All,
For those in the UK that want to go that bit faster... the motor controller performance upgrade is here!
I have the first bike in the UK with the new firmware programmed in and it makes a huge difference to my ride into work.
Acceleration seems quicker from 30mph to 50mph and top speed is now 68mph (as programmed) but with my larger rear tyre I actually get 72mph registering on my TomTom sat nav.
Yes, that's over 70mph on an electric ride! I have a huge smile on my face and can now keep up with all the traffic!
See photo below of Steve Scott programming the new motor controller firmware - many thanks Steve. Huge thanks to Dana in the States for your help too.
If you'd like the same, talk to Steve or p/m me if you don't have his email address and I will send it to you.
Best wishes,
Drew
Can you give us an idea on the range with the new firmware and top speed?
Is that the large windscreen version I see on the picture? Did you notice change in range with that?
Yeah lots of range questions, as usual with ev's...
Once you go EV, Gas is history!
Kingcharles,
I would say that the range remains unchanged unless you make heavy use of the changes - ie lots of repeated heavy acceleration and/or use of top speed all the time. Over my 20+ mile to work route, it gobbles up maybe another two bars of charge, that is all. I now still have 1/3rd of the charge remaining. At least half of my route is at 60+ mph. Don't forget though that I have been like a child in a sweet shop recently and have been giving it beeeenz on my way in and than again on the way back home. When (if) the novelty wears off, I will probably use the same amount of charge as before - approx 1/2 charge remaining. (but probably not! ;-) )...
I certainly think it's worth doing!
Large windscreen, you are right - the winter one. I didn't notice any difference in range with that as I am still the biggest presented area (I'm tall and wide!) on the bike that induces drag, not the screen. The only blessing it has it that it keeps me drier in the winter and keeps the flies out of my teeth in summer!
Best of luck!
Drew
Drew
Hi Drew,
could you please tell me how to get in touch with Steve Scott? I'm having persistent trouble with the "Encodr" fault and would appreciate some advice from Steve. My E Mail is wolfgang dot grassberger at aon dot at
Many thanks
Wolfgang
My Vectrix is due a service next month, so this firmware upgrade will definitely be on the list.
Hi Wolfgang, some information about that is in the collaborative handbook: fixing the encoder
Greetings from Linz/Austria
Mike
Many thanks to Steve Scott for his timely and diligent advice over the phone. I'm now trying to obtain the alignment tools necessary for correct seating of the encoder disc as well as the diagnostic software to re-calibrate the encoder thereafter.
Rgds
Wolfgang
I was under the impression that vectrix limited the speed of their bike to give them range, so this up grade does what exactly, gives you greater speed at the expense of range, which is why vectrix limited the speed in the first place.
Won’t this extra power have a tendency to make the control boards more vulnerable to burn out?
After all if this board is having to deal with more power running through it and it is already so unreliable won’t this make it even more unreliable and void any warranty such as it is?
THis is how I see it - and will not be wanting this 'upgrade' for this very reason. I've the original low break fuse, and have never has issues with it - probably because I don;t for for a burn up when the lights change, as a steady accelleration still gets me away faster than the 4 wheelers, and by range isn;t compromised either.
- Raymond
I personally can't see any issues with increasing the top speed by 6mph. No doubt it will shorten the range if this speed is maintained.
I already have the 200A fuse upgrade as mine blew whilst travelling at around 35mph with steady acceleration. That was when my VX-1 was about 6 months old. It has been very reliable since then and I have only encountered a couple of software bugs and a sticky main beam flick switch. I will be passing the 10,000 mile mark very soon at less than 2 years old.
Hi,
I played with the data I gained in this forum. The first picture shows the range (pink)
in km (blue) depending on the driven speed. The numbers are both speed and range in km.
At 100 Km/h you should have 30km range under perfect circumstances with the perfect
equalised battery depleting it to 0%. At 110 kmh range should decrease dramatically.
(I used the range vs. speed data from the manual of 2007)
The second picture shows the current drawn out of the battery vs. Speed. The blue line
is made from the data from some "lithium-converting-post" the black broken line is the
estimated curent-draw vs speed. Board and wiring should work with this parameters many
minutes, but I´m not sure if it is healthy for the battery at all, even as the datasheet
of GP says 350 A with ventilation cooling.
I decided to travel between 70-80 Km/h wich is enough for me, so i don´t need the upgrade
for my bike.
Greetings Mike
most vectrixes will do 65 mph,
so an extra 6 mph or even 10 mph whts the point !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! as there are way more pressing issues ...
1 batery cooling
2 batery capasity
3 batery longgevatey
4 potentional fuse issues i/e too small capasitey and area in witch its placed/ hidden
5 batery way out dated
6 motor getting too hot
7 etc etc but we all love this machine for all its little niggles its ultamatley reliyable .....kev
Not really, the two major failure modes I have seen is burn out due to poor connection on the traction current terminals, and failed fuses.
both will fail either way.
I have yet to see a failure in any other way....
Matt
Daily Ride:
2007 Vectrix, modified with 42 x Thundersky 60Ah in July 2010. Done 194'000km
I saw the estimated range go up to 1040km tonight...yes 1 0 4 0!!! (it didn't show the 1 of course, but went from 980 to 040 and then slowly down again)
Of course it was back down to 35km within 3km :)
anyone seen better than that?
kevin smith
2 battery capasity.
Would it not be possible to do away with the helmet compartment and add some extra batteries.
You could always have a back box fitted i would have thought.
This vehicles components by the sound of it needs a bit of a rethink for accessibility, I suspect that most of the components could be fitted to separated out boards so when one part goes down, you simply open a panel and remove it for replacement, however as it stands at the moment this is clearly not possible.
So perhaps vectrix needs a rethink on the positioning of the boards and what is actually on each board.
As for the motor getting too hot, surely it would not take a huge amount of imagination to come up with an after market cooling jacket that could fit around the motor and held in place by a permanent strap until vectrix start using liquid cooled motors.
We have a road near my girlfriend´s home: for 4 km 10% downhill my vectrix showed something above 950 before it switched
to "-1" it needet some Km on flat road to re-adjust...
Greetings Mike
Well, I now have the 110km/h upgrade installed on my Vectrix as of today.
Even though it's only a small increase in top speed, it makes such a noticeable difference! I used the extra speed maybe 2 or 3 times in reasonably short bursts on my ride home this evening. I also neglected to use regen braking as I need to do 2 discharges to the red light. By the time I arrived home, I still had 2 bars left so had to do a lap around the block and then some. I normally reach my destination with 3-4 bars using regen braking, so I should have no worries with range.
People sometimes mention that the acceleration is also better with the 110km/h upgrade.
Does this only apply to the acceleration above 70km/h or also off-the-line?
This information may be used entirely at your own risk.
There is always a way if there is no other way!
It may be the placebo effect, but it does feel slightly quicker off the line too.
I had to have a software upgrade to the latest version before I could get the speed limiter raised. All I then had to do was 2 discharges until the red light appeared of which both times this was around 1/2 mile in to the last bar. Having a pre-charge delay is very handy - now that I have figured out which brake lever operates the default and which does the programmed time!
Quite off topic, but I was fortunate to test a V Preproduction unit in barcelona (in 2006)in open street. That Vectrix was a real beast: I followed a Tmax 500CC at full speed, and I MANAGED TO OVERTAKE IT AT 90 KM/H. I felt so disappointed whit the production model... it lost all bestiality from offline - to preserve battery, I guess. Anyway, with the suitable FW the engine can perform like a Hi-end 500CC scooter.
yeah...that really annoys me. My scooter is definitely slower off the line than the prototype one I originally rode. if the reason is battery conservation, then I'd rather that was left to my right hand on the throttle! if it's for self preservation of the motor, battery or whatever, then fair enough.
I think it's about the IGBTs.
http://visforvoltage.org/forum/7833-vx1-battery-currents#comment-44884
http://visforvoltage.org/forum/7002-possible-future-vectux-open-source-vectrix#comment-41313
http://visforvoltage.org/book/ev-collaborative-hand-books/6916#comment-40025
This information may be used entirely at your own risk.
There is always a way if there is no other way!
so if enough of us wanted to spend $3k on a MC thats twice as powerful, we could probably get it.
Who would spend that money? (I would).
Matt
Daily Ride:
2007 Vectrix, modified with 42 x Thundersky 60Ah in July 2010. Done 194'000km
For a repairable motor controller with accessible software etc I would, too! The Vectrix is in my opinion not powerful enough off the line. And motor controllers that are hard to repair (or to find) are an issue in the long run....
One could always keep the original MC as a spare, just in case, or sell it to someone who fried theirs.
But what are the chances of integrating another motor controller into the VX-1?
This information may be used entirely at your own risk.
There is always a way if there is no other way!
to ride, the scooter is great. i would happily spend more money to get more power and a longer range. like i said in another post, i want my right hand to decide what range I want...not some nanny device.