I was at the IMS Long Beach this past Saturday. Harley was doing Demo Rides on the Live Wire. I had no desire to ride one. I rode a Yamaha MT07 instead because I registered for their Premier status online. I was able to get their express check-in and be on the second ride of the morning.
I later stopped by the Harley display and looked closely at the LiveWire, the fit and finish was on par. A sales guy was there trying to get me interested in buying one. I bluntly said that $30k was way too much for this bike. I then let him know that I owned a Zero Motorcycles bike and it was not that great of a bike. Then I asked to see the charging port. The connector is an SAE J1772, which is a Level 2 charging connector used in the industry. I then asked if the bike was Level 2 compatible. He then said that the bike only charges at Level 1, which is limited up to 16 Amps maximum. There were also connections for Level 3 DC quick charging, not a setup you can get for your garage easily.
Prior to visiting the Harley booth, I saw a Zero Motorcycles Kiosk. I went over there and let the guy have both barrels. He works for Zero Motorcycles and was one of the persons I was referred to when I had all the troubles with my bike. He did not do anything to help me regarding those issues. He was commenting on the battery pack to a guy that it lasts the lifetime of the motorcycle. I immediately chimed in and asked, "Why is it that the replacement battery pack installed in my bike only lasted a month?". He was dumbfounded and had to backtrack. He then commented that it was very rare. I then told him that I sent a letter to the CEO of the company demanding my money back under the California Lemon Law. He then asked if they took care of me. I said, "Yes, they bought the bike back from me." I then commented that I won't buy another Zero Motorcycle after that experience.
Overall the show was average with nothing really exciting or memorable. There were far fewer Freebies this year, such as stickers and decals. Many vendors were tightwads with their catalogs. Harley did have their Pan America behind glass on display. For Harley, our big push was on the Live Wire. Other than that, everything else was ho-hum.
I later stopped by the Harley display and looked closely at the LiveWire, the fit and finish was on par. A sales guy was there trying to get me interested in buying one. I bluntly said that $30k was way too much for this bike. I then let him know that I owned a Zero Motorcycles bike and it was not that great of a bike. Then I asked to see the charging port. The connector is an SAE J1772, which is a Level 2 charging connector used in the industry. I then asked if the bike was Level 2 compatible. He then said that the bike only charges at Level 1, which is limited up to 16 Amps maximum. There were also connections for Level 3 DC quick charging, not a setup you can get for your garage easily.
Prior to visiting the Harley booth, I saw a Zero Motorcycles Kiosk. I went over there and let the guy have both barrels. He works for Zero Motorcycles and was one of the persons I was referred to when I had all the troubles with my bike. He did not do anything to help me regarding those issues. He was commenting on the battery pack to a guy that it lasts the lifetime of the motorcycle. I immediately chimed in and asked, "Why is it that the replacement battery pack installed in my bike only lasted a month?". He was dumbfounded and had to backtrack. He then commented that it was very rare. I then told him that I sent a letter to the CEO of the company demanding my money back under the California Lemon Law. He then asked if they took care of me. I said, "Yes, they bought the bike back from me." I then commented that I won't buy another Zero Motorcycle after that experience.
Overall the show was average with nothing really exciting or memorable. There were far fewer Freebies this year, such as stickers and decals. Many vendors were tightwads with their catalogs. Harley did have their Pan America behind glass on display. For Harley, our big push was on the Live Wire. Other than that, everything else was ho-hum.
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