Making the Switch

Last week, I bought my very first electric scooter. I had sold my beloved car a few years back in exchange for a new life in Hawaii.  My first year without a car was a difficult transition.  I realized how dependent I was on cars and oil.  But since I was riding a beach cruiser through the streets of Waikiki in 80 degree weather year round, I couldn't complain too much!

But like all dreams, our time on the islands came to an end, and I found myself back in the nitty gritty city of San Diego, unemployed and car-less. I had to do something, and fast.  This is how it all began.  

It was beautiful, and it was electric.  No license, no registration, no insurance, no noise, and no gas!!  The man selling it was Mr. Brad Voisen of Voisen Motors.  I researched his company online and found a website.  They looked like nice people, and I was happy to be buying from an actual business rather than a private seller.

When we checked out the bike at Mr. Voisen's home in Encinitas, he seemed like a friendly old fellow.  He showed us how the bike worked, and watched us ride down the street a few times.  He assured us that the bike was in good condition.  We chatted with him for a while about the importance of alternative energy, and I told him how excited I was to be able to do my part.  I couldn't wait to take my new ride home!

 As you can see, I was thrilled.  The first two days were great!  I got myself a helmet, and  I dug out my leather jacket and gloves.  I got complements everywhere I went, and people were asking me for information so frequently that I started to carry business cards around with me to give out at stop lights.  I was keeping up with traffic, doing errands around town, and having a great time.  I even thought about becoming an electric scooter dealer.  On the third night, my guy and I went for a ride downtown.  We were laughing and giggling and having a great time.

Suddenly the scooter started making a horrible grinding noise and refused to accelerate. It stopped in the middle of the street and we had to push it back to the house.  It was not a fun walk.

Of course, I was devastated.  Here I was, with a $1,400.00 scooter that no longer worked, no way to get parts, and a crushing feeling that I had been completely ripped off.  I cried for a while.  Then I contacted Voisen's mechanic, who told us he doesn't work on electric vehicles!  He also said some pretty bad things about Voisen and his bikes.  I contacted Voisen, who was not much help.  I really don't think he cares about me or the bike.

So, after my initial disappointment, I was to determined to fix the scooter.  Steve agreed to help me, and we have been online ever since, contacting obscure companies in China in hopes of finding the exact parts that we think we need.  We have no idea what we are doing.  Even if we get the parts, we are unsure of how to install them, and there are no scooter places in San Diego that seem to be able or willing to help us.  

We have visited forums, searched websites, watched youtube videos, emailed suppliers, and talked to people in California, Florida, Canada, and Mexico, but no can give us the help we need.  I am worried that the cost of the new motor and controller will just be more money on top of what I have already lost.  China is asking for almost $600.00 for the parts, and we are not even sure if it is a legitimate company. Just writing about it makes me want to cry.  

I am disappointed that I can't get what I need in the U.S. I am disgusted in myself for being taken advantage of.  I am desperate to find a way to get to work, and in spite of it all, I still really want to fix it!

This has been such a sad week for me, on top of a very sad year.  After losing the pregnancy in November, I thought the worst had to be over.  But it has been just one disappointment after another.  Are there no honest people left in the world?  Is everyone out there just trying to make a quick buck?  

Well, I do know one honest person, and that is my boyfriend Steve, who promised me he would do everything he could to get me back on the road.  He has been on the computer for 4 days straight trying to figure out what to do, and I miss him.  We are both exhausted and irritable.  I feel like such a fool. 

I will continue to update this blog, so that maybe I can save other people the time, money and heartache that I have gone through with this. I believe that electric vehicles are the future, and that we just need to keep trying.  I am truly a pioneer in this field.  If anyone out there can help me in any way, please do.  

Here is some video of the problem...

A Spark of Determination

I have been humming The Electric Slide ever since I got on that bike.

I called my long distance best friend to tell her about my new scooter.  I told her "It's electric!" and she said, "boogie woogie woogie".  You can always count on friends to make you smile.

Too bad my scooter wasn't as reliable.

Yesterday morning before work I called at least three different people about getting it fixed.  Each one told me bluntly that they couldn't do anything to help me.  I taught my ESL class as usual, but I wasn't thinking about grammar or vocabulary.  I was thinking about my scooter.  Even the test I gave them had a story on it about a woman's husband who spends all their money on motorcycles.  I had a sick feeling that I had just spent all our money on motorcycles, too.

And when class was over and I realized I would have to walk home, I broke down.  I cried all the way home, feeling very sorry for myself.  How had I gotten myself into this?  How could I have been so stupid?  When I had finished my sniveling, I looked at Steve, and I felt something snap.  I was going to tear that bike open and find out exactly what the heck was wrong, even if it cost me everything.   I was already out the money, so what harm could it possibly do at this point?

We gathered some tools and marched outside, determined and slightly terrified of our patient.  Steve helped me get the back tire off.  We were sure it was the hub motor that was causing the problem.  We were just about to wire $560.00, and I wanted to see the problem with my own eyes before we kissed next month's rent away too.  We were hearing horror stories about dealing with distributors in China.

