My next stupid question...

Do you all trust local mechanics to work on your Vectrixes?

I plan on doing all of the electrical stuff myself, but there are some mechanical kinds of things that are a bit out of my scope. Replacing old tires with new ones for example, would be something that I lack the machinery and expertise to do myself. I have this image in my mind of someone violently ripping off the back wheel to replace a tire and all kinds of wires coming loose from the hub motor. It makes me shudder a bit.

In your opinion, are local mechanics versed enough with EVs to be able to handle working with them on a maintenance level?

Sure, I get my local tyre shop to replace my tyres all the time (a few times a year - high mileage rider what can I say :) )

When you take the rear wheel off, it merely separates from the gear box
All nice and straight forward and mechanical - no wires in sight

Thats about it maintenance wise,

My brakes including pads are all original, and I'm at 39'000km

Matt

I have my tyres changed by my local tyre shop near where I work.

Nothing complicated or unusual about the front set-up. The 1st time the rear needed changing, I printed out the guide from the Vectrix Owners manual which explained how to disassemble - again nothing complicated, but the guide was useful as a backup.

My brakes pads and discs are original (at 15K miles) except the rear pads, which were changed on the service before last by ex-Vectrix technician, Steve Scott.

I have changed my rear tire twice - the front once. The first time I brought the Vectrix all the way to San Francisco (about 200 miles round-trip) to the closest Vectrix because I had the same fear as you regarding the hub-motor (and the one local shop I showed it to just looked at it like it was from Mars and said, uh... nope).

But the second time I did the same as "myvectrix2008" and brought it to a local shop along with a copy of the instructions from the repair manual. I've no problems since and boy is it more convenient.

My bike also has the original brake pads - at 12,500 miles.

"I'll assume that the folks at the shop can get a copy of the service manual if needs be. I don't consider it my responsibility to supply them with one."

You'd better start considering it your responsibility. Tire shops aren't going to buy you a new bike if it uses a non-standard drive system and they damage anything other than the tire. It's hard enough to get *dealer* service and mistake remediation.

I second LeftieBiker's notion - after all it will be YOUR ride that may be damaged by improper tire changes, and it is your PERSONAL safety at risk in case the shop does something wrong, not theirs... And givng them a copy of the relevant bits of the Vectrix manual is not that far out of this world to do, for your OWN sake.

Rain? I even ride on snow, and if need be on ice, though that is not a fun thing...

By the way, we're cool riding in the rain here right?

Sure, the bikes water proof

if the rain is really heavy and your temp sensors get wet, it won't recharge until it dries out

But I ride year round

at 5'000 miles/year, you may not have to change the tires every year,

for me, the rear lasts 6'000 miles, front 9'000 miles

Matt

If anyone needs a copy of the tyre change procedure, I've uploaded it here.

It's from the Vectrix Owners Guide - there are various versions of this and some don't show the procedure at all.

Sure, the bikes water proof

if the rain is really heavy and your temp sensors get wet, it won't recharge until

Matt

Best thing to do is close all the holes in the battery box behind the front wheel.

Mutant zombie uprisings (regular zombies aren't bad enough?) are probably one of the best times to be on a scooter, albeit one of the worst times to be pushing your Vectrix home.