New model of Mercedes Benz S class has steering wheels on rear axle, something already seen in the past on some cars, but this time the most notable feature is that one has to pay 575 USD/year subscription to enable full potential of the hardware already present.

@rossmanngroup

2 жыл бұрын

I would understand this a little bit more if it was a cheap car but just by virtue of the fact that you said it's an s class I'm guessing this costs around $110,000 starting, I don't think any of this is going to be fixed until we just walk away from new technology entirely. Cell phones with locked bootloaders, bundled tick tock and other software you cannot remove, glued in batteries they won't sell you. Cars that cost $46,000 with extra features you have to pay a monthly subscription fee for that you can't fix. Computers with processors that stop working if you put them in a different motherboard. Microwaves that brick themselves when they connect to Wi-Fi and get a firmware update that makes them think they are a steam oven. I sometimes think the only way out of this is if a Great majority of the population just says f*** this to buying anything new ever again. But I don't see that happening :-(

@kowan011

2 жыл бұрын

And worse, you can't even get rear axle steering in the UK, even though there are right hand drive S-Classes that have rear axle steering.

@Gr8Layks

2 жыл бұрын

@It’s not plagiarism it’s the same person He's not "annoying," but he's definitely annoyed. So am I ... and I just subscribed.

@tavi7

2 жыл бұрын

@@rossmanngroup I feel like what you're paying extra for the faster charging and the bigger range is just the warranty. For an extra amount of $ you get to charge your battery faster which reduces it's cycle life and you get to charge the cells to 4.2V instead of 4.1V or 4.15V which again decreases the cycle life of the battery by 25-50% but you also get more miles obviously. On their website they say the motorcycles come with a 80% 5 year warranty. So if the battery had 1000 cycles to 80% and you bought the 2 add-ons and now it only has 500 cycles, if you charge it more than once every 3 days, you can get a free battery swap in 5 years and have a new battery. If you plan to use your motorcycle heavily I feel like those are actually must have add-ons. But then again, battery tech might advance a lot in the next 5 years so it's hard to say. Just my take on it 🤷‍♂️

@BryanTorok

2 жыл бұрын

@Andreas scout Also, almost every independent rating service rates Mercedes quality control and reliability at the bottom of the heap. It is a shame for a company the touts itself as "The best or nothing."

I rode a Zero bike last week and it was really nice to ride. Physically they seem like pretty good bikes. But if they are going all apple / john deere on us, then screw them.

@Handl3sAreStupid

2 жыл бұрын

That's the problem with EVs. They really are excellent in terms of engineering and function. But the lack of repairability is a total deal breaker for me.

@KiinaSu

2 жыл бұрын

Isn't it missing something if you can't shift? Most people drive a bike not really for transportation but for fun, at least the bigger ones. And shifting your gears kinda feels like an integral part of that experience.

@Handl3sAreStupid

2 жыл бұрын

@@KiinaSu I only have owned manual cars for that reason. With that said, the only thing I'd trade it for is having the full power band available with no shifting.

@Zygersaf

2 жыл бұрын

Maybe someone will crack them soon and we can pick them up second hand and unlock all that for free anyway

@joemann7971

2 жыл бұрын

@@Zygersaf hopefully. Skilled hackers don't really mess around with things they aren't interested in, but maybe there happens to be one that loves the idea of electric motorcycles and cracks the code or something. We'll have to wait and see.

I own a 19 years old motorcycle, not only do I have fun riding it, but I also have fun repairing and replacing parts. I love it. There is something very satisfying about taking care of your own bike.

@ilenastarbreeze4978

2 жыл бұрын

This, this right here. When i buy a bike i wana do this. I like the idea of fixing it because it would be fun and require a lot less work then a car.

@gerbil7771

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah I have an ‘04 Xr650L and I just rebuild the motor for $380 CAD. I want to get an electric motorcycle but can’t stomach the repairability problems with them.

@startedtech

2 жыл бұрын

That's what I miss about my old car honestly. Working on it and improving it was just satisfying & gratifying.

@fallenaspie

2 жыл бұрын

mlp lol

@hasyidanparamananda

2 жыл бұрын

It same like a PC when you can change it, it's actually fun, even sometimes there are problem that's the fun part too... That's why there are a hobby for motorcycle, car, computer etc.

The ICE fans don’t need to do anything to turn people against electric car and bike manufacturers, the EV industry is doing it all for them.

@rossmanngroup

2 жыл бұрын

It's sad to watch as an electric bike, car, and motorcycle fan. I love building these things and riding them. Electric motors and controllers are cool as hell. These companies are going to create a massive culture war backlash where people hate electric vehicles in general and reject them wholecloth. And then when it finally happens they'll call them climate change deniers or some shit rather than admit that they did it to themselves with these shitty policies.

@testpilotian3188

2 жыл бұрын

@@rossmanngroup agreed, I know someone who works in the UK EV industry in marketing for a particular EV manufacturer and if you bring up any reasonable question about these policies, or a simple observation about cars only being zero emission while being used and not while being manufactured or charged, you don’t get a reasonable, adult conversation, you get nothing but abuse.

@blob22201

2 жыл бұрын

@@testpilotian3188 The worst thing about the UK is the government are trying to force us to get electric cars, they've literally banned petrol/diesel vehicles being made past 2030.

@citylockapolytechnikeyllcc7936

2 жыл бұрын

@@rossmanngroup not allowed to criticize because...... S C I E N C E... Political Science

@Nevir202

2 жыл бұрын

True. My friends have a Tesla Model X with over 200K on it. The battery had degraded far enough it can't do the long hauls that they bought it for, but Tesla says that's normal for the cycles so won't warranty it out, and also wouldn't allow them to **PAY** for it to be replaced.

as a motorcyclist I am so mad that companies think that they still own my bike after I;ve bought it. NO! the companies ownership of the machine ENDS when I take it out the door. Unauthorized repair and warranty is a different conversation

@cccycling5835

2 жыл бұрын

Same. I love my Honda.

@ODST_Republic

2 жыл бұрын

They are just taking advantage because they are "electric" and electricity can kill elephants

@BeetleBuns

2 жыл бұрын

I'm starting to get into motorcycles, and the first thing I looked for was an easy-to-repair bike. I've been told to get a Yamaha SR400, and I like what I'm seeing in simpler engines like that, doesn't seem all that much different than the other small engines I've messed with.

