XINGYUE Recalls 2009-2010 Auto Moto XY150ZK Motor Scooters for Improper Location of Rear Brake Control

XINGYUE is recalling certain model year 2009 and 2010 Auto Moto XY150ZK motor scooters manufactured from March 2009 through June 2010.

The rear brake control should be actuated by the driver's right foot and not the left hand as required by Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Standard No. 123, "Motorcycle Controls and Displays."

305 units are affected.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

Consumer Reports and Motorcycles

Well, I've been a subscriber to Consumer Reports (CR) for longer than I can remember. I even pay for subscriptions for my three adult children. Today, I saw that CR is now possibly getting into the business of evaluating entry-level motorcycles and scooters.

Here's an excerpt from an article Motorists Move to Scooters and Motorcycles to Save from the Consumer Reports Blog:

"Consumer Reports is researching this segment and is looking into developing a test protocol to evaluate scooters and entry-level motorcycles. We approach these products with grave concern for rider safety and caution readers against a hasty decision to move to two-wheeled transportation without proper training and safety gear."

Motorcycles and Consumer Reports. I can hardly believe it, but I'm happy at the same time. Let's hope they spend lots of time talking about Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) training and wearing proper apparel. We certainly don't want a whole new segment of riders who are only riding to save on gas money.

2008 Vectrix All-Electric Maxi-Scooter Road Test

This is a review of the 2008 Vectrix All-Electric Maxi-Scooter. It's based on a demo ride I recently took at Americade 2008. The Vectrix is made by Vectrix Corp. a company started in Europe in 1996 and now expanded into the USA.

If you remember the futuristic vehicles on the Jetson's TV show, you'll feel right at home on the Vectrix. This is a Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV). It uses no gas and no oil.

It looks like a regular size motor scooter. It's designed with safety in mind. To start the machine, you raise the kickstand, turn on the ignition, squeeze the left hand brake and the right hand brake and then you notice that the instrument panel comes alive as it performs an initial system check. Finally, you see a big GO appear on the panel and a number indicator that counts down the miles before the battery needs to be recharged. So far, you have heard no sound at all.

The scooter will go up to 62 mph and has a range somewhere between 50-60 miles depending on how hard you ride it and how steep the terrain is. It has a 30 inch seat height. It takes 3-5 hours to recharge the batteries.

I went out with a group for the demo ride. I was riding behind the leader. Now, I have been riding a trike for over eight years and haven't ridden much on two-wheels so I wasn't too sure about taking this demo in the first place.

In order to get out to the highway, we had to go up the corkscrew drive at Roaring Brook Ranch (RBR), follow it around through the other demo areas and then head down the exit drive to the highway.

The corkscrew drive is one on which you do not stop. You have to keep going or risk a pileup behind you as other riders also try to stop. Fortunately, there are Americade volunteers with Walkie Talkies stationed on the curves to keep you going.

Anyway, I whipped the Vectrix out of its display area hearing only a slight electric motor sound, went up the hill, around a quick uphill left followed by a quick uphill right followed by a sweeping left that led around the property. The scooter responded beautifully with no hesitation. I just couldn't hear much running -- just the faint whining electric motor sound.

When the leader pulled up to the stop sign at the highway, I realized that I also needed to stop. Stopping the Vectrix is done in one of two ways. You can use the left and right handlebar brakes or you can forget about the brakes and use regenerative braking. We were told to use the regenerative braking. To make it work, you twist the throttle away from you and magically, the scooter slows down. It is engine braking that serves the purpose of also charging the batteries. This regenerative effect extends your range by up to 12%. After awhile, you forget about the regular brakes and simply twist the throttle toward you to speed up, and away from you to slow down. Neat!

When I realized I needed to stop that first time, I stopped way back and put my feet down. Then I realized I needed to be closer so I had to move closer to the stop sign. There was a cop there directing traffic. The leader pulled out on the cop's signal and I followed up the hill. The Vectrix shot ahead like a rocket as I caught up with the leader.

We proceeded to take a series of tight uphill and downhill twisties. I was leaning the bike quite a lot on the corners. Trikes don't lean so I had to remember what vehicle I was riding.

I didn't have to concern myself with shifting. There was none. Basically I just kept leaning the bike as necessary while I used the right throttle grip to either go faster or slower.

There was one thing that annoyed me as we returned to RBR to end the demo. I kept hearing a slight beep-beep-beep sound from somewhere. I must be doing something wrong. When we finally stopped at the Vectrix booth, the leader came over to me and I asked him what that noise was. He reminded me of one of his instructions at our riders' meeting before the demo. "If you forget to turn off the turn signals, it will keep reminding you by a beep-beep-beep sound," he said.

"Oh yeah, now I remember."

