Something You Don't See Every Day

[MJEdelman]

A couple of weeks ago was the first time I had taken my Segway out on my MINI. This picture was taken on a Friday and I just had the hauler put on a couple of days before.

This picture was taken at our hotel -- they were gracious enough to let me charge it outside (rather than take it up two flights of stairs -- no ground-level rooms :( ).

http://forums.segwaychat.com/gallery/albums/userpics/16068/IMG_1704.JPG

We drove about 300 miles to Orcas Island, Washington with 31 other MINIs (my wife owns the pink one). The weather was fantastic. A friend (also a MINI owner) was there with is Gen1, but he was having some problems (he will have replacement parts in another week or so).

The island was pretty hilly, so my battery life was not great, but a number of my MINI friends tried the Segway and fell in love with it. I had a hard time getting it away from one gal -- I will have to watch out for her in the future :)

[Eric Payne]

I can see an added benefit here...

Just lower the carrier to ground level, and the Seg can push the mini uphill!

:-)

Eric Payne
Glendale, AZ

[MJEdelman]

I have had a lot of my MINI friends tease me that I just did this to add some extra horsepower... Since my MINI has about 300hp, I don't see the Segway helping out much :)

I will say, that even with the Segway there, I don't notice any impact from the extra load while driving. The hitch (MINI Sportlink + MINI FINI Receiver) and the Segway Hauler are very solid!

[hellphish]

I wish I had mini friends.

[Suzined]

I miss my Woody Banger! Great pictures of your Mini.

[gbrandwood]

Since my MINI has about 300hp A mini with 300bhp? :eek: I bet it moves, and then some!!

[dynk]

Nice car and thanks for the pic. I am also thinking of getting a hauler.

I also like the license plate...............XQQQ ME

[MJEdelman]

Nice car and thanks for the pic. I am also thinking of getting a hauler.

I also like the license plate...............XQQQ ME

Thanks! My wife get's the credit for the plate :) You would be surprised at how many people don't figure it out -- it's fun watching them in the rear view mirror :)

[SEGsby]

Very cool solution for storage with a Seg on the go. And the new Mini's are awesome... Many people at the Studio have them.

Looked at SmartCars last weekend.

http://www.smartusa.com/

There is a local dealer here about a block and a half away, but I discounted the SmartCars just based on if it was possible to store a gen2 Segway inside, without having to completely remove the CS. There simply isn't enough room behind the seats, unless you get the Cabriolet and let it stick thru the roof...

For 45 mpg, one appears to give a little too much up in the SmartCar, and they're not inexpensive for what you actually get (3 cyl gas engine). If you could attach a Seg Hauler in the back (saw no indication one could attach anything), I would worry about the weight distribution, especially at highway speeds with those cars.

But I'm still waiting for the Electric Mini Cooper QED...

http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2006/07/electric-powered-mini-qed-concept-with.html

SEGsby

[SEGsby]

Naw. You would probably be happier with "mini minions". They're much cooler. ;)

SEGsby

I wish I had mini friends.

[KSagal]

A 300 horsepower Mini is a bit over powered, by any standard I can imagine. It must be hard to keep such a light car on the ground with that kind of horsepower...

I cannot imagine anyone being able to get 45 mpg and 300 horsepower out of the same car... That would be a neat feat...

I'll have to look into the weight of the seg off the back issue. If the car is front engined, and so short, a 300 hp engine could offset that weight off the back of the car...

Regardless of the details, that is a sweet looking rig, and they do look pretty good as a package...

THe photo does not show, but is there a very long cord that may be powering both items, it just goes off the bottom of the photo... It may go to the next mini with the generator.


Edit:

I just spent some time on Mini.com and MiniUSA.com, and they say the car has about 118 horsepower, and gets about 29 miles per gallon.

That was the best I could find on their official sites, and everytime I did a search about towing or hitches, it spoke of what to do when the car breaks down and needs to be towed. They did not have any reference at all to the ability to tow anything, or the weight allowed at the hitch...

Clearly, this is a custom car. It looks very good, and it is not uncommon for aftermarket alternatives to come up to offer more performance or improved suspension needed for towing. I guess that is the case here...

[SEGsby]

Um, Karl, no one here said the Mini gets 45 MPG...

I mentioned the SMARTCAR does in a later post; so you're probably blurring the information between slightly different subjects again...

Also, MJEdelman clearly discusses what hardware was used for his hitch...

Either you didn't read the thread very well, or you're really losing it. :(

SEGsby

A 300 horsepower Mini is a bit over powered, by any standard I can imagine. It must be hard to keep such a light car on the ground with that kind of horsepower...

I cannot imagine anyone being able to get 45 mpg and 300 horsepower out of the same car... That would be a neat feat...

I'll have to look into the weight of the seg off the back issue. If the car is front engined, and so short, a 300 hp engine could offset that weight off the back of the car...

Regardless of the details, that is a sweet looking rig, and they do look pretty good as a package...

THe photo does not show, but is there a very long cord that may be powering both items, it just goes off the bottom of the photo... It may go to the next mini with the generator.


Edit:

I just spent some time on Mini.com and MiniUSA.com, and they say the car has about 118 horsepower, and gets about 29 miles per gallon.

That was the best I could find on their official sites, and everytime I did a search about towing or hitches, it spoke of what to do when the car breaks down and needs to be towed. They did not have any reference at all to the ability to tow anything, or the weight allowed at the hitch...

Clearly, this is a custom car. It looks very good, and it is not uncommon for aftermarket alternatives to come up to offer more performance or improved suspension needed for towing. I guess that is the case here...

[MJEdelman]

A 300 horsepower Mini is a bit over powered, by any standard I can imagine. It must be hard to keep such a light car on the ground with that kind of horsepower...

I cannot imagine anyone being able to get 45 mpg and 300 horsepower out of the same car... That would be a neat feat...

I'll have to look into the weight of the seg off the back issue. If the car is front engined, and so short, a 300 hp engine could offset that weight off the back of the car...

Regardless of the details, that is a sweet looking rig, and they do look pretty good as a package...

THe photo does not show, but is there a very long cord that may be powering both items, it just goes off the bottom of the photo... It may go to the next mini with the generator.


Edit:

I just spent some time on Mini.com and MiniUSA.com, and they say the car has about 118 horsepower, and gets about 29 miles per gallon.

That was the best I could find on their official sites, and everytime I did a search about towing or hitches, it spoke of what to do when the car breaks down and needs to be towed. They did not have any reference at all to the ability to tow anything, or the weight allowed at the hitch...

Clearly, this is a custom car. It looks very good, and it is not uncommon for aftermarket alternatives to come up to offer more performance or improved suspension needed for towing. I guess that is the case here...

The standard MINI is about 120HP; the "S" model is about 160; the John Cooper Works (JCW) performance (factory) ugrade gets you to about 180. I have a 2005 Cooper S JCW Cabrio. I upgraded my MINI using aftermarket parts from MINI MADNESS (http://www.mini-madness.com) and Alta performance http://www.altaminiperformance.com/).

The hard top MINIs weigh in (wet) at around 3,000lbs; the convertible is about 3,300 so I have about a 10:1 ratio weight to horsepower. I made these upgrades because I take my car out to the track (hence my avatar -- the chicayne at Portland International Raceway)

The hitch is attached using a MINI standard mount called the SportLink. They sell a bike rack for it. Another company (MINI FINI http://www.minifini.com/) sells a hitch receiver that attaches to the SportLink. The Segway is well within the 150lb tongue weight raiting.

So except for the additonal horsepower, my MINI and hitch are pretty standard.

The Segway Hauler sits low enough that the CG of the car is still pretty well balanced -- I have not had any problems with my Segway hanging of the back while driving on the twisty roads we (the PDX MINI Club http://www.pdxmini.org) like to take.

The standard MINI's get excellent mileage -- 40+mpg, and the S gets about 30-35 depending upon the mods; I get 25-30 mpg.

The long (power) cord is going over to an external outlet at the hotel I was staying at while on Orcas Island. As soon as I get my inverter I will rig something up in the boot for charging my Segway while driving.

[KSagal]

SEGsby rightfully indicated that I confused his post about smart cars with the posts all around it about the mini. His suspicion that I may be 'loosing it' is a bit suspect, as he has no proof that I ever had it... LOL

The 300 hp claim was on track, however. And I have a tendency to go to the manufacturer of the car, not the manufacturer of the hitch to determine the answer to the question that another poster queried about the affect of that much weight off the rear bumper...

While clearly the hitch manufacturer states how much weight can be suspended or towed, that is not the same as the car manufacturers claims.

Also, though not specifically expressed, the car is custom, as I surmised, and as I said, looks good. I said that it is not difficult to go after market and get done what was done, and that I liked this whole set up...

So, complain about me not reading or complain about anything else you like, I quoted my sources, I was accurate in both what I reported and what I guessed. Sorry if someone has a problem with it...

On second thought, I am not sorry at all. Chill.

[glen_d]

His suspicion that I may be 'loosing it' is a bit suspect

The spelling police are going to lose it if you don't figure out the difference between lose (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/lose) and loose (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/loose) soon . . .

Glen

[hellphish]

ITT: Segway dorks getting their feathers ruffled

Anyway, lets all watch a video of a SMART car with a motorcycle engine!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPQIizRp9ck Warning: the music sucks.