@hasyidanparamananda

2 жыл бұрын

@@cccycling5835 I Hate Honda on my country, while I cannot repair my motorcycle myself I need to bring to dealer workshop and their mechanics is new. Actually New is ok BUT with no experience without guidance from their senior and then they make more mess than service / maintenance to my motorcycle while there are warranty for 1 year but it will void if I bring it to unofficial workshop. After that when i bring it back day after service / maintenance if something broke i need to PAY FOR THAT EVEN THERE ARE NOTHING BROKE BEFORE THE FIRST MAINTENANCE.

@STScott-qo4pw

2 жыл бұрын

i think makers/vendors aren't actually selling a product; rather they are selling a purchase agreement. the terms of the agreement are generally non-negotiable. whatever, it's a turd situation.

The guys at Zero should read the book "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". It isn't so much about motorcycle maintenance, but it is about culture.

@xXxLolerTypxXx

2 жыл бұрын

Just ordered that book after reading the summary. Seems like a good thing to read about real values and life goals, when we're living in a world that just seems to be interested in milking everyone off their money.

@dmitripogosian5084

2 жыл бұрын

I was searching where to put that same comment :)

@johnwright8814

2 жыл бұрын

The author muses over the nature of "quality", something that could interest the guys at Zero QC.

@Channel-gz9hm

2 жыл бұрын

The soyboy techbros that run Zero don't actually care about motorcycling.

@xXxLolerTypxXx

2 жыл бұрын

@@johnwright8814 "Zero quality control" seems like a pretty good description to be honest

Thanks so much for the plug! I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts on the Cypher Store paywall scam. If enough people hate it, hopefully Zero will axe it and just focus on making their bikes better. Cheers man!

Really bad marketing decision. Just add $1 500 to original asking price with full specs only and no-one would complain. And you would earn more than earlier.

@rossmanngroup

2 жыл бұрын

That's another thing. Something I learned back when I was wholesaling parts, a product that is $100 with $75 shipping is a rip-off. A $200 product with free shipping is a deal! Even when it is the same product. Like it or not this is consumer psychology and they are not taking advantage of it.

@joshuasethhill3518

2 жыл бұрын

@@rossmanngroup it's all in how they framed it IMHO. If they said "for $1500 we will enable hyper mode which increases our costs for warranty claims because this pushes the equipment closer to it's limit." Or something similar to make it easier to understand the need for the cost. Perhaps there is no need, but I know that charging batteries faster increases the degradation rate and likelihood of failure. So does running them closer to 0% state of charge.

@mushroom032

2 жыл бұрын

But how is this different from options on cars? You pay for the features you want/can afford. Or car manufacturers selling physically identical cars with the more expensive one having different engine management software and thus more power.

@killme3043

2 жыл бұрын

@@joshuasethhill3518 The did exactly that when the community instantly pushed back on it several months ago. faster charging means more wear on the charger and more heat to the rest of the unit. I believe it, because they have no active cooling on zeros, unlike energicas and even livewires (which is why they can do level 3 charging, but zero can't).

@joeschmoe6908

2 жыл бұрын

@@mushroom032 it's different because unlike options in cars the features are already there, they just have them turned off from the factory. If I buy a car that nust has wheel covers instead if alloy wheels, the automaker actually saved money by guving me cheaper wheels. Plus if I then puchase aftermarket wheels I'll have a spare set of wheel than I can use for snow tires, or I could even sell them. The fact that you could even ask that question shows that you have grown up in a culture where this is normal, and you're probably less than 30. Which is not an insult, obviously everybody has their own experiences. It just shows how well companies have brainwashed their customers.

Hands down THE BEST explanation of why e-motos are still light years away from being a dominant and viable solution in motorcycle culture. Absolutely well said.

@theclamhammer4447

2 жыл бұрын

Big manufacturers knee cap companies that bring a legit product to market. See ATLA. The big guys just aren’t going to allow a new player to capture the future market. Meanwhile they aren’t making the push to go E while they can still milk their old tried and true internal combustion engine sales.

@marcogenovesi8570

2 жыл бұрын

heh, if the only problem is laws it can be fixed relatively quickly. Actually developing the technology is much harder

@claudiodiaz9752

2 жыл бұрын

Autonomy and charge times are still shit.

@showmytime9177

2 жыл бұрын

not just motorcycle, e-cars are the same

@cjevans3355

2 жыл бұрын

I wonder if my thesis project will actually be marketable is this is the route big companies are taking. As a rider and an engineer, I really love my bikes, and the ability to tinker and customize is half the fun.

At the Montreal motorcycle expo 3 years ago, Zero was the only company that had shitty representative. They simply did not care about people.

@loztagain8278

2 жыл бұрын

Something I wonder is if they are eligible for eco grants which allows them to care less about what they actually deliver

@calfeggs

2 жыл бұрын

I went to a bike expo last year and they were the same way, dismissive and unwilling to tell me anything about the bikes. Then on one of their test rides a guy got frisky with the bike and wrecked it.

You are right about motorcycle culture emphasis on doing things on your own terms. A lot of that was born from the fact that even today motorcycles require a LOT more maintenance than cars. So unless you have deep pockets you need to know how to work on your bike.

@Fred-mv8fx

2 жыл бұрын

Besides shop rates exceeding $100 / hr, the Kawasaki dealer I worked at (I was never certified lol) tended to have a long backlog in Spring and Summer. Most of the jobs would be quick and not too difficult for a mechanically inclined owner, but our customers suffered the wait and the bill.

@g.4279

2 жыл бұрын

@@Fred-mv8fx Nearly all modern motorcycles, and all performance motorcycles, required valve adjustments which typically involve tearing the entire bike in half every 10 to 20 thousand miles. Motorcycle tires are a lot softer than car tires and need to be replaced every season or two, which also requires wheel balancing along with axle greasing and swing arm alignment. Chain drives need cleaning and oiling every 500 miles or less. Generally motorcycles run wet clutches so oil changes are more important and more frequent. Steering geometry needs checks and adjustments to prevent death wobble. Clutch cables or fluid needs to be changed. If you put miles on your bike it's going to need a lot of care if you want it last.

