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This beautiful custom scooter really impressed me as soon as I saw it. As you can imagine, Steve is a experienced wooden boat builder, and he also makes fine furniture out of wood. If that wasn’t enough, Steve was also a P-47 pilot in WWII, and he he owns patents for his development of the GoPed scooter “one arm” suspension.
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Although Steve’s creation is based on a Vectrix automatic-transmission VX-1 “scooter”, it is a serious commuter vehicle. As a road vehicle it is rated for 68-MPH. The front tire is a tubeless 120/70 on a 14-inch wheel. The Vectrix includes hydraulic disc brakes front and rear. Although the headquarters were in Massachusetts, the Vectrix was assembled in a factory located in Poland, since Europe has remained it’s biggest market.
The powertrain is a brushless electric motor attached to the left side of the rear wheel. A thin planetary reduction brings the motor’s high RPM’s down to wheel-speeds.
2006-2014
The original 2006 Vectrix was delivered with a NiMh battery using 125V, and in 2008 it filed for reorganization and was purchased by the “Gold Peak Group” in China, who continued producing the VX-1, and also upgraded the battery to the LiFePO4 chemistry. In 2014, it filed for bankruptcy again and a Polish company purchased the factory. Info and pics of the original factory NiMh battery packs can be found by clicking here.
The motor is rated for 11-kW constant, and 35-kW as a temporary peak. When slowing, the throttle has a “twist-forward” position that provides regenerative braking (regen).
Here is a blog and video of a Leaf-cell pack conversion (click here) using 18 modules in a 36S configuration. This would be 130V nominal, and a peak of 148V, using the original controller, which is what I would do.
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The Steve Patmont “Sliver”
A short video of Steve riding his creation can be seen by clicking here. Its amazing how torquey and quiet these Vectrix VX-1’s are.
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LINKS
The Vectrix official website can be found by clicking here
Steve’s facebook page can be found by clicking here
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Written by Ron/spinningmagnets, January 2023
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