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Why do you think more people don't buy electric mopeds?

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Last night there was a story on one of my local news stations about the skyrocketing popularity of mopeds. They showed one store in San Diego which had a waiting list and $500 deposit for their gas mopeds. The story claimed that generally these mopeds cost $3000-4000 and get somewhere around 70 mpg.

Well, my electric moped can go 50 mph, gets over 30 miles per charge (as high as 70 miles depending on speed, but going 40-50 mph most of the time goes about 30 miles), costs 1.2 cents per mile to recharge, and cost the same as these gas mopeds - $3600. In terms of both emissions and fuel costs it gets the equivalent of 500 mpg.

http://greenhome.huddler.com/products/rmartin-evd-moto

I've seen a number of mopeds around lately, but almost all gas mopeds. Why do you think more people don't buy electric mopeds? Are most people unaware of the technology, or is there some kind of stigma associated with it perhaps?

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  1. for the value an electric moped is best but ppl. are so used to the gas moped because of fear they will lose a charge, and prolly due to the actual sound of the gasoline powered engine.

    They like that, go-carty sound.


  2. Motorcycles are a blast, but dangerous as h**l and not very practical.

    After riding a 900 Kawasaki, I'd have to say yeah, mopeds have a stigma...  

    Now I drive an Echo and at 40mpg, it's better than my old bike!  

    There are many, many things we could and should do.

    A one mpg increase in the CAFE would eliminate the need for, oh, what's the point in explaining it.

    People don't know any better.

    Electric cars are coming soon.

    Electric rates are going up soon.

    At 500mpg equivalent, let 'em raise the rates.

  3. I think it is a great idea for people with short commutes!

  4. Great for people with very short commutes who don't have to carry much with them, don't have to wear suits to work and live in climates where it doesn't rain often.

    Why do I think more people don't buy them?      It sounds like many people who fit those criteria do buy them - it's just that the rest of us don't fit all of those criteria.

  5. I am in the market for a scooter, and after doing the research, I chose to purchase a gas scooter if I purchased one at all.

    First of all, high end scooters cost 3k to 4k, but low end gas scooters start at only $900 new.  For $1500, I can get a 150cc scooter capable of 55mph that gets 80mpg.  A comparable electric scooter just isn't in the same ballpark price wise.

    An average gas scooter has a range of 120 miles.  The more expensive electric scooter has a range of only 30 miles.

    If for some reason I ran out of battery charge at work, I would be unable to recharge my scooter and have to find a way to transport it home.  With a gas scooter, my buddy can fill up a gas can and bring it to me.

    If I hit heavy traffic during my commute on an electric scooter, there's the possibility I will get less than 30 miles of range.

    On a purely mathematical cost to benefit ratio, all scooters save more money the longer your commute is.  If your daily commute is 30 miles or less, than you won't save enough money purchasing a scooter to make it worthwhile over a car.

    For instance - my car gets 25mpg, my theoretical scooter gets 80mpg.  My commuting distance is 50 miles per week.  The car costs me 8 dollars per week, and the scooter costs me 2.48 a week.  It's a substantial savings, of 62%.  

    Let's assume the scooters costs 3600.  I'm saving 5.52 dollars a week by driving the scooter.    That's 287 dollars per year.  That's 12.5 years to pay off the scooter.

    An electric scooter would save me 8 dollars per week, but we're still at over 10 years to pay it off.

  6. Why do you think more people don't buy electric mopeds?

    come out of your cave, have a family, and you will figure it out.

  7. Whether rational or not, I have a fear that with an electric moped I would find myself out of charge and far from any place where I could charge it.  With a gas moped, I am assured there are many places around where I could top off if need be.

    *I do not own a moped.  I just can't rationalize spending thousands of dollars on something and saving a few hundred on gas.  I don't earn enough to be able to do that... yet.  Also, I have a long commute, so I would only use it for local errands anyway.

  8. The gas version make a lot more noise and make you feel more important.

  9. Real difficult carrying around a family of four there, Dana.

  10. I won't ride in the road in south Florida on two wheels. I would love to ride a moped like I did in college in Gainesville, but I can't keep up with traffic in one and street legal motorcycles are dangerous (because of the cagers who don't pay attention).

    I have an electric assist Currie bicycle that can be ridden on the sidewalk. That keeps me out of harms way.

  11. I am annoyed by some of the answers to this question.  People, Dana is asking why moped-buyers choose gas over electric.  This isn't about mopeds versus cars.

    I personally don't know, but I'm guessing the gas ones aren't as widely available.  I know when I went to buy a lawn mower I didn't see many, if any, electric ones, and that was just last year.

  12. I just posted a link, I saw a Moped for $1000 and got $100 miles to the galon.  The electrics I have seen have been.  Even at 4K.  Although I believe 1.2 c/mile is to low and will have to do some wind resistance calcs. you get abou 2.8 cents a mile more and 3 k cheaper.  Brake even miles compairing the electric to the gas is about 107,000 miles.

  13. Gas mopeds/scooters usually end up going faster, thus being a little less dangerous when you are on the road.  Slow mopeds are pretty notorious for getting run over around here.  My boyfriend works at a motorbike dealer, and he refuses to let me get one of the smaller power scooters.  he says that they are death wishes.  (BTW-50mph is really the ABSOLUTE fastest those things go.  Being passed by speeding SUVs is really a hairy situation....lol!)

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