@traviswilding3917

2 жыл бұрын

@@g.4279 the upside however is that most bikes are way faster than cars to do these jobs. Checking and adjusting the valve clearances on my ninja 300 that uses shim-under-bucket valves (which are known to take longer), only takes a few hours given I have all the tools and parts (a few gaskets, some valve shims, and a few hand tools). I change and balance my own tires by hand and while the oil changes are more frequent, the tranny, clutch, and engine all share the same oil and it only takes 2-3 quarts and a few minutes to change it. I’ve worked on all 4 of my bikes since I was 17 and there hasn’t been anything that was super “hard” compared to the cars I’ve owned.

@g.4279

2 жыл бұрын

@@traviswilding3917 It's definitely not impossible but it takes mechanical aptitude, a willingness to learn, and investments in tools. My main point was the "do it yourself" culture is so prevalent for motorcycles because if you aren't able to work on them yourself they are going to be a lot more expensive per-mile to drive than a car and you're going to lose a lot of riding days having them wait in a shop depending on local availability. Especially since motorcycles tend to be secondary/fun vehicles due to weather and limited storage, most motorcycle owners are going to have a car as well, which costs money to maintain too. Being unable to work on a motorcycle makes them cost prohibitive for a lot of people which is why so many motorcycle owners know how to wrench.

Sadly the "buy now, activate hardware features later" business model has already snuck into and embedded itself into the professional video industry. You can buy 4K cameras that will only output 1080p unless you pay for a software license. I work with equipment that will literally double in price whenever you pay to license all of the hardware options that are already on the silicon.

@NijiDash

2 жыл бұрын

Absolutely bonkers. Intel has also begun offering 'microtransactions' in their new Intel Xeon processors to unlock support for extra RAM, networking virtualization and other stuff. Sure, these CPU's aren't really meant to be for the general consumer, but it's only a matter of time before these 'great ideas' start leaking into their consumer line of processors. When that happens, we all know how it's likely going to end up. AMD: No, we don't do that kind of stuff! -> People buy the AMD CPU -> People forget about it -> AMD starts doing the same stuff they said they won't do.

@Chasing-the-outdoors

2 жыл бұрын

I’m sure it’s related to how underpaid and overworked everyone is now. Nobody can afford a top of the line price. So they instead bankrupt everyone with monthly fees and nonsense.

@xXxLolerTypxXx

2 жыл бұрын

Stuff like this is infuriating, you're literally paying them for nothing. Corporations that do this are landing on my no-buy list immediately.

@simpletongeek

2 жыл бұрын

I guess that explain Raspberry Pi shortage. People are buying them to replace their computers. I know I do. Just purchased RPi 400 myself. Without proper support, computers are nothing but trouble.

@Fallen608

2 жыл бұрын

Certainly there is a piracy solution to this shit. I’ve never run into it as I don’t work in your industry but it’s the first thing I would look for if they tried it on me

I was also an employee at Zero once they transitioned from the original owner to the advisory board from 2011-2012. The main goal was never to get a motorcycle rider as their client. They were targeting the person who always wanted to have a motorcycle and then have them for life. Even though the investors have changed, leadership has changed, and MANY employees have changed, the idea is still the same: They are not a motorcycle company. They are a boutique riding experience.

What I'm learning from your recent videos is not to trust anyone with numbers in their company name, lol. Seriously, though, this garbage has got to stop. Thank you for continuing to shed light on these practices, Louis. It has got to be disheartening as you see more and more of this coming down the pipe, but we appreciate your work and support you in any way we can.

Pretty much every motorcycle owner I know (including myself) love modding their bikes. The whole cafe racer, chopper, and others are all about self control.

thank you for calling this out

I never thought I would live to see the day where a company brands itself "zero".... which is their repairability performance score, no doubt :D

I bought a 2016 ZeroFX and have enjoyed it. Love electric technology, watched it improve for years until I decided it was ready for me and vice versa. I used it primarily offroad, beat the hell out of it, and broke it in many ways. My dealer was fair but 3 hours away, I had them do some warranty work (on board charger failed), but that meant 12 hours of driving with trailer and at least a week without the bike. So, as an engineer I learned how to repair it myself. I got parts from AF1 or Mouser, I replaced the MBB, a BMS board, and the modular pack connectors which fracture when you crash in the dirt. There is a full schematic of my bike in the unofficial Zero manual that I drew. I learned to get a serial port connection to the bike and to the packs and published how to do that. I wrote software now on the web to read and analyze the log files. It was never a great dirt bike, I've had KTMs and was about to buy Alta, but ... But that was then. I have no interest in a new Zero. Cyberstore? Come on. Right to repair, freedom to be a weird biker, right on. I'm very happy with my SurRon, glad to see that mentioned here. Cops? Catch me if you can.

I’ve been considering buying an electric motorcycle. Thanks for the info.

@gandalfwiz20007

2 жыл бұрын

No....Electric vehicles are fashion accessories and a money grab scheme for companies

@joemann7971

2 жыл бұрын

Check out Energica or wait until Kawasaki starts rolling out their electric/hybrid bikes. Kawasaki said that by 2035, their entire line up will either be hybrid or full electric, but I do imagine they'll at least have some electric bikes within the next few years

@mrwhips3623

2 жыл бұрын

gas motorcycles are way cooler. just get an h2r😂

@notlessgrossman163

2 жыл бұрын

@@mrwhips3623 Mach 3 LoL with a steering dampner

@Fallen608

2 жыл бұрын

@@joemann7971 I’ll stick to my Z900RS 😂😂. Maybe old fashioned but electric bikes are not appealing at all

lifelong motorcycle rider here. There is no way in the world I will ever buy a bike that is not repairable or has this BS subscription model to "activate" what I have already bought. Nope. Never.

@energetek661

2 жыл бұрын

Same man. There is another company called Energica, and while they are small, they produce amazing bikes. I own one. Best riding experience I have ever had.

Hey Louis, the early morning basket of grey depression is what we New Englanders call "Spring". It is less a season than a slow easing of the S.A.D. from winter, and keeps us from getting too enthusiastic about the season called "summer", or more colloquially, "mosquitoes".

I thought Zero would be my next dual sport once the range is high enough, but not if I can't wrench on it. I break a lot of shit riding off road, and if each break turns into $1000+ I'll just buy another conventional bike I can fix in a few hours in my garage.

100% Louis. As a motorcyclist myself, I subscribe each and every word you say. Working on your bike it's part of the journey of being a motorcyclist and most of us enjoy taking care of our babies, whether it's cleaning or wrenching. Zero Motorcycles doesn't want me to work on my own bike, then they have absolutely zero chance of me owning one of their bikes. Simple as that. Cheers!