The Vectrix is built in a plant in Wroclaw, Poland. The headquarters for the USA is in Middletown, RI. The engineering and test facilities are in New Bedford, MA. A dealer network is now expanding across the USA.

I was told the price was about $11,000 but I saw a range from $8,800 to almost $12,000 from various other sources online.

There also appears to be a 3-wheel version much like the Piaggio MP3 scooter. In fact, there seems to have been some sort of deal whereby Vectrix purchased the rights to the Vespa MP3 design. I didn't see the 3-wheel version mentioned on the website but did see it in this Jay Leno's Garage video where Jay checked out the Vectrix.

The company is heavily promoting the scooter especially to cities that are trying to reduce pollution.

The Vectrix maxi-scooter seems to be filling a need to find a way to replace conventional fossil fueled vehicles. It's attracting buyers who are able to fit its capabilities into their lifestyles.

To attract more customers, the Vectrix probably needs to have a higher top speed to fit freeway conditions and a longer commuting range without recharging. However, the Vectrix is proving popular with those who have seen it and as the price comes down and the speed and range go up, this could be a big winner.

The following is a short video I took of another Vectrix demo group at RBR returning from a demo run. The group is followed by a conventional Harley that's making the sounds you hear near the end of the clip. They are the sounds of gas and oil being depleted while that rider's billfold is getting thinner with each fill up.



See Americade 2008 - Day 7 for all the rest of my activities on the day I rode the Vectrix.

My complete activities for Americade 2008 may be found on Americade Motorcycle Rally Day-by-Day Blog for 2008.

Motor Scooters -- Are You Ready for One?

Almost every day, I'm seeing more and more articles about the advantages of owning a motor scooter in a world of ever increasing gas prices.

Here's an excerpt from an article, Born to Be ... Fuel-Efficient, by Jonathan Welsh of the Wall Street Journal that sums up the current economic thinking about motor scooters:

"Chris Casal, a Brooklyn, N.Y., elementary-school teacher, used to drive to work almost every day, mainly because it took 12 minutes compared with an hour by subway. But rising fuel and parking costs made the trip 'kind of ridiculous,' he says. So last year he bought a Vespa GTS scooter that uses about $7 of fuel every two weeks instead of the $30 his Honda Civic consumed. He parks free in the schoolyard, and the two-wheeler impresses his students."

Of course, there are other considerations beyond the price of gas. There's the need to learn how to be safe while riding a motor scooter. Motorcycles are very hard to see as it is and motor scooters are even smaller visual targets for the average motorist.

The average non-motorcyclist has a lot to learn about riding on two wheels. I remember all the scooter accidents I saw while in Bermuda by newbie riders. I think I got a one-minute lesson before I rented my scooter.

I've just revised my article, Motor Scooters - Have Fun While Saving Gas, that summarizes all my motor scooter resources that may assist in introducing motor scooters to the masses.

Don't put your life on the line by getting a motor scooter without proper training and wearing apparel.

Have fun and save gas if you get a motor scooter but remember to first BE SAFE.

Picture ©2004 Lonnie W. Cavenee

Vectrix Corporation Recalls 2007 Scooters for Battery Pack Problem

Vectrix Corporation has issued a recall of certain 2007 Scooters. These are electric scooters.

The battery module interconnect cables can become loose at the battery terminal within the battery packs. If loose, the battery can overheat. Overheating may cause damage to the battery packs and possibly the bike which could result in a potential fire hazard.

616 units are affected.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

Motor Scooters - A Picture Gallery of Motor Scooters

Pictures of motor scooters



My previous blog entry -- done for April Fools Day -- discussed how motor scooters might form the basis of a new economic stimulus plan. Irrespective of the veracity of that article, it is a fact that motor scooters are gaining new respect among motorcyclists and the non-riding public as well. Being able to get more than 50+ mpg means a lot in this new $3-4 per gallon world.

I'm seeing more and more motor scooters on the road. The high price of gas seems to be driving both motorcyclists and regular folks to look into acquiring a motor scooter. They're relatively cheap to buy, cheap to operate, and fun to ride.

To showcase some of these motor scooters, I've just opened a gallery of motor scooter pictures as submitted by visitors to the Motorcycle Views site.

One of the biggest features on the Motorcycle Views site is Moto Pics, where visitors to the site can display and describe their motorcycles. There are some motor scooter pictures in Moto Pics. To get the new gallery going, I have extracted these motor scooter pictures from Moto Pics and from the old site.

We need your help

Are you a motor scooter rider? Send in a picture of you and your scooter. We will place it in the Motor Scooter Picture Gallery. Submit a picture and description today. These pictures will also become part of Moto Pics.

Take a look at the Motor Scooter Picture Gallery. You'll also find a link there to submit your own motor scooter picture.