Member Submissions


Robert Shaw - Nissan Leaf Blog

Don Chandler - electric bicycle laws

Stephen Burgess - electric motorcycles

  • June 2008 - New 48v 40AH lithium-ion pack is half the weight and twice the range

    I have my Li-ion batteries now. Two 40 amp/h Slicbox Li-ion batteries. My bike's battery weight has now dropped in half. My bike has doubled its range. A trip to Vancouver and return to Surrey is easy. I can completely rely on my own source of electricity at home now. The Li-ion recharging cycles has tripled compared to my old Pb-acid batteries.

    The new Li-ion batteries should pay for themselves in one year. My bike has paid for itself in two years. If I still had my car I would have paid $4000 in gas and another $3000 in maintenance, repairs and insurance. Going ECO means ECOnomic sense.

    The two Slicbox Li-ion batteries also take up only about half the space under my seat as compared to having the previous four Pb-acid batteries under my seat. I could move my charger under the seat now instead of having it in the trunk. The charger also takes up half the amount of space as compared to my previous Pb-acid charger.

    Gordon and Lance said that they are now selling single 30 amp/h Slicbox Li-ions in their new EVT 4000e and EVT 168 bikes. The technology has improved remarkably and they are reliable because of the battery management system (BMS) in the new controllers. The BMS allowed the Li-ion batteries to charge evenly and safely with the an automatic shut off when they are full. No need for a timer anymore and waking up in a fear driven sweat wondering if you forgot to unplug your vehicle.

    The biggest bonus is that my bike spends less time on the charger and more time on the road.

    Steve       (view Steve's video)



  • September 2007 - the 6700 km service
    My EVT 4000e went in for the hub motor service. The plan was to crack open the hub motor and air gun out the dust. It had 6700 km on the odometer. The mechanic said, "I don't know why it is in here it can go four times the distance it has now before servicing it." There is barely any wear on the brushes." To my ears that is great news.

    The only down side with the bike is that the brakes are only rated for 3,000 km. So far I have had to replace the brakes twice this year. It helps to learn how to bleed the brakes and replace the pads yourself. Then you are only into the cost of the pads. The pads can be bought at a nearby Yamaha dealership or at GWEV or E-Cycle. However don't expect too much help from Daytona Motorsports in Surrey. They are rude and too busy to care.

    I hope EVT comes out with regen braking it would be great on this bike. Less worries and cost. They also need to have an onboard charger; as you see in the picture this has been my solution (with help from VEVA members) to mount a charger onboard.



  • Summer 2007 - Stephen shows photos of his Kawasaki DC 6.7" build and visits the Green Car showroom in Washington State.
    "The Vectrix was fun. It is the same size as the Honda Silver Wing (Scooter design). It reminded me of the Battlestar Galactica supercycles that Troy and Dillon rode in the last episodes of the 1980's. What a great sound!

    You could feel your head whip back and you could feel yourself tighten your handgrips for fear of letting go of the handle bar. It flew up the hills like they weren't even there. It had a great turning radius and you could really lean it over without fear of dropping it, because it had such a low centre of gravity. The regen brakes -- amazing! You could operate it without ever using the handbrakes.

    The only complaints were that it didn't have a center stand, but it could be installed for $100.00 and the turn indicator switch was difficult to use (it took practice, but it had a warning beep to let you know to turn it off)."

    Hold your mouse over the thumbnails to read the captions.