It’s funny you brought this subject up. I own a Tesla MYP, and have been going back and forth considering a Zero bike for years. They really do nickel and dime and it turned me off completely. Good luck to them, I think electric motorcycles are so cool! But I’ll never buy one from them.

@energetek661

2 жыл бұрын

Maybe consider Energica. They are a lot more repair friendly. Whike they are a smaller company, it is 100% the best bike I have owned gas or electric.

Repairing your motorcycle on the roadside was something that was expected back when motorcycles were less reliable (in the 50s, 60s, 70s), so manufacturers designed the motorcycles with user repairability in mind. Repairing and tinkering with your bike became a fundamental pillar in motorcycle culture. What Zero is doing is not just douchy or greedy, it's sacrilegious.

@TadVarn

2 жыл бұрын

But some of the legendary models, that still allow your roadside adjustmest or repair are still made and sold in some countries. Check Suzuki dr650, started in 1991, still made for US, AUS, NZ and some other markets. Not so much changed from last big upgrade in 1996. Still has carburettor, cable speedo, doesnt have screens, computers (lets not call ignition module a computer, though it may be called that), fuel gauge (tap with reserve option ftw) and other unnecessary bs. A lot of fun to ride though. Sadly, we dont have something like this allowed here in EU, as because of stricter emission norms, its impossible to pass those tests for more than 20 years with anything thats not fuel injected, catalysed and etc. This makes some amazing technology, that is really fun to ride, but not so fun to ride to more deserted places far from home on low budget (when you need to rely on your own cheap solutions)

My father did the greatest thing to help me in life before I even left high school. He bought me a 1993 ford F-150 with the 4.9l. I still own it and I'll never get rid of it. It's got over 350,000 miles and still going. Easiest injection motor to work on, and new enough to the able to add features like siriusxm, TPMS, electric windows, door lock actuators, new seats with electronics, cup holders... I see no reason to ever buy a new vehicle. It'll be a cold day in hell when I can't drive it again. I'll move to Africa over it.

@terminator4625

2 жыл бұрын

@@veretos7 more than likely. It's a non-interference engine. Even if you sear the timing gears on the crank or camshaft it won't hurt the engine. You'll just need to replace the gear and re-time the motor. Edit: Stupidity filtering was required.

@jadesluv

2 жыл бұрын

@@terminator4625 non-INTERFERENCE engine meaning if it looses mechanical timing between the valves and pistons, the valves will never strike the tops of the pistons. Many engines use a limited life rubber cogged timing belt and not a much stronger timing chain to link the camshaft (moves valves) to the crankshaft (moves pistons) and with an INTERFERENCE designed engine, when the timing belt breaks, which it will eventually, the engine is severely damaged and most shops don’t know how to rebuild an engine. So replacing the timing belt after 100,000 miles is a necessary precaution. I don’t know all engines of course but the gears (actually sprockets) don’t sear the attachment bolts of the shafts, the teeth/cogs of the sprockets that the belt rides on hardly wear out, you are just replacing the timing belt and maybe a belt tensioner every 100K mi. or so.

@terminator4625

2 жыл бұрын

@@jadesluv Wow you are correct, I have no idea why my Brian decided to go with interface. 😅 Regardless, timing gears/sprockets whatever you want to call them are far more reliable. Even if it was a interference engine. And not a single person I know of replaces their timing belt every 100k. Hell my mom's 08' is sitting at 250k and they still haven't replaced that 302s timing chain. *knock on wood*.

@venumus1

2 жыл бұрын

@@terminator4625 the problem with timing chains is the sliders/tensioner, they breakdown over time come apart clog your oil pump then depending on motor you slap a valve. Super common problem with Ford ohc 4.0, it's got 3 timing chains but I personally believe it's just because Ford used the push rod block with symmetrical ohc heads and used the cam valley to run a jack shaft

5:57 Might be the most thoughtful, lucid, and complete description I've heard for why I own bikes. Nicely done!

The dichotomy between how locked down a smartphone is compared to a personal computer was eye opening. I don't know why it never occurred to me to make that comparison before.

None of these companies wants to be a participant in an EV ecosystem. None of them wants to be a player... thats not good enough, they all want to OWN the whole concept from the top down. They want to own EV's like xerox owns copiers. Its monopoly or bust.

I was genuinely pretty excited about the increasing viability of electric motorcycles, and pretty openminded about owning one in the next year or so. If this is the direction things are going in though, I think I'd rather keep my gas guzzler than swing a leg across what is effectively an iBike.

@energetek661

2 жыл бұрын

I would recommend checking out Energica, while they are a small ebike startup it has been the best experiemxe I have ever had on a motorcycle. Could not recommend enough.

You nailed it Louis! I used to own a 2015 SR and ended up trading it in to purchase a Yamaha MT09 because of the point for point commentary you laid out. I have gone from a pro-electric vehicles standpoint to an anti electric stance because I too saw the writing on the wall. Another aspect is that, as someone who has worked in software testing I don't want a manufacturers to have OTA update ability to modify a transportation tool I purchased with my hard earned dollars to limit or modify functionality that my life or livelihood would depend on.

Thank you, Louis. Thank you for publishing the videos we need to educate others on what the situation is.

I bought a street legal dirt bike recently for two reasons -Simplicity -fun Oh and affordability of older bikes certainly helps All of which losing right to repair can hinder

Meanwhile there are 40-50 year old Super Cubs out there that can still use off the shelf parts.

Thanks for the fight and the heads up!

You are someone who puts this into terms that most can comprehend. You're work and intelligence is important.

Zero Motorcycles are the Apple of EV motorbikes

@Atlessa

2 жыл бұрын

But what other EV motorbike companies exist at this time? I only know of the one: Zero.

@energetek661

2 жыл бұрын

Energica is starting to become more mainstream. They rock, I own one. Highly recommend.

Mr. Rossmann I was a "zero hero" basically just an authorized technician in an authorized dealership. Here's the truth... when I did certain diagnostics/repairs I had to call a tech line, have them remote into a laptop with their software and they would do most of not all of the diagnostics in a command prompt screen. If a motor controller needed calibrated or speed controller needed calibrated or marriaged to the other controllers they were the only ones that could do it. So in short, not even a authorized dealer can actually do the work. That was 5 years ago so maybe that's changed. I don't think so.

You the man. Your analogy of computers/phones' operating systems is bang on. It is our hardware to do with as we want. The rot has set in and it's all down to greed. We used to proud of the things we made, and want them to last. It seems lasting is no longer profitable. Long may you run.

