Wisper 905E - any good?

[averhamdave]

Well given that everyone here raves on about Wisper bikes I've bought one.

Clearly I'm going to neeed your help though to get it going. More to come!

e-bay 290370427397

I'll let you know what its like when the courier gets it to me.

Thanks

 

[Barnowl]

For 50 quid It can't be bad

New battery won't come cheap though. Still looks like a good buy to me.

 

[Blew it]

Interesting!. It's quite an early model, around late 2006 early 2007 I'd guess.

That's a Lishen 13 ah battery which Wisper haven't used for a while. The Advance lithium manganese battery currently used by Wisper will fit but the kettle plug will need to be changed to an IEC c20 with the earth pin removed. The kettle lead would then be too short and need replacing. Another possibility is Wisper may be able to supply a 2008 kettle lead.

The Lishen charger would be unsuitable, therefore you would need to purchase a new fan cooled charger with the new battery.

Assuming everything else is okay that will bring the on-the-road price up to around £700 ...plus the £50 you paid for the bike and plus the couriers fee.

I hope the project goes well.

Regards
Bob

 

[averhamdave]

Oh well, seemed too good to be true. They have pulled out of the deal claiming a mistake on the listed BIN price so no fifty quid Whisper

Interesting that the price would come up to maybe £750 on the road - not such a bargain if it did.

 

[Blew it]

"Wipes nervous sweat from brow"

 

[fishingpaul]

Oh well, seemed too good to be true. They have pulled out of the deal claiming a mistake on the listed BIN price so no fifty quid Whisper

Interesting that the price would come up to maybe £750 on the road - not such a bargain if it did.

The price of a new battery on many older e bikes especially lithium or hard to obtain nimh,makes a replacement battery uneconomic at often £400 so the bikes often end up on ebay,with the unsuspecting buyer left shocked at the cost of replacement,the bikes are really only of use for spares or for somebody with a good battery.

 

[AndyOfTheSouth]

Agree with Blew It - think you've had a lucky escape!

It is an odd market where secondhand versions of good branded products are worth so little...

 

[flecc]

There's another aspect too Dave, and your propective purchase did worry me.

Basically, the Wisper company we know and love is relatively new, created around 4/5 years ago when David Miall and his business partner bought Chinese company WEVCO (Wisper Electric Vehicle Company) which made the basic 905e among other bikes. The bike held promise but was in real need of development, and it's that which David and company have provided over the years since, culminating in today's fine range of models, incomparably better than the originals.

Much earlier bikes can therefore be not very good buys, especially if a new battery needs to be bought.
.

 

[Andy_82]

There's another aspect too Dave, and your propective purchase did worry me.

Basically, the Wisper company we know and love is relatively new, created around 4/5 years ago when David Miall and his business partner bought Chinese company WEVCO (Wisper Electric Vehicle Company) which made the basic 905e among other bikes. The bike held promise but was in real need of development, and it's that which David and company have provided over the years since, culminating in today's fine range of models, incomparably better than the originals.

Much earlier bikes can therefore be not very good buys, especially if a new battery needs to be bought.
.

Where did you get that information from Flecc about buying WEVCO??? I have hearg about the totally different story of Wisper Bikes

 

[flecc]

From David in the earlier forum days Andy. They apparently bought it following the sale of their successful display company. Here's one explanation from May 2007:

WEVCO/Wisper history

and here's David's introduction to pedelecs in April 2007:

Wisper Bikes introduction
.

 

[Blew it]

It's back for another go

 

[Mussels]

Oh well, seemed too good to be true. They have pulled out of the deal claiming a mistake on the listed BIN price so no fifty quid Whisper

Interesting that the price would come up to maybe £750 on the road - not such a bargain if it did.

It's back for another go

Well it looks like they have made the same mistake again, is it time for a complaint to ebay about backing out of the sale?

 

[Andy_82]

From David in the earlier forum days Andy. They apparently bought it following the sale of their successful display company. Here's one explanation from May 2007:

WEVCO/Wisper history

and here's David's introduction to pedelecs in April 2007:

Wisper Bikes introduction
.

Hi Flecc,

Thanks for the link to clarification but frankly speaking the story is slightly longer than the one described by David which I don't blame him as he does not have to tell us the story of his life. I would just point out that before WEVCO there was missed a bit of Mr Mark Rao who is a real crook anyway and the Landam China. This is however not up to me to uncover all those and if David wants, he will tell you the full story. It's all up to him

 

[flecc]

Hi Flecc,

Thanks for the link to clarification but frankly speaking the story is slightly longer than the one described by David which I don't blame him as he does not have to tell us the story of his life. I would just point out that before WEVCO there was missed a bit of Mr Mark Rao who is a real crook anyway and the Landam China. This is however not up to me to uncover all those and if David wants, he will tell you the full story. It's all up to him

Actually David has commented in other threads on Mark Rao (Cycleman) and his practices, though not directly in the Wisper/WEVCO context, but he clearly knows what a rogue he is, as do many of us.

Like you, I'm not too concerned about possible minor discrepancies in early Wisper history though, it's the satisfactory outcome we have today which is the more important, as evidenced by the many happy customers.
.

 

[Andy_82]

Actually David has commented in other threads on Mark Rao (Cycleman) and his practices, though not directly in the Wisper/WEVCO context, but he clearly knows what a rogue he is, as do many of us.

Like you, I'm not too concerned about possible minor discrepancies in early Wisper history though, it's the satisfactory outcome we have today which is the more important, as evidenced by the many happy customers.
.

I'm not concerned about it either and i'm very happy about Wisper Bikes as well. It is definitely one of the best brands on the market right now.

 

[averhamdave]

Back to the original subject - I see that they have just got £155 for the re-listed bike.

 

[Blew it]

I think the forum membership is about to increase by one

 

[averhamdave]

Mmm, they've bought a bike claimed to be selling today for £1000. They have also been told its a 2008 model and just needs a new battery which Wisper have in stock. (By e-mail to me when I was looking at it)

The knowledgeable folk on here will be able to tell him/her that its 2006 or 7 bike. The last ones were sold off for £650. The new Wisper 905SE does not use one component that was used on the 905E. When sorted it could stand him at over £700.

There again, if it was purchased for spares I don't suppose it was too bad at £155

 

[Andy_82]

Mmm, they've bought a bike claimed to be selling today for £1000. They have also been told its a 2008 model and just needs a new battery which Wisper have in stock. (By e-mail to me when I was looking at it)

The knowledgeable folk on here will be able to tell him/her that its 2006 or 7 bike. The last ones were sold off for £650. The new Wisper 905SE does not use one component that was used on the 905E. When sorted it could stand him at over £700.

There again, if it was purchased for spares I don't suppose it was too bad at £155

it's still a lot for a bike that is 06 or 07 model, dont you think, problem is you don know what that components condition is

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Wisper a Potted History

Hi Guys

Briefly!

We set up Wisper in 2004 after a buying trip to China and designed, with the assistance of Chinese partners, the 905.

Wisper originally worked with a small bike producer in China the same company who used to make the Spanish "Monty" electric bike.

This company was bought out by C and U a huge bearing company who wanted to enter the e bike market, Dick Lai and Mark Rao were sales men for C and U electric bike division.

C and U after about a year decided they did not want to be in the e-bike market and sold the original company back to it's original owners. We employed Dick Lai as our manager in Shanghai and Mark Rao was made redundant, he managed to get his hands on about 100 Wisper frames from C and U. He then set up Cycleman and continued to make very poor copies of our 905.

Wisper Electric Vehicle Company (China) Ltd owned a percentage of Wisper Electric Vehicle Company Ltd. In 2008 Douglas Lawson bought into the company and WEVCO China and WEVCO UK became one company Wisper Ltd. WEVCO is still an entity but no longer trades.

All the best

David