Electric Mopeds??? are they any good?

Question

Whats the pros and cons

are they good, reliable?

what else can you tell me about them

are they good for commuting

dose it aclerate fast

Answer 1

Take the pros and cons and weigh them in light of your needs.  What is the distance it can travel on one charge?  Will that get you where you need to go and back?  How long does it take to recharge and where do you recharge it? What does it cost in purchase price and electricity for the distance travelled?  Ignore the environmental issue as the pollution is made at the electric generating plant.

Compare the above with one using a petrol engine, distance on one tank, time spent refuelling and accessibility to fuel.  Check the purchase price and cost of fuel for the same miles travelled.

I think you can get a petrol powered one and drive it almost anywhere and buy fuel, but you will not be able to go all those places and find a place to recharge an electric one.  Electric will be fine for short distance commuting and both will accelerate fast.  Reliability depends on the maker of either type.

If I were young, stupid and invulnerable again, I might consider  one, but I am old, smarter and fragile, so I would spend the money on a a good used car with four wheels and a solid coach around me.  Safer, more comfortable, dry, warm or cool, out of the wind in an auto.

Answer 2

My local bus service used vegetable oil as fuel.

Answer 3

are they good for commuting

Answer 4

any help for the "environment" will be offset by the need to recharge them because that power mostly comes from coal fired electric plants.  Until we start a large nuclear program in the US, rechargeable electric vehicles will not be effective as a means of reducing the dreaded "greenhouse" emissions the Goreans are so afraid of.  But it you don't mind the short range and the cost and time for recharging, I say go for it.

Answer 5

The way to go is electric bicycles.  The electric bicycle to get is the Giant Lite.  Cost should be around $1600.

Answer 6

The only one worth looking at is the Vectrix, it looks and rides like a motorbike but is electric

Answer 7

OK to start off they are good for the environment. They do accelerate fast because of the energy though most are  not able to make long trips. And they are good if you want to travel down the road without driving a car which will help in everything. I say that you should get one if you wouldn't be affected by all of the charging involved in the driving of it. You would have to charge it at least twice a week. Thank you for inquiring about helping the environment.

Answer 8

Well of course it depends on which moped you get, but in general yes, they're quite good.

I bought one myself a few months ago.  I've had some problems because I bought a cheap one from a new company, and it wasn't designed particularly well.  The motor controller was in a poor location on the moped and not well sealed, so water got to it and shorted it out 3 times.

Fortunately it's under warranty for a year and I bought it from a nearby electric cars shop, so eventually they got it fixed and it works fine in the rain now.

In general the pros are that they're very low maintenance, a very environmentally friendly mode of transportation, cheap to refuel, and fun to ride.

The cons are that they're fairly expensive to purchase, some have issues in wet conditions (though this is not a problem for most models), and they have a limited range and top speed.

The one I got is called the iMoto2 Verde.  It has an 800 Watt motor, which is the weakest motor you would want to get.  It only has a top speed of about 21 mph and struggles going uphill (but I live in a flat area so it's not a big deal).  Its realistic range is about 20 miles.  I use it to commute 13 miles each way to work.

Acceleration is okay.  Generally electric vehicles accelerate very well because they can provide full torque immediately, as opposed to gas vehicles, which have to ramp up the torque slowly.  The only reason mine doesn't accelerate that great is because the motor is fairly weak.

Generally you should expect an electric moped with an 800W motor to cost around $1200 and have a top speed of 20 mph.  I think the ideal moped has a 1500W motor, in which case it should have a top speed of around 30 mph and a cost of $2000-2500.  You can get up to a 3000W motor for $3000, but that's almost overpowered because they electronically limit the top speed to 30 mph so it can be registered as a moped in most states rather than a motorcycle.  With a 3000W motor it accelerates super fast, but the top speed isn't any better than a 1500W motor.

Bear in mind that a realistic range is half to two-thirds of the maximum range quoted by the manufacturer.  They base the max range on the scooter going on flat terrain with a light load at about half its maximum speed, but you're not going to ride it that way.  Mine claimed a range of 40 miles and it's really 20, but it has a lower speed longer range mode which I don't use (20 mph max speed is already pretty slow).

I've done a lot of research and I think Skeuter may make the best electric mopeds.  It's a company that's been around for a while, they have lots of dealerships in California, and they have 1500W scooters for just $2000.  Usually they cost at least $2400.

http://www.skeuter.com/products.htm

If there's a shop near you which sells electric mopeds, I would recommend buying from a shop rather than online just in case there's a problem that needs repairing.  One really useful resource is EV Finder:

http://www.evfinder.com/twowheel.htm

I'm surprised that there aren't more electric mopeds on the road.  They cost the same as a crappy used car, but are great for commuting.  You don't have to worry about maintenance, they're fun to ride, and very low emissions.  I think an electric moped is the ideal second vehicle.

Feel free to email me via my profile if you have any other questions.

Answer 9

what? ijust use a standard mophead cleans the wooden floor in minutes electric mophead ?? sounds daft,,,,,,,