I don't have to plug it in at all. I just park it under this thing and it's charged automatically...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY-AS13fl30&feature=related
I had to take the Vectrix to get it inspected last Saturday. It sure confused the guy there. He had me demo the brakes and then said, "You can't just push it for this test. I need you to start it up and ride it past to hit the brakes." So I smiled and pulled on the throttle, rode around in a circle and did the braking thing again. He had this priceless puzzled look on his face. It was really weird. When he was inspecting it in the bay, he asked, "Where's the exhaust?" I said, "There isn't one." Then he said, "Ok, where's it supposed to be?" I told him that it wasn't supposed to be anywhere. It took a while but he finally came to terms with the fact that it was 100% electric and not some sort of hybrid.
So he reluctantly applied the sticker and charged me $14.50, which is cheap compared to $38.50 for a car inspection.
To further the cause, I just put a Leaf on reserve. We'll see how that goes.
Every time I tell someone, that Vectrix is an electric motorcycle, the next thing they ask me: 'What's the displacement?'.
I tell them, that there isn't any.
And they need time to grasp the concept of a vehicle without an ICE. That's how far the human kind is into, that only ICEs can power vehicles :-)
P.S.: I'm waiting for Leaf too, but it's gonna take another year for the rest of the EU to be able to buy it.
Dat dere charger makes a helluva bug zapper too, doncha know!
The problem in our state is that the displacement of your engine determines the type of skills test you take for your motorocyle endorsement. When you put that N/A in that space it really throws them for a loop. Ultimately, I told them to give me whichever test was harder (more permissive), and they seemed okay with that.
I took my motorcycle driving test back in 1984 in Wichita KS. You had to be a circus performer to pass one there. I did it on a Yamaha 650 Maxim. It was a beast to do some of the tight maneuvers on. Thinking back now, I could breeze through that test on the Vectrix. I originally lived in OK and they didn't require an extra certification/test for motorcycles.
My other bikes are a Honda Valkyrie 1500, Suzuki Bergmann 650, and Kawasaki GPZ 1100. But the Vectrix is my favorite one to ride around town. Hell, I've almost had it for two years now. Time flies. :-)