This is a sort-of pre-sales announcement, as the final decision's not made yet, but I'm seriously considering selling my UK based VX-1, the reason being that I'm using it so little that it's hard to justify keeping it.
It's an original 2008 model with just over 5000 miles on the clock. A little over two years ago it was upgraded to Lithium plus by Emissions Free Solutions, then the UKs official Vectrix agent. But I've barely run the new battery pack in, although I do regular top-up charges. Balancing has been slow, although I'm sure this is due to lack of use. These bikes need to make regular journeys, and being sort-of retired I don't have a regular commute to do. When I did jury service last year, a week of regular Vectrix journeys spruced it up no end.
Physically the bike is in very good shape, apart from two small scratches on the rear fairing. In my previous house the entrance involved a sharp turn into a narrow gateway with brick posts either side. You get the idea.....
Really this posting is to see if anyone has any comments or advice which may help me with my decision to sell or not. If the bike goes it'll be with some sadness, but I have to be realistic. Also if there's any interest in buying I'd rather sell via the forum than the dreaded eBay, and could sell at a slightly lower price as I wouldn't have the commission charges to pay. My advice was to start negotiations just below the £3000 mark, and go from there.
David at Emissions Free tells me that since the demise of Vectrix Corporation he can still supply excellent support & backup, partly because a couple of ex-Vectrix employees bought all the spares from the U.S. plant and have set up a company supplying parts and have also developed the latest Li software which improves balancing of the pack. So you wouldn't be left with a stranded bike if you had problems and didn't want to DIY. I will have a service done, and the aforementioned software installed if I go ahead with the sale. MOT runs until June, but there shouldn't be a problem renewing it. I also have a Peak USB to Canbus adapter which I'm willing to sell if I sell the bike (i.e. not before).
I've added a couple of hastily snapped pictures of the bike for now – in the garage, so hopefully it's not obvious that I haven't cleaned it yet :-)
Viewings welcome of course — WR10 postcode.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 vectrix_presale_03.png | 394.91 KB |
| vectrix_presale_01.png | 379.6 KB |
| vectrix_presale_02.png | 372.04 KB |
My Vectrix has done 20,000 miles and although I love it, I now have to go slow to get to work and back without the battery light coming on.
So I've sent a PM.
I,ve seen a pair of fully operational vectrix sold for 1500 euros.
The death (two times) of the brand, bad comments about the battery and other issues, spread everywhere in internet, expensive battery upgrade, makes this electric maxi-scooter unattractive.
I quite understand your point, although I suspect the €1500 bikes weren't lithium ones, which are considerably improved in both range and battery management. And whilst it's true there have been *many* Vectrix related problems, the bikes you tend to hear about are always the bad ones. I've had a number of conversations with the Vectrix representative here in the UK, and he'll tell you that there are a lot of bikes still in regular use, many with the original NiMh pack, which continue to work reliably with no more than a regular service and maybe the odd minor tweak. But as is always the case you don't hear about those.
My original NiMh pack died due to lack of use (the crucial issue it seems). If that hadn't happened, I would report that I'd never had a single problem with my bike, apart from needing a replacement rear tyre.
It may be that the market wasn't quite ready for the VX-1, but I think marketing errors (e.g. how many non-bike people will convert from cars?) and company mis-management played a huge part in the demise of the brand. If you can get a good reliable example of the bike, it still offers a great deal.
I Don't know what prices are paid in UK for used Vectrix, but i just bought a original Li+ from 2012 with 5500km and paid 2000€. And in 2 Weeks there was noone else how wanted it. Ok, it is winter, but i think you must have time selling a Vectrix for more than this, because there are very few people who want to buy one...