A-to-Z Guide to Green: Commuter Scooter
April 1, 2008
Availability: Currently in San Francisco and Southern
California.
Price: $11,000
Engine: DC motor w/125-volt nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH)
battery pack
Power: 27 hp
Torque: 48 ftlbs
Zero-to-60: 7.8 seconds (est.)
Top Speed: 62 mph
Range: 68 miles at 25 mph
Pro: This is most efficient way to bypass rush hour.
Con: Actual range may only be 35 miles.
Maxi scooters plague nearly every European metropolis, where they have largely replaced the original design—drawn up long ago by Corradino D’Ascanio—of the first postwar Vespas. Yet despite their increased size, maxi scooters are still nimble enough to thread through dense traffic.
Thanks to Vectrix, this convenient urban runabout now produces
no emissions. Instead of the usual small internal combustion engine, the Vectrix
uses a
27 hp brushless DC motor with a 125-volt nickel-metal-hydride battery
pack.
The motor and planetary transmission module is mounted on the rear wheel hub, just like most gas scooters. An aluminum frame with plastic bodywork houses the battery pack. This scooter runs, rides, and stops with the best of them. Its acceleration beats most cars, and handling is on par with popular scooters.
The Vectrix switches on discreetly, with just a quiet hum and a show of lights from the instrument panel. After "GO" appears on the gauges, a twist of the conventional right-hand twist grip gets things moving. That throttle grip rotates forward to regenerate power during braking with increasing intensity. Once accustomed to the regenerative brakes, you stop using the normal brakes for anything but emergencies. However, you never stop monitoring the estimated-range readout. Vectrix quotes 68 miles at 25 mph, but the 40- to 50-mph speeds I used on Pacific Coast Highway netted only about 45 miles. Furthermore, the gauge went from nine miles to zero in a matter of yards up the final hill to my destination, leaving the scooter to creep home at a greatly reduced speed.
Nevertheless, for short commutes, it’s a clean alternative, with ample storage space and room for two. It recharges in two hours (to 80 percent), and costs very little to run. Priced at $11,000, the Vectrix is for committed environmentalists.
Vectrix, www.vectrix.com
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