Makes And Models > Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2012 and older

Father/Son duo with no knowledge of this 2012 Zero XU, battery options?

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PitPilotRacing:
Hello from Texas! I recently acquired what appears to be a very low mileage 2012 XU with apparent battery death. I grabbed the bike for my son knowing NOTHING about electric motorcycles, but being a pretty skilled motorcycle mechanic. Guess what.. 40+ years of wrenching on every bike known to man mean NOTHING when it comes to this thing! So, when I bought the bike I was told the battery was "shot", I've come to learn that could mean many things on this forum and others. All that said, the boy is about to be commuting short trips for work and school and we would really like to take a shot at powering this thing up and hitting the streets. Our main question is obviously the battery, where do we start? How to diagnose? How to build a new one? I did contact Zero, they quoted me the standard $1900 plus shipping to attempt to rebuild the battery. OUCH, is that the only option? Here is a youtube link showing the indicator lights on the charger when it is first plugged in, nothing changed after 24 hours. Any and all info or troubleshooting help greatly appreciated!

BrianTRice@gmail.com:
$1900 sounds like a reasonable price for a battery pack rebuild, honestly.

You should definitely get those cells off your hands before they become a hazard in hot weather.

The unofficial manual is a resource but it is not at the level you need, and 2012 coverage is minimal. At least I can point you to the cell reference section:
https://zeromanual.com/index.php/Unofficial_Service_Manual#Cells

You should find a battery professional locally if you can to get a quote to compare. AF1 Racing in Austin sells Zeros and seems technical enough that they can at least help you with a referral.

Good luck!

xtrmbkr:
So I just bought the same 2012 Model X with a dead battery, and was wondering if you were able to get your battery working.

PitPilotRacing:
Hey xtrmbkr, so far no real leads. I was directed via IM to a member here that has extensive knowledge of this particular battery, I did reach out to him but he has not replied yet. I have been in contact with parts and service at Zero, they've been very friendly and act eager to help but as of now they have just told me they will have a tech get back with me but nothing, no call or email. In their defense I've been told they have a main battery tech out with a new baby. So, at this point all I know is that I can ship the battery to them and for $1900 they will rebuild it if it is in good enough condition to do so. I was hoping for some troubleshooting advice before I just sent it to them, to make sure it's worth it. I don't really know but I assume the market value of the bike isn't much more than the cost of the battery. All that said, I'll give it a little more time to play out and then will probably just buy the boy a gas burner. At least in our area 2k will buy a nice little ride, might even build him a SUMO out of my WR. We were very excited at the thought of the Zero, it fit perfectly with his needs. But that excitement has definitely faded since learning there is no real support or affordable battery for a bike that's 6 years old. Seems crazy, but I guess that's the electric motorcycle market. As I mentioned before, I should have done my homework I just never dreamed a 2012 bike would have s little available in the way of affordable parts and support. Well, lesson learned...

BrianTRice@gmail.com:
All Zeros before 2013 were made in small batches and iterated too much year over year to be supportable by Zero or by the community / unofficial manual.

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