Hi All,
I've been reading these forums trying to decide if I should go with a vectrix.
I've come to realise that many contributors to this forum have some advanced mechanical and electrical talents and a curiousity for experimenting that I can't match. I was drawn in by the "user friendly" marketing of the Vectrix as the best and cheapest way to get an Electric Vehicle. I also get the impression that advertised range should not be believed.
I was sold, but now I'm unsure. You're advice would be appreciated.
The opportunity
A 'new' 2008 Vectrix selling for AU$6500 from AU dealer
No warranty
Likely to have been built March 2008 but will confirm. I understand bikes built post Oct 2008 are better?
Questions
Don't yet know if it's been charged whilst in storage - if it hasn't should I touch it?
I want it for a 20km each way commute with 60% of that at 90-100km/h.
No charging is available at work. Is it capable of this? And for how many years?
If necessary, is it easy to update the firmware?
Also I'm not sure if Vectrix are back in operation - I'm wary of buying a product which will not be continued. The vectrix is about 5 times what I was looking to spend on a 125cc ICE scooter, which is why I'm hesitant.
Your help and opinions would be gratefully appreciated.
Pete
The described route is impossible to do with an "Australian Vectrix".
You would have nothing but grief with this.
Check out how much they could not sell them for on ebay before you hand over thousands too much!
If you decide to buy, and it breaks down unfixable, I'd be interested in buying it of you! I'm waiting for the price to drop to AU$2000,- but that might never happen.
This information may be used entirely at your own risk.
There is always a way if there is no other way!
'impossible' Wow that's definitive.
If they dropped to $2000 then I'd be tempted to buy one too. But according to the dealer in Melbourne he's only got two left, and when the new ones come in they will go back up to the $13000 price tag. Whilst I've been looking he sold two vectrix's on ebay last week, both buy it now. One was $6500, the other second hand went for $5500 same day.
So 40km / day with about 24 km of that on 100km/h motorway keeping up with traffic is unrealistic. The vectrix performance data on their website claims 56km - 89km in average driving conditions. That's very good to know, thanks.
Why do you say "with an 'Australian Vectrix'"?
Peter
Pete,
40KM at that speed is impossible for the Vectrix.
I emptied my Vectrix today on a 31KM ride to the office. That was at -5C, in warmer conditions I have better range.
My route is 40% 90-100 KM/H, 40% 60-80KM/H and 20% 45-50KM/H
So if you drive slower you might make it but I would say wait for the next generation of batteries!
Once you go EV, Gas is history!
60% of 20 km at 100 km/h? that's 24 km at top speed... My vectrix can easily hit nearly 40 km at that speed. However I believe the Australian vectrixs were shipped without battery care, in consequence all batteries are damaged to some extend. I recommend you:
1- check that this vectrix has the oct 2008 firmware. If yes, the battery will perform stable trough time. However, the damaged capacity will not be recovered.
2- make a deep test ride: first discharge the battery two times to red battery light, and recharge. In the 3rd ride you will know the real condition and range capabilities of the battery.
3- Between the lines, if you ride at 80 km/h instead of 100 km/h, range can be easily increased by 40%. Do you really need to go so fast?
R - can you reliabley hit 40km at 100kmh?
or is this something you can only do after a full cycle?
i know have a CAN-USB converter, so i will soon be able to check my packs real capacity.
FWI, i can't get more than around 24km at 100kmh reliabley
after a full cycle and a round of balancing overnight when the temp is below 20 deg c, i get all my bars (guage has never been calibrated) and i only get at most 35km at 100kmh. (and thats on a good day with no headwind)
Matt
Daily Ride:
2007 Vectrix, modified with 42 x Thundersky 60Ah in July 2010. Done 194'000km
I do not believe they will bring new Vectrix' into Australia. I can only guess here, of course, but I guess that Vectrix Australia (or the remnants thereof) are just trying to recover some of their massive losses by selling of what stock they have and then close shop for good.
The main problem is the heat and the lack of insulation of the battery pack. The cells are arranged in three layers, the top layer gets much hotter than the other two layers, easily reaching 40-50degC when parked in the sun. That rapidly sucks the charge out of the top cell layer due to massively increased self-discharge rate. The rudimentary BMS is blind to this effect, and the airflow through the battery is making it worse because it flows through the bottom cells first, providing less cooling to the upper layers which need it most.
This leads to imbalance in the pack followed by over charging or over discharging and cell reversal, and cell damage.
This information may be used entirely at your own risk.
There is always a way if there is no other way!
I think it is safe to say , Even someone with good electrical and mechanical knowledge is-are having problems with the vectrix and without pro. service ? I would say,, Wait there are better eByke deals to come ! LaTeR
thank GOD I wake up above ground !!!!
It is impotrant to remember that of all the >2000 vectrixes sold, may be 50-100 owners participate here. The others....probably just drive their and don't worry. That said, I have two Vectrixes, a 2007 and a 2008 and agree with the limited range caution. Just find a plce to charge at work and you'll enjoy your bike a ton. Almost any Vectrix will do 20km range at any speed, yet hardly any will do 40km or more.
for the first time ever, my bike showed 82km to go when i turned it on yesterday with a full charge, of course. (normally 50-60) by 1/2 charge it showed 39km to go.weird. i wish i'd had somewhere else to go to find out how far it'd really go. i had actually done 36km.
I reckon 24 km at 100km/hour would pretty much exhaust it.
apart from the battery capacity,they are nice little bikes. But I wouldn't recommend them for anything over 25km between charges with the current battery.
If you really want one, I know how these things sometimes are, don't do it if it is to be your only form of transport.
if you do do it,you'll need to charge at work. get approval before you buy it.
find a route that avoids the long 100km per hour stretch. Even if it is 5 km longer with the same grade hills, you will have a much safer range buffer travelling that at 70->80km/h
don't ride on days over 35 degrees. Pre cool the battery before charge for as long as you can on days over 30.
they are nice bikes, but a pain if you ask more than they can deliver
One think I've learned about range indications (especially after the October 08 update is that in addition to tyre pressures and ambient temperature making a major difference to achievable range, the displayed estimated range is still a random number generator. However, with the pre-Oct 08 s/w the bike's available mileage would drop to zero and you would have about 1 mile of limp mode before having to push (which I did for 2 miles, and never again!) Post Oct 08, the benefit is that although you reacj 0 miles range a little bit quicker, the limp mode has been extended considerably. I managed 4-5 miles to get back home, whilst all the time I expected I'd be pushing for the most of it - I didn;t - which was a blessed relief!
Despite this, providing you do not expect to be using the bike at the top end of its available range, and are prepared to ride and accellerate sensibly, it will not let you down. Having been caught out only twice - I leared quickly and well!
- Raymond
I'm lucky to have a good battery pack so, having not ridden much at full speed, thought I'd give it a go as a test. I rode 16 miles (25 km), 12 miles (19 km) of which was at full speed. When I reached the end of my journey I was at the halfway point on the gauge. I think that the range left is mildly optimistic as I generally get around 38-44 miles (61 - 70 km) as my usual commute to work is at about 35 mph on country roads. I do believe that I could have made at least 28 miles (45 km) at full pelt though. Of course, one thing I can't take into account is the climate as I don't ride or charge in anywhere near the temperatures you guys do. For info, I've just done 6000 miles in 18 months in the UK.
I'm definitely in the same boat, being neither technical or mechanical. I just charge every two days, running down to the red once every week or two, as advised by Steve Scott, and leave the software to do it's stuff. Seems to be working so far.
I bought my 2007 Vectrix in 2008 (still new, but stored for a year). The battery pack was replaced under warranty, since then I've had no problems - I just "Plug-N-Play" as the advertisement used to say.
I commute 36 miles daily (60 km), on a single charge. However - that's at speeds of 40 MPH (65 kph). I usually get home with a few bars left on the gauge - sometimes the red battery light comes on , sometimes not. While I've limped home a few times, I've never been stranded.
Maybe I'm a little more optimistic than some of the others posting here, but I love my bike; I have no regrets - I would definitely buy one again.
Would a little more range be nice? - sure! But if you are riding 60 km or less per day, or if you can charge at work, it will meet your needs - and the grin you'll have while flying by the gas stations is priceless ;-)
Only after full cycle or after "full range daily rutine". If you need all capacity for some days in strike, the V's system tries to gain some extra range. If you usually use half battery in your daily trip, you won't get that extra range. I wish we could manually regulate those range settings...
Btwl, driving behind trucks help me to extend range at 100 km/h!!
I'm sure it can. You have a well balanced battery with little damage. I believe the "60-80 km of range" should have been the normal range in every vectrix, a pitty the battery system was so poorly designed. I managed to hit 95 km with carefull ride until red battery light. With the red light I could have driven 5-10 km more at low speed.