I am an almost everyday motorcycle rider. And I really like and agree with your analysis of motorcycle riders and their culture. Thanks

Back when me and my friends started high school we where the computer nerds, this was back in 2000-2001 so Pentium 3 and Athlon's was what we had. My friends where programmers, I loved building and fixing with the hardware and we where Star-Trek and Sci-fi fans so the idea of tablets was not new to us. We use to talk about how "tablets" where a thing that was coming and soon we could afford them, we talked about how we would install Windows and Linux on them when they got out a few years down the road and be able to do the things we did on a Desktop PC but much more portable. Then the Smartphone and tablet comes out and no you cant run windows, no you cant run Linux because there looked (sure there are exceptions). We never considered the devices to be locked, but just work like a PC with no keyboard, so naive we where, smartphones and tablets was a big disappointment for me at least so I have always been a slow adopter of them and mostly use cheap second hand devices for free if I can get them.

@thecouchpotatocom

2 жыл бұрын

Completely agree 👍

@TadVarn

2 жыл бұрын

My biggest investment in smartphones was 40eur for used Galaxy s6. All other stuff was attained from friends or family members as leftovers that were too cheap to try selling. I just got my newest one, huawei p30 lite, that I found lying in a middle of the road, not crushed. Probably someone just forgot/left it on top of their car and I was lucky to find it fast enough. Screen has few little cracks, but totally usable. Was not able to unlock it to find original owner, so did a firmware downgrade (with some modified fw that I found on some strange arabian language site, that mimics upgrade, but actually downgrades it, as newer versions dont have loopholes to unlock them) , that wiped its memory, but also gave it a second life. Security and safety does harm sometimes. Firstly, that person could have got his/her device back, as I could have called or texted their relatives or friends. Second, had I not used a lot of time to investigate the issue of making that unlock possible, that device would have become e-waste the moment it was lost.

0:35 I heard that! I rarely take any vehicles to anyone else to be serviced, and I have two combustion engined motorcycles in my garage for which I do 100% of the service. I will not consider an electric motorcycle if I can't hold it to the standard of 100% end user service. And I also happen to live in a place where the closest Zero dealer is 174 miles away, so that's a hard pass from me.

Thanks once again to Louis for bringing this up, I have been so in love with Zero motorcycle from the get go, but looking at how they are developing their products i think i would just look out for other alternatives

You have an awesome lucid and fluent mind Louis and are an excellent communicator, and I share your vision as an engineer, hacker, maker who also made my own ebike 6 years ago with a pile of lipos and hub motor. I've had to replace a few controllers in that time, and the only hassle was a few extra dollars duty on import. Everything should be modular and easy to replace.

Hearing stuff likr this makes me want to make my own company and just say. This is the product. You own it do what you want to it . We have parts if you wana buy them from us if you dont its your choice! Heres all the diagrams. Send us pics of cool stuff you do

I really appreciate this video, I had been seriously considering a zero motorcycle for about a year, after watching this and other videos like it I guess I’ll save my money and spending it elsewhere

@jadesluv

2 жыл бұрын

Even with the high prices of gas these days its great that you can get very good mileage with a motorcycle and pull into a gas station and continue on your ride in five minutes. Not so with an electric motorcycle.

@natecus4926

2 жыл бұрын

@@jadesluv that’s true, but I don’t ride far so I would just plug it in at home and always be at full

Thank you for the follow up. This felt like a much better summary to me. Lots of good and valid points. Disappointing, but good information. I was actually putting serious thought into purchasing a zero, but on top of pretty questionable quality, making them non repairable makes it them more null.

I'm glad I saw this video. I have been thinking of getting one of these, but now I know better.

The irony is moving to all electric vehicles should actually make things MORE repairable. At this point in our history, if something isn't repairable in any way then it was designed to be that way. There is zero reason to design things that cannot be repaired. Well there is one: greed

@ali32bit42

2 жыл бұрын

just watch the videos from rich rebuilds where he tries to convert a tesla to ICE. it took over 5 months to make all of the parts work . meanwhile converting ICE to electric is only one episode and it takes less then a week the complexity is far far less and as such repair should be easy buuuuuuttt....

It really pisses me off that this is getting more and more aggressive. I really love the implications that the new ford f150 lightning has in that it can be charged at off-peak hours and then used to power your home during the day (or for up to a week if there's a natural disaster.) decentralizing the power grid like that has some amazing implications. I really love my electric bicycle (shout out to ride1up, their bikes are cheap and they will READILY encourage you to modify your bike without voiding the warranty) and I'd love an electric motorcycle to go alongside my curmudgeonly carbureted ICE motorcycle. The convenience of not having to winterize a damn motorcycle when it's done for the season can't be over-stressed. But when ford or zero or other e-vehicle companies pull this crap, I just refuse to support it. And it frustrates me, because time after time I'll see a product and think "that could be AMAZING" only to see a little while later that it's being given some form of anti-consumer cancer that does nothing but make the world a little bit worse so the brand can make a little bit more money (zero selling you batteries that you can't use should be illegal. That's literally manufacturing toxic e-waste) means that I'm stuck with my old car and old motorcycle. Not because I hate change, but because I don't support these companies making the world a worse place through business practices that the general public largely just accepts. I wish that we could just stop this culture war political hackery and as a society focus on the massive corporations screwing us all over and poisoning the world we live in.

Cheer up Louis, when spring brings warmer days, you will find much joy watching the trees bud green 😀. The early spring flowers, birds and bees and the regrowth of life.😷

i think your assessment of motorcycle culture being doing things on their own terms is spot on

Never thought I'd see the day when you'll have to start jailbreaking your vehicle to actually get full functionality out of it.

This is the ultimate expression of the service economy. The product isn't whatever is being sold, it's the peasants who are paying for it. The competition is all between the nobility who tries to attract peasants onto their lands so that they might harvest money from them.

@loztagain8278

2 жыл бұрын

The people that buy zero bikes also drop money on Ducati ones. I feel like Tesla was the same way. And premium companies like to do premium scummery

You hit the nail on the head. I ride because I reject the model of endless services at the dealership. I learned to do ALL my own repair and maintenance as an exercise of freedom.

ive been seriously thinking of one of these for a long while, waiting only for them to open a dealer in my state. i only own one other bike which i enjoy tinkering with though im no mechanic. this video helped me make my final choice on zero fx or honda cb500r.

