New electric scooter models to Thailand

[madhav]

Need to travel less than 1km from home to my work, frequently have to carry stuff, not keen to drive my car for such a short trip as the road is steep and not so good and will trash my car (golf GTI), thinking about getting an electric scooter.

 

So many companies starting to sell and many more will come. Anyone else done the research and come up with a list?

 

Here are some companies I have found:

 

1: http://ebikr.com/store/e-scooter/

2: http://www.udamotor.co.th/index.php#products

3: http://www.star8thailand.com/motorcycle/

4: http://toyotron.com/?post_type=product&lang=en

5: http://www.eminimotor.com/14685386/จักรยานไฟฟ้า

 

+ Many more from aliexpress but no warranty, taxes upon arrival and can't try before you buy so not so keen.

 

Toyotron has the biggest motor at 3000w, is locally built but price is quite expensive at 79k baht.

The honda M8 looks new and decent, reputable company, good price at 30k baht, but very small motor as only 500w. 2 people up a steep hill not so sure?The Wuyang Yang S3 is 58k baht and has a 1200w lead acid battery. Looks like is imported but has spare parts available here.

UDA motor models are locally built, about 30k baht, but all have smalls motor at 500w, so not sure about going up steep hills with two people.

 

The Juno from star8 is about 42k baht with 1200w so something in between. Lithium battery cost an extra 9k. Probably the best option so far by the looks of it.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 14, 2017 by madhav

[up-country_sinclair]

The road is too steep and in such poor condition that it will damage  your car and you want to use an electric scooter?

 

OK.

 

Good luck.

[madhav]

2 minutes ago, up-country_sinclair said:

The road is too steep and in such poor condition that it will damage  your car and you want to use an electric scooter?

 

OK.

 

Good luck.

I am not sure what your comment is eluding to? Best to just spell it out in clear english.

 

I have used 125cc scooters many times with zero issues up the hill. Electric motors have very good torque so shouldn't be much of an issue with the hill.

 

Just prefer to not have so much wear and tear on my car, rather is go on a cheap scooter than a million baht imported car.

[taichiplanet]

the other thing to think/ask about is whether the bike can be registered or legal to ride on the road; otherwise potential problems with insurance and police.

Edited October 14, 2017 by taichiplanet

[VocalNeal]

4 hours ago, madhav said:

Need to travel less than 1km from home to my work,

Power assisted bicycle? With a rack? 

[AllanB]

Oh for goodness sake, stop the "green shit" global warming nonsense, 79k baht for what, behave yourself will you?

 

Honda Wave, 34k lasts forever and ever amen, 50 baht a year for petrol.

 

WARNING!! Electric scooters are dangerous, no one can hear you coming.

Edited October 14, 2017 by AllanB

[madhav]

2 hours ago, AllanB said:

Oh for goodness sake, stop the "green shit" global warming nonsense, 79k baht for what, behave yourself will you?

 

Honda Wave, 34k lasts forever and ever amen, 50 baht a year for petrol.

 

WARNING!! Electric scooters are dangerous, no one can hear you coming.

Thank you for your highly valuable and constructive comment. 

 

You sir are living in a fantasy if you think electric vehicles and bikes are not coming. Already in China they are very popular sellers, with an average price of about 18k baht, the prices here in Thailand simply need to catch up (like many things).

 

Pollution in major cities is a serious problem so technology like this definitely helps.

 

Performance wise electric motors are superior also, instant torque is something gasoline based engines can’t keep up with. It’s only a matter of time till price and performance start to surpass gasoline based technology.

 

Check out the LIGHTNING LS-218, seriously fast bike.

 

And as for cars, check out the Nio EP9 which clocked a 6.45 around the Nurburgring. One of the fastest ever recorded.

 

Edited October 14, 2017 by madhav

[madhav]

5 hours ago, taichiplanet said:

the other thing to think/ask about is whether the bike can be registered or legal to ride on the road; otherwise potential problems with insurance and police.

As far as I am aware they are also able to be registered. I mean they are for sale in Bangkok and people use them everywhere so it would be quite ludicrous to not be able to register them.

[AllanB]

2 minutes ago, madhav said:

Thank you for your highly valuable and constructive comment. 

Do I sense a little sarcasm here?

 

This is the best advice you will get here, the Wave is bulletproof, ultra cheap, ultra reliable, ultra economical, safer and will handle the hills, what more do you want? A troublesome piece of battery- powered crap, remember what happens to batteries in the heat, they don't last. Forget to charge it and it is a long walk.

 

The 2 baht you will save on petrol in the first year will be more than offset when you have to replace the battery/s in the second year. The only thing that has failed on our Wave in 8 years is the battery (after 2 years), but no worries it is a kick start.

 

Or just listen to BS Al Gore if you want.

[madhav]

5 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

Power assisted bicycle? With a rack? 

 

Not possible for two people

[steve187]

35 minutes ago, madhav said:

 

Not possible for two people

get one each and save the world twice.

[balo]

Why not buy an electric bicycle instead . Only 1 km to work , no need for a big bike . My electric bicycle , battery is good for 45 km , I paid 20k for it .  And then you'll get the exercise as an added bonus when you run out of power. 

 

Edited October 14, 2017 by balo

[madhav]

32 minutes ago, balo said:

Why not buy an electric bicycle instead . Only 1 km to work , no need for a big bike . My electric bicycle , battery is good for 45 km , I paid 20k for it .  And then you'll get the exercise as an added bonus when you run out of power. 

 

As I would need to buy two (for my partner and myself) economically makes more sense to spend a little bit more and have a much better and more powerful setup. It is not just the commute to work, would also use it for short trips elsewhere. 

[AllanB]

5 hours ago, madhav said:

Thank you for your highly valuable and constructive comment. 

