I've been going back and forth thinking about getting one of these. The 10k drive-out price tag makes it tough, but I'd still like to get one. I've been a member on here for a few months and been reading through the problems that guys have been having. But I realize that most of the problems like this get reported on a site and cause an inflated image of trouble.
Anyway, I was wondering if you guys thought most of the problems with the Vectrix fell into the category of infant mortality (breaking in a new bike) or potentially more of a long-term dependability issue.
There's no two ways about it that I think the Vectrix is the highest quality bike out there in the field (EV) but I'm concerned about longevity and durability over the upcoming years. And I'm not too worried about the batteries since they'd probably get replaced before they ever wear out.
Anyway, so what's your feel for the long-term dependability of the Vectrix?
I fully understand your concerns, I wrangled for months over buying a BMW-C1, I joined the C1 forum and all I saw were problems with reliability, breakdowns seemed to abound.
I still bought it and rode it for 5 years with only two breakdowns. One was because the belt drive snapped, probably because it was faulty and then the other was when all drive went a few days later because the mechanic who replaced the broken belt didn't Loctite the nut that holds the drive pulley on!
Back to the Vectrix, forums are a place to share problems, so problems are concentrated in a very compact area. I too had my concerns regarding the the bike but bought it anyway because of the 2 year guarantee and free recovery service, at least that's the deal here in the UK, in case of breakdown, or running out of juice.
Mine is running fine for now, with 600 miles down, and I enjoy every second on the machine. In fact this morning I arrived at work then carried on riding around for half an hour just because it's such a great bike to ride.
A two year guarantee is pretty good, you don't often get that with a motorcycle.
Simon
Forums are to share problems (and solutions). I can't be helped, I ain't got a problem :-)
I bought the Vectrix 4 month ago and used it for a good 3000miles so far. There are no indications of any problems. Maybe it's just like with a hairdryer. Once it works, you will keep it for ever.
In brief, nothing to worry. Just a great deal of fun.
Norman
I'm guessing here, but I think the key to longevity of these bikes is going to come down to keeping them out of the sun. The total exposed parts of these bikes is nothing more than plastic and vinyl, and sunlight will be it's number one enemy. If you can't park in a covered area, invest in an inexpensive bike cover. Otherwise, the skin will get dry and brittle long before the electronics are past usefulness.
As for the mechanical and electrical longevity, those things are all fixable. There is always some risk when purchasing a new product, in that you never know if parts for it will be available ten or twenty years down the road, or if so, will they be affordable. If not, will there be outsourced or aftermarket parts available that will fit, or be adaptable?
The absolute worst case scenario is that Vectrix folds early and my bike quits long before a reasonable life expectancy. If that proves to be the case, I'll not have lost any more on that bike than I did on the last two cars that depreciated by thousands the day I drove them off the lot.
As for reasonable life expectancy, I'm shooting for ten years and hoping for twenty, but realistically, ten years from now, the original Vectrix models will be so outdated by the new and improved products on the market that we'll all likely want to trash them and buy new ones anyway! ;-)
Ten years ago, you were lucky if you could find or afford a computer with a four gig harddrive! Now they got cell phones with that much memory! HAHA!! :-0
My bike's done a relatively low 1500 kilometres but it has been perfect and I've not had any problems. I am aware of some of the issues highlighted on this forum particularly around heating and deep discharging and so use the bike well within the limits pushed by others on this forum. I believe that if I continue to ride the bike within these limits then it will provide very good long-term dependability. However, if I was living in an area with consistently high temperatures (90s plus), had to park the bike in the sun for many hours, needed to regularly run the batteries down to a low power state as part of a regular commute then my expectations of long-term reliability would be significantly reduced.
In summary, I would buy this bike again - I am very happy with it and expect that it will provide good long-term dependability based on my usage and environment.
I can understand some electronics becoming obsolete. That's normal. But I can't see the bike itself becoming obsolete. It would still theoretically function as it does now and there's no reason why that wouldn't fit the primary requirements of a scooter (mobility). I think we all hope and expect that the battery technology will advance significantly, as it already has, but that would just be a higher capacity potential retro-fit to a bike like this. If the primary components are of the quality that they claim, it should still be fully adequate for use as a scooter. Barring of course that we get those flying cars that they've been promising us for 40+ years. ;)
Hi
I have had My Vectrix a year , and 3200 miles . It has run great . I was carefull at the begining ( I live in the northeast USA , snow and rain from Nov. to March ) I did not ride in bad weather . after being in some rain storm this summer and lisening to people here, I ride in all weather ( well not the snow)and will do a lot more miles this year ( 40 miles a day to work). I ride on high way at 60 + mph , and dirt roads . it is doing great.
As for the bike in the long run . the fame is great ,and fixable forever. the Bike parts on it are all common and esay to get ,same as a lot of bikes so that should be fine in the long run .
The motor is a very common type that is used in CNC machining equipment for many year they last well like 10 or 20 year being work hare 8 to 24 hrs a day. It is also the same type as used in other EV .
So to the next point is that there is controlers and chargers out there right now that can replace the Vectrix One .
AS for the Batterys you can get replacement form any good battery company now .
You may even be able to get LI battery from http://www.lionev.com Now if that is what you want.
So we sould be able to keep the Vectrix running for as long as you what to. with or without Vectrix corp.
Happy riding , Herb
Hi
I have had My Vectrix a year , and 3200 miles . It has run great . I was carefull at the begining ( I live in the northeast USA , snow and rain from Nov. to March ) I did not ride in bad weather . after being in some rain storm this summer and lisening to people here, I ride in all weather ( well not the snow)and will do a lot more miles this year ( 40 miles a day to work). I ride on high way at 60 + mph , and dirt roads . it is doing great.
As for the bike in the long run . the fame is great ,and fixable forever. the Bike parts on it are all common and esay to get ,same as a lot of bikes so that should be fine in the long run .
The motor is a very common type that is used in CNC machining equipment for many year they last well like 10 or 20 year being work hare 8 to 24 hrs a day. It is also the same type as used in other EV .
So to the next point is that there is controlers and chargers out there right now that can replace the Vectrix One .
AS for the Batterys you can get replacement form any good battery company now .
You may even be able to get LI battery from http://www.lionev.com Now if that is what you want.
So we sould be able to keep the Vectrix running for as long as you what to. with or without Vectrix corp.
Happy riding , Herb
These are some very interesting (and informative) points that I was not aware of. Thanks for posting them. I had no idea that the motor was already used for other things. I guess I should have realized that many of the other parts were probably already used in other bikes but hadn't really thought about it.
Thanks.