Filed under: EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, Pacific Region, Vectrix
Sailors race for a Vectrix MAXI Scooter in Australia
It isn't all depressing news for Vectrix these days. I mean, colorful sailboats make everyone happy, right? If the electric scooter company can't sell (many) of the expensive rides, then perhaps they can give them away. This is what happened in Melbourne, Australia on Monday when, according to Sail World, twenty sail teams competed in the "Vectrix King of the Docklands Regatta." The prize? Why, none other than a MAXI Scooter. Sail World doesn't say who won the race and Google didn't help either, but I like the consistency of a zero-emission race for a zero-emission scooter.
[Source: Sail World, h/t to Domenick]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jase 8:07PM (1/22/2008)
I feel like I am going to be zero help here, but it has to be said.
The maxi scooter market in Australia is limited because most people who want a big bike, go and buy a big bike. People that want to nip around town on a scooter, get something small like a vespa (or one of those groovy little Sachs Madass things). If you are going to get a big scoot it is because you want to be able to get out of town on the thing. a sub 200k range (with no prospect of an easy refuel) means that is just not going to work in Australia at least.
If this thing was the size of a normal 125cc scoot - then I reckon it would sell like hotcakes. The other thing is that your market would also extend to people that currently have bikes as well - as many of them want a cheap easy run around for communting on. In order to have a sucess there you need a thing economical bike that will do 100kph.
The last thing, give someone in the market one of these and get them to blog their experiences with it - warts and all. You know the crap like 'bah! I forgot to plug it in and got half way to work. That would give people a bit of an idea of what they are buying into.
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Domenick 9:13PM (1/22/2008)
There are places on the net where Vectrix owners discuss their scooters.
http://visforvoltage.org/forums/vectrix
As for Australians not buying electric vehicles, considering that Australia is one of the more susceptible places to the effects of increased atmospheric CO2 (goodbye Great Barrier Reef) you'd think they'd be interested in tech like this. Then again, they're selling so much coal, why mess with a "good" thing. >_
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Jase 12:51AM (1/23/2008)
Actually, I'm an Aussie and a motorcylist :) Problem is that the lion's share of our electricity comes from burning coal, so the CO2 emissions are just going to shift. We also have issues about running coal power at near capacity to start off with as governments don't want to build more coal fired power. On top of that, hydro supplies are down.
The real obstacle is that out cities (where the scoot is king) are spread out. My daily commute will almost exhaust the energy supply of a vectrix daily (so there is no scope for side trips etc).
If the scoot was cost compeditive (which at $12,000 it is not) then more people would look at it. But when most scooters over here are going to around the $5000 new, then you are way away from the market. Considring that you're looking at $7000-$9000 for a second hand low kilometer sports bike as well - they are priced out of the market a bit.
Thanks for the blog - I'll give it a read.
Regards
Jase
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Jed 4:35AM (1/23/2008)
The Vectrix yacht race run on Sunday was a major sporting event. It is part of the Skandia Geelong Yact Week.
The event had an exciting race, and was won by members of the Australian Olympic Sailing Team. The winning team gratiously donated the Vectrix to be raffled with funds to support an Australian paraplegic sailing charity. Well done!
The Vectrix is perfect for Australia. Most rides are never more than 40 to 50 kms. I love riding my Vectrix, and can swear that anyone whos ridden it, weather once or a hundred times, will always wear that Vectrix grin that tells everyone what a great buzz it is to ride one of these awsome bikes!
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Ben 8:14AM (2/08/2008)
If you choose coal based electricity, which you can certainly do, then the emissions are shifted that is true.. But they are less and way way easier to control in one place than on every single fuel burning vehicle/bike/scoot out there. Don't try and pretend that everyone maintains their machines in perfect factory set running order.. What a Joke.
You also have the cleaner option of selecting a green supplier of electricity, in which case there will be absolutely no emissions for the amount of electricity you consume.. Not just for your transport, but for your entire household supply. Now just try and make you fuel burner emission free.. Go on.. You cant..
Electric is really the best option. Vectrix is one of them.. There are more coming real soon and they wont cost nearly as much.
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Steve 6:47PM (8/12/2008)
People often poo-poo the idea of electric vehicles as they "only shift the emissions". But this is not the whole story. When you consider that an internal combustion engine is perhaps 20% efficient while an electric motor can be 90+% efficient then you are in fact reducing your C02 emissions by up to 5 times by going electric.
As a "big-scooter" rider of 2 years+, I would buy a Vectrix from what I have seen of it so far. I use my 250cc X9 mostly for commuting anyway. I liked the big scooter because of it's larger look ( more visible ), larger storage capacity and proper fairings and windshield ( a must in a Canberra winter! ).
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