I bought a scooter from Nova Scooters in May and every component failed within 900 miles. The key switch recently failed in traffic, at speed (40+mph)and I barely avoided being hit as people behind you ride impatiently up your tail anyway.
Here is an email exchange with Tracy of Nova where he admitts he knows the switches always will fail in a relatively short period of time. He doesn't care that it creates a hazard to the rider's life or will strand the rider, perhaps at night. He knows the switches are defective and simply doesn't care. He calls it a "wear and tear" issue, but these key switches are failing in less than 4 months of use!
I urge all at V to stop the kid glove treatment of this arrogant and dishonest business person!Call him out and let others know he won't be tolerated. As I say in the emails I will be addressing the issue with DOT and the state of California.
Read all of this and you will discover that Tracy and Nova Scooters are not interested in anything but offuscation and pompous incompetant "technical" bullying. Tracy is really a rather technically ignorant guy who bullies people into thinking he knows something. Read.
RE: Tracy Ingram admitts knowing defective key switches dangerously fail
From: Scott MacNeilage (macnsc [at] hotmail.com)
Sent: Sun 10/12/08 7:16 AM
To: info [at] novascooters.com
Cc: info [at] greenemotor.com
defective wear and tear part
the part has less than 2300 km on it. less than 4 months of use!!!!!! wear and tear ! more like used and reused and all used up at time of sale!
LOL --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: info [at] novascooters.com
To: macnsc [at] hotmail.com
CC: info [at] greenemotors.com
Subject: Re: Tracy Ingram admitts knowing defective key switches dangerously fail
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2008 03:10:18 -0400
LOL,
You are boring me with the key switch wear and tear non-issue.
----- Original Message -----
From: Scott MacNeilage
To: info [at] novascooters.com
Cc: info [at] greenemotors.com
Sent: Sunday, October 12, 2008 3:05 AM
Subject: RE: Tracy Ingram admitts knowing defective key switches dangerously fail
yes and xtreme sells the switch for $25. and yes, I think the sale of the bikes can be stopped until an updated switch is retrofited. Can you say "mandated recall"?
There is more than one way to halt you dishonest business. I wonder what Allen will sy about it.
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From: info [at] novascooters.com
To: macnsc [at] hotmail.com
Subject: Re: Tracy Ingram admitts knowing defective key switches dangerously fail
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2008 02:59:50 -0400
LOL
why dont you run right out to DOT with that since the bike meets all DOT safety standards and see if they will pull the certs on the bike.
Tell them the XM-2000, XM-3000, XM-3500, 2007 Zapino and 2008 Zapino also use the same switch and they need their certs pulled too for this "dangerous" defective wear and tear part.
You are too much and easily satisfied that you have hit upon something.
"Thanks again - this has been a most fruitful exchange."
What a tard, LOLOLOLOL
----- Original Message -----
From: Scott MacNeilage
To: info [at] greenemotors.com
Cc: info [at] novascooters.com
Sent: Sunday, October 12, 2008 2:51 AM
Subject: Tracy Ingram admitts knowing defective key switches dangerously fail
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From: info [at] novascooters.com
To: macnsc [at] hotmail.com
Subject: Re: how many bikes you still got in your garage?
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2008 02:33:51 -0400
If you want to fix yours, remove the lock set from the bike, open the back of it up, there is a small brass contact in there, it is burnt from turning on and off, go to a hobby store that sells RC airplanes and such, buy a piece of brass plate, cut a replacement part with some tin snips and place it in the lock, then it will work until that brass contact burns in two.
It is switching and arcing 60 volts, they are bound to burn unless you slave the keyswitch to a 60 volt relay and let the relay contacts take the arc hit.
old news, everyone knows this and it affects all 5 battery 60 volt bikes, thats why OSHA has special rules for working with DC voltages >50 as that is where welding voltages begin and arcing is easy and damaging.
