--- In lectra@yahoogroups.com, "gyartz" <gyartz@...> wrote:
>
> i'm surprised that someone doesn't get a clue & start manufacturing the
> Lectra again. in these days of high gas prices & people looking for
> alternative transportation, i think it would be a hot item seeing how
> sought after they seem to be now. with new battery technology right
> around the corner now seems like the right time, not in the early 90's
> when people could care less about something like this....
>

hm, interesting idea. I had a funny experience one day riding my
Lectra home.. while stopped at a stoplight this woman started yelling
at me from 3 lanes away asking where I got the bike. When I yelled
back that I'd built it (my Lectra is completely not stock) she wanted
me to build her one....sooo.....

There are a number of electric scooters and motorcycles on the market
or coming soon (Vectrix, Xtreme, Volta, etc)

Building a duplicate of the Lectra? Well, who has the construction
plans and can recreate the controller etc? I don't understand the
value of the VR drive system (my Lectra is not stock and instead uses
a brushed series DC motor) but e.g. an AC or brushless DC drive would
be cool and capture most of the benefits of the VR (as I read them on
electricmotorbike.org last night).

ZAP probably owns the rights to the Lectra ...? If so, isn't it up to
ZAP to do something with the Lectra? Oh, wait, we're talking about
ZAP, never mind, they have a history of screwing up... But there are
other designs and maybe someone could start with a similarly sized
frame, design a bike out of that instead, and make a go under a
different brand name etc.

e.g. a couple days ago I came across the "Battery Box Motorcycle"
where this guy had designed his own frame (out of aluminum) and is
apparently planning to make a motorcycle company sooner or later.

e.g. I found on ebay a couple months ago a manual labeled "The
Electric Motorcycle Builders Manual" which was written in the mid 60's
by a guy in Davis CA and goes through precise detailed construction
plans on building an electric motorcycle from frame construction on
up. Oh, uh, the electronics part is pretty horrid (60's) but it's
the frame that's the important part of it.

- David