First ride: the Vectrix Electric Maxi-Scooter

It’s a special sort of road test when you get to try out not only a brand new bike, but one of the first viable examples of a whole different engine technology. Loz Blain and Noel McKeegan get their hands on the Vectrix Electric Maxi-Scooter, an Italian/American beauty with a 100kph top speed, a 110km commuting range, and a two-way throttle that engages a very handy regenerative braking system. It’s a promising early taste of what’s in store when electric motorcycles hit the market in force.

We’ve written a lot about electric motorcycles – as battery technology improves it seems almost certain that these clean, zero-maintenance machines will eventually become mainstream transport options. Incredibly cheap to run, almost silent and emissions-free, on paper they’ve got a lot going for them. But what’s it like to ride one of these next-gen machines? Can they genuinely tempt confirmed petrolheads as much as they interest environmentalists? If our first sight of the scooter is any indication, then yes; we arrive to find Two Wheels magazine journo Alec Simpson gleefully pulling an extended burnout in front of the showroom.

Vectrix is an American company, making electric two and three-wheelers using top-notch Italian componentry, assembled in Poland. The company’s flagship electric maxi-scooter has just received Australian homologation approval, and Vectrix Australia, operating out of Rouse St, Port Melbourne, are already taking deposits on pre-orders.

The Vectrix Maxi runs a 20.2kW direct drive brushless DC motor, mounted directly on the rear wheel. It powers the bike through a planetary CVT, also mounted on the rear wheel, and draws power from a bank of Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries mounted in a cradle between the rider’s legs.

Why the older NiMH batteries instead of more powerful Lithium-ion and Lithium-polymer batteries? “Nickel Metal Hydride is a well-understood and safe battery technology,” explains Sales Manager Frank Papa. “Current Lithium batteries have some potential safety issues. Vectrix is very experienced with Nickel Metal Hydride, there’s a lot of very sophisticated battery and thermal management technology in the Maxi to get the most out of it.”

Charging is simple: opening up the generous underseat storage compartment, you simply pull out a long power cord and plug it into a power point to recharge the battery, which takes around 2-3 hours from dead to full charge. A full charge will get you up to 110km at 40kmh city speeds, or half that if you boot it up to its maximum 100kmh speed on the freeway for any length of time. For a bike that’s built to be a viable commuter alternative, a single overnight charge will comfortably get most people to work and back with plenty in reserve.

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. From here it’s a simple matter of rolling the throttle on and you’re away. At very low speeds the Vectrix is virtually silent, which takes some getting used to, but as it picks up speed it takes on an electric whine that helps you regulate your speed and stick to the limits.

The twistgrip’s a fascinating affair – the old biking adage “the throttle goes both ways, son” never applied so literally. From a stationary start, rolling the throttle forwards actually engages a walking-pace reverse gear that’s very handy when you’re parking in tight spots. I was surprised how much I used it. But it’s when you’re moving that it becomes really clever – rolling the throttle forwards at speed reverses the motor into a generator and engages a regenerative braking system that charges the battery with the energy of your momentum while slowing you down.

...continued