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Forum » Other Forums » Electric Motorcycles and Scooters

My Vectrix

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Written on: 22 September 2008 [18:37]
Franko30 Moderator Topic creator registered since: 08.09.2007 Posts: 79	Hello there, about a week ago I got my Vectrix bike from Vectrix Germany. I decided to put down my first impressions in writing, so other people may have some help in deciding whether they want one or not. Order & delivery I wanted to order online via vectrix.de - but it leads to vectrix.com. So I called Vectrix Germany and they e-mailed me an offer which became an order when I transfered the down payment of 1000 EUR on the sales price of 9999 EUR (including tax) plus 238 EUR (including tax) for delivery. After 12 days they delivered my Vectrix to my home and explained the special procedures to start the bike and use the accelerate/regenerative braking handle. All the people I had contact with were very friendly - which was to be expected with the high price of the product. As they don't have a network of dealers yet, service in Germany is done as "mobile" service from Berlin with a cap of 80 EUR on the costs for the trip from Berlin to the service location. The trip costs for the first service are included in the sales price - the service costs for the first service will be 150 EUR.. Driving Driving the Vectrix is fun! Instant power, great acceleration, very responsive regenerative braking (didn't need the disc brakes yet - except when standing on traffic lights). And it just puts a smile on my face riding a motorbike with no noise - as opposed to all the noisy, stinking bikes that are on the road everywhere... The (slow) reverse gear is great for parking the bike. Rolling resistance/air drag is higher than with the Twike (I noticed that when going down ot so steep hills where I can use regenerative braking with the Twike, but got slower without braking with the Vectrix). Well, it's a motorbike after all.. Balance is great - the weight of 230 something kilograms (without the 90 kg driver) can be handled very easily when you're on the Vectrix - when standing next to it and trying to move the Vectrix (for instance when the batteries are empty) it's difficult not to drop the bike. The size of the km/h numbers on the speedometer is OK - but the mph numbers are way too small (especially when wearing a helmet with plastic vizor). At night the "low beam light" (correct term?) is sufficient, but brighter would be better. "High beam light" is OK. Range The manual states that the batteries have to be completely charged and discharged (conditioned) five times before the maximum range can be acheived. I did five cycles now and got an average of about 60 km in hilly terrain (high elevations as well as river valleys) with speeds between 75 and 80 km/h (outside of cities and villages). Unfortunately the regenerative braking only regains about 10-15% of the power that could be regained (according to the Vectrix person delivering the bike) - compare this to about 40-50% of the power regained with the regenerative braking of the Twike. So, one step to a higher range would be better regenerative braking... The estimated range always shows "zero" 3 km before performance actually dropped - a good safety feature. On the other hand, one big problem is that the "estimated range" display jumps up and down way too fast: Go up a 2 km hill an the range drops to 20 km even directly after recharge - go down the same hill with regenerative braking right after that and the range jumps up to about 150 km... This happens during the whole discharging cycle and makes estimating the driving range of the Vectrix impossible. A software update for averaging out the range is definitely needed here. After the 60 km "high performance" range, I still got about 3 km with about 50 km/h in flat terrain and then another 1-2 km at walking speed, again in flat terrain. Charging Vectrix advertises 2 1/2 hours for 80% recharge. My experience is a different one: From empty to end of charging cycle (full) in 4 1/2 hours! That's the result of the weak built in charger that seems to be the same for European 200 V models as US 110 V models. Just compare with the Twike: about 7 kWh are put into the batteries in 2 1/2 hours (220 V, 16 A) - the Vecrix charges the battery with 3,7 kWh in 4 1/2 hours (220 V, 10 A CP charge and 3 A CC charge)... In my opinion, everything over 3 hours in charging time is unacceptable. Especially as the long charging time makes the Vectrix unsuitable for longer tours with charging stops. Charging is divided in the following phases: Empty to end of "CP charge" (constant power up to 152 V) about 3 hours. Then some minutes "tr" - a cooling down phase. Then 1 1/2 hours of "CC charge" (constant current, up to 153 V). After "EC" (end of charge) is reached, a one hour timer starts, during which some kind of "trickle charge" with about 1 A takes place. During the charging cycle voltages and Ampere are displayed in the