Is Vectrix a balanced bike?

I've never felt vectrix confortable at all, but it has more to do with seat geometry and foot platform geometry rather than balacement. The lower seat turned my vectrix a little more confortable in the city, a bit more unconfortable in open road...

I always ride with my feet on the upward sloping surfaces of the foot platform. If there were any "meat" behind that lower fairing, I'd have already mounted extended foot pegs for some stretch. Thought about building some steel or heavy aluminum plates to bolt onto the floorboards and extend down and forward for mounting pegs to, but just never seem to have the time to tinker.

Never had any problems with it leaning, but you sure can't let go of the handelbars or they'll woble like crazy!

You may want to check the alignment of the handlebars in relation to the front wheel!--I noticed that with my handlebars at a centered, neutral position, the front wheel was off to one side. I slightly loosened the front fork clamping bolts, and by holding the wheel between my legs, aligned the handlebars so that the wheel now points straight forward with the bars at center, and then tightened the mounting bolts to secure the fork position. (This alignment can be altered by minor mishaps, especially if the fork securing hardware is a little too loose.)--Bob

I am actually surprised how well balanced the bike is given its weight. It handles like a much lighter bike. I do agree that it is somewhat hard to get used to the seating position on a scooter if you are used to a motorcycle. However, compared to a Vespa the Vectrix feels just righ. I would prefer a seat that does not limit how far back you slide. The "butt rest" doesn't allow that and for taler riders makes you feel a little tight. The weight of the bike has actually helped me many time in windy situations where the bike just stays the course like an ocean liner!

The weight of the bike has actually helped me many time in windy situations where the bike just stays the course like an ocean liner!

Every time I ride my Vectrix, I have a feeling that the bike itself is a bit leaning to the right and I'm a bit leaning to the left, to keep things upright.
My left butt cheek touches the back seat and the right one doesn't, because my both legs are more turned 11 o'clock instead 12 (ok, left one is turned 12 o'clock and right one is 11).
My hands; my left hand holds the end of the bar, while the right one holds the bar more to the center of the handle bar - the left side of the throttle.

I have never had any such problems with any motorcycle. Is it because all my bikes had fuel tanks between my legs and that kept my position in check and now that I don't, my right leg leans more to the left leg or is the left side of the bike heavier than the right because of the motor and it's housing?

mate your not dreaming, there is something wrong with your bike. the vectrix is normally very well ballanced, to the point where you can take your hands off the handlebars and it will travel straight up the road. what you have described is an an alignment issue. i.e. rear swing arm is not straight maybe the bushes are worn.

quick question is has the bike been like this since you have owned it?

also check that the front shock are sitting at the same height, get the front wheel off the ground and remove the front wheel and the forks should each be the same hight off the groung. thirdly check the front wheel pressure, 32psi from memory. low front wheel pressure does have a dramatic effect on these bikes.
cheers, paulyd

Hi Andy,

Check the rear shock absorber pre-load!! At the bottom of the spring is an adjuster with 5 positions on it. From the factory the adjuster is set to the middle position. It may be possible someone has adjusted the pre-load to stiff on one side and soft on the other. A long shot but worth a look mate. Any bike or scooter shop will have a tool to adjust them for you and should take less than 5 minutes.

Checking for loose fasteners on the fork leg clamps and the alignment of the handlebar clamp should only be done by someone with the correct torque specs and a torque wrench. Over tightening could cause the parts to fail and if that were to happen whilst riding.... let's just say it would not be a pretty sight!

Cheers,

Thank you for your reply!

Yes, it's been like that since new. I regularly (once every two weeks) check the tire pressure and I have it between 2.2 and 2.3 bars (as it should be).

I have no problems taking hands off the handle bar and the bike travels straight up the road (except for occasional front tire wobbling).

The bike has been checked up this year, when the battery was replaced and I guess the repair engineer didn't notice anything.

In the end, it may just be something wrong with my sitting position.