 

You sir are living in a fantasy if you think electric vehicles and bikes are not coming. Already in China they are very popular sellers, with an average price of about 18k baht, the prices here in Thailand simply need to catch up (like many things).

 

Pollution in major cities is a serious problem so technology like this definitely helps.

 

Performance wise electric motors are superior also, instant torque is something gasoline based engines can’t keep up with. It’s only a matter of time till price and performance start to surpass gasoline based technology.

 

Check out the LIGHTNING LS-218, seriously fast bike.

 

And as for cars, check out the Nio EP9 which clocked a 6.45 around the Nurburgring. One of the fastest ever recorded.

 

McDonalds came here too, Coca-cola too, it is still a pile of crap, what does that prove? Do the maths you will see that TODAY it makes no sense to buy electric over a Wave.

 

Oh God now we are on about a speed record around Nurburgring...I will let you into a secret, his journey into work is 1km, so take you head out of your arse. 

 

You are abandoning yourself to rhetoric... and you think this nonsense is "constructive"?

[AllanB]

There is another issue to consider here, that of versatility.

 

You are looking at one thing, the job in hand, to get the 1km from A to B, but life isn't like that. You will find you may wish to do other things, nay, you will find you want to do other things with the bike. Go shopping, ride to the next town, just go for a ride on a nice day, or things you can't even think of before you lay your money down. When you have it is too late.

 

Having spent your money, you will see others with cheaper (proper) bikes, buzzing around everywhere enjoying themselves, while you stay home in fear of going anywhere in case you become stranded with a dead battery.

 

A Honda Wave, can take you anywhere. I bought my first bike here, a simple new 100cc, 200mpg £500, Wave and found it useful for so many trips, where taking the car/truck was a pain. From there I got into biking and now only use my truck on long trips or to take the family out. LOS is a biking country. 

 

Take a step back from the marketing hype, the BS you read in the papers, see on the TV and work out what is best for you. Al Gore is not going to start handing out medals any time soon, he is just another lying politician.

 

[madhav]

Dear AllanB, at the end of the day I personally am not interested to buy a gasoline based bike, so although it may work great for you, and I can see you are listing many great reasons, but I am not interested. 

[guzzi850m2]

1 km is next to nothing, I walk that min everyday but more often 4.

 

Walk or get two bicycles giving you a bit of exercise.

[madhav]

21 hours ago, guzzi850m2 said:

1 km is next to nothing, I walk that min everyday but more often 4.

 

Walk or get two bicycles giving you a bit of exercise.

Of course we love walking and exercise and agree but many times we have to carry boxes of goods to the work so is impossible.

[madhav]

Ordered 1 Juno model with lead acid battery for 42k. Is possible to register, so no issues. 

[HidyHo]

2 hours ago, madhav said:

Ordered 1 Juno model with lead acid battery for 42k. Is possible to register, so no issues. 

Please let us know how this works out.  I'm curious to know.  And, good luck.

 

P.S. I am impressed with how you handled all all typical ThaiVisa B.S. in your thread :)

[canthai55]

32 minutes ago, HidyHo said:

P.S. I am impressed with how you handled all all typical ThaiVisa B.S. in your thread :)

I second that. Await your results

noli nothis permittere te terere.

[madhav]

1 hour ago, HidyHo said:

Please let us know how this works out.  I'm curious to know.  And, good luck.

 

P.S. I am impressed with how you handled all all typical ThaiVisa B.S. in your thread :)

Will do, Hopefully it will make it up the hill :)

 

The whole purpose of the thread was to get some help to find some more options or suppliers for an electric scooter. However as always someone managed to find a reason to start throwing some abusive comments around. Is ok though as I was never going to take it too seriously. I work at a health resort and deal with all kinds of angry and abusive customers. Some people are just looking for a way to argue about something and unload. 

[madhav]

1 hour ago, canthai55 said:

I second that. Await your results

noli nothis permittere te terere.

Hopefully will be delivered by the end of this week.

 

non sunt delectabiles

[papa al]

8 hours ago, madhav said:

Will do, Hopefully it will make it up the hill :)

 

The whole purpose of the thread was to get some help to find some more options or suppliers for an electric scooter. However as always someone managed to find a reason to start throwing some abusive comments around. Is ok though as I was never going to take it too seriously. I work at a health resort and deal with all kinds of angry and abusive customers. Some people are just looking for a way to argue about something and unload. 

I disagree !!!

! So pipe down !!

!

[papa al]

papa funny

[guzzi850m2]

10 hours ago, madhav said:

Will do, Hopefully it will make it up the hill :)

 

The whole purpose of the thread was to get some help to find some more options or suppliers for an electric scooter. However as always someone managed to find a reason to start throwing some abusive comments around. Is ok though as I was never going to take it too seriously. I work at a health resort and deal with all kinds of angry and abusive customers. Some people are just looking for a way to argue about something and unload. 

Well electric bi-cycles/scooter are getting more and more popular here but for now I mostly see elderly ladies on them, using them for short errands.

 

When I was in China app 2 years ago I was surprised by the amount of electric bi-cycles, they were everywhere.

 

Good luck with the Juno and I am also keen to hear your experiences with it.

 

Electric vehicles are here to stay, some EU countries will prohibit the use of fossil fuel burning vehicles from 2030 in main cities.

 

 

[Madgee]

On ‎14‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 7:47 PM, madhav said:

Already in China they are very popular sellers, with an average price of about 18k baht, the prices here in Thailand simply need to catch up (like many things).

JFYI:

The main reason they are 'popular' is because motorbikes (similar price) are banned within city limits. Just go to any city police station and see the heap of confiscated motorbikes.

The batteries are only guaranteