BMW unveils its Vectrix!

Looks like a belt drive inside the single sided swing-arm.
See photo 10 of 26 from the Gizmag link that HubCap posted
144V, 3 phase motor, regen braking, two wheels etc etc. Yep, a lot like Vectrix
Cheers

Looks like a belt drive inside the single sided swing-arm.
See photo 10 of 26 from the Gizmag link that HubCap posted
144V, 3 phase motor, regen braking, two wheels etc etc. Yep, a lot like Vectrix
Cheers

double post. Don't you hate that

Don't hold your breath guys, you'll have to wait until 2014 minimum. First come BMW's electric/semi-electric i-range cars, THEN the scooters which use one of the battery packs that reside in the cars also. So for a change cars will play "guinea" pig for a scooter :-)

Looks like they are making the same mistake as Oxygen: regen when throttle is released, instead of coasting. Unless it's only a tiny amount of regen (like my ZEV) with much more with brakes applied, the scooter will always be either accelerating, holding speed with motor , or slowing rapidly under regen...

This may sound ok, but it gets annoying pretty fast,

MEroller, what is the source of your information?

From these folks. This is their most recent article (sorry, it's in German), but they wrote about this scooter many moons ago already. Excellent pics in that article :-)

I think that belt drive is a great idea. Sure, it means there's some maintenance, but the weight of the motor on the wheel like we have (unsprung weight) can't be a good thing.

I like it! I hope we get it in Australia.

I just hope they had the sense to use LiFePO4, and not LiMn02 or LiCo

if the latter, service life will suffer

having the motor not on the swingarm is a good idea, though does mean a bit of maintenance

I couldn't tell from the photo whether the motor was indeed off the swing arm

If it's not then why bother with the belt?

Matt

I just hope they had the sense to use LiFePO4, and not LiMn02 or LiCo

Well, in any case it is a Lithium-based chemistry, and BMW being BMW they will be wise enough to pick the best overall technology. They have too much to loose reputation-wise so they will strive to get it right, but of course at their price...

having the motor not on the swingarm is a good idea, though does mean a bit of maintenance

I couldn't tell from the photo whether the motor was indeed off the swing arm

If it's not then why bother with the belt?

The motor is right behind the hinge of the swing arm, ON the swing arm. Why that still makes a lot of sense vertical inertia-wise is simply to do with the definition of torque: force (or in this case mass) x leverage. With the mass of the motor so close to the swing arm hinge the leverage is extremely short compared to where the rear wheel is. So the effect of the unsprung mass is minimized.
The big plus of keeping the motor ON the swing arm is that the belt can easily be tensioned in an optimal manner, something that would be very hard to achieve with the motor mounted to the frame, as most motorcyclists will know. With the motor sprocket in a different spot from the swing arm hinge the belt tension would change depending on the swing arm position, i.e. more or less weight on the rear wheel will cause stretching or slackening of the belt.
But the planetary gear is where the rear wheel is, so still slightly more unsprung mass than with a normal chain drive motorcycle...

Nice to know there's a major player getting involved.

Well, Vectrix have their work cut out for them if they want to remain a credible player in the scooter market in 2014. A Dutch review posted an estimated price of only 10.000 US Dollars!!
From the photo's the storage is a bit dissapointing though (looks even smaller than the Vectrix)
But the ABS, motor specs and battery capacity are much better...

Well, Vectrix have their work cut out for them if they want to remain a credible player in the scooter market in 2014. A Dutch review posted an estimated price of only 10.000 US Dollars!!
From the photo's the storage is a bit dissapointing though (looks even smaller than the Vectrix)
But the ABS, motor specs and battery capacity are much better...

We'll probably get it in Australia by about 2020!! My Vectrix will be worn out by then anyway, so it'll be good timing.