ZEV Motorcycles & Scooters

I went for a somewhat cold 52km (indicated) ride yesterday (November 2), and while the drivetrain performed fine I had three more problems show up. More accurately, it was one new problem and two old ones that got much worse. First, about 1 minute into the ride I noticed that the built-in clock was completely dead. The thing had been a bit defective: the buttons had to be pushed so hard to do anything that I ended up using a blunt-ended punch (and my hands, not a hammer!) to set it, but it had been fine since then. The second problem came when I applied both brakes firmly. The front end shuddered violently as long as the front brake was on hard, and the problem is now reproducible virtually every time I brake hard with the front brake. I had noticed early on that there was a slight 'wobble' in the front wheel at higher speeds, but this dangerous shudder/bounce is pretty new. I'm wondering if the wheel is out of balance (Darus checked it at the shop and said it was fine) or perhaps the tire itself is bad. It's the same one that was on the bike when it got banged around in the shipping crate, and I'm wondering if the colder (about 55 F, colder in my garage) weather has made it worse. Either that or the brake is going bad. I'll spin the wheel with the bike on the center stand. What do you folks think the problem is, based on this info?

I also need to look at the luggage rack, because I finally realized that the banging in the rear of the bike is coming from the rack: there is some play in the top frame mounting point. That spot had appeared undamaged in the crash, with only one of the three mounts mangled. I'll need to remove the cargo trunk and storage compartment and look at that, plus the mount that was damaged. At this rate I may never get the Cycle Analyst wired. It would be easy enough to wire it for just volt and amp counting. but I want the speedometer function as well, and that means leaving the cable loose so I can use it to pull a guide wire out of the bike's interior, to get the CA speedo cable inside.

Oh, and finally: while the speedo still works fine, the speedometer drive is making noise again. Darus had said that the tab(s) that engage the gear in the hub had been bent, so he bent it/them back. I guess I'll have to look at that, too. I know a lot of you enjoy tinkering on your bikes in Winter, but my garage averages in the low forties (F) and takes hours to heat. I'm not looking forward to this.

I took the ZEV on 2 short trips this evening: to the Chiropractor's and to the local polling place to vote. Since the latter is right in my suburb and I could ride at 20MPH, I took my housemate for a ride there. It's a bit awkward for a passenger with shorter legs to get on, but the bike handled ok and, surprisingly, showed no obvious loss of acceleration under almost double load. That's the good news.

The bad news is that when I put it on the stand, weighted the rear and had her hold it so I could check the steering bearing, there was noticeable play in it - maybe 2mm. I could make it clunk softly. The brake parts are all apparently snug, so I think it's a loose and/or damaged steering bearing. I'm pretty Irked, having had the bike back at the factory for repair and still having to deal with yet another problem....

BTW, a question for other ZEV owners, and anyone else with the same instrument panel: do you have a lighted speedometer? I have two brightly lit side gauges, and an unlit speedo.

It seems this scooter is going to keep developing problems even when I can't use it. I went to give it a monthly top-off charge last night, and the charger was dead. Not a flicker or click. It has house current entering at the plug end, but is giving no sign of it. That's something I'll have to get replaced before Spring,as I don't want to go 4 months with no top-ups.

Life is strange. I've been having so much trouble with the ZEV
that I'd been watching Craigslist for a cheap (Fall is the time to buy
a motorcycle!) small bike to ride longer distances. In November, my
old GS850, which I sold for $975 to a local guy in the Summer, came up
for sale. He was asking $25 less than he paid me, which is way too
high for the time of year, so I was able to resist, but then the price
dropped. And dropped again. When it got to $695, I couldn't resist
looking at it. In the photos the bike looked the same - nice. When I
looked at it in person, though, it was very clear the bike had been
dropped: a turn signal was smashed (but still working), one of the fog
light lenses was gone, and the right side of the bike had scrapes
consistent with a low-speed fall. It had also been left in the rain
all Summer and Fall, and had acquired more rust since I sold it than
it had in the 23 years or so I owned it. I had told the guy it needed
to have the carbs cleaned, but he didn't. He just put highway pegs on
it and put 3,000 miles on it, wearing out the rear tire. It ran the
same or slightly worse than when I sold it. The battery is now weak.
He tried to fix the dry-rotted intake boots with RTF, and made a mess,
with no improvement.

I was going to pass on it, but then (mainly out of sympathy for the
bike) offered him $450 for it, telling him he could have his $50
highway pegs back. He accepted, and I now have another motorcycle in
the garage that needs work. I've already picked up a used turn signal
on Ebay, will probably remove the heavy steel fog lights, and acquired
(again from Ebay) new rubber intake boots so the carburetor(s)
problems can be fixed. It's still too heavy for me, though, so I'll
either resell or swap it in the Spring - hopefully to a better owner -
or try to lighten and lower it enough to ride on those longer trips
that the ZEV has made me want to take again. When I replace the rear
tire I'll get a lower-profile one. The gearing will be even lower than
it was before, but if I can sit with both feet flat on the ground I may
just keep it. My appreciation for Japanese engineering and production
quality has been renewed. It's a shame they don't make electric scooters.

The problem with this shimmy is that it gets violent if the front brake is applied. Were I now to apply it hard, at speed, the bike would go down. This is something that was present when I first got it, and has gotten progressively much worse. The only thing that was checked at the factory when the bike was returned for repair was the front wheel balance. I had hoped for a new front wheel (because the speedo drive had also died) but all I got was a repaired speedo drive (a tab bent back into place), and that's already making noise again. I'm afraid I'm looking at some expensive front end work in the Spring.

A question for the other two or so ZEV owners here: have you had to adjust your steering bearing play? I've been told by Darus that it's normal to have to do so once a year or so, and that it's normal for them to loosen up in cold weather. At least that's how I recollect the email. I don't recall any mention of anyone else having to tighten their ZEV steering heads.

I sent the dead charger back to the factory, and got back what I think is the same unit, but with the LED digital display panel replaced by a plain panel with three LEDs on it: one to indicate power to the charger, a red one to indicate "charging" and a green one to indicate "charger." I plugged it in, expecting it to charge for at least 15 minutes or so, and got a green light instantly. I guess I'll check the pack voltage through the charging port tomorrow...

I was afraid of that. I think whatever damage or looseness there is was there when it got returned to the factory, and Darus didn't check it aside from a brief ride. Here is what he wrote to me about it:

"All bikes should have the steering head bearings tightened every year. Depending on your weight and factoring in the cold, you probably need that tightening. I have never seen a wobble from anything else. Colder weather increases play. The races tend to seat and wear in during the first months such that every bike needs checking regardless of brand. If you want to do it yourself, you need a $15 spanner wrench from Craftsman and an adjustable end wrench. Really easy to get at. Should you decide to do that, tell me and I will give you the procedure."

I really wish I had told the shipping company to take it away and cover what I paid for it.

Assuming that it manifests in the usual way, the front end will start to wobble when the front brake is applied.

ME, reading your post I'm thinking three things:

1. Impacts to the front end are a major cause of steering bearing problems. And yet in almost 40 years of motorcycling, with numerous minor front impacts and one major one, I've never encountered the problem. I've also never had it happen to a bicycle.

2. Electric scooters seem to be so flimsy that even the larger ones tend to have inadequate frame components. They also seem to have lots of quality issues.

3. When my ZEV was back at the factory for repair after the first, major shipping damage, that steering bearing should have been checked and tightened - doubly so because I reported a wobble in the front end. Having been warned never to remove the plastic cover on the handlebars, it appears that now I'll have to do so, or pay someone else to do the job.