A couple of thoughts: Zero isn't targeting traditional motorcycle culture with their bikes. Period. They don't care what that sector of the population thinks. Their product is clearly marketed at trying to expand the audience into semi-affluent tech rich urbanites. Is it going to work? At least for a while, sure, but that pool is smaller than they think it is. Re: how do we fix the broader attitude towards ownership? I think it has to be tackled at the top and bottom. I think the work that you're doing with various governmental agencies is absolutely vital, because there are huge swaths of the population that are just going to drink down whatever their leaders parrot, and that goes for both sides of the conservative/liberal fence. The fact that personal ownership now feels like it sits more in the "liberal" side of things politically in the US 1.) continues to flabbergast me, and 2.) is extremely telling about where things have moved. I'm not here to start a political feud or debate, this is just my observation of the state of affairs. At the end of the day, I'm just another uber nerd working in a high tech business. I don't have the answers, I don't have an audience outside of my friends and coworkers, and they already know me as the guy that won't shut up about these types of issues.

@AnthonyBrusca

2 жыл бұрын

Once Yamaha and Polaris really ramp up production on all the emotorcycles they announced, it's over for Zero's Monopoly.

@ram89572

2 жыл бұрын

I am highly confused by you saying that personal ownership sits on the "liberal" side of things unless you mean classically liberal/libertarian side because the left absolutely hates the idea of personal property. I agree with your assessment of who this is aimed at. I can tell you I'm not about to spend that kind of ridiculous money on something that the factory then gets to lock out features on unless I pay them even more money for a software unlock. In general I am not willing to pay these ridiculous fees for something electric anyway. Why would I want to pay outrageously more money to get less product. I doubt I would be buying a motorcycle but EVs in general have this problem for me.

Never heard of bearings that fail that easily. Car wheel bearings last for at least 200.000 km without maintenance....how can a motor bearing fail that easily?

@gandalfwiz20007

2 жыл бұрын

@@stclairstclair yes, new cars do fail...but the question is, how fast does it break? After 3-4 years or 7 to 8 years

@k20nutz

2 жыл бұрын

@@gandalfwiz20007 that depends on the tolerances the parts are made to. Everything is at scale. If 99.9% don't fail within 100,000 that's a success. The few unlucky customers are just that.

@k20nutz

2 жыл бұрын

@@gandalfwiz20007 that being said they might be over tightening the belt for what the motor bearing can handle or the motor isn't designed for side load and just shipping it hoping that most people won't ride it hard.

@gandalfwiz20007

2 жыл бұрын

@@k20nutz usually the engineers behind these vehicle should do the math and take in account some safety and tolerances for smooth and reliable assemblies...guess someone was slacking off

@k20nutz

2 жыл бұрын

@@gandalfwiz20007 The key word there is should. I worked at an r&d automation company. They sold an idea and then tried to make it fit the budget. I was the only mfer there that knew how to use a calculator (exaggerating) and was was just running the machine shop. I feel like these "small" startups are mainly marketing with a dream and a credit card.

Really well said. I'm a similar age to you, and the way you put things has really made me take stock. Things have changed drastically since my commodore 64 days and not for the benefit of the consumer.

My 1st job was as a TV repairman (I started at a local shop at age 13 and worked myself through college there), when the owner retired, he offered to sell me the business. The bank I went to for a loan pointed out the business model for TV repair was not encouraging, as TV prices had come down due to discounters displacing full service dealers, and TVs themselves were rapidly evolving into a disposable device. I didn't buy the business, and it was one of the many that were lost to "progress". This was back in the 80's. In retrospect this had already begun, TV manufacturers no longer released schematics for their products, and relied heavily on proprietary LSI "TV on a chip" technology. These days, if it's not a bad power supply electrolytic, your TV/monitor is junk. NO service information or parts are available. Back when I started at the TV shop. Zenith, GE, Magnavox, and RCA to name a few offered technical service training, usually for free, and it was a big thing to be a "factory certified technician", they even gave out signs for your shop to display. How things have changed, and NOT for the better! This is a trend that does not bode well for small business in any form, nor is it 'environment friendly'. Our vehicles are following in this pattern, and the manufacturers of anything software driven have taken to using it as a profit generator. I consider this extortion. Even a toaster is effected by this rot, as a box of springs and nichrome wire is now microcontroller controlled - WHY? PROFIT! JUST SAY NO TO WIFI TOASTERS! I will skip over the privacy concerns this integration creates, as I have gone on a bit long here anyway. Thanks for being a major voice on this subject, we need all the publicity on this we can get, and I'm sure this will become a major consumer issue going forward. Sorry for the long comment, I hope it adds something to the discussion.

Man, if I was a billionaire, I would have bought companies like Zero and Future Motion and made them repair friendly. Would have paid for pro-RTR lobbyists. Also would have bought and continued series like FireFly, Dark Matter, SGU, etc.

And things will only get worse. Tesla also has crap things like that. Even videogames, you pay full price and then you have micro transactions , DLC. But there's a good solution for all this, don't buy crap like that.

@gandalfwiz20007

2 жыл бұрын

DLC is one thing, but paying for unlockable content is a bigger deal because it uses your hdd space

Welcome To New Hampshire. Apart from the cold sad winters I love it here and don't ever plan to leave

Spot on about the motorcycle thing.. I built numerous specials in the 00s. I put different engines into my bikes. I had a '600cc' bike that had a 928cc engine in it. People were like how can it be so fast!

