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[hein]

I actually asked before even buying the bike. My commute is only 31M, but at the prevailing speed (70, in 55mph zone) it takes 2/3 or more of the 8.5Kwh battery. There was an outside outlet for a snowplow block heater. Well, if that's in use, I will not be using the bike! Once I knew I could plug in, I opted for the smaller, cheaper battery instead of the 11 Kwh. My silly-perhaps hope is for a 20KW replacement in a few years.

As indicated by someone else in an other reply, I also scout the premises first, as workers often do not know.
Then if possible buy an icecream, coffee or beer as appropriate  and then ask to use the outlet as an established customer. Never been refused, and have been offered extension cable (through open windows at times).

If there is noone to ask, I'd just plug in leaving a phone number if I think about it.

(hmmm, reminds me of a bicycle I often had to leave for extended periods (weeks) in an office garage. I would use a number-lock to chain it to the wall, but left a transparent pouch with my name, phone and the lock combination code.
I figured if a 'bad guy' want to steal it, they'd probably cut the lock anyways without thinking. But if a custodian needed to move it, they could :-)

[Doug S]

Nope, not me. EV's have gotten a bit of a moocher reputation I'm not yet ready to contribute to. We don't pay road tax, we have general tax breaks, our builders got got tax breaks, and though EV's benefits are more than superficial I still feel I am a long way from asking or charging uninvited. I've got access to free charging locations I have only considered using but still just plug in at home.   Then again I am just a commuter rider... more full time riders may have "earned back" their tax breaks in EV promotion elsewhere.

We are NOT mooches, and I resent being called one. We didn't write the tax code, and you can't blame the players for playing the game by the rules of the game. If you don't like the rules of the game, get them changed.

I see it quite the opposite way. We're paying a premium for our vehicles because we truly believe this is a critical technology for the future, and if nobody else is going to support developing the product and the market, we're willing to pitch in a few of our own bucks. Getting a tax break is only partial compensation for that. And do you have information that Zero received any special treatment in developing their business? I know people hate Tesla for receiving special treatment, when all they got was an SBA loan, which they paid back, in full, years early. Their CUSTOMERS receive a tax break for buying (although that benefit hasn't been forwarded to 2014 yet by our do-nothing Congress), but Tesla has nothing to do with that.

We are NOT mooching off of anybody. We're helping develop a technology, a product and a market out of our own pockets.

[ut-zero]

I plugin whenever, wherever - as long as it won't create a tripping or electrical hazard.  I suppose there may come a time when electric vehicles are too numerous for this type of behavior.  I remember reading this story a few months back.
http://www.11alive.com/news/article/314666/40/Electric-car-owner-charged-with-stealing-5-cents-worth-of-juice

[benswing]

That ended up having little to do with charging and more to the fact that the school had asked him not to play tennis on their courts again.  Also, he was apparently a jackass to the cop.

To the point, I have occasionally plugged in without asking if I couldn't find anyone to ask.  Haven't left a note with my phone number but that is the best way to do it. 

[ZeroSinMA]

My on-the-road recharge policy:

- If at a parking garage, charge without asking. I'm not worried that I'll flip a circuit breaker as garage outlets are intended for industrial use and the parking fees are so absurdly high I figure my few cents worth of electricity use is covered and then some.

- If at service station or service/convenience station I first scout out an outlet and if I find one outdoors go inside to buy something. While buying I'll ask the clerk if I can plug in for a while to charge my battery. I don't explain what kind of battery because that will raise all kinds of questions that may lead to a "no" and I'm not concerned that I'm going to flip a circuit breaker because, as in a garage, these circuits if built to code are designed for high load anyway. To my mind the profit on the over-priced item I've purchased more than covers the electricity I use.

- If at a restaurant or coffee shop same deal as a service station. Building code for restaurants is also stringent. Once seated I'll ask. If I sense a friendly vibe in the place even if I haven't found an outdoor outlet I'll ask if there's an outlet near the back door to the kitchen that I can run my power cable from to my bike.

Using the policy above I have yet to be turned down.  That said, I bet it makes a big difference which US state or country you're in. In the friendly mid-west USA, no problem.  Here in the northeast US where the motorcycle season is short and an electric motorcycle is a curiosity, no problem. In California where the place is teeming with EVs, more of a problem.

[ctrlburn]

Just yesterday at my commute destination city.

Officers woke up Grover because he allegedly had items plugged into the city's outlet. They then seized a 24-inch sword from under his sleeping bag.

...ticketed for use of electricity without permission...

http://host.madison.com/news/local/crime_and_courts/slumbering-sword-suspect-allegedly-pilfered-power/article_244c89ca-0386-5cfb-8eaa-8cebc7664a3c.html

[benswing]

What an amazing partial story!  What was plugged in?  Did he pay taxes in that city?  Why was he in a sleeping bag at 6:20pm?  Of course, a sword makes everything better.

[protomech]

Sounds like a fishing expedition to get him off the streets. Book him with something, sort out the details later.

Under the assumption that this guy was homeless, he probably had a cellphone plugged in to charge. Leaving it plugged in all night would consume about a tenth of a cent of electricity (10 Wh).

Absurd.

[Richard230]

I'll bet he was using an electric blanket and the sword was actually an electric carving knife. 

Those public electrical outlets attract too many dangerous criminals.  Get rid of the outlets and you get rid of your criminals.   

[ctrlburn]

It's Wisconsin, but not winter enough for electric blanket. My guess is cell phone too. Authorities got real particular a few years ago when protesters occupied the Capitol for several days. Disallowing cell charging did dampen coordination of the protesters and that authoritarian streak, now started, runs strong around here still. My Schumacher Power station was very handy those nights to avoid citation. Besides not charging, I don't assemble in groups over 20 people (it was just 4 for a while), hold signs near or in the Capitol.  (We still are free to pray all over the place - just don't sing.) 

A bit of a rant, not quite off topic, but just know some of us are operating under severe scrutiny of our actions and when something an innocuous as charging a cell phone gets us slapped down, I'll not be charging my Zero without permission anywhere. Even now I'm invited to charge for free (at selection stations) and am not quite ready to do it.

[ctrlburn]

http://wbay.com/2015/06/04/school-charged-fee-for-plugging-in-boom-box-at-state-capitol-building/

An elementary school trip plugged in a boom box at Wisconsin's Capitol - and got $15 bill in the mail.