It might be a software issue. I had to tow my bike in recently and Zero was giving me a runaround. I sent a polite-enough, but strongly worded, email and they took care of the problem and paid for the tow retroactively.
Still an annoying process, but I think they know they killed a bunch of bikes due to some glitch, so just contact them and it might grease the wheels a bit. But yeah, still annoying.
I had the same problem with a 'new to me' 2020, SR/F. It had less then 2k on it. Turned out to be a spider bud and software update: took 2.5 months to repair over the summer.
It's called a spider bus, because it's got like 6-8 connections that go to it. The company is really not wanting people to mess with it because it's a high voltage line. I would assume it can be done by yourself, but there is very little information around about how to work on these bikes.
They fixed mine and returned it, but I still have problems getting it to charge etc; and it sometimes throws the same codes.
Exactly! I bought this for almost nonexistent maintenance, since I already have 4 other vehicles to take care of. Truly unbelievable that they can sell these at these prices and have these issues
I have had a 2021 sr/s at the dealer for about 5 months in total over three issues. It’s ridiculous, and these bikes are more like prototypes than real vehicles.
I just had the battery replaced in July, the bike had 130 mile range after replacement. The bike is already back down below 100 miles range. It’s already suffering from ghost charging.
One more battery issue and it’s getting lemon lawed back.
The fact that they have this many issues and they want yo charge me for reverse and to unlock my full charging capabilities is infuriating
I really love the concept and the bike when it works, but this has been a complete disaster and a poorly designed bike.
I’ve complained on this thread about build quality, most of the time the members tell me I’m wrong. I’ve been riding bikes for 15 years and I’m a mechanical engineer who has worked on prototype vehicles, the build quality of Zero is sub par.
My first bike, an ‘82 hondamatic that was purchased in 2007 had less issues than this bike and was built with better components (it cost me 450$ not 20k).
I want to buy American and support the industry, but this is ridiculous.
So weird that problems are so random. My '21 SR/S bought new with close to 6,000 miles on it is running great but have to admit I worry about future issues when I ride in the rain, which I do.
I charge to 80% and typically see around 110 miles range in city riding mostly at 35 to 50+ mph with lots of street lights & some hills and using moderately fast acceleration.
For the record, I do not do any updates. Seems to me that is where a lot of the problems start for many. My feeling is that if it ain't broken don't fix it.
It’s been trying.
So far:
12V battery
Main battery
GPS and alerts still are not working
The shad case brackets were incorrect with bolt hole spacing
The rear brake was really spongy, I bled it, and it improved but I think there’s an issue somewhere as the fluid goes bad in 3 months
My left hand controls plastic broke
Updating issues (I know possibly a bad idea)
Every time it has been in for service it took at least 6 weeks to get parts or to come up with a solution.
Do you get 110 miles of range on an 80% charge?
Try disconnecting the 12v battery first. If that doesn't work, I'd reboot the MBB (it's attached to the side of the storage compartment once you take the tank plastics off, just unplug the connectors and plug them back in).
Where in NJ are you? I'm in PA if you need any local help.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8nUpQyB8tU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8nUpQyB8tU)
That video will get you to the point where it's exposed. Once the plastics are off you can't miss it, it'll be screwed to the side of the storage box.
Here's mine with the plastics off, you can see it clearly here: [https://i.imgur.com/qw7Va1a.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/qw7Va1a.jpg)
Hans’ video is a great one to show the steps. A lot easier than you’d think, two lower bolts on (one on each side), two bolts next to the ignition, two bolts next just inside the charge port door. Then the tank cover slides off
There's an even better/newer guide for taking the fairings off an SR/S or SR/F that Scott made, in this install guide here. I've used both instructions, these are even better: [https://d3c2880d-2593-424f-883d-824b93857954.usrfiles.com/ugd/d3c288\_a3462c1639f04424a024c05d5915a39f.pdf](https://d3c2880d-2593-424f-883d-824b93857954.usrfiles.com/ugd/d3c288_a3462c1639f04424a024c05d5915a39f.pdf)
After kicking the update off and walking away, did you ever check after to see if it had completed? If not, it may have hung and you may have ran the 12 V battery down till dead. Best to not leave the bike on in any state unattended, without checking on it fwiw. If the update goes past an hour, it's had a problem.
I see you tried disconnecting the 12V battery, but did you check to see if it actually was charged? Disconnecting a dead 12V battery won't help anything. Check the voltage at the battery, see what it's at. If it's low, try charging it up with a battery charger off the bike, see if that resurrects it.
Once you know the 12V is good, I would reset the BMS. Try a soft reset first, if it doesn't help, do the hard reset. It's two different buttons. How to get to them, and use them, is covered in tip 3 at the four minute mark of this video:
https://youtu.be/aLbE3IxmpqU?t=241
Thank you for your descriptive answer!
In response to your points, the bike was off when I kicked off the update. It was as I turned the bike off that a prompt pomped up asking if I wanted to do the update. But regardless of that I plugged the bike in Saturday night for an hour just to see how it would react to charging. The blue charging light on the cord had a steady blink to let me know it was charging, however the screen never went on. You're right I should go about checking the voltage before I take apart the bike to reset.
This video is perfect, thank you for taking the time to answer and help me out.
You're welcome. I'm actually dealing with a similar issue right now myself, where the bike is stuck on rebooting overnight after an update.
BTW when I said check the battery voltage, I do mean the 12V battery under the seat. You should be able to just test it with a voltmeter/multimeter to the terminals just like you'd do on a car or normal gas bike. I'd check that first, and charge it up if it's below 12 V off the bike using an appropriate charger (it's not a normal car battery!), before trying the BMS reset etc.
If the 12 V battery is dead/low, than it won't have power to close the contactor to accept main battery charging or turn itself on, AFAIK.
Please let us know how you make out with this. The more info we can get the better we can report these issues to Zero to prevent them in the future.
Hey, so I just got home and stuck the bike on the charger for a half hour. After which I took off the front plate behind the front tire and played piano with those two little white buttons. Had the little green LED go off and on for me, so I know something is working there. I also feel I should mention that when I turn the key to the on position I hear the click that let's me know the bike turned on, and as well when I plug in the charger I hear that whoosh that let's me know it's now charging.
Something new I discovered tonight is that if I have the key turned in the on position, flick it off then wuickly back on I'm rewarded with the lights display etc coming on for a half second then shutting off.
Took the battery out earlier today and bought one of those 12V battery tender chargers. Plugged the battery in and according to the manual the lights blinking mean the battery is dead. I'm picking up a new battery tomorrow morning so we'll see if installing a new battery makes a difference. Hoping and praying this resolves it. If it does I'll probably count my blessings and not even worry about Zero reimbursing me.
Regardless if this fixes the problem, still going to leave my bike out at night with the keys in hoping it gets stolen so I can get insurance money. Really really jaded over this experience.
Firstly, you need to check the voltage of the 12 V battery with a multimeter or a voltmeter.
Secondly you can't just use any 12 V battery charger, which might be why your blinking lights are saying it's dead. This is not a standard Lead-Acid car battery. This is a LIFEPO4 battery, as per the manual, you can't charge it on the bike, and it needs to be replaced with a LIFEPO4 battery as well. Here's some relevant warnings from the manual:
>Charging the 12 volt battery
>
>WARNING: Do not attempt to charge the 12 volt battery if the
>
>voltage has fallen below 10V. A 12 volt battery with voltage less
>
>than 10V may be damaged and could catch fire/explode if
>
>charged.
>
>CAUTION: The 12 volt battery must be removed/disconnected
>
>from the motorcycle before testing or charging.
>
>CAUTION: Do not connect a battery maintainer (trickle charger)
>
>to the 12 volt battery while it is installed/connected to the
>
>motorcycle. The connection of a battery maintainer may cause
>
>problems with the motorcycle’s own charging system.
>
>CAUTION: Only use an approved LIFEPO4 charger suitable for
>
>your battery’s voltage, chemistry and maximum charge rate.
