2014 Zero S

[v4_jeff]

Hey guys, lookie what followed me home yesterday!

[hootmon]

Did you modify the pipes yet to make it louder??? LOL

[TLRam1]

Did you modify the pipes yet to make it louder??? LOL

I hear the sound is awesome but MPG is horrible, you get Zero MPG! How does all the torque feel right off the line?  

Is it for commuting or just for fun?

[Lurkin]

Which battery pack did you get, and have you had it long enough to figure out the range?

[v4_jeff]

Did you modify the pipes yet to make it louder??? LOL

Ya' know, Hoot, I'm pretty disappointed in the aftermarket support for this thing. I can't find pipes for it anywhere! 

It's actually a little doggy off the line because it's a single-speed affair - no transmission, direct drive from motor shaft to rear wheel - but I have no problem pulling ahead of traffic from a stoplight. 15-60mph roll-ons are pretty breathtaking though, and it keeps you hanging on to well over 80. Top speed is limited to 95mph, plenty to get me in trouble.

I bought it for commuting and around-town blasting. Longer or two-up trips will still go to the Magna or the Versys depending on planned road surfaces and my mood on that given day. Luggage options for the Zero are very limited, so anything that requires significant hauling - like a carton of milk, for instance - will go to the other bikes for now. 60lb dog food bags ride in the cage, thankfully she doesn't eat that much.  Givi does make a rack kit for it which I might go for since I could then trade a set of Monokey cases between it and the Versys. Too bad they don't make a rack kit for the Magna, it'd be nice to have one set of luggage for all three bikes.

I got the smallest battery pack, 8.5kwh, rated for 103 miles city, 64 miles 55mph highway, 52 miles 75mph highway. The 69 mile combined city/75 is probably pretty representative of my use. That's plenty for my 6.4 mile commute and most Austin area duty. With the full 13 mile commute yesterday and a little under 20 miles at lunch plus a few demo rides around the parking lot at work, I had 58% of the battery remaining when I pulled into the garage and plugged it back in. That's riding it new-bike easyish, but with a few new-toy "what'll it do if I give it the beans" blasts for good measure too. I'll pay more attention to it once I settle into a groove that represents my day-to-day usage. 

So far I'm super happy with it, and I'm sure that happiness will grow each time I pass a gas station without having to stop!

More infos here:  http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-s/

[TLRam1]

Watch out for the break-in period. 

How long does it take for you to recharge from half used batteries?

[Magnum Magna]

I was somewhere this week that had two parking spots that were charging stations.  I wonder would your cable pair up with the charging station or Volt / current not comparable?

[v4_jeff]

Watch out for the break-in period. 

haha, right? Gotta' seat those rings! Nah, it's other rings I'm worried about these days... 

How long does it take for you to recharge from half used batteries?

I wasn't paying real close attention, but I think it was somewhere in the 2 to 2.5 hour range. I finally got my phone to pair with the bike last night (yeah, I know, right?) so I should be able to get it to read an estimated time to full. Kinda' bugs me that the on-board display doesn't give you a time-to-full readout, but whatever. Maybe in a future firmware flash.

I was somewhere this week that had two parking spots that were charging stations.  I wonder would your cable pair up with the charging station or Volt / current not comparable?

The onboard charger just uses standard 110/220v from a wall plug. I haven't looked at the public charging stations to see if they have standard household type AC sockets, but they very well might. Zero sells kits - $300 for an adapter cable to use with the standard charge socket, $500 for a dedicated charge port mounted to the bike - to use with J1772 chargers which are commonly used at public charging stations, but those just power the onboard charger so you're still limited to the capacity of that unit and it doesn't reduce the charge time at all. Now if you wanna' pony up an extra $1800, you can put a CHAdeMO socket on the bike which bypasses the stock charger and slams direct DC current from a charging station straight into the battery pack. That will charge the bike from flat to 95% in under an hour, they say. CHAdeMO charge stations aren't too widely available - no public chargers in Austin that I know of - so I didn't see the point in blowing almost two grand extra on something that I wouldn't use. Maybe if public CHAdeMO stations start to pop up in the area, I might consider adding one somewhere down the road. I'm not convinced that CHAdeMO (or J1772 for that matter) will be the widely adopted standard that each is trying to be, so I'll just wait until that shakes out a bit.

[Magnum Magna]

Last Saturday took mom and dad out for Breakfast.
I think it was the Original Pancake House in Addison that had the charging station.

[hootmon]

That will charge the bike from flat to 95% in under an hour, they say. CHAdeMO charge stations aren't too widely available - no public chargers in Austin that I know of - so I didn't see the point in blowing almost two grand extra on something that I wouldn't use. Maybe if public CHAdeMO stations start to pop up in the area, I might consider adding one somewhere down the road. I'm not convinced that CHAdeMO (or J1772 for that matter) will be the widely adopted standard that each is trying to be, so I'll just wait until that shakes out a bit.

I was watching Top Gear and they were traveling cross country in electric vehicles.. There was a fast charge option, but the factory says it kills the battery much faster (Battery replacement sooner)...
So, Not sure that would be my primary choice, but maybe for an emergency...

[Magnum Magna]

Slow trickle charge is better than a quick charge.

[Lurkin]

Alright, no one seems to have the guts to ask, but what did you pay?  I've seen the msrp, but was wondering what an actual purchase price was. 

[v4_jeff]

Alright, no one seems to have the guts to ask, but what did you pay?  I've seen the msrp, but was wondering what an actual purchase price was. 

haha, no worries. They pretty much get MSRP. Those who want one want one bad enough that the dealer knows they'll get it. $12,995 purchase price, a bit under $14,600 after tax, title, delivery, and assembly. Not a cheap bike, for sure, but when you figure that the only real maintenance items are tires and brake pads... Plus, I'm riding the frickin' future!

Now that I've had the bike for a week, I can probably add a more honest review not as skewed by the "new toy" point of view.

I'm loving this thing!!!

See? Much more balanced. 

[TLRam1]

Is it like driving a golf cart only faster? Glad you are liking the bike, I think it would be sorta neat to drive one for a bit.

[v4_jeff]

Is it like driving a golf cart only faster? Glad you are liking the bike, I think it would be sorta neat to drive one for a bit.

It sounds a bit like a golf cart, only angrier. It feels like riding any other motorcycle less the need to clutch and shift... and stop for gas. 

If someone's coming through Austin on the way to MOOTMAG with truck or trailer space, and there's enough interest, I'd consider loading it up to show it off. I think I can trust you guys for some quick rides, right?