Hi Everyone, I just bought a 2008 blue Vectrix VX-1.
So far, I absolutely LOVE this bike. I have heard that it is prone to the occasional "hiccup" so I want to know as much as I can about it so that I can take very good care of it. I've read the manual end to end, but (at least this version of the manual) wasn't very specific about a few questions that I had.
The charging circuit that I have outside of my house is a 15 amp circuit. I've given it a light charge once with nearly a full pack and I was fine. I am guessing that the charger didn't need to draw too many amps to top that off though. Am I o.k. with this 15 amp circuit for charging? I looked into the cost of upgrading the house circuit, and it looks rather costly. I won't run anything else off of that circuit while it's charging, but I can only use a 15 amp max. Is that o.k.?
It's also stored outside (it's wrapped very tightly in a very good motorcycle cover) but I have no other choice because I do not have a garage. It's also under the canopy of my condo, providing it fairly good protection against rain and snow. I'd like to garage it, but it's just not really an option for me.
How hard is it to work on in case of failure? I called Vectrix today, and didn't get through. I have a feeling getting these things serviced is not an easy task, and a lot of this is going to be DIY. I am totally cool with that, but I wanted to get a sense of how many folks work on them themselves versus getting them serviced professionally. There's no dealer in my area, I bought mine used.
Thanks for any help!
I won't even pretend to know beans about these machines, but I've enjoyed the rip out of having mine for the last three years. I'm beginning to think that the key to a long and happy relationship with an EV is not needing more than half it's hyped up range rating. I don't need more than 20 miles per day, and can recharge remotely if I do, so my bike doesn't go through the stresses involved with complete run down and super long charge runs.
I can overhaul my Harley, but I'm not foolish enough to even try to tinker with the computer, charger, or battery pack on this puppy. Fortunately, I've only had one component failure, and was able to get that repaired under warranty. (charger burn out due to lightning strike while she was plugged in I think)
The only advice I can offer, in case someone else overlooks it, is to be sure that your bike cover does NOT cover the bike below the front fork cutout or below the passenger foot boards. During charging, cool air is drawn in from the front of the bike above the fender and expelled from the rear, just behind the floor boards. You need to give her plenty of breathing room while charging.
Adding a timer to the charge circuit will also give you built in cool down time before charging begins, but if you have the later software on board, you can delay your charge with the brake levers.
Congrats on the purchase and I hope the bike serves you well. For me, its the ONLY vehicle I've ever owned that literally pays me back and is fun to run at the same time! :-)
Enjoy!
You'll have guessed that it's not the latest MP3 player that Vectrix would have you believe: Not quite plug & play...
Keep your tyres in good nick, charge via surge protector, unplug/disconnect via timer after charging & follow the threads posted/contributed to by antiscab, the laird & xvectrix amongst others. Get a feel for the highs & lows of Ni-metal hydride batteries, ill thought out charging systems & other irritating odds & sods. Generally though, it's great, but with some reservations.
This sounds like I know what I'm talking about: I don't, but I have a better idea thanks to the genii on this forum.
The answer's out there, somewhere in the sticky threads...
Cheers, Matt
Welcome to Vectrix ownership :)
what is your mains supply?
If its 230Vac, than a 15A circuit is plenty (it only draws 7.5A)
If you're running 120vac (as in North America) than a 15A circuit may be border line
The thing to watch out for is the voltage getting too low
Below ~95vac the current drawn exceeds the PFC stage limits
When the PFC stage fails, there is a domino effect causing the main 12v supply to fail, causing the temp 12v supply to fail causing ~20v to appear on the 12V rail causing just about everything to fry.....
If you charge at night, the voltage probably won't be a problem
I wouldn't recommend charging with a cover on the bike, as both the battery and the charger need airflow to cool effectively.
This is less of an issue if running The Laird's nimh firmware though
Matt
Daily Ride:
2007 Vectrix, modified with 42 x Thundersky 60Ah in July 2010. Done 194'000km
Thanks everyone!
I have a 110v 15 amp socket that I am plugging it in to. I'll keep the line clear of anything that draws current during that time and keep a fresh charge on it so it doesn't dip too low.
Good point on not charging with the cover on. I'll steer clear of that. I am wondering about charging in the rain though... how do you all work around that? I am pretty sure that work will let me charge up there... but it's outside and I don't know how to do that if it's raining. I'll have to just keep checking outside to see if it's raining periodically I guess. I work 10 hour shifts and I only need a top off charge to get home, so if there's even a small break in the storm, I should be o.k., that is if it's o.k. to leave it covered right after a ride. I am thinking that it might be healthier for it to not cover it until it cools down though, even if it's in the rain.
I just want to make sure that my baby is around a long time. I have a feeling that although my friends have given me a bit of hassle for driving a "scooter," none of them will be laughing when I show them what it's capable of, and that I don't have to pay for gas.
