VECTRIX ELECTRIC

Thursday, May 28th was one of those typical Indiana spring days. There was a grey overcast and the weather couldn’t make up its mind as to what it wanted to do.

Ehlerding Motorsports on Highway 930 East had planned a press conference between 11:00am and 1:00pm to demonstrate a new product, an electric motorcycle. I was running late for the conference, as it was already 12:30, but the sun was trying to come out and I was interested in taking a look at their new bike.

For those of you concerned about your carbon footprint, or for those just looking for a less expensive way to get around, the new Vectrix Electric may be the right tool for the job. When I arrived at Ehlerding’s the new Vectrix was setting in front of the store. The store and factory reps were available and they told me to take it for a spin.

The first thing you notice is the lack of things for your feet to do. Both front and rear brakes are on the handlebars and there is no shifting. Speed is controlled by the right handle grip and it is very quick in acceleration. It goes from 0 to 50 in 6.8 seconds and has a 55-mile range.

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One of the impressive features is the braking. As I mentioned it has front and rear brakes available, but it has a better way to decelerate. By reversing the throttle, the electric motor becomes a generator and all of that forward momentum is converted back into electrical energy and flows back into the battery. In a gas powered vehicle the forward momentum energy is lost whenever you brake.

Vectrix plugs into a regular 110V outlet and is charged in about two and a half hours at just pennies per mile.

The weather finally cleared and I thanked the folks at Ehlerding for the experience and left with new ideas as to the future of electric transportation.