About the mechanical work; I have no tools to do it, so I may just have to wait until next year's check up, but I will ask my friend to take a visual look at the front and rear wheel, while I'm sitting on the bike, or he will e sitting on the bike and I will take a look, if I can see something. I will ask him to take a ride and if he experiences this as well.

take it to a bike shop and get the mechanic to test ride it and check for alignment, there is a slim possibility the the goose neck was not straight when it was welded to the frame. this would cause the problem you have described. the front forks do groan when you compress them that is normal for the vectrix. cheers paul

Thank you for your reply!

I will drive the bike to the local Yamaha&Kawasaki&Honda repair garage for them to test ride it.

What about the 2nd hardest setting (out of 5 (as I've counted them)) of the rear shock absorbers? Is that to hard for a 77kg rider?

I've testem them all with my 110kg all inclusive.

For my weight, the second hardest setting seems best.

If it's too soft, the suspension bottoms out on heavy bumps at high speed.

If it's too hard, the scooter starts to lift off on heavy bumps at high speed.

Shock settings? It all comes down to rider preference Andy, as long as the suspension is not bottoming out or too stiff making it uncomfortable. I weigh 85kg and prefer the 4th setting from the bottom when riding solo and virtually nothing in the storage compartment. The rear tyre with 40psi in it offers very little to assist the suspension. Tyres do act as part of the suspension and 1psi can change the spring rate by up to 50lbs/in. That's why racing teams change tyre pressures to fine tune the suspension, it's ar easier than changing springs!

Your forks sound just like typical Vectrix forks. I hate to say it but, "They all do that!"

But back to your problem.... everything suggested here is a possibility. Often we get so used to our bikes we think it is doing something strange when really it isn't or something minor causes a difference we feel and our minds escalate it into the apocalypse! Road surface and crown or camber can cause symptoms you describe. Is the centre of the road significantly higher than the edges causing you to 'lean' to one side to keep the bike going straight? As I say so many variables and as suggested let someone else take it for a test ride for their opinion. You might even want to test ride another bike while at the dealers, travel along the same roads and see if there are any similarities!!

Good luck!!!

Maybe you need to thin down your wallet a bit? ;-)

Seriously, when I ride any great distances on my Road King, I take my wallet out of my hip pocket because although mine ain't "thick" with money, it does make me sit on a bike crooked.

It's always the obvious which offers the simplest solutions!!!! And I thought I was the only Harley man with an EV!!!

And I thought I was the only Harley man with an EV!!!

Driving my Vectrix to work everyday means I have gas to "blow" on my Harley on the weekends!! :-) I guess that's kind of like drinking a diet soda and eating a candy bar. There DOES seem to be SOME logic there! :-)

I have a 1994 Honda Goldwing SE, which I have ridden over 100,000 miles so far, and a VECTRIX scooter, with about 1,000 miles, so far. I also find that removing my wallet from the rear pocket is advisable for riding, as it is more comfortable and generally safer, as you CAN lose the wallet more easily from the rear pocket than from most front pockets! I save gasoline with the vectrix, so that I can "Guzzle" it in my Goldwing, pulling its matching trailer! (Similar to Having a "diet/sugar free drink", and a "Double Whopper Burger with cheese", extra large french fries, and a large milkshake for lunch!)-Bob

Though I can't say this is the situation in your particular case, one common cause for "bike lean" that crops up in motorcycle forums is the fact that most roads have a crown to them. Combined with the fact that front tires are usually a bit narrower than the rear and you have the perfect recipe for a bit of pull off to one side. Which side? Depends on which side of the road you ride on.

That said, even taking the above into account, I will confess to having noticed a similar one-sided pull on my motorcycle which has a single-sided swingarm; perhaps the majority of the Vectrix' motor bulk is on one side instead of the other?

:)

unbalanced backpack = vectrix apocalypse :)

the word you are looking for is strap.