Ordered a 2012 ZF9 Zero S. Showed up on a truck today, spent way more time running back and forth today than I'd have liked : P
Today was:
Home -> head to work on GS500 -> called to tell truck was out for deliver -> home depot for tin snips -> home -> unpack S with delivery driver's kind assistance -> fiddle with S a while, get it charging, get mirrors situated, set correct tire pressure -> back to work for a bit on GS500 -> dmv to get plates -> told they need to see the bike in person, out of state title -> back to home, swap to the S -> to nearby DMV -> back to home depot to get some license bolts, no frame installed -> back to home, charge and install license plate -> head over to friends' house for dinner and Dr. Who -> back home at 11:30.
Yeah. Busy day .. and almost no work done .. due to anticipation + rush. Probably 60 miles on the GS500, 50 on the S.
Range is a bit better than I was expecting, approximately 6.5 bars consumed (of 11) to go 44.7 miles, 45-50 mph mostly, a few miles at 55-60 mph. Figure range-to-empty at those speeds is around 75 miles. Could have charged at friend's house, didn't need to.
Pros:
* range is pretty good for my needs
* power in sport mode is pretty good. My GS500 is slow as motorcycles go, about 40 hp give or take. The S feels slower, in the sense of when the GS500 is in its power band.. but it's quicker, in the sense of "I need power right NOW". Power is soft below 10-20 mph, especially in eco mode - but really takes off around 30-50.
* I'm not a huge fan of the Zero S in some pictures, but I think it looks pretty damn good sitting in my garage. I may be biased now though!
* There's a little bit of motor hum at low speed, but bike is overall very quiet. motor fan is near-silent until stopping, and charging is absolutely quiet.
* Anything on the bike that's metal is high quality. All the welds are neat, the front forks are pretty sexy, the motor and wire organization are very neatly done. Foot pegs, side stand
* Regen is fun to play with, actually quite effective at slowing to a stop and giving a semblance of engine braking. Suspect it is of pretty limited utility in light traffic, will see tomorrow in heavier traffic.
Odd:
* charger isn't quite behaving like the manual indicates - there's an ammeter indicator that as far as I can tell doesn't work. still seems to function fine aside from the display not working like I expect
* Sport mode has pretty limited regen from braking, I'd really like to have eco braking + sport speed. Hopefully Zero isn't blowing smoke at us about being able to tune the bikes.. not that Brammo's any better in this respect, but at least they give you access to the logs
Cons:
* The primary display functions well enough, but I'd really like more information on error codes, energy consumption, and bike status.
* Most of the plastic bits feels cheap - the fairing bits, the switch gear, the displays. TBH it feels like the sort of plastic you find in some cheap made-in-china toys.
* The headlight is very hot, noticeable from 6-8 inches from the front of the bike. On the plus side, it's quite bright.
* The charger is not terrible to plug in, but it's very difficult to see the lights through a small access hole.
* I have no saddlebags for the bike. I've forgotten how much riding with a backpack in 80 degree weather sucks : P
* The mirror arms are made of high quality materials, but the design is Not Good. I eventually got them positioned where they were somewhat useful, but I may well be looking for a replacement sooner rather than later.
Anyhow. I guess I should take my name off the Empulse preorder list - but I'm very eager to see how the Empulses do, and I may be hunting a used Empulse in a couple of years. I'd love to compare or see comparisons between the Enertia Plus and the Zero - my suspicion is that the EP is going to have a significantly higher quality "feel" to it, and not fall that short on range vs ZF9 - but the Zero has a fair bit more speed. Brammo's most recent dyno is .. pretty impressive though.