Thanks again.
I always charge with a cover on. Also because it rains a lot where I live. My bike is also always parked outside and no problems after two years and 23k km's. You need to check if your bike has the front holes covered before riding in the rain. Search the forum on how to do it.
Once you go EV, Gas is history!
As matt (antiscab) stated... if you can get a canbus cable (see forum) you would be wise to replace your bikes firmware for 'the lairds' re-written firmware.
The original vectrix charging uses 10amps (at 240v) the lairds version uses 6amps (at 240v)
The reasons for using this version of fw are numerous but basically heat kills these batteries and the original charging software in the bike is happy to charge the batteries as fast as possible and increase their temperature massively in doing so. The lairds version reduces the amperage. Thereby reducing the heat buildup to nil and therefore your batteries survive a considerably longer time.
However the secondary advantage (if you weren't sure by what Matt was saying) is that at 40% less current draw - you'll be able to plug in your bike without concern for your electricity supply.
Obviously the time it takes to charge the bike is extended slightly, but as you are charging at night (as most of us do) you won't notice the difference.
Hope this helps. You have a fairly steep learning curve ahead of you .
There is heaps of help on this forum and there maybe someone knowledgeable who lives near you ?
Cheers
Chris
just to clarify, its the voltage at the power point you need to watch out for, not the battery voltage.
Charging in the rain should be ok, the bike really only has a problem if water gets on the temp sensor boards, in which case it won't charge until they dry off.
The Laird's firmware over comes that limitation by charging anyway.
The Charge current indicated on the speedo while charging is the current going into the battery.
This is the same regardless of the mains voltage.
But as Chris says, it is probably worth the effort of getting the CAN-USB cable and changing the firmware.
Always a little scary on your brand new bike :)
The current drawn by the charger from the powerpoint depends upon the voltage at the power point:
constant power of ~1640W, PF 0.99
95vac = 17.26A
110vac = 14.9A
240vac = 6.83A
255vac = 6.43A
a kill a watt meter will tell you the present voltage at the power point, as well as a whole bunch of other stuff
Matt
Daily Ride:
2007 Vectrix, modified with 42 x Thundersky 60Ah in July 2010. Done 194'000km
Thanks very much for the replies!
I was looking to upgrade the firmware, I did briefly read over a few posts about that and it really sounded like a great idea. I am BRAND NEW to this so yeah, it sounded intimidating. I'll do a LOT more research about how to to this properly. The last thing that I want to end up with is a bricked Vectrix. That's really scary.
It's a 2008 model so I am not sure if there's differences between one model and another either. Like you've all mentioned, I have a TON of research ahead of me. It's winter here, so I have plenty of time to look info up on how to take care of my brand new wheels.
Thanks for the clarification on the line voltage at the power point. I do have a Kill a Watt meter, and most of the sockets in my house read 121.0 volts or so. Still, that's mighty close to 15 amps. I'll have to get that firmware upgrade done when I can get that CAN cable which is to the best of my knowledge around $255 USD. My bank account took a pretty huge hit buying the Vectrix, so I am hoping to get at least a few miles on it before I have to throw down a couple of bucks for the cable. And like I said, I am HUGELY nervous about bricking my brand new wheels.
That's a mighty big paper weight.
If it were me.... i'd change the firmware first. I know i've done damage to my batteries whilst getting the 'up to speed' bearing in mind when i recieved my bike direct from the ex-ceo of vectrix australia telling me the batteries were well looked after and it had 42km on the clock. A full charge gave it a range of JUST 4km . Charging and riding daily increased its range to eventually its range now of 50km. However the first two weeks of usage almost certainly killed one cell completely and damaged another 4 or more simply because my bike didnt have temperature information and i was using the original vectrix firmware which basically throws current at the batteries without real regard to their health.
If you get the canbus cable - there are heaps of people here with the Canbus/vectrix/diagnostic software to get you up and running. If you have wifi to your garage i'll even be happy to remote/vnc into your desktop/pc and help you program it whilst chatting over the phone and get it programmed up.
The key thing is definatley to have the canbus cable almost from day one upon ownership. I wish i'd known to buy/get one from day one. Buying a canbus cable is almost the 'vectrix tax' in the same way anyone who buys a harley pays the 'harley tax' to make the harley sound like a harley they ALL need to have the pipes modded to make them louder than factory LOL
I hope this helps
PS if anyone needs to know a very easy and convenient remote desktop software program is crossloop from crossloop.com : download install on both pcs and vnc is simply a case of telling the other person the 'share' number of the pc you need to take control of. Very nice - very easy and for all the non-techies i deal with, easy enough to walk people through.
Chris
Wow, you all ROCK!
I have spent the majority of the evening reading through the collaborative handbook and forum posts. A shame I won't be riding this thing for like 3-4 months, because I am now really excited about it.
