The EV Show - December 2014 - EV West

Following EVtv and Jack Rickard's weekly EVtv Friday Show, EV West is starting a monthly EV Show too, and for this first episode Michael Bream is presenting mostly components from their online store along with the EV Ferrari owner ...

 

"After receiving requests for a small update show that highlights the latest projects and EV products at EV West, we finally decided it was time to put together a monthly show. Hosted by Michael Bream, Eric Hutchison and Jehu Garcia, the show will be a monthly series covering the latest in the EV shop scene, along with some useful tips and timely product announcements."

BMW C Evolution Breakdown on the Freeway - Controller Problem

Last tuesday, heading to work on the freeway, going uphill at 110 km/h on the left lane, I experienced a severe breakdown having no more response from the throttle and the LCD display illuminated in red with yellow and red warnings. I had to pull over quickly to the right lane and could safely stop at the upcoming freeway exit





My warning lights on, I stopped and restarted the scooter turning it OFF and ON again, but that did not have any effect :(
I tried this procedure several times and decided to get off the bike and safely call the BMW Assistance which indicated to call the Police because I was on the freeway - they are the ones dealing with this kind of situation -
"A towing truck should be on its way and you should be towed within half an hour" the Police said





I finally waited 40 minutes before I could be towed and brought back to Boulogne, at the BMW Motorrad shop next to where I live; I walked to my parking and went to work with the LEAF ASAP, arriving two hours later than usual ...

The shop took care of my scooter almost right away and called me in the afternoon saying its had been fixed, through a firmware upgrade touching the power electronics - I must admit that I was a bit sceptical when I heard this at first - and test rode it fine for 13 km on the same freeway

The next morning, happy to pick up the bike, I had the warning light and engine sign, in yellow this time instead of red, they were surprised and so was I ... I asked them if they checked the "error log" (?) of the bike and they said they did not see anything but decided to replug it into the diagnosys tool right away and see what it says. Then they told me it was a power electronics fault and that I should leave them the bike until it is fixed ...







They will have to deal with a French representative in touch with Germany for any repair touching the electric components of the scooter and it could take some time; The repairs would be performed in the only shop certified to do that with two specially trained mechanics in Paris 17th district (BMW Motorrad Tocqueville)
It seems to be the first failure of this type among the few C Evolution on the road right now

The dealer agreed to lend me the demo C Evolution for the day, having test rides booked the other days, so I used to commute it and brought it back at 7 PM;



Talking to one of the salesmen, he told me he would see with the shop (seperate location in Boulogne) if they could speed up the repair or at least give me some more info on the on going process

The next day I used the LEAF to go to work again and was happy to receive a call from this same salesman telling me BMW France would lend me a C Evolution during the repair period and I should get it the coming week; Few minutes later the shop called to announce they received the replacement scooter for me and I could pick it up the next day at the shop opening; I requested a full charge to be performed ...

And the next morning, after signing a one month contract, I left with a brand new 1000 km old identical scooter and I rode it since then ...





Thanks BMW France for lending me (one of) your demo C Evolution !  :)

Second Visit to Tesla Store Paris

Yesterday, instead of going to Paris directly, we first went to the Tesla Store in Gennevilliers, next to Paris, to see what was going on, what was new

- Chassis on display
- New P85+ dark blue
- Rear child seats test
- Test drive booked in 2 weeks





Arriving, 2 test drive Model S were parked outside, waiting



The first new thing in the showroom is the Chassis on display, very interesting, so took many close ups to see technical details






The AC Motor is huge !




Tesla Serial number on the AC Motor







A view in the shop from the little window in the showroom and a Model S on the lift, plus many recently delivered ones on the right, with new plates, etc



Also the black Model S has been replaced by a dark blue P85+, very nice


and it is charging




using the regular EVSE and plugged into a regular 220V outlet, next to an iMac






My son Clément loves to be in the driver's seat and tests everything on the huge screen, including opening the roof, the trunk, etc



and this time we tried out the rear child seats, that are folded in the back of the trunk


Very well designed mechanism


At 12 years old, he is a bit to tall to fit, but he managed to shut the seatbelt

and we closed the trunk :-)





We then talked to a new saleswoman, and booked a test drive in two weeks ...