2012 Zero S with Motor Lurching Problems

Edwin

New member
Hello all - new to this forum but very happy to be part of this community. I have a 2012 Zero S with the larger battery. I have had it about 18 months - 2500 miles total. About a year after I bought it I had a strange problem when i tried to start the bike where it "stuttered" and would not allow me to accellerate past about 10 MPH. Took it back to my garage and decided I'd wait until my year check up and bring up the issue to have it looked at. I rode it one more time before that check-in and it worked fine - no stutter. When I took it to the repair shop in Northern Virginia I asked them to look into it and when I picked the bike up they said they could not duplicate the issue.

I have experienced this problem off and on for the last 6 months.

However in the last month it has gotten bad...and dangerous. Last week when on the highway doing 70 the bike de-cellerated sharply and immediately without me doing anything - it went from 70 to 55 in a heartbeat - it was jarring to say the least. This morning when I was making a left turn I was maybe going 5 MPH and the motor seemed to "stutter" or "lurch" and I had no power - and I was turning in a stoplight intersection! After a couple second the motor engaged but for the next 2 blocks it lurched pretty much the entire way.

Now I'm at the point where this is downright dangerous. I can't have the bike doing this in either of those instances for obvious reasons.

The issue I am talking about "feels" like the motor is "skipping" or "catching" or "stuttering" and not only do I lose power but it actually SLOWS the bike down actively. On my last 5 rides in a row I have experienced this problem with the 2 just mentioned being the worst. On the other 3 rides I felt the stuttering and the bike slowed but it was less pronounced - I could feel it slowing down and "straining" but I was able to keep my speed up. Any ideas on what might be going on? I LOVE this bike and just want to make sure it works properly.
 

Street2012

New member
Hello all - new to this forum but very happy to be part of this community. I have a 2012 Zero S with the larger battery. I have had it about 18 months - 2500 miles total. About a year after I bought it I had a strange problem when i tried to start the bike where it "stuttered" and would not allow me to accellerate past about 10 MPH. Took it back to my garage and decided I'd wait until my year check up and bring up the issue to have it looked at. I rode it one more time before that check-in and it worked fine - no stutter. When I took it to the repair shop in Northern Virginia I asked them to look into it and when I picked the bike up they said they could not duplicate the issue.

I have experienced this problem off and on for the last 6 months.

However in the last month it has gotten bad...and dangerous. Last week when on the highway doing 70 the bike de-cellerated sharply and immediately without me doing anything - it went from 70 to 55 in a heartbeat - it was jarring to say the least. This morning when I was making a left turn I was maybe going 5 MPH and the motor seemed to "stutter" or "lurch" and I had no power - and I was turning in a stoplight intersection! After a couple second the motor engaged but for the next 2 blocks it lurched pretty much the entire way.

Now I'm at the point where this is downright dangerous. I can't have the bike doing this in either of those instances for obvious reasons.

The issue I am talking about "feels" like the motor is "skipping" or "catching" or "stuttering" and not only do I lose power but it actually SLOWS the bike down actively. On my last 5 rides in a row I have experienced this problem with the 2 just mentioned being the worst. On the other 3 rides I felt the stuttering and the bike slowed but it was less pronounced - I could feel it slowing down and "straining" but I was able to keep my speed up. Any ideas on what might be going on? I LOVE this bike and just want to make sure it works properly.




Hello

Congratulations that sounds like an engine failure had the same problem with my 2012 DS
How much does the motor of Zero in the US
 
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