What to do with an old Vectrx?

If you cannot afford it as a pet project, get rid of it while it still runs!

If you can afford it, then wait until others take the plunge and put untested lithium conversions into their Vectrix. Maybe you can buy their old pack.

As far as I can see, the majority of cells in Vectrix packs remain good even when the battery is stuffed. Batteries from accident damaged bikes and from conversions to other batteries might become more commonly available soon.

As far as I can see, the majority of cells in Vectrix packs remain good even when the battery is stuffed. Batteries from accident damaged bikes and from conversions to other batteries might become more commonly available soon.

MiK is right. Keep it running. A single death cell can bring down the pack, but the rest are ok. There will be a bunch of spare cells from successful conversions. Maybe a skilled soul in Australia may help you in replacing those damaged cells...

Call me sentimental but I truly believe that the VX1 will become an important part of EV history.
- It was technologically ahead at the time of conception.
- The company went bankrupt.
- The owners were/are passionate.
- only a few were built.

It is the Delorean of the EV era :-)

Hi Paul,

There are several options when the time comes:
-Beg borrow or steal a batch of replacement NiMh cells if they can be found.
-Try and do a homebrew Lithium conversion.
-Wait for Vectrix and Goldpeak to come up with a Lithium conversion.

If you are happy with your V with the factory NiMH pack that might be your cheapest option.

Before making a decision if you can afford to wait a few months (I think its highly unlikely its going to take them more than six month's) I'd wait to find out the price and capacity of the V/GP conversion.

If you feel up to a project and you can find a really good deal on high quality Lithium Cells (I wouldn't recommend the cheap Chinese Cells) that could be a great option (depending on the price and quality of Cells). Someone from Australia posted at ES (a long time ago) that someone gave him as many Dewalt (A123 Cell) tool packs (returned on warranty) as he needed to build an Ebike pack.

You might not be able to wait this long but a friend of mine thinks when Leaf (25 kW·h) and Volt (16 kW·h) packs start hitting wreaking yards they will sell for about $5k USD and $3k USD respectively. A good option might be a temporary NiMH repair until you can get a good deal on high quality lithium cells.

Also (FYI):
http://green.autoblog.com/2010/08/13/martin-eberhard-predicts-500-mile-range-for-the-electric-vehicle/

Martin Eberhard predicts 500-mile range for the electric vehicles of 2020

The guy who helped bring us the 250-mile electric vehicle (EV) thinks we will be able to go a lot further on a full pack of batteries in ten years. Yes, Martin Eberhard, one of the co-founders of Tesla Motors who is now working with Volkswagen, is predicting that EVs will have plenty of range at affordable price points not all that far into the future. Eberhard spoke with Autocar recently and said something that should put a bit of fear into vehicle charging station companies and people who still fight against plug-in vehicles:

At the current rate of progress, I'd say we will have banished the range anxiety problem, and will be making EVs with greater than 500 miles of operational range, within 10 years. At that point, the further development of fast charging infrastructure won't be so important - because how often do you drive more than 500 miles in a day?

Eberhard also confirmed the rumor that the battery packs he's helping develop for the Blue-e-motion Golf, the E-Up! and the Audi e-tron are all "exclusively" using 18650-type (i.e., laptop size) li-ion cells. The reason is that:

Because 18650 cells are at the leading edge of battery development, and by using them we can benefit from state-of-the-art technology straight away. Put simply, 18650s develop faster than any other kind of battery because there's more demand for them; the industry is already making two billion of them a year.

In fact, development is so fast that the original e-tron concept had a range of 150 miles. Now, with newer 18650 cells that are about to arrive at VW, range will be doubled to 300 miles. Cost is a big factor, too, and Eberhard said that the latest cells offer a price point of 200 euros ($255 U.S. at today's exchange rates) per kWh.

The bike for me is perfect. I don't want a Harley that spews oil on the driveway as it ages. I want I bike with no maintenance that when I don't drive it as much still works when I need it. Sure the range will go down, but I have NEVER put 50K miles on a bike in my life. I always expect I will, and then it ends up sitting. When I start it the thing is out of tune, or needs service, or maybe the battery is dead. So a bike that will have none of those problems and should ALWAYS be available to run around the island, just need to leave it plugged in or plug it in every month.

If I do get a bug up my butt and want to bring it back as a new motorcycle down the road (although I am not waining in my wanting to ride every day) I'll spring for a Li4Po pack at that point.

Of course I am disappointed that I am having pack problems at 3K miles, a LONG way from the Vectrix expected 50K miles for the pack...

-Randy