At least, that’s the word from this www.groovygreen.com promotional video on the Vectrix Electric Scooter.
Let me say this about the Vectrix, and it’s nothing I haven’t said before. I love the idea of electric scoots. I even kinda like the electric motor sound they make, like my old battery powered car I had back in the 70′s (you can hear it pretty good in the video). The problem is, the batteries being used aren’t much more advanced than those either. Ok, I exaggerate… They aren’t Lead, they are NiMH… but as Jay pointed out in a previous comment. Why not spring for Lithium Ion / Lithium Polymer?
Truthfully, I hate poo-pooing the Vectrix. I WANT it to be earth changing. I want it to be affordable. I want one! So, as of right now, I’m gonna stop pointing out the evident flaws. If a design team wants my opinion, I’ll let ‘em have it. For now, we need ALL the deep-pocketed earth-lovers to buy into the Vectrix so more money can go into R&D and eventually produce a small, light, quick, long distant city runner that you and I could stick in the garage and charge in our office cubicles.
We wish you the best Vectrix! Oh, and to GroovyGreen… I’m sure my wife would be glad to hear that I won’t get a date on my Vespa, but I’m ALSO sure that I know quite a few riders who would beg to differ with your statement. I’d suggest laying off the groovy green before spittin’ something like that again Michael. Oh and thanks again Cleat!
23. April 2007 at 4:36 pm
I had a chance to test drive the Scooter. It rides nice, but I see one HUGE flaw. The factory rep told me the scooter has a 60 mile range IF you travel at 25-30 MPH. If you travel at higher speeds it cuts the range by HALF. I rarely drive at 25 -30 MPH and usually travels more than 30 miles on rides.
Janine
23. April 2007 at 7:24 pm
I hate to bash groovy green, because for the most part they seem to be on the up and up, but they say some utterly dumb things in that particular video.
I get the feeling they want to be edgy. The Vespa crack is just one thing that makes them seem less intelligent and a bit rude. That video doesn’t come across at all as edgy.
23. April 2007 at 10:09 pm
They lost most of their credibility by starting off with the Vespa poo-poos. Thumbs down
24. April 2007 at 12:47 am
I bet if you had the cash to buy a Vectrix plus an extra few thousand kicking around, one of the companies that does plug-in conversions on the Prius would love to put a Li-Ion pack in there and double your range.
I think Vectrix probably took the best route in selecting a “maxi” design. Even a lithium pack will weigh 10kg/kWh, which means somewhere in the neighborhood of 1kg of battery weight per mile of range. That’s fine for electric cars (though they get half the range per kWh that a scooter would), but it’s iffy for anything motorcycle-sized. Try to compete with a 50cc gas machine and range is maybe 25-30 miles and the price is twice as much.
I hate to say it, but the battery technology has not yet “trickled down” to the scooter world. There are also some annoying problems with charging. When was the last time you saw an electrical outlet in a parking lot?
All these issues can be and should be addressed, the sooner the better. For most of us, it’s just going to take patience. Our electric rides may still be ten years away. In the meantime, at least we be ahead of the game by getting 50, 70, or 90 miles per gallon.
24. April 2007 at 2:24 am
Let me get this straight, people are driving 8-cylinder gas-guzzling SUVs like the Chevy TrailBlazer, Yukon Denali, and Lincoln Navigator… and these asshats give us crap for commuting everyday, including riding in the rain, on scooters that get anywhere from 100-mpg (Honda Metropolitan) to 55-mph (Burgman 650).
Who is this advert targeting? Because all it did was irritate me. I wish them luck convincing SUV drivers or Harley owners to buy the Vetrix because they just pissed off and insulted this sccoter owner.
24. April 2007 at 6:09 am
Give me an electric maxiscooter that has a 100 mile range at freeway speeds, and I’m sold. This? Getting there.
24. April 2007 at 12:54 pm
“You will never get laid on a Vectrix”
24. April 2007 at 3:10 pm
Yeah Janine. That’s the major flaw right there. You get distance or speed.
Bryce & Casey. It is too bad the whole “scooters won’t get you any” angle, especially considering the Vectrix is… a scooter. If you want to “get some” you either have to have money or skills; and an electric scooter doesn’t guarantee you either.
Genwaylaid. Looks like you’ve been doing yer homework. Planning on an electric soon? Thanks for the insight!
Anon poster. :D Yeah, if you can’t persuade a scooterist to get a Vectrix, who CAN you persuade?
Cervus. That, my friend, is a dream. I think when we hit THAT point, nearly EVERYONE will be riding electric (with a few straggling 2-strokers out there reminiscing over a nose full of blue smoke (Illnoise). I predict, at the current rate of development, it will be achieved in Europe by 2011. If more Americans were on board (see: The Government), we might even see it in the USA by 2015. This will be followed by Clean Atomic power in 2050. Just pulling numbers out of my arse.
Oh and Casey. On that last comment. Is that a dare? Don’t make me take the wife to join the NiMH club!
24. April 2007 at 6:36 pm
Hehe, Ya’ know, I have been kicking around the notion of engineering electric drive for the P125. Nimh bats and a 10hp Pancake motor. Not much range but 100 percent torque at zero RPM sounds like fun to me.
25. April 2007 at 2:36 am
Not a good move, insulting the scooter crowd. Eh, not much storage space for a maxi either. Too much space taken up by the NiMH batteries. I do love that electric motor whine though. :D
GO LiPo!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_polymer
I’m just wating for room temperature super conductors to be perfected. Then we can all have speeder bikes! Eeeeeeeeeooowwwwwnnnnnn!
-Jay
25. April 2007 at 7:25 am
Casey, I’m sure Dan can get us a box of laptop batteries. What do you say?
And Jay, you’re speaking my language. Let’s adapt “lifter” technology to bikes to create a Speeder Bike.
http://wapurl.co.uk/?APIWETX
25. April 2007 at 7:28 am
Lifters = Ionocraft
http://wapurl.co.uk/?CCTUYZK