We're starting to show some interest in electric vehicles around here, aren't we?
In the course of moving all of my father's stuff north from Florida to Connecticut, I have more or less inherited a pair of fairly early Segways. I have absolutely no need to own such a thing, nor did my father, but he was fascinated by the technology when they came out and thought it would be fun to own one. So he bought two, just in case someone else wanted to try it with him. Or maybe so they could have a race.
So he and his friends rode them around Florida for a while, and then they were parked. I tried them a few times bunch of years ago, and they are a ridiculous amount of fun, in a completely ridiculous kind of way.
When I found them, they had flat tires, were dusty and...really sticky. There was some kind of black trim adhesive used on some of the rubber parts, and it had broken down and oozed out. Every time I tried to move them, I'd get the stuff on my hands and transfer it to another part of the machine. It didn't take long before they were a real mess. If there was one upside, it was that both were still plugged in, which is the recommended method of storage to keep the batteries from becoming completely discharged.
So now I find myself with two filthy old Segways that haven't moved in a long time. The plan at this point is to get them cleaned up and see I can make them work again. It's important to note that my understanding of electrical systems pretty much peaked at the kite/thunderstorm level, so I will be learning as I go.
Maybe this will be fun. Or just weird.
With luggage!! That's different.
Are they still in Florida?
I have paid very little attention to how those work. I know you lean forwards or backwards for those directions and they have some sort of gyroscopic balance-but to turn do you steer or lean?
84FSP
SuperDork
7/27/18 7:25 a.m.
Donebrokeit said:
With luggage!! That's different.
Are they still in Florida?
Luggage for the B double E double R U N - Beer run!!! All you need is a 10 and a 5....
In reply to Donebrokeit :
I brought them up to Connecticut.
They fall into the same category as go-carts, minibikes, etc: not real practical but really fun.
84FSP said:
Donebrokeit said:
With luggage!! That's different.
Are they still in Florida?
Luggage for the B double E double R U N - Beer run!!! All you need is a 10 and a 5....
You know, I was going to take those bags off, but you may be on to something there...
MrJoshua said:
I have paid very little attention to how those work. I know you lean forwards or backwards for those directions and they have some sort of gyroscopic balance-but to turn do you steer or lean?
The handlebar and the center post are fixed in place. On some newer models, I think the post pivots. You don't move the handlerbar to turn, but your instinct leads you to try, at least at first. You do lean into turns, but that doesn't make it steer, it just offsets the G force.
Steering is accomplished with the Steering Grip, on the left side of the handlebar. It turns like a motorcycle throttle. Rotate it left (counterclockwise) and the Segway turns left, and vice versa. It's odd at first, but you get used to it quickly. It has true Zero-Turn capabilities and works weather you are moving or standing still. You can do a 360 turn without going forward or backward.
The gyroscopes respond and compensate when you lean forward or back, but there is nothing to help you side to side. For example, riding across the slope of a hill is not a great idea.
I just rode one of these for the first time. Pretty surreal feeling. So intuitive. (That’s not me)
what do they weigh if you need to get one into a truck ?
How are the batteries ? ,
it looks like they are pretty expensive to replace ,
Looks like fun !
Fortunately, I have all of the original paperwork on these things. There's a lot of it, and I haven't finished going through all of it yet. If I recall correctly, at least one of them got a battery upgrade at some point.
They were purchased new in late November of 2007, so they would probably be 2008 models. They are both iSeries Segway HTs (Human Transporters). The one on the left is an i167-Ti ($2995) and the other is an i180-MB ($3995). Frankly, I could have found a much better way to spend seven thousand dollars in 2007, but hey, that's just me. The last two letters refer to the color: Titanium (Ti) and Medium Blue (MB).
The iSeries was the only Segway offered with either NiMH (nickel metal hydride) or Li-ion (Lithium Ion) batteries. You can upgrade from NiMH to Li-ion, but that also requires a software upgrade that can only happen at an authorized dealer.
I was pleased to discover that both units currently have Lithium Ion batteries. This is good news.
In reply to californiamilleghia :
68 pounds, before batteries and accessories. Batteries are heavy, and they have two battry packs each. I haven't weighed them as they sit.
The Lithium Ion batteries have less ground clearance, but much better range and should last a lot longer.
Li-ion:
NiMH:
Hmm... Porsche 928 phone dial wheels!
How good are the gyroscopes ?
if you put a 50 pound backpack on the front attached to the handlebars , would it fall on its nose or would the gyroscopes compensate for it ?
and did the gyroscopes get better thru the years ? or were there software upgrades for them ?
I remember seeing a lot of them at the airport in China and I see they are now owned by a Chinese company , I wonder if the parts interchange ?
This should be fun to watch. I have nothing constructive to add so I'll leave you with this:
Link if you want to read the article
A resto/build thread on a pair of Segways... man, we are all getting old. 
That said, Blart it up!
SEGWAY MANUALS AND SERVICE BULLETINS
https://www.buyasegway.com/faq
Woody said:
californiamilleghia said:
SEGWAY MANUALS AND SERVICE BULLETINS
https://www.buyasegway.com/faq
Thank you.
this will tell you the codes on when the batteries were made and the year of the Segway
https://www.buyasegway.com/should-i-buy-new-or-used
californiamilleghia said:
How good are the gyroscopes ?
if you put a 50 pound backpack on the front attached to the handlebars , would it fall on its nose or would the gyroscopes compensate for it ?
and did the gyroscopes get better thru the years ? or were there software upgrades for them ?
I remember seeing a lot of them at the airport in China and I see they are now owned by a Chinese company , I wonder if the parts interchange ?
The gyroscopes seem to do a very good at their intended task. The way these work is that you lean forward slightly to move forward and lean back to go backward. If the Segway senses that you are going too fast or leaning too far forward, the machine pushes back and stands you up, which automatically slows you down. It's self limiting and works very well. I believe that it would easily compensate for the added weight of the backpack. It can't be operated unless it's in Balance Mode, and it won't go into Balance mode until the front post is vertical.
Sort of along the same line of thought, my daughter and I have ridden the same machine without any adjustment. I'm a foot taller and I weigh 125 pounds more than she does. The machine compensates for that, at least within its suggested weight limits, which I'm sure have substantial safety margin designed into them.
The0retical said:
This should be fun to watch. I have nothing constructive to add so I'll leave you with this:
Link if you want to read the article
I remember that happening, testing a new off road model, he rolled up to the edge, went to look over, and there he went.