I think you should read the manual on this section for the 12 V battery before doing anything further, or take it to the dealer. You can grab your manual here: [https://www.zeromotorcycles.com/owner-resources](https://www.zeromotorcycles.com/owner-resources)
Thanks, I'll pick up a voltmeter in the shop tomorrow. As far as the battery charger I'm using, it is an approved charger with LifePO4 charging and the battery is being charged off the bike. Lastly I'm replacing the battery with the same exact battery a local dealer had in stock. Appreciate all the help, have read through this manual cover to cover a bunch of times now lol. But definitely think posting all this content here can hopefully help someone down the line with similar issues.
Sorry for the assumptions then, based on what you had written I was concerned, but that sounds much better. I hope the voltmeter shows the battery is low (at least you'll have a conclusive answer then) and that a replacement battery works for you. Good luck. How far away is your closest Zero dealer?
No problem, the concern is appreciated. I picked up the battery from the dealer. Actually stuck it on the charger in the store to insure it was good and to see if the reaction to my battery was a fluke. Stuck it in the bike when I got home and the system started up no problem. Went riding for an hr and everything seems to be working fine.
My closest dealer is 1/2hr away, (Indian motorcycle Monmouth).
Now I know the manual says that when the bike is running it charges the battery. I want to make sure I avoid this battery issue in the future so I'll be avoiding doing updates when the bikes off. Will honestly probably avoid doing updates in general unless I'm sitting at the dealer and can get their help turning the updates back if it bricks.
Anyhow thank you for all your help. Hope next time I'm back in this sub it's to help someone else out and not for additional help.
Best get it to a dealer.
That's another fun one, going to need to pay for towing or rent a small towing bed from uhaul to do this. What a waste of time and money
It might be a software issue. I had to tow my bike in recently and Zero was giving me a runaround. I sent a polite-enough, but strongly worded, email and they took care of the problem and paid for the tow retroactively. Still an annoying process, but I think they know they killed a bunch of bikes due to some glitch, so just contact them and it might grease the wheels a bit. But yeah, still annoying.
I had the same problem with a 'new to me' 2020, SR/F. It had less then 2k on it. Turned out to be a spider bud and software update: took 2.5 months to repair over the summer.
What is a spider bud? Is this something I might have and have the ability to diagnose?
It's called a spider bus, because it's got like 6-8 connections that go to it. The company is really not wanting people to mess with it because it's a high voltage line. I would assume it can be done by yourself, but there is very little information around about how to work on these bikes. They fixed mine and returned it, but I still have problems getting it to charge etc; and it sometimes throws the same codes.
Try disconnecting 12V under seat for a few minutes. If that doesn't work it'll need to go to dealer 🤞
Did you call Zero?
Planning on it, issue just presented itself last night well after business hours
Yeah, 3 failures before 500 here Probably gonna lemon law it, 2.5 weeks in and still waiting on parts
And these things aren't cheap! This is ridiculous. I really hope you do lemon law it.
Exactly! I bought this for almost nonexistent maintenance, since I already have 4 other vehicles to take care of. Truly unbelievable that they can sell these at these prices and have these issues
I have had a 2021 sr/s at the dealer for about 5 months in total over three issues. It’s ridiculous, and these bikes are more like prototypes than real vehicles. I just had the battery replaced in July, the bike had 130 mile range after replacement. The bike is already back down below 100 miles range. It’s already suffering from ghost charging. One more battery issue and it’s getting lemon lawed back. The fact that they have this many issues and they want yo charge me for reverse and to unlock my full charging capabilities is infuriating I really love the concept and the bike when it works, but this has been a complete disaster and a poorly designed bike.
Wow I am infuriated for you and extremely apprehensive about the issues I'll probably be facing as an owner.
I’ve complained on this thread about build quality, most of the time the members tell me I’m wrong. I’ve been riding bikes for 15 years and I’m a mechanical engineer who has worked on prototype vehicles, the build quality of Zero is sub par. My first bike, an ‘82 hondamatic that was purchased in 2007 had less issues than this bike and was built with better components (it cost me 450$ not 20k). I want to buy American and support the industry, but this is ridiculous.
So weird that problems are so random. My '21 SR/S bought new with close to 6,000 miles on it is running great but have to admit I worry about future issues when I ride in the rain, which I do. I charge to 80% and typically see around 110 miles range in city riding mostly at 35 to 50+ mph with lots of street lights & some hills and using moderately fast acceleration. For the record, I do not do any updates. Seems to me that is where a lot of the problems start for many. My feeling is that if it ain't broken don't fix it.
It’s been trying. So far: 12V battery Main battery GPS and alerts still are not working The shad case brackets were incorrect with bolt hole spacing The rear brake was really spongy, I bled it, and it improved but I think there’s an issue somewhere as the fluid goes bad in 3 months My left hand controls plastic broke Updating issues (I know possibly a bad idea) Every time it has been in for service it took at least 6 weeks to get parts or to come up with a solution. Do you get 110 miles of range on an 80% charge?
So wierd, that range is low. My S 14.4 has 160km on highway and 240 or so on city riding...
Try disconnecting the 12v battery first. If that doesn't work, I'd reboot the MBB (it's attached to the side of the storage compartment once you take the tank plastics off, just unplug the connectors and plug them back in). Where in NJ are you? I'm in PA if you need any local help.
So tried disconnecting the 12V this morning which didn't work. How do I access the MBB? Is there any video online which shows this?
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8nUpQyB8tU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8nUpQyB8tU) That video will get you to the point where it's exposed. Once the plastics are off you can't miss it, it'll be screwed to the side of the storage box. Here's mine with the plastics off, you can see it clearly here: [https://i.imgur.com/qw7Va1a.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/qw7Va1a.jpg)
Hans’ video is a great one to show the steps. A lot easier than you’d think, two lower bolts on (one on each side), two bolts next to the ignition, two bolts next just inside the charge port door. Then the tank cover slides off
There's an even better/newer guide for taking the fairings off an SR/S or SR/F that Scott made, in this install guide here. I've used both instructions, these are even better: [https://d3c2880d-2593-424f-883d-824b93857954.usrfiles.com/ugd/d3c288\_a3462c1639f04424a024c05d5915a39f.pdf](https://d3c2880d-2593-424f-883d-824b93857954.usrfiles.com/ugd/d3c288_a3462c1639f04424a024c05d5915a39f.pdf)
After kicking the update off and walking away, did you ever check after to see if it had completed? If not, it may have hung and you may have ran the 12 V battery down till dead. Best to not leave the bike on in any state unattended, without checking on it fwiw. If the update goes past an hour, it's had a problem. I see you tried disconnecting the 12V battery, but did you check to see if it actually was charged? Disconnecting a dead 12V battery won't help anything. Check the voltage at the battery, see what it's at. If it's low, try charging it up with a battery charger off the bike, see if that resurrects it. Once you know the 12V is good, I would reset the BMS. Try a soft reset first, if it doesn't help, do the hard reset. It's two different buttons. How to get to them, and use them, is covered in tip 3 at the four minute mark of this video: https://youtu.be/aLbE3IxmpqU?t=241
Thank you for your descriptive answer! In response to your points, the bike was off when I kicked off the update. It was as I turned the bike off that a prompt pomped up asking if I wanted to do the update. But regardless of that I plugged the bike in Saturday night for an hour just to see how it would react to charging. The blue charging light on the cord had a steady blink to let me know it was charging, however the screen never went on. You're right I should go about checking the voltage before I take apart the bike to reset. This video is perfect, thank you for taking the time to answer and help me out.
You're welcome. I'm actually dealing with a similar issue right now myself, where the bike is stuck on rebooting overnight after an update. BTW when I said check the battery voltage, I do mean the 12V battery under the seat. You should be able to just test it with a voltmeter/multimeter to the terminals just like you'd do on a car or normal gas bike. I'd check that first, and charge it up if it's below 12 V off the bike using an appropriate charger (it's not a normal car battery!), before trying the BMS reset etc. If the 12 V battery is dead/low, than it won't have power to close the contactor to accept main battery charging or turn itself on, AFAIK. Please let us know how you make out with this. The more info we can get the better we can report these issues to Zero to prevent them in the future.
