[bentstrider]

LA and the rest of Southern California are pretty poor places to ride a motorcycle.
I wonder about all these drivers that have claimed to never see the rider they hit. The bike and rider are right there in front of them with lights on, yet they still don't see them.
These people should instantly have their licenses yanked away, and their vehicles destroyed with a Howitzer.

[gg3]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say, don't sell the car if it's paid for and you have a place to store it. There may be occasions when you need that kind of carrying-capacity. Aside from those occasions, you're not under any obligation to drive it.

On the other hand if you don't have a car, no point in buying one. When you have to carry something big or heavy, rent a car or minivan.

I suspect that "car sharing clubs" and so on are going to become huge in the years ahead, for specifically that reason: people who only need use of a car rarely.

[Schneider]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aaron', '
')
Top Speed: 20+ mph
Range: 16 miles
Net Weight: 38 lbs.
MPG: 100 - 150

Fits in my truck

[Hiderow]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('NevadaGhosts', ' ')Also purchased a 2004 Honda Metropolitan 50cc scooter. Runs at about 30 mph. has optional small windshield. Gets between 95 and 100 mpg.

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')aron,do you think there is any way to plug the motor of this baby on a mere bicycle !?? Could be a hell of fun ,isn't ?

[Xelat]

Mine is a '95 (this is '96) - I've driven her 137 miles since october 28th 04:


What I ride now is a but a pale imitation of this beauty:

[DriveElectric]

This scooter could be amazing for personal transportation in the future. Most of those other e-scooters have a max speed of 30 mph and a range of about 40 miles. Vectrix seems like they are going for something much more useful. 62 mph (100 km/h) http://www.vectrixusa.com/

Here are some photos

Comparison between electric vs gas scooters

Here are the specs.

The benefits of owning a Vectrix scooter

Q: Does the Vectrix electric scooter have the same performance characteristics as gas scooters?
A: With a top speed of 62 mph (100 km/h), 0-60 mph in just over 8 seconds, and a range of up to 70 miles between charges, the Vectrix scooter will leave many equivalent gas powered scooters in its tracks. The Vectrix scooter also offers outstanding handling due to a stiff frame and low center of gravity.

Q: How far can I travel before I need to recharge the batteries?
A: Vehicle range is very dependent upon your driving habits and the profile of your trip. At a constant speed of 25 mph (40 km/hr), which is average around town commuting speed, the scooter will travel 68 miles (110 km) on a single charge. Range will be increased significantly with the introduction of the Fuel Cell / Electric Hybrid scooter in 2006.

Q: How long does it take to charge the batteries?
A: The onboard charger provides an 80% charge in just over two hours, and will fully recharge the batteries in just over three hours.

Q: How long will the battery pack last before it needs to be replaced?
A: The Gold Peak Nickel Metal Hydride batteries used in the Vectrix scooter have been thoroughly tested and are designed for up to 1,700 full charging cycles. Based on 2-3 full charging cycles per week (100 – 150 per year) the battery pack will last between 10 to 15 years. Partial charges will not reduce the life expectancy of the battery pack.

Q: How much electricity does it take to fully charge the Vectrix scooter?
A: Electricity costs are about 50 cents to fully charge the batteries. This represents over 90% saving in fuel costs compared with a gas-powered scooter (assumes gasoline costs €1.17/liter and electricity costs €0.15/kW).

Q: Should the charger be left plugged in for long periods of inactivity?
A: The Vectrix scooter has a very sophisticated charger which automatically controls the current to the batteries. Keeping the scooter plugged in after the battery pack is fully charged uses only a very small amount of energy to keep the control system powered and will not damage the batteries.

[boilingleadbath]

While your buying that, buy a well-built desil generator. So, how much desil does it take to produce 3.9 KWH?

[DriveElectric]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('boilingleadbath', 'W')hile your buying that, buy a well-built desil generator. So, how much desil does it take to produce 3.9 KWH?

[Ebyss]

Now that is truly excellent. We need more of that kind of thinking. Presumably solar electricity can be used? I hope they make a car that can work that well for that little.

[DriveElectric]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ebyss', 'N')ow that is truly excellent. We need more of that kind of thinking. Presumably solar electricity can be used? I hope they make a car that can work that well for that little.

[Antimatter]

These are great. We would need to find some way to make sure people charge them overnight with offpeak power though. I'd also like to see an electric scooter modeled on a recumbent style, with a lightweight body fairing to reduce drag and provide wind/rain protection. Something like this: http://www.flevobike.nl/indexmodellen.html

[small_steps]

Hell, with this minimal energy requirement, they really don't even need to be recharged offpeak. The only shortcomings I see is that it could use a simple dc/dc charger if you want to recharge from RE sources (which is actually realizable with this magnitude of energy required) and to use a direct drive motor with sinasoudal back emf (bump up the eff and likely reduce cost for the next design interation), they also need to clean up the motor specs
People, the market is working!

