEApKBAhBGABQ_SRYvY0BYLudAWgBcAF4AIABeYgBkgmSAQM5LjSYAQCgAQHIAQjAAQE&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:12a89089,vid:h8NSiyj8hwg