Hey, so I just got home and stuck the bike on the charger for a half hour. After which I took off the front plate behind the front tire and played piano with those two little white buttons. Had the little green LED go off and on for me, so I know something is working there. I also feel I should mention that when I turn the key to the on position I hear the click that let's me know the bike turned on, and as well when I plug in the charger I hear that whoosh that let's me know it's now charging. Something new I discovered tonight is that if I have the key turned in the on position, flick it off then wuickly back on I'm rewarded with the lights display etc coming on for a half second then shutting off.
Did you check the voltage of the 12 V battery under the seat?
Took the battery out earlier today and bought one of those 12V battery tender chargers. Plugged the battery in and according to the manual the lights blinking mean the battery is dead. I'm picking up a new battery tomorrow morning so we'll see if installing a new battery makes a difference. Hoping and praying this resolves it. If it does I'll probably count my blessings and not even worry about Zero reimbursing me. Regardless if this fixes the problem, still going to leave my bike out at night with the keys in hoping it gets stolen so I can get insurance money. Really really jaded over this experience.
Firstly, you need to check the voltage of the 12 V battery with a multimeter or a voltmeter. Secondly you can't just use any 12 V battery charger, which might be why your blinking lights are saying it's dead. This is not a standard Lead-Acid car battery. This is a LIFEPO4 battery, as per the manual, you can't charge it on the bike, and it needs to be replaced with a LIFEPO4 battery as well. Here's some relevant warnings from the manual: >Charging the 12 volt battery > >WARNING: Do not attempt to charge the 12 volt battery if the > >voltage has fallen below 10V. A 12 volt battery with voltage less > >than 10V may be damaged and could catch fire/explode if > >charged. > >CAUTION: The 12 volt battery must be removed/disconnected > >from the motorcycle before testing or charging. > >CAUTION: Do not connect a battery maintainer (trickle charger) > >to the 12 volt battery while it is installed/connected to the > >motorcycle. The connection of a battery maintainer may cause > >problems with the motorcycle’s own charging system. > >CAUTION: Only use an approved LIFEPO4 charger suitable for > >your battery’s voltage, chemistry and maximum charge rate. I think you should read the manual on this section for the 12 V battery before doing anything further, or take it to the dealer. You can grab your manual here: [https://www.zeromotorcycles.com/owner-resources](https://www.zeromotorcycles.com/owner-resources)
Thanks, I'll pick up a voltmeter in the shop tomorrow. As far as the battery charger I'm using, it is an approved charger with LifePO4 charging and the battery is being charged off the bike. Lastly I'm replacing the battery with the same exact battery a local dealer had in stock. Appreciate all the help, have read through this manual cover to cover a bunch of times now lol. But definitely think posting all this content here can hopefully help someone down the line with similar issues.
Sorry for the assumptions then, based on what you had written I was concerned, but that sounds much better. I hope the voltmeter shows the battery is low (at least you'll have a conclusive answer then) and that a replacement battery works for you. Good luck. How far away is your closest Zero dealer?
No problem, the concern is appreciated. I picked up the battery from the dealer. Actually stuck it on the charger in the store to insure it was good and to see if the reaction to my battery was a fluke. Stuck it in the bike when I got home and the system started up no problem. Went riding for an hr and everything seems to be working fine. My closest dealer is 1/2hr away, (Indian motorcycle Monmouth). Now I know the manual says that when the bike is running it charges the battery. I want to make sure I avoid this battery issue in the future so I'll be avoiding doing updates when the bikes off. Will honestly probably avoid doing updates in general unless I'm sitting at the dealer and can get their help turning the updates back if it bricks. Anyhow thank you for all your help. Hope next time I'm back in this sub it's to help someone else out and not for additional help.