Well I made it past 500km today (310 miles).
So far so good. All I've had is two annoying problems with easy fixes - a loose fuse killing the 12V power and a sticky front brake switch causing the controller cut out to remain on when the brake lever was released. Both happened in the first 200km (around 150km I think).
I've also wired my bike for bank charging. I made the Vectors small enough to fit on the bike. If I were to do it again I wouldn't bother with making them smaller. I'd just leave bank charging for home base and take along the string charger during the day.
My regular ride is a 12 mile commute. Half of that is in town and I easily keep up with traffic (I've even been known to overtake!). The second half is country roads with one 50 mph stretch - obviously traffic on this stretch backs up behind me but (a) it's never very busy; (b) I encourage them to pass me & (c) if they don't and they're holding up other folks then I just pull over for 30 seconds and let them all past. About 1.5 miles is on a dirt road, while the suspension isn't great it's not terrible either.
I haven't ridden in the rain yet (I'm allergic to water ;-) ). But there are some folks on this forum who have and have reported no great issue.
Now that I've gotten a reasonable amount of miles on it and I've not heard of an increase in failures due to some common weak point I'm gonna give the XM3K an 8 out of 10. I'd happily recommend this bike to anyone who's prepared to be an early adopter and doesn't mind doing just a little bit of troubleshooting and maintenance.
Folks who want a perfect 10 need not apply - they need to wait until Honda is selling an electric scooter. Folks happier with a 9 out of 10 should purchase one from a bricks and mortar dealer who will commit to servicing it for you.
The XM-3000 is a great bike for my 12 mile commute as long as you're happy with speeds up to 40mph. For folks who can't charge at work (a) tell their bosses to get with the program and add some outside electric outlets! & (b) roundtrip range of up to 20 miles a day would also be fine.
Of course, now I've said all these great things I'm sure something will go wrong. If it does I'll be sure to keep you posted.
If you want a short distance commuter an XM3K is a great choice. You might even consider buying one from me...
(if the moderators feel this should be moved from the XM forum to the "dealer announcements" forum then please feel free to move it!)
Thanks for the update, John.. 500km!! you da man!!
I like your commute.. fast roads, dirt roads, traffic.. a great test for an EV.
I like your shameless plug, too. :) No need to move this post.. good info from a dedicated user. I just wish i had bought mine from you so i could whine about things..
But i will concur.. with it's limitations, it is a great urban commuter, or short distance errand machine. I live in a small town.. hardly urban, but i can run all over with my scooter. A working distance of about 20 miles between charges covers a lot of distance... but not if you need to go 40 or 50.. need something else for that.
It would be great if Honda or some other manfr. ponied up & made a dependable, tight, plug & play electric for a reasonable price. But i think it will be a while, still.
I think what businesses could do is put a coin or credit card operated outlet letting you buy kw hours at a reasonable rate. They wouldn't feel 'used' by giving away the 10-20 cents it cost to recharge these monsters. And if someone pulls up with a huge RV, they would have to pay for the hookup, rather than run the AC & watch satellite for free.. It seems like it would be an easy solution to offer electricity.
I work part time at a golf course, & i pull into the cart barn & plug my string charger in. It only takes an hour or so to recharge, & they don't mind.
I've got a job coming up that is about 10 miles away, & i'm thinking of riding the scooter. There's an outside outlet that i can top off the batts with, then ride home.
I think these are a great solution for short distance trips. My old little scooter was only 48v, with 12ah batts, & a 5-7 mile ride was all it could do.. at considerably less than 25mph, too. This xm3k has a very practical, useful range for a lot of applications.. & at the price, will easily pay for itself in a short time. I'll have to figure up the cost saved per mile so i can estimate when it's paid for & when it starts making me money! I suspect it will be a few thousand miles.. but once it's paid for, all other rides are free. Plus think of the gas that didn't get used, & fewer dollars sent overseas.
Ramble over.. Thanks again for the post, John.
scotty, Sedona, Az
xm-3000 60v, 38ah silicones, since 7/08
quazar 48v, 12x12ah, since '05
5- vector 2/6/10 bank chargers
John and Scotty, I'm a newbie here and I want to thank you guys for taking time to share your experiences with these bleeding edge bikes. I've just began considering them, after salivating over the new Aprilia Scarabeo 200's (gas operated). No local dealer though, so I'm holding off on that one. But I'm now really tuned into the electrics and they appear to be catching up to the gas scoots sooner than later.
As the battery tech continues to evolve and we see more manufacturers come onto the scene (ala, Vectrix, EVC Volta, MX-3500Li, etc) the price will continue to drop and the range, speed and reliability will continue to climb.
It will be a fun ride for the remainder of 2008 and into 2009. Not only will we begin to see real world reports on the new Mt Chen Lithium scoots, we will also begin to see field reports from the first Lithium cars and early prototype tests on much anticipated plug-ins like Chevy Volt, Saturn Vue and of course, Toyota Prius.
We are in for a fun ride! Can't happen soon enough...
~ scott
My Blog: <a href="http://www.petrozero.org">PetroZero.org</a>
My Bike: 2007 Lashout Electric Scooter (12mph/12miles)
Considering: xm-3500Li
859 km on my xm3k so far, 8 miles one way to work. i ride on the shoulder of the road- cause its a 55mph road- RT13 delaware. i dont charge it at work- dont want to start any problems.... i make it home with about 50% power left.
need to have my finger on the horn, so i dont run over the birds that have a hard time hearing the bike about to crush them.
have my bank charging hooked up now. walmart is where i pick up my chargers. and can take them back if i have any problems with them.
mrladderman
72 volt mod http://visforvoltage.org/forum/4244-4000w-model-mountain-chen#comment-25513
xm-3000
Today's my "over 500KM" day,
Not without more than a few issues but it's been a lot of fun commuting to work this week. Good weather and I've had a good time running around for errands at lunch. Actually this bike is perfect for running around company site where I work. I'm getting the "chirping" sound that I believe MrLadderman mentioned. Not sure just what that's about. So far the batteries have been great and I'm not using a BMS. They seem a bit pricy and more work than they're worth to me. But I could be proven wrong if things start to go bad. I'm usually slow charging anyway so I think the risk is minimized.
I figure if this thing makes it to 6000 Kilometers it's essentially paid for itself. Can't say that for a car.