Terry came to see the bike on Tuesday, and cooed and tutted over it!
We got the multimeter out, and established, as strongly suspected by all, that the batteries were not in their first flush of youth. The voltage is down slightly and they lose charge quickly.
I've noticed the following pattern:
I ride about a mile, and the percent meter drops to around 96. I switch off, go back to the bike a minute later, and the meter reads 87-92. I go a short distance and stop, and it drops to the mid-80s. (I might add that I got this bike specifically for my work, which involves dropping Kleeneze catalogues with customers locally - up to two miles away - and then delivering the goods to them. The massive topbox allows me to carry 60 or more catalogues at a time - about half the total drop. I therefore have to come home to stock up with the second lot, but have to put the bike on charge before I can go out again.)
The general process afterwards is this: it goes down to a level 10-20 below the last and stays around there for a few stops, then repeats the process. Last night it dropped from 17 to 3, so I rode the mile home in gentle mode! I normally use it in Sprint mode so as to keep up with the traffic and show pedestrians that this is no electric bicycle...
With this use, I therefore get probably 5-7 miles to a full charge, which is very low. I get this only if I've just taken the thing off charge, as the meter drops rapidly. It can read as low as 60 after only three hours with no use. I can see that with the current state of battery technology these vehicles will never become a viable option for most users, as if you have to replace expensive batteries every couple of years it shows no, or comparatively little, overall saving over a petrol vehicle.
I will get shot down in flames here for admitting that my main reason for going electric is not because I have an overpowering urge to reduce emissions but because it makes economic and practical sense. I suspect that is the feeling of most of the population. It's the 'what's in it for me' culture, hence the financial incentives (no congestion charge, free tax, etc.) to try to persuade people that the initial high cost of the vehicles is worthwhile.
Malcolm