The CAN BUS cable was another question I had. It just seems to be a serial RS232 - USB connector. Now what really confused me is that the one posted on the handbook cost 255-355 dollars. A generic USB-RS232 can be had on ebay for around $12. This shows my uber-noobishness. I can't for the life of me figure out why I couldn't buy something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-USB-RS232-9-Pin-Serial-Port-USB-RS232-USB-COM-/320752952661?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aae5da55... . Under $5 shipped.
I also understand that the connector is in the glove compartment, but I haven't found a single picture of where. It's winter here, so the wheels have been under the motorcycle cover and will probably remain there (unless charging) until about March or April 2012. I am sure that I can find it.
Also, I am a fair bit into weight training so I am 275lbs. I am worried a bit about my weight and that main fuse issue that I've read about. It seems to me to be possible that I max out that amperage with my weight and a hill. POP! Now I have to open this thing up... and deal with that high voltage/amperage... it's a bit nerve racking. I am almost trying to anticipate all possible failures now. I want this thing to be around a good, long time. The guy I bought it from was nearly 300lbs, so I am hoping that I am o.k., but he only used it for like 600 miles.
I am thinking of charging the battery every 2 weeks just to make sure it is topped off. Sound reasonable? Or is it better to charge weekly?
Finally, since I am anticipating all possible problems that I might run in to... I am wondering that since I read in one of the posts that controller failure might cost like $2000 to replace... if it could in theory be replaced by a typical Kelly brushless controller. It's just in the back of my mind.
I am a techie for sure, but I have a sincere respect for the high voltages/amperages involved here. The battery will die for sure one day, and then I'll have to replace it with LifePo4. In 10 years this bike will probably be unrecognizable as I will slowly hack this thing into something else entirely with progressive upgrades :) By that time I am hoping that I can take this thing to at LEAST warp factor 4 like Star Trek.
Many thanks again for the help.
Hello!--Welcome to the world of VECTRIX! I also have a 2008 VECTRIX, mine is the white "Police Model"--I live in Maryland, north of Washington, D.C. and am willing to discuss things with you, via telephone. My number is:301-439-3873---I also lift weights,operate HAM shortwave radio, ride motorcycles, own Pensylvania property, and work with electronics! I have a small assortment of VECTRIX spare parts!--Bob Curry
Robert M. Curry
Hello!--Welcome to the world of VECTRIX! I also have a 2008 VECTRIX, mine is the white "Police Model"--I live in Maryland, north of Washington, D.C. and am willing to discuss things with you, via telephone. My number is:301-439-3873---I also lift weights,operate HAM shortwave radio, ride motorcycles, own Pensylvania property, and work with electronics! I have a small assortment of VECTRIX spare parts!--Bob Curry
Robert M. Curry
That is fantastically generous of you, thanks very much.
I'll PM you.
As an additional point on charging, if you are exceeding the capacity of your house's 15A circuit, the circuit breaker will trip. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it.
Also, I noticed you live in Pennsylvania. You wouldn't happen to be the new owner of the Vectrix that Mosites Motorsports (near Pittsburgh) has had for a while?
Pehaps it's been colder where you are, but if this rather mild weather continues, I'll be riding my (non-Vectrix) scooter all winter.
No Sir, that's not me.
I saw it on eBay though... I think he wanted like $5,000 for it right? If it was that one you're talking about... that's not the one I've got. Pittsburgh is about a 3 hour drive from me anyway.
So I guess that I'll probably be o.k. with charging from my 120v outlet (verified with the Kill-a-Watt meter) I feel good about that.
I've just taken it to the DMV today and got the title transferred over to me. Nice! This thing is now officially mine!
Now I just have to figure out how to get the most possible miles out of this thing so that I can fly by the gas pump with a very triumphant middle finger up in the air for many, many years. Firmware upgrades are probably going to happen first. I am looking into getting one of those "Vectrix VIP" devices. If it's cost effective, I'll consider it. There's certainly no dealers in my area and I suspect that the local shops won't even touch it.
I am guessing that if anything, ANYTHING goes wrong, it's going to be down to me a wrench and hopefully some good luck.
I did hear the Vectrix makes services calls, but I am going to guess that's going to cost me SERIOUS $$$$$$$$$. I don't mind a few bucks, but if it's going to be super expensive I'll take my chances doing it myself.
Thanks again for the advice folks. I am a rank no0b at this, so I am open to any advice I can get.
The Vectrix VIP device will load the latest version of firmware onto your Vectrix (as released by Vectrix)
Unfortunately, that's the version of firmware you want to replace.
There is no equivalent device for loading The Laird's firmware :(
Not yet anyway
getting the USB-CAN cable and software will give you far more options than merely changing the firmware though.
Matt
Daily Ride:
2007 Vectrix, modified with 42 x Thundersky 60Ah in July 2010. Done 194'000km