[scootergrrrl]

a solar powered highly efficient scooter is just the ticket. i've always said it was a scooter world...

i've been interested in scooters for some time. in europe they have many cool models. in my searches i found out about feet forward motorcycles.

http://www.voidstar.com/bff/
http://www.bikeweb.com/image

one could develop a wind-shedding, highly efficient scoot

other links: ecomobile http://www.peraves.ch/ndexe.htm

[chris-h]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'Q'): How much will a Vectrix Scooter cost to buy?
A: Retail prices have not yet been finalized, but the scooter is expected to sell for around $8,000 (or €7,000 after rebates). While it will cost slightly more to purchase than an equivalent gas maxi-scooter, the Vectrix scooter will be up to 25% cheaper to own over four years. The Vectrix scooter offers a 90% saving in energy costs (assumes gasoline is €0.95/liter and electricity at €0.11/kilowatt hour), a 67% saving in maintenance costs, a 50% saving in insurance, plus additional savings in licensing and registration.

[DriveElectric]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('chris-h', '
')
$7000 ?
that is too expensive.

[DriveElectric]

Here is a video of the Vectrix with some models riding them around in California.

http://www.vectrixusa.com/VIDEO/EVS-20% ... 0Beach.mpg

Here is a video of one of the company execs riding around with a blond girl on the back of the scooter with him.

http://www.vectrixusa.com/VIDEO/Vectrix ... 20Long.mpg

Here is a video that appears to be a commercial that could be planned.

http://www.vectrixusa.com/VIDEO/Vectrix-Med.mpg

Here is an interview with the founder and some execs at a trade show.

http://www.vectrixusa.com/VIDEO/Coverag ... &level.mpg

[gg3]

As Small_Steps said, looks like the market is working! This is excellent, we need more cases of this type. As often the case, innovation comes up from the small entrepreneurial companies with bright ideas.

Good to see it coming from England too. We've gotten too used to thinking of Japan and Germany as leading the world in vehicle designs, though the UK still has an edge in a few areas of heavy industry, for example JCB excavators.

And it looks nice in Post Office and Police liveries too; in both applications it would certainly have advantages. The stop-start driving of postal work, and the need for stealth in police work, both favor electric vehicles.

In fact both are cases where every characteristic of their driving favors electrics. Stop-start, high acceleration and (in police work) bursts of high speed, quiet, stealth, one driver plus relatively light cargo, fleet management, local radius of operation. The larger postal vans and police vans could be replaced with slower-speed electric vans. Surprising that this all hasn't caught on faster.

The Flevo seems like a good one also; pedal/electric hybrid.

Go here and see a pedal-powered local-delivery vehicle right here in Berkeley California USA (second picture on the page):

http://flevofan.ligfiets.net/en/ch4-05.htm

Pedal Express is a local parcels carrier that has achieved decent success in the Bay Area. They serve many local businesses and a few local government agencies, and they're often the fastest way to ship stuff in the area.

If you look through the history of early automobiles and trucks, they were often open vehicles with no cab or enclosed compartment for driver, passengers, and goods being carried.

What we also need, are scooter-based enclosed cars & light trucks. I would buy one of the latter in a second if I had a place to park it. For my application: seating for two, and rectangular space for four cubic yards of materials, and the enclosure would have to be rigid and lockable. A radio would be nice for getting news reports while on the road.

For another variation on the overall theme of micro-vehicles, put the word "Isetta" into a search engine. That's the car that saved BMW from bankruptcy after WW2. See also "Messerschmitt Cabin-scooter" (go to a pictures search and input "Messerschmitt", they are famous for aircraft but you'll recognize the micro-car when you see it).

High-efficiency electric scooters, pedal/electric hybrid bikes; all of this stuff shows why engineers and geeks tend not to be fatalistically grim about the future.

[Yavicleus]

I currently ride an Aprillia Atlantic 200, it gets around 70 mpg depending on how you ride it. Max speed of 85 mpg, max range of about 150 miles.

It looks very similar to that electric scooter.

Speaking of which, the design looks very promising. If they could just increase the driving range of it, and get it's top speed up to 70 mph, it would be far more useful for most people.

[DriveElectric]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Yavicleus', 'I') currently ride an Aprillia Atlantic 200, it gets around 70 mpg depending on how you ride it. Max speed of 85 mpg, max range of about 150 miles.

It looks very similar to that electric scooter.

Speaking of which, the design looks very promising. If they could just increase the driving range of it, and get it's top speed up to 70 mph, it would be far more useful for most people.