This saga began on the 26th of August. I'd returned from a 350 mile trip to Berkshire, and had reached the 600 mile interval at which the first service is due. So I phoned up Alec at EEMC to arrange the service. A factor in choosing to buy a bike through EEMC was that they "offer a comprehensive, reliable and reasonable nationwide delivery and mobile service", so I could have the SR/S serviced without traipsing around the country.
On the 26th Alec said that he was going to be setting the date for his next round of mobile servicing in a couple of weeks, and that he'd get back to me. I assumed that with Fully Charged Outside coming up roughly a week later he wanted to get that out of the way first. I met Alec and Oli for the first time at Fully Charged and introduced myself, as well as reminding them that I was waiting on a date for the service.
Two weeks after Fully Charged and I still haven't heard anything, so I emailed in on September 16th to chase up a date. A couple of days later Oli responded, putting me in the holding pattern. Another week passes and then another email without a date, but with the assurance that "EEMC can confirm there will be no warranty related issues due to going over the first interval."
After going back with a bit of a whinge, Oli emailed me the next day (a Sunday no less!). He proposed October 21st, just about a month in the future, and almost two months after my initial phone call to Alec. Not really having another option, I agreed and blocked out the date in my work calendar so I wouldn't get invited in to the office for a meeting.
Two weeks later and Oli is back in touch. They can't do the 21st, so would the week after on the 28th be okay? I'm feeling a bit like Tantalus, with this service always just out of reach. I've got a meeting on the 28th so we agreed on the 27th.
On the 23rd Oli emailed me to let me know that Nathan would be with me just after midday on the 27th. So on the 27th of October, almost exactly two months after phoning Alec, I waited until Nathan was an hour late then phoned into EEMC and left a voicemail to ask if there was an issue. Half an hour later Alec phoned to say that Nathan was just around the corner.
The actual service itself was almost a non event. First Nathan connected a laptop to the bike's OBD2 port and confirmed that all the ECUs were running the latest firmware (v19). Then he checked that all the fasteners were tight, and the rear wheel spindle and brake calliper bolts were torqued correctly. A quick check of the lights and controls, the tyres and brake pads. Finally a short spin up and down the road, with nothing unusual to report. Nathan was engaging and politely answered all of my questions. He'd been in Bristol earlier in the day, and was headed to Stamford after leaving me.
The elephant in the room from my perspective was that the owner's manual has item 17 (Drive Motor: Commissioning and timing.) against the initial/600 mile service. Nathan explained that he's rarely seen motor encoders slip, so the timing between motor and controller is pretty much always spot on. But it doesn't sit well with me that this wasn't performed, given the "initial maintenance is vitally important" statement in the manual.
Nathan told me to expect an invoice and the service record to be emailed over. I waited a week without receiving anything, then emailed EEMC to get the record and invoice. The cost of the service came to £198, which is of course all labour (and travel?) as there were no parts required. When I first spoke to Alec at EEMC all those months ago, the mobile service facility was sold to me as a great convenience, no need to bring the bike in for servicing, we'll come to you. It has turned out to be a major inconvenience and pretty expensive for less than an hour's work. Given that Streetbike in Halesowen is my nearest Zero dealer, just 25 miles away, I think I need to investigate their pricing. Update: Streetbike will charge £75 for labour, plus £45 for a brake fluid change. So most annual services will come to £120.
(On a side note, my BMW K1600GT was due a service in September. This is the big service where they check the valve clearances for all six cylinders amongst other things, so most of a day's work. I phoned up my local BMW dealer 20 miles away, and arranged a date two weeks in advance and a courtesy bike so I didn't have to spend the day in a coffee shop. It cost £600, but the customer service is great and it is one of the factors that keeps me going there rather than my very local independent shop.)