2021 zero sr/s owner here. They have diagrams ect for everything in the manual EXCEPT the motor, bms, and battery. It does including things like the high voltage fuses and specs. 90% of the bikes are standard bike parts. It also includes information on how to check and adjust your own belt, not only manually, but with a free third party app that has been around for a while from my understanding (I do it manually). Zero also does not use any active cooling on any of the motos. The faster charge speed and range WILL burn out the charger and battery faster. This is why the more hardcore emoto people like newzeroland and hans have moved over to energica. Zeros will never be able to take level 3 charging like energicas and livewires (I will say don't get a livewire either though). That would require an active cooling system to not cook the battery. Your pricing is a bit off though, the bikes are only over 20k with most of the options turned on, with the locked up version being around 18k. The top of the line SR/S and SR/F are unlocked versions of the SR (the /S has a fairing), which is the one you can pay for these extras on. This is only for the 2022 SR platform. The model labeled SR is the locked one. It does cost more to get an SR and later unlock the stuff. The argument is that you don't get the stuff you don't need, and this will simplify their production process. Fewer parts to inventory, greater economy of scale. Newzeroland made a great video about it when it was announced. Since it is only just now getting warm enough for most parts of the country to bike, I expect a crack to be out in 15ish days to bypass it and ensure that Zero gets the message. The charging lock makes a bit of sense because the charger will cook at the higher speeds, leading to more warranty replacements. You are 100% right on the battery though. Weight means a ton on a moto, with even 25lb drastically changes handling. You totally can move slowly by just controlling the throttle, but can't reverse on the older models. Most people freak out that because of how the throttle works that they will run into stuff. Even as a brand new rider I've never had an issue in a parking lot. It is dumb that you have to pay extra for reverse though. Parts is 100% where they fall apart as a company. All of my customer support has been great, including followups I did not expect. When I dropped my bike, my dealership (who is awesome, btw) had the replacement handlebars and fairing ordered within the hour and Zero confirmed the order when I called them. It took nearly 2 weeks to get the fairings in they were the wrong color. 2 weeks later the right ones showed up and zero immediately admitted it was their fault when I called them. I was willing to give them a pass because they are a small company. They only make a few thousand bikes a year. The thing I couldn't forgive was the newer bikes getting software locks. I nearly dumped my bike when they announced it, even though it wouldn't affect my bike at all. The backlash from the community several months ago was really strong, and I'd be shocked if they don't back down by next model year. As for most people that dump zero, I tend to hear more about bad dealerships doing crappy installs or other bs dealership things more so than the product itself. People with good dealers tend to keep em.

@alexanderhunt9263

2 жыл бұрын

good to hear as a new zero owner myself. it's strange how people aren't taking a nuanced approach to this or doing any research. I have a Zero S.

You need to pay extra for a reasonable amount motor control 🤣 what shit is this

@gandalfwiz20007

2 жыл бұрын

It's Apple mentality

Some people think this is normal and fair, and they are willing to pay, that is the problem. I once heard "if you complain about this kind of stuff, you are not the kind of customer they are looking for anyway". You are being reasonable, Louis, I'm with you 100%.

3:30 - Charging speed and "range" (likely affecting final charge voltage) can take their toll on battery longevity. These price bumps could partly be justified by increased warranty claims. But I definitely agree with the general sentiment of the video.

I love the idea of right to repair. I do own a 2019 Suzuki Hayabusa... I don't dare alter it without a dealer warranty for insurance reasons. When my bike kills me I wanna make sure my loved ones get the pay out.

this is why I like the modified Razors group, Razor supports a lot of the mod groups and even though it's for kids a lot of us modify it to do a lot more and they provide hardware components without any problems at cheaper rates than resellers and no shipping.

Back when the typical desktop computer had 512k of RAM, upgradable to 768k (for more money, of course), a field service friend of mine told me that in a lot of models all the RAM was already installed, but locked out, and simply by removing a jumper and rebooting you could get the full amount of RAM. I've also seen product lines with different sizes of disk drive storage to differentiate features according to marketing, but the manufacturer only used one size of drive (to keep stocking inventory simpler) and just programmed different products to utilize a fraction of the storage.

What a great point. Don't blame the tech, blame the culture. Spot on. My only quibble with your example is that it's even a bit worse than you outline! If Zero is charging the user for access to more of the battery capacity, this probably decreases the longevity of the MCM chemistry type pack, especially if rapid charged on a regular basis. my guess is that this is probably mentioned in the fine print. Somewhere.

Yes, I think you are being reasonable. The concept of ownership is changing and getting a lot worse for the consumer. Too many products (including physical objects like a motorcycle) have adopted a subscription business model that I personally hate. I don't want to pay twice or trice for something I already own, just to unlock a few features. I don't want to pay a monthly bill for every little piece of software I own. That is the definition of hell. And I absolutely want to be able to repair the products I own. It used to be much simpler and better before. So, I agree with you wholeheartedly.

Glad to see you made it out of NY! Regarding Electric Morotcycles, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the Fuell Fllow

One thing I did note in the right to repair hearing was the level of repairability. Module replacement and recertification of components in a system is required these days. What you want is component level access to parts and repairqbility and the ability to get the machine going again without external source code or switching. That may mean a menu to clear codes to get a combine going again or something rather than a laptop.

The ideology and language of freedom has been co-opted by astroturf "libertarians" and corporate politicians from both major parties who have convinced large swathes of the population that "freedom from government" is the only legitimate freedom worth fighting for, and that in order to protect individual freedom, corporations and businesses have to be allowed to do whatever they want; that regulation is inherently bad, rather than bad regulation being bad. I appreciate your channel a lot for all of the right-to-repair information you put out, and for the perspective you have as a successful business owner who understands the importance of regulations that promote autonomy and which limit economic rent-seeking.

I have 1969 motorcycle , it runs almost as well as it did in 1969. DO I want and electric vehicle hell yeah buy not until I can fix it myself . Hats off to you Louis for you passion to fighting this monster.

Everything Louis says is pure gold!

You are right about motorcyclists. As someone who rides a lot, the biggest thing is that motorcycle riders (almost all of them) are enthusiasts. They are not like cars where you are just getting it for convenience, and those few who do that are purchasing at the low budget range (a person who just wants to car comute will not buy a 100k car. For bikes this equivalent value of a comuter bike might be 25-33% of a Zero). As such, every rider is in it for the experience. Many do want the freedom that comes with it, but other big factors with said experience is the exhaust noise of the bike, which electric don't get (if they don'twant this they probablylike touring and as such need great range, which electric doesn't offer), manual shifting similar to an enthusiast with a manual car, and tinkering. Almost every bike owner since they are an enthusiast does at least some if not a majority of maintenance and also improments to their bike. Getting an electric motorbike is a huge compromise for the bike community and for the price, they are competing with flagship bikes from companies like Ducati, and are worse in basically every way. To be frank Zero motorcyles must get almost no sales comparitively. The only reason they have semi sucess is they are almost the only electric bike company and as such have almost no competition.

I had this whole comment idea typed up, but I couldn’t find the words to get the idea across. So instead..good video.

weather was great in my city. starting vacation today so ... rain started for the week.

Gray is good, such even smooth lighting.