instruments. Something I really miss when driving - especially a voltage display! In the Twike, these readings allow me to get a better feeling for the range than the "estimated range" display calculates (especially at the end of a discharge). A very annoying fact is, that the battery cooling fans are as loud as a hairdryer when charging. As my Vectrix doesn't have a garage and is charged in front of the house (with a lot of neighbours very close) I guess it's just a matter of time until I get the first complaints... Conclusion A nice toy - but only fit for daily use if you don't have to go further than 60 km a day. Otherwise it's "always recharge wherever you are". The first thing I'm going to do is find me somebody to exchange the NiMh batteries with LiIon batteries. Yes, this will void the warranty - but who needs warranty for a toy? Cheers Franko30 Twike 891 easy: 24 Ah Li-Ion-Mn batteries, 360 V, about 7 kWh/100 km (336 US-miles per Gallon) | Citysax 002: 160 Ah Li-iron phosphate batteries, 83 V, about 13 kWh/100 km (180.93 US-Miles per Gallon) Attachment DSC04576-1.JPG (File type: image/jpeg, Size: 392.81 kilobytes) — 118 downloads
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Written on: 23 September 2008 [22:21]
ecoadmin Administrator registered since: 20.07.2007 Posts: 504	Congratulations to your Vectrix Frank. I always wanted to testdrive one, but I never took the time to go that far to see the dealer in London. Whats the warranty like and how do you get it serviced? Is there already a dealer near your home? Or will it be do-it-yourself? I am curious about your long-term experience and the feedback you get from people on the street. Please let us know....Enjoy the electric ride! ecocarforum.com - Green Car Network
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Written on: 24 September 2008 [08:54]
Franko30 Moderator Topic creator registered since: 08.09.2007 Posts: 79	ecoadmin wrote: Whats the warranty like and how do you get it serviced? Is there already a dealer near your home? Or will it be do-it-yourself? Hi, I wrote above: As they don't have a network of dealers yet, service in Germany is done as "mobile" service from Berlin with a cap of 80 EUR on the costs for the trip from Berlin to the service location. The trip costs for the first service are included in the sales price - the service costs for the first service will be 150 EUR. Warranty: In the EU we have a 2 year "Gewähleistung" (a mandatory warranty that every producer/dealer has to adhere to) on every product sold. This covers all problems as far as they are due to construction/constructive faults. During the first six months the dealer/producer has to prove that the fault is not due to constructive or construction errors, after that the buyer has to prove his/her claim. This is to force the producers to only bring functioning products on the market. The dealer/producer has to do at least 2 repairs to make the product work as specified - after that the customer can request that the product be exchanged for a new one. There's also the possibilty to get your money back, but I never needed to go through that process yet. In addition to that, dealers/producers can offer warranties that go beyond this "Gewährleistung" - for instance a three year battery warranty etc. etc. Vecrix delivers a warranty booklet for a two year warranty with the bike - which wasn't signed. I'll contact Vectrix to get a statement whether this has to be signed by Vectrix or if it is effective as long as I have the invoice to prove I'm the buyer. Concerning your other question: ecoadmin wrote: I am curious about your long-term experience and the feedback you get from people on the street. No reactions so far. It looks like an ordinary step through bike - so people just don't notice the absence of loud noises... Maybe bigger "electric" stickers (and an additional one on the back of the bike) would do the trick? This confirms my feeling about the Twike being so interesting because of its looks, not because it's so quiet. Cheers Franko30 Twike 891 easy: 24 Ah Li-Ion-Mn batteries, 360 V, about 7 kWh/100 km (336 US-miles per Gallon) | Citysax 002: 160 Ah Li-iron phosphate batteries, 83 V, about 13 kWh/100 km (180.93 US-Miles per Gallon)
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Written on: 01 October 2008 [09:09]
Franko30 Moderator Topic creator registered since: 08.09.2007 Posts: 79	Hi, a "bump" to bring the topic up again: I added some words on the estimated range display, the speedometer and the lights. Cheers Franko30 Twike 891 easy: 24 Ah Li-Ion-Mn batteries, 360 V, about 7 kWh/100 km (336 US-miles per Gallon) | Citysax 002: 160 Ah Li-iron phosphate batteries, 83 V, about 13 kWh/100 km (180.93 US-Miles per Gallon)
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Written on: 07 October 2008 [20:31]
childress Administrator registered since: 14.08.2007 Posts: 131	Thanks for the review! Commute suck? Twike it; You'll like it! http://www.uiuc.edu/goto/twike
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