I picked up the 2018 Zero S, with Power Tank, that I ordered last month from Zero's San Francisco dealer, SF Moto. It didn't take long to arrive, as it showed up on their doorstep a week ago, but I had ordered a touring windshield and a top box luggage rack and it took a while for those accessories to catch up with the bike and get installed by the shop. Attached is a photo of my Zero and their bike storage area (waiting for service and/or parts) taken just after I had received the "orientation" spiel and right before I took off for home, via a jammed freeway that required some easy lane-splitting.
The price for the bike was $17,883, plus another $2,000 for sales tax and various local and state "fees" - including a $23 fee for filing the bike's registration with the DMV electronically.
The only hassle was that it took about 30 minutes and a number of tries to pair my cell phone to the bike as there seemed to be an issue with Bluetooth. But eventually, they had success, the app is now working properly and I was able to adjust the "custom" settings to my favorite positions. Fully charged the app says that there is 15.312 kWh (2 kWh more than my 2014 S showed when fully charged) available in the pack. Voltage shows 116 volts. Maximum charger draw from my 124 volt wall outlet was 12.24 amps, right before the system shut down.
Comparing the bike with my 2014 S, with PT (which I gave to my daughter), it feels heavier when pushed around and when lifting it off of the side stand. The ride is firmer, but more controlled then the Fast Ace suspension on the 2014. However, I have yet to adjust the factory settings to accommodate my slightly lighter weight than the 180 pounds that it is adjusted for at the factory. Plus, my experience has been that all suspensions are stiff when new and tend to get softer as they break-in after some time. In general, I get a feeling that the new bike is more robust than my old one. However, it does make a "growling" (that I hadn't heard since riding my 2012 Zero S) noise when first started from a dead stop and seems a little more noisy when running then my 2014 model.
I am not too thrilled about the silver color. It just doesn't stand out like my 2012's red and my 2014's yellow colors. Plus, the color looks kind of flat and is not very shiny. But I can live with that as I don't look at the color when riding and tend to wear reflective gear, anyway.
I ordered the top box luggage rack and you should be aware that it does not come with the Givi top box base plate, so I'll have to order one of those from Revzilla so that I can mount one of my two Givi top boxes to the rack. I assume that you get the plate when you order the top box.
The seat hasn't gotten any softer, so the Air Hawk pad will be going back on.
I do like the new windshield design. It has an adjustable deflector attached to the section of the windshield just below its top. However, it can not be raised above the top of the shield, just the angle and distance from the main windshield can be adjusted slightly. Check out the photo for its looks. Attachment hardware is the same as the Zero shield that was on my 2014.
While in the shop I bought a set of EBC front brake pads for the 2014 bike. The pads were in stock and only cost $32, which I thought was pretty reasonable, considering that the Zero pads were listed for $76 and needed to be ordered. However, the passenger foot peg that I needed was a real bargain at only $4.
Maybe I should have bought a case of them
So that is what I have to say for now. While the new model is nice, it really is not a big upgrade from the 2014 S, when it comes to riding the bike. The suspension is better, the brakes now have ABS and a few other minor changes have been made, but the riding experience and features are pretty much the same - or so it seems to me.
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Topic: 2018 Zero S with Power Tank (Read 5492 times)