And this is why I'm all for using aftermarket ESC and BMS

The worst part is any mechanician with training on electric motor will tell you the same thing: it is actually much easier to repair and especially diagnose errors on electronic engine, even more so if the manufacturer provides the adequate tools and software And still we are so often forced to swap an entire engine when a simple piece is broken ,usually always the same piece, because they don't let us do proper repairs on the motor

I completely agree with you on this one Louis.

Great video! I really loved your video. Some great points! Def a huge reason why I went with Energica. Zero was mediocre before with only lvl 2 and it was cheap which is nice, but the cypher system really made me glad I dident go with them.

thanks for this video.i was thinking of buying a Zero. thankfully this video convinced my unconscious that i shouldnt (usually i think about purchase ffor months and even thos i know i shouldnt, i end up buying. this video helped a lot)

This is really useful for me as someone building my own electric motorcycle, so it helps with knowing what the bike companies are doing, besides not making a model I want. Ah, just like to note as an Electrical engineer, the phone lock for OS system most likely has more to do with communications (making and taking phone calls) than not wanting to customize. It's a (for lack of a better term) security thing. The phone needs to be attached to a number which is also almost like an IP for the ones that go online, but the phone is "always" online. Putting in one's own OS system may seem like no big deal, but for the system the phone connects to, it is. A desktop/laptop doesn't ever have to actually connect to a network if the person doesn't want to, and can even change IP address everytime it connects. Doing that with a phone means you can possibly call out, but no one can call you since your number would change everytime you connect to the network, which just may be every time you charge your phone.

@siggyincr7447

2 жыл бұрын

As far as I understand it, the phone's hardware and software for connecting to the network is separate from and operates independently from the OS that the user interfaces with.

As a gamer, my first thoughts on everything you have described is : did EA make this bike? I've never heard of a bike requiring DLC's. Seriously, this is insane and there is no way in hell I or my husband would pay this much for a bike that we would be given the preverbal middle finger if anything happens, which it inevitably will. I'm so sick of products like this.

I straight up closed my store when the sun came out Tuesday. Weeks straight of this depressing weather will wear you down and take a dump on your mental health. Vitamin D supplements are a must here. Worst part of living in New England.

Great video as always, but one thing i cant agree with the claim that the drop in repairability of most modern technology is due to cultural rot. The fact is, as long as something lasts long enough for the effort required to acquire it (in modern times, this is monetary cost), most people simply wont care much about being able to repair such a thing, since they will be able to afford getting a new one once it breaks. In post-industrial world, where manufacture of most everyday commodities is low effort enough, such is hard to notice for the most part, but one great example one can point to is clothes: before the industrial revolution, manufacturing apparel was very expensive, and most people had no more than 5 complete sets of clothes. if you pants were to tore, you would go out of your way to stitch them back together, since you had only so many of them and getting a new pair would likely be an investment. Nowadays, you will rarely see anyone trying to repair any of their clothes, even for the most minor of the cuts, because clothes are now cheap and abundant enough for everyone to easily own more than 10 pairs of garments, if not much more. Rather, I would argue that the reason why we are here now is for three factors: corporate rot, improved DRM, and rise of marketing as a field of study. First, the corporate rot: if you look at any company prior to 21st century, you will find that most of them are much smaller than they are now, and that the CEOs, bosses or whomever was at the top of the hierarchy usually had at least some knowledge about the technology they develop, and many times were engineers themselves. If not, at the very least their engineers held more significant level of power in the said companies, meaning they could too have a voice in the decision making. nowadays, most companies are filled with people who know little about the products they offer, rather only focusing ever on how to increase the profits, awhile designers and engineers are threatened with layoffs of the protest on the top level decisions, and gaslighted on how they will not be able to find a job nearly as good as in the current company, having them trapped designing what they find utterly amoral. Secondly, improved DRM: this should be self explanatory, but the reason why we didnt have app stores and platform exclusive content in the 70s and 80s is because noone knew how to develop such technologies, and have them be enforcable. And lastly, marketing: with the rise of marketing as a field of study, companies can now sell products people dont necessarily need, but make them want it. this meant that companies could also come up with ever more elaborate excuses as to why such planned obsolesence is necessary, while still racking up the profits at no cost. This is probably why Framework has so far proven to be an amazing company in comparison, with their CEO being an engineer, and relatively small, keeping a close communication with other designers and developers working in the company.

Wait until Aug 16th, the one glorious sunny day we have in NH. The 364 days of grey cold wet weather really make that one day absolutely fantastic.

My goldwing has slow forward and moving backwards and it's an IC engine. It's comfortable and great to ride. It has a bunch of electronics and they give free updates.

Touching on the same kind of stuff that I just commented on (thanks YT algorithm) but yeah I have an electric car (even own most of it!) and this is the absolute worst aspect. It costs a fortune to keep because if you need to repair it, generally it's "ah yes we have to swap this entire proprietary magic box that only we the main dealer have access to, £4000 please" (when the car is worth £9000 or so). So you end up paying £350/year for an extended warranty out of fear of a £4k bill. And then you pay around £300/year (after the bait and switch of the cheap first 2-3 years) on all the unnecessary fluid changes and do-almost-nothing services etc required under the terms of the extended warranty. One thing I heard is when they have to replace (rather than repair) older batteries they often fit the bigger battery but limit it to the original spec But yeh I heard it's the same crap with modern ICE cars too. This sounds the absolute worst though

I own two zero motorcycles. One of them is a 2009 XE the other is a 2010 MXE. Both are off-road only and both of them use off the shelf components. In fact the controllers are made 30 miles from where I live in Oregon. One of them I've already upgraded with a computer programmable controller where you can create custom user modes. But I do read horror stories about modern zeros being difficult to get work done on and get them fixed correctly

given the path this stuff is taking I might as well start learning how to build my own stuff cause that's the only way I can see myself being able to repair anything going forward

Thanks for the heads up on Zero. My future purchase will be zero from Zero!

Amen. And I owned a FX and currently own a a SRS.

I've liked the Zero FXS for a while, but the nearest dealership is ~1000 km away from me and that's been holding me back from looking at it seriously. It seems to me that these ownership issues have been mostly related to their newer models, but even if they don't apply to the older models (like the FXS) I can still feel my desire to give this company any of my money dropping like a rock.

I remember watching a video were a farmer was complaining about not being able to fix his tractor because they company have locked the hardware, so you have to wait for an authorized engineer to come fix it or you take it to the dealer which causes delay if anything went wrong with the machinery.