We got the wheel off and then tried to pry the hub off.  No such luck.  So back on the computer we went.  I started looking for local places that worked on electric bicycles.  We had called most of them already, so I had to dig a little. Finally, we called Patrick at San Diego Electric Bikes.  Over the phone, Steve explained our situation (for the thousandth time!), and I sat there listening, waiting for the moment when he would tell Steve there was no help for us, and Steve would nicely say thanks anyway. But that moment never came.  Instead, he told Steve that we could bring the motor over and test it on his system.  I figured it wouldn't do us any good, but we figured it was better than sitting around listening to me cry about it.  We grabbed the tire and drove down to Chula Vista.

We were expecting to see a shop, but we found Patrick and his son working away in their own garage. There were electric bikes all around, batteries, and chargers, and wheels and gears and chains and all sorts of electric parts.  Patrick was on the phone with another poor soul who was having electric issues, walking him through a test and recording data for the readouts.  Cool, I thought.

Inside the brushless motor

Patrick set us up on the floor of his shop.  He helped us pry the lid off of the hub motor. A visual inspection found no damaged wirings.  The enxt step was to test it on a different controller.  The controller is the "brain" of an electric vehicle.  It tells it when to accelerate and when to stop.  Patrick started pulling out wires and testers and all kinds of devices.  We hooked the wheel hub up to one of his controlers to see if the motor was good.  It started spinning, which meant it was!  We would have spent all that money on a part we didnt need.
It was the first time we had any progress with getting this bike fixed, and I wanted to hug this guy!
He even sold us a controller that might work with the scooter.  The Voltage is different, but it worked in his shop.  He told us we could try it and bring it back if it didn't work.  Wow. I guess there are still nice people out there.
On the way home, it was getting dark, so we decided to wait until tomorrow to fix it.  Well, It's tomorrow, and when Steve gets home we will test the new piece! My fingers (and my wires) are crossed.

Crossed Wires

Today's attempt was a bust.  We hooked up our new controller to the motor and reattached it to the bike.  And let me tell you, stripping, clamping, splicing and fitting wires is no easy feat.  Steve's hopes were high, but I wouldn't let myself get excited.  Somehow I knew it wouldn't work, and I'm sorry to say I was right.  Nothing like turning the throttle only to hear silence.  The sun is setting now, and I have a terrible chill.  There's not much to do now but pack up the tools and try again tomorrow. (

Wire you still not working?!?

The new controller and charger arrived today, so I asked Darren of Cycle Squads to come over and hook it up for me.  Darren knows all about electric motorcycles, but he couldn't get mine to work again.

In the process of installing the controller,  he touched two wires together and got a little electrocuted.  The spark burned a hole right through his metal wire clipper, and we're lucky he didn't get completely fried in the process.  Later, something else got connected wrong and we had a small electric fire.  The whole bloody wire disintegrated all the way down to the controller box.  I guess he had a bad connection.

After hooking up the rest of the wires up, we got nothing from the bike or the battery.  By this time, I was actually relieved it didn't work so that I wouldn't have to sweep this guy up off my lawn with a dust pan and broom. It was a painfully disappointing attempt.  I figure by the smell of things that the brand new controller I just bought is now fried, as well.

There's really nothing left to do about it now, and after today, I am too scared to touch anything on it myself.  I am so sad that I will now be paying for this thing for the next 3 years!  All that money I could have spent on a regular old moped, or even a car!  But NO, I had to try and be different, to try to make the world a better place, to try and be independent.  And I have failed miserably.
I hope the guy who sold me the magic beans is enjoying his life, and my hard earned money.  I wish he could see me having to walk sadly to my job with my head down to avoid the unwanted advances from guys at the bus stop, just so I can work all day to pay for a broken, un-fixable piece of junk.
I am ready to chalk it up as a total loss.  I guess the U.S. is just not ready for electric vehicles.  I hope the world ends this year. Sigh.

The Battle for Transportation Ends in Defeat.

I have had lots of time to reflect on my predicament while I walk to school. How could I have been so stupid???   There's nothing worse than getting ripped off and only having yourself to blame.  I curse the day I met Brad Voisen and his electric motorcycle.  I think about the money I lost and I want to kill myself.

My students are wondering what happened to the moped that I was so excited about.  I don't have the heart to tell them it's finished.  I just tell them I am waiting for parts that will never come.  The scooter is fubar, and I don't want to have to explain that colorful expression to them.
Now I don't even know how to get rid of it.  Nobody will buy it now, and it probably needs to be taken apart and recycled.  I just want it gone. It is too painful to see it sitting in my driveway every morning on my walk to work.

Anybody out there in the market for a great looking, broken, dream? I'll even throw in my new helmet.

Thanks to everyone who tried their best to help me, John, Patrick, Darren (even though he really blew it), Scott, Freeman, Jim and Mike.  I'm so sorry this story didn't have a happier ending.