It's been a mild winter so far, my Vectrix lives outside and I use it most days for commuting.
But now it's properly cold I've noticed some different things on my Vectrix.
1. When using it from cold, it cuts out if you whack the throttle open and I have to restart. After 5 mins of use you can use full throttle without problems.
2. The GO symbol and the charge meter LCDs appear fainter than the other LCDs on the display panel.
3. Range seems to be unaffected by the cold weather - which is good but surprising.
4. I can't put my gloved hands on the engine to warm them up when I stop!
What are your experiences of using the Vectrix in the cold?
I love item 4, funny the small things you miss.
Interestingly on ebay.com.au or .com can't quite remember someone is selling heated handlebar grips saying they fit a vectrix.
I can't see how they could possibly due to the lack of any real amperage 12v, but i'm also to lazy to argue with them. However it sounds like something that might be good.
In this weather I would sacrifice a bit of range for warm fingers!
I have been driving in -5C without problems the last weeks (and previous years down to -14C). Range is bad though, even acceleration is much less than normal. Battery temperature does not get above +9C after riding. Some days the battery temperature reading before riding says +60C. I guess this is when the temperature reading is below 0 because I have never seen a minus sign.
I have taped over the air intake holes at the front of the bike but still too much cooling during charging...
My bike is always outside.
Once you go EV, Gas is history!
Temps have been down to -6 oC overnight, but I'm riding it in just over freezing temps. Battery temp was 21 oC after my 12 mile trip home, but in single figures when I set off in the morning.
Be aware that 21 deg C is the default value shown by the bike when the temp sensors have yet to report a temp value.
when you first turn on, you need to wait a minute or two before the actual temperature is shown....
Matt
Daily Ride:
2007 Vectrix, modified with 42 x Thundersky 60Ah in July 2010. Done 194'000km