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[MVetter]

I'm pretty sure that was satire

[T.S. Zarathustra]

Come to think of it are there any fluids in the gen 3 bikes other than brake fluid? Of course the battery, motor, controller are all air cooled but I thought the chargers still were as well.

From the top of my head, on top of the brake fluid, there is oil the forks and damper.
I've never understand why dampers are generally not serviceable item (without expensive special equipment). One of the fastest wearing items on the bike, huge negative effect on handling when worn, and MOT failure if leaking. In most cases you need to replace the whole damper for something like 1000 dollars (if buying original).
Forks are a bit easier but require lots of disassembly if you want to remove all the oil. Small plug at the bottom to empty the oil and fill plug at the top would not be prohibitively expensive to implement.

Annual fluid change is a bit over the top IMHO. You can do inspections without changing fluids. I usually change brake fluid every 2-3 years. Forks depend on mileage, shocks if I have the budget. Sometimes I just replace worn shocks with cheap new aftermarket ones.

[Richard230]

Come to think of it are there any fluids in the gen 3 bikes other than brake fluid? Of course the battery, motor, controller are all air cooled but I thought the chargers still were as well.

From the top of my head, on top of the brake fluid, there is oil the forks and damper.
I've never understand why dampers are generally not serviceable item (without expensive special equipment). One of the fastest wearing items on the bike, huge negative effect on handling when worn, and MOT failure if leaking. In most cases you need to replace the whole damper for something like 1000 dollars (if buying original).
Forks are a bit easier but require lots of disassembly if you want to remove all the oil. Small plug at the bottom to empty the oil and fill plug at the top would not be prohibitively expensive to implement.

Annual fluid change is a bit over the top IMHO. You can do inspections without changing fluids. I usually change brake fluid every 2-3 years. Forks depend on mileage, shocks if I have the budget. Sometimes I just replace worn shocks with cheap new aftermarket ones.

Until about 20 years ago almost all fork female-sliding suspensions had a small hole sealed by a nut at the bottom of the fork tubes that would allow you to drain the fork fluid and refill the forks from the top cap without removing the forks. It only took a few minutes and I used to change fork oil every other year, at the same time I would change brake fluid. Garage maintenance life was a lot easier when mechanical things were simpler. Maybe they didn't work quite as well as they do now, but for me, the ease of maintenance was worth it. And that goes double for manufacturers doing away with all of the grease nipples that used to be on most chassis pivots, such as at the swing arm, suspension and steering bearings, which are now long gone. 

[Specter]

Even when you do your own fork work, many of them now need expensive custom parts / tools to work on.  If you have any specialized stuff on them, like the andriani gas system in them, that'd even more custom tools.  They really don't want you to do your own work anymore.  This is pretty much what keeps the shops in business anymore imo, is doing work you no longer can.   with newer bikes, even ice ones, getting more and more electronic oversight and control over crap, expect even fewer items being user serviceable.

everybody bitches about parts being married to the bike / assembly, well it's a sure fire way to pretty much guarantee you bring it to the shop and they get your money... expect more of that in the future too.

i remember reading an article a little ways back where new cars and trucks etc, are all going to be made, just one way, with all the shit on them, saves money not having to run different assembly lines, and you basically do subscriptions to the stuff you want to use.  so you want the extra hp, that's 50 a month to unlock that on the chip, so you want to use the ac, that's 12 a month, and it's all going to be subscription based.   many of them are moving that way already, they really don't want it where you own it, but lease it... with a title      they'll do you just like the cellphone scumbags.  every few years, your shit just isn't really working really well anymore... well for 1500 and 120 a month, we can unlock an upgraded power package for you... i can see that happening .

aaron

[ESokoloff]

For someone that assumes everything is AI that has to be one of the most AI responses I've seen from you  Talking about headgasket leaks and gearbox fluid when it comes to a Zero.

My impressions are that this individual dabbles in AI & that has caused this individual to suspect that others are doing the same (paranoia).

[Specter]

hush and go take your pills child, the  adults are speaking.

[2020_SRS_Commuter]

Yeah, there's nothing wrong with getting yourself a separate battery tender, ideally one designed for lithium batteries that doesn't bring it up to full and keep it there. Also, something else to consider for winter, this is the time of year when people load up the accessory port lines with things like heated gear. The DC-DC is only a 300W unit, and the 12v battery is there to sort of bolster it. The point is if you're pulling 300+ Watts during winter riding the 12v battery is actually being discharged and can't refill itself until the load on the 12v lines is reduced.

I'm not saying you're doing that, I'm just pointing out additional complications during times of cold weather riding.

I had that problem because of extra lighting, and a horn set that draws 12a when active. It might have contributed to the DCtoDC having problems and having to be replaced. I bought one used from a breaker in CA.
Also the 12v battery lost most of its capacity and I had to replace that too.
I added a separate additional 12v battery ( i think its sold for storing solar power )  in the saddle bag that is the power source for those accessories now. Its not connected to the motorcycle at all, a separate system.
No more problems, but I do have to connect to charger to that battery every couple weeks; something else to keep track of.

[MVetter]

I added a separate additional 12v battery ( i think its sold for storing solar power )  in the saddle bag that is the power source for those accessories now. Its not connected to the motorcycle at all, a separate system.
No more problems, but I do have to connect to charger to that battery every couple weeks; something else to keep track of.

I just... I mean. We're hearkening back to 2007 memes with Xzibit.

[ESokoloff]

……..
I had that problem because of extra lighting, and a horn set that draws 12a when active. It might have contributed to the DCtoDC having problems and having to be replaced.
…….

On my DSR I power the aux horns via a NO set of contact on a relay & power the heated gear & hand grips through the NC contacts. (load shed/share to reduce power requirements on dc/dc converter).

[Jepe]

Guess I have to answer my own (original) question, after reading the manual, which says:

The 12 volt battery is charged from the motorcycle’s power pack. During regular operation and when connected to a charging cable, the MBB (Main Bike Board) will monitor the 12 volt battery’s charge level to ensure that it’s charge level is maintained.

So, the 12 volt battery seems to be monitored / charged when the charging cable is connected, (and I assume they are talking about the cable of the main battery).
By the way, I did not yet check if the voltage of the 12 volt battery does indeed go up to 13+ Volts when I charge the main battery, will do that next time.

[princec]

I have a strong suspicion that even if a powered charging cable is connected to a Gen3, that if the bike is not actively charging, the 12V system is turned off. I verified the signs of this myself just last night: when I plug in, the bike springs into life, the dash comes on, and it displays the charging progress for several hours while the main contactor is connected. Then, when charging finishes, the contactor clicks off, and the dash goes off - which would mean the 12V system is no longer activated.

tldr; don't just shove in your charging cable over winter and expect the 12V to maintain charge for months. You have to be actively charging.

Cas