priscilla

Oh goodness, I didn't intend to stir up such controversy! Just to be clear - I did say "less reputable manufacturers" I'm well aware now from reading this forum that there are several fine companies. However - "try before you buy" was something else I learned here so my choice was to some degree constrained by what was available within a reasonable travelling distance. Alex mentioned that paying over £1000 will ensure a good bike.......but that is exactly the point. Like many uniformed buyers I was originally looking for the cheapest bike possible that claimed to do what I needed. I planned to spend £300 - £400. I'm not bike-savvy enough to know good from bad components. That was what led me here - to see if I could get an overview before I took the plunge. Reading the posts led me have a radical re-think. I'm delighted I upped my budget and chose a Wisper. Finally - do remember, I WAS posting in the Wisper Bikes Clinic section of the forum - I'm sure I'm allowed to be a tad biased there! Priscilla

Just to update on my earlier battery problems... Everything is fine now, and both my Wisper and their after-sales service are brilliant. I'm so glad I discovered this forum before I bought my bike - I think I could have been easily misled by some of the claims of the less reputable manufacturers who offer zero after-sales, but the posts on here were very reassuring about Wisper. I may have been a little frustrated at the early glitch, but I didn't have a moments concern that everything would be promptly sorted. You can probably tell by the tone of this post that I'm really happy - this is because not only is my battery all fine now, but the postman brought me a fabulous Wisper pannier set today! (Thanks David!) That really is A+ service. Priscilla

Fingers crossed, the story has a happy ending. I was able to drive to the Edinburgh Wisper shop today taking my battery and charger with me. Using other batteries and chargers we were, by a process of elimination able to pinpoint the problem. It was a fuse in the battery that had failed.(which XCytronex correctly suspected) From there, it was a quick fix and I'm now back home with the battery charging up correctly now. Might it be a good idea to send spare fuses out with the bikes? The actual fuse changing is a simple task and might save some aggravation if spares were to hand!

hi Bob, Sorry, I should have mentioned that I had read your earlier post on this topic while I was trying to find a solution. Problem is, the connector now appears to have a different design as there is no split pin now. Other things I have looked at - I've looked at the fuse in the charger -its there and appears ok. I get the same effect regardless of the battery being attached or not - goes straight to green light after a couple of seconds on amber. I'm really surprised at this on a new bike as I would have thought testing the battery and charger would be a given!

After my post on the 14th I decided to give the battery a top-up charge. Despite trying several times, the amber light on the charger would turn immediately to green and the fan did not come on at all. I decided to leave it until I had taken the bike out and see what happened when it needed a full charge. Finally had good enough weather today, but the battery died within 3 miles of mostly downhill cycling (I was not best pleased at the uphill push back!) It had gone very swiftly to red on the handlebar indicator and finally the electrics cut out totally leaving no lights at all. On returning home I tried charging the battery. The amber light again goes almost straight to green, this time the fan starts but stops again after 2 or 3 seconds. I presume the battery is not charging at all. Faulty battery? Faulty charger? Both? I'm really disappointed after waiting weeks to have my first ride! Priscilla

Thanks both for the info - it's really helpful to have the specifics. Snowing again here today Looks like battery charging is the only exercise I'll be getting for a while! Priscilla

I took delivery of my Wisper on 22nd Dec. The battery was fully charged and I had planned to do my conditioning runs asap. However, I still haven't been able to use the bike at all due to the snow and am concerned about the battery as I understand it is not good to leave them without a charge-up for too long, but am unsure because of the need to fully discharge for the first few charges. Realistically I think it may be at least another 2 weeks before I'm able to use the bike so should I be charging it or would that be bad for a new battery? priscilla

Much as I normally love some snow I'm now in a state of agitation and frustration! My new Wisper 905se Sport S arrived here in Scotland in time for Christmas - my poor husband braved a blizzard to go to collect it a couple of days before Christmas day, and it did do a short "grand entrance" from garage to living room on Christmas day, but since then it has sat sadly unused, due to many inches of snow around my house and on nearby roads. I've fitted it up with a mirror, read the manual multiple times, played with my new helmet (a Yakkay - very nice!) but I'm back to thumb twiddling and looking out of the window muttering unpleasant things..........and the forecast is for more snow As a novice rider I don't want to scare the beezeezus out of myself by risking a snowy ride but I think there is is a limit to the fun I can have riding up and down the hall! priscilla

I think it depends on your local dealer. I'm in the Edinburgh area and was given a free trial of a Wisper for 4 days to test it out. I didn't even need to collect it - the dealer dropped it off at my home. He said that he didn't like to sell bikes that didn't suit a customer's specific route/area so he preferred to give a longer trial period. I'm sure this is an effective technique - 4 days was plenty to get me hooked! My lovely new Wisper will be under the christmas tree (assuming Santa makes it through the snow!) priscilla

I'm in Falkirk, Scotland.......awaiting delivery of a Wisper 905 se City S.