----- Original Message -----
From: Scott MacNeilage
To: info [at] novascooters.com
Sent: Sunday, October 12, 2008 2:28 AM
Subject: RE: how many bikes you still got in your garage?
the lock post still works...and anyone who'd simply put an on off switch in the glove box is just nutty. oh, that would be you! A lock set for 150! snort again mon ami. You really don't know anything worth anything.
By the way - Nova Scooters (Tracy Ingram) has refused to replace this part or provide warranty service eventhough I still have 6 months of my warranty left. He has "voided" my warranty. Nice, huh!
People need to know to AVOID NOVA SCOOTERS and question the technical advice Tracy gives. He really doesn't have a clue about what he is doing. His website now says that "All NOVA Scooters bikes are custom engineered for each customer". This should make you hair stand on end, because he is mixing and matching parts, changing the original design spec's and not providing a reliable and uniform off the shelf solution that can be trusted to work.
Believe me as one who has had to literally replace and fix everything on the bike he sold me - motor, controller, relay, wires, batteries, and now the key switch. Most all the components mentioned failed in user 900 miles of use.
The key switch just failed at about 1400 miles!
Buyer beware@!
Geez, I'm glad I haven't had to deal with such issues - maybe because I haven't gone over 36 volts yet.
I feel the pain and frustration of the customer, but realistically he won't find legal or customer service help here. He will find helpful folks who can probably get and keep his scooter running in spite of the cheezy scooter maker. We are out ahead of the customer curve, and so we get to deal with the underengineered crap that some ignorant (at best) or fraudulent (at worst) sellers are putting on the market.
I, for one, will not deal with Nova Scooters or Tracy Ingram, and that's about all I can do. Thanks for the warning, dude! Unfortunately, even if every reader of this forum follows my lead (highly unlikely IMHO) I doubt if it will affect Nova or Tracy. Seems to me that follow-ups with regulators and government consumer protection offices are the best shot for any personal gratification.
ATB
BC
If it ain't broke, fix it til it is!
mik - I didn't post in search of a technical solution for the switch. I already replaced it and my solution works great. Point is, it is a supposedly new bike (Tracy calls it "unused" in his recent emails!) with less than 1500 miles on it and the switch (as well as everything else that failed) shouldn't have failed! The above email thread shows Tracy saying the failure is no big deal even though he admits the switches are unsuitable for the bike! Additionally, the bike is still under warranty and Tracy refuses to honor the warranty. I bet GM wishes they could simply ignore warranties, with their current financial mess as it is.
As far as Tracy's version of events, anyone who has had prolonged exposure to his ego can judge for themselves if he has the best interests of others at heart.
In the past I've posted many emails showing his disregard of the truth. The above thread shows same.
Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts...It is time for standards and practices in the low end EV marketplace.
Sharing solutions on the web amongst ourselves in order to make up for the unethical and incompetent practices of the Electric scooter and cycle purveyors without holding them accountable is silly. They advertise and promise reliability and utility and they sell crap that has to be rebuilt almost from the ground up. I can't think of a more damaging issue to the widespread use of renewable energy vehicles than the lack of reliability.
Say hi to your pal for me.
Hey Scott, how did you come to know ...name removed... and buy anything from him? Seems you hadn't come from this forum as we all are too familiar with his disposition and know to avoid him like the plague. Had you contacted him from another site?
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ArcticFox - I was looking for an xm2000. At the time they where all sold out and everyone was waiting for the 3000's and the 3500's (around Feb/March 2008) and Nova Scooters came up on a web search. I spoke to Tracy on the phone and he said he had brand new 2500 watt 60 volt bikes that were better than the xm's. Turns out the bike he sold me has a 2000 watt motor(!) and is not better than anything I've ever dealt with! Anyway, we talked and he said he was picking up bikes from his partner in CA and he'd sell me a new one for $2500. For MIK's benefit, Tracy never mentioned a BMS or a problem with the stock charger, etc.
I met him in bakersfield with a truck and picked up the bike. It's been a learning experience.
It's true what your mama tells you about the internet! Be afraid. Be very afraid because THEY are out there.