Starting up the Maxi is a disconcerting affair – switch the key on, hold the left brake lever in, touch the right brake to start the bike and… Well, nothing happens. It’s completely silent. Only a large “Go!� on the well-designed instrument display gives away the fact that the power’s on.
The Vectrix electric scooter has been on the market for a while now, but this is the most thorough review we’ve seen. It’s clearly leagues above other electric bikes on the market and it features some innovative technology beyond the electric motor, but it sounds like it just can’t quite compete with a gas-powered scooter on price and performance. Kudos to Vectrix for trying though, it’ll only get better and better.
Any scooter beats the Vectrix on practicality, too… ridden realistically, you have a range of 40-45 miles, and if there’s no place to plug it in at your destination, you’re hosed.
As with the Tesla roadster, the Vectrix will appeal most to those who have the money to buy cool toys and aren’t worried about such things as range, and it’s these folks who will help push the technology along to the point where an electric scooter becomes a viable alternative to a gasoline engined one. That’ll take a while, though…
Bryan, Thanks for posting this.
Orino, I don’t know about you but 40-45 miles is typically way more than I typically ride my scooter in a day. Except for weekend group/rally riding, my day-to-day scooter commuting and errand running is much less than this. Not only this, I could easily plug the scooter in at my work. This being the case, the Vectrix is totally practical for me NOW. Too bad I can’t afford it. I’m hoping this might change with upcoming state and federal tax credits. We’ll see.
Were it not for the price, a Vectrix could do the job for me as well 9 times out of 10. That is going to be the hard part of getting electric vehicles going in a serious way is getting them to work 10 out of 10 times, or convincing the public that that last time is one they really don’t need.
Hello McCabes, I bought my ’05 Vespa PX 150 last October. As of right now has a little over 9600 miles on it. Good on your employer if they will let you plug it in while you’re at work; a Microsoftie named David, who bought the first one in Seattle, told me the Microsoft Campus has no such facility. At least not yet.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the Vectrix is a wonderful bike. But tax credits notwithstanding, I really can’t see paying 11 grand for something I can realistically only ride to work and back. A couple weekends ago, I went on a club ride that was about 45 miles. One reviewer said the bike’s performance falls way off long before the battery is completely discharged. That gives me pause. Especially when you can get a Suzuki Burgman 400 (65 mpg, way better than a Prius) for about half the price, and not have to worry about where and how far you ride…