Electric Scooter/Motorcycle

[wakeman84]

Guys,

I searched the forum and couldn't find the answer I was looking for but I was wondering if anyone owned or knew of a good electric scooter or motorcyle (reasonably priced 4K or less) that has a top speed of at least 50 mph and range of at least 30-35 mph. I looked at the Vectrix scooters but they are too expensive and not available yet. Thanks.

Mike

[hawkjm73]

I was recently doing research into just such a critter for my mom. The best I could find was from a company called eGo. They make an electric cycle, but it tops out at 24mph. Its natural range is about 20 miles, but it is very easy to carry and swap out an extra battery for 40 miles. The Vectrix looked great, but are just as usefull as a newspaper until they actually become available. For your specs, I think your best chance is a DIY, or maybe a mod of a lesser model. The eGo lists at about $1400, so there's a lot of wiggle room in your price to soup it up. It has a very open frame, so there's lots of room for stuff. The power of a second moter and some additional batteries could do the job, but the how-to is out of my league. I also recommend getting in contact with the PriusChat user darelldd, our local ev guru.

[Potential Buyer]

I too am interested in an electric scooter, or possibly a regular scooter, but electric is cooler. The best one, which isn't out yet but *might* be later this year, is the EVT Z-20. Top speed of 45 mph, range 30-45 miles, and only $2000 if you put yourself on the waiting list (which is free). $2400 otherwise. Still extremely cheap for a 45-mph electric scooter; there are very few that can go above 30 mph.

The eGO MAX can go 35 mph for brief periods of time, but I've heard of many reliability problems with its controller (german electronics, VW owners know how that is). It's $2800 too; the seemingly superior Z-20 will be much cheaper. EVT does have other 30-mph scooters which are already in production.

[wakeman84]

Thanks for the replies guys. The EVT looks very interesting and looks like a potential buy. I live in charleston, sc about 10 miles from school and am trying to find something that I can use to get to and from school in a decent amount of time without having to drive my car. Plus, driving a scooter allows me to avoid the parking situation. I am going to pm darelldd and ask him about this and will either have him post a reply here or I will update this information when I hear from him. Thanks.

Mike

[darelldd]

I've been paged!

The EVT is a great choice. My FIRST response was going to be the Vectrix... but that is out of the price range. From what I've seen of the prototype, the Vectrix truly will be a premium bike in every way, however. If I were in the motorcycle market, the Vectrix would be high on the list. As it is, I am on the waiting list for one of those, just to be kept up to date with everytying.

Another is the GPR: http://www.electricmotorsport.com/EGPR/egprPage.htm. I know several folks with these, and they just love em. A bit racier than a "scooter" and plenty fast!

And then there is the E-max which is a great bike. 28mpg max though, as far as I know.
http://www.segwaypb.com/products_emax.htm

[finman]

Hey, where's the Lithium for 2-wheelers? Not cost-effective yet? Wow, that's be cool. I'd so be on a list to get me a zero-emission motorcycle. Range of 200 miles is all I need for a cruise around the Black Hills. Plug it in at home. Needs to do at least 60-70 MPH for the interstates. That's all doable isn't it? Maybe 10 grand? How much was my Harley ten years ago...15K? What are they now?

Forget the gas engine. For performance and straight up fun, I'd love to have the low-RPM torque of an electric for 2 wheels. Simpler, no hot exhaust or smelly fillups. And quieter.

'Course loud pipes save lives...so ya add a noise maker to alert other vehicles of your presence.

Cheers,

Curt.

[Cheap!]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(finman @ Jul 6 2006, 09:34 AM) [snapback]281982[/snapback]</div>

Hey, where's the Lithium for 2-wheelers? Not cost-effective yet? Wow, that's be cool. I'd so be on a list to get me a zero-emission motorcycle. Range of 200 miles is all I need for a cruise around the Black Hills. Plug it in at home. Needs to do at least 60-70 MPH for the interstates. That's all doable isn't it? Maybe 10 grand? How much was my Harley ten years ago...15K? What are they now?

Forget the gas engine. For performance and straight up fun, I'd love to have the low-RPM torque of an electric for 2 wheels. Simpler, no hot exhaust or smelly fillups. And quieter.

'Course loud pipes save lives...so ya add a noise maker to alert other vehicles of your presence.

Cheers,

Curt.
[/b]

I'm just curious is "Loud pipes saves lives" a fact? I have heard that offten but it seems to me that more fatal accidents happen on bikes with loud pipes. FYI. I own a Honda VTX 1300. Its goes zero to 55 in about 30 seconds, and its top speed is 70, but normally it just goes 55. If you do have any data on that I would love to know because I could always remove my baffles. Ride to live, live to ride.

Thanks

[EricGo]

I peeked at the Vectrix specs. Pretty nice, but the 3.7 kwH NiMH battery is rated for only 1700 full discharges and 50K miles. For my purposes, a hybrid human/battery bicycle would be better. Any reccs ?

[priusFTW]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(wakeman84 @ Jun 30 2006, 03:06 PM) [snapback]279250[/snapback]</div>

Thanks for the replies guys. The EVT looks very interesting and looks like a potential buy. I live in charleston, sc about 10 miles from school and am trying to find something that I can use to get to and from school in a decent amount of time without having to drive my car. Plus, driving a scooter allows me to avoid the parking situation. I am going to pm darelldd and ask him about this and will either have him post a reply here or I will update this information when I hear from him. Thanks.

Mike
[/b]

I am on the waiting list for an EVT. I spoke to Fernando today and he expects the Z20 to be available by the end of July or sometime in August.

Here is a link to the site, the previous one posted is broken:

http://www.evtamerica.com/sco_z20.asp?ID=1

[JSH]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusFTW @ Jun 26 2007, 01:24 PM) [snapback]468425[/snapback]</div>

I am on the waiting list for an EVT. I spoke to Fernando today and he expects the Z20 to be available by the end of July or sometime in August.
[/b]

I'm suspicious of the EVT E-20. It is faster and goes farther than their other 2 scooters but costs 2/3's the price? Something isn't right.


Some other possibilities:
Jackel: 40mph / 20-25m range / $3500 --- http://www.thunderstruck-ev.com/jackal_home.htm
Drift: Fast / ??? / $5500 --- http://www.electricross.com
Blade: 45 mph / ??? / $5995 --- http://www.electricmoto.com/electric...id=specs_blade
None of the above are road-legal and would need to be made to conform to your local laws.

You could also build a El Chopper, Cheetah, or El Ninja for a reported $2500 to $4000

www. electric-bikes.com has lots of info of electric bicycles, scooters, and motorcycles.