Electric Scooter/Motorcycle

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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

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

 

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 ?

 

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

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

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

 

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

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/electricmoto.php?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.

 

See http://www.fun-ev.com
Li-ion and 50 mph.

 

If you follow the prices for li-ion you will notice that they have dropped in price. They are new, so its an introductory price.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Jun 30 2006, 06:25 PM) [snapback]279378[/snapback]</div>

Well, if you were in the motorcycle market, you might want to rethink first generation Vectrix... With a 62mph top speed and a range 68miles (at 25mph), you'll be as limited with this bike as most people are with today's generation of electric cars... i.e. no highway driving, no longer tours or cruises. I also believe I read on another site that to calculate more realistic range, use the inverse or 25miles at 60mph. That'll be some pretty short rides. But if all you need is to scoot around town and pick up groceries, then it's great for that (though the Burgman has much better storage! )

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriuStorm @ Oct 6 2007, 05:02 PM) [snapback]522281[/snapback]</div>

You might have read that... and it is not true. In a week I'll have lots more info, and probably even video.

 

As promised.
http://evnut.com/vectrix.htm

The real world range at FULL throttle is over 40 miles.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Oct 14 2007, 01:44 PM) [snapback]525480[/snapback]</div>

Excellent! Now, when the real world range at 80mph is 120 miles, then I'll be interested!

 

Some of us want an electric vehicle to commute to work and help promote clean air. 62 mph is fast enough for some freeways, especially the kind that tend to be parking lots.

 

I suppose... with that, you can filter, too. But a trip up to Berryessa and back is out of the question.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Oct 14 2007, 01:44 PM) [snapback]525480[/snapback]</div>

Darrell,

Is it true that Vectrix added a "noisemaker" to the scooter? I remember reading about that somewhere. From your video I thought it was quite loud.

Is 11k really high???

I'm not sure. A lot of the other competitors mentioned in this thread seemed "garage-built" in comparison.

How much does a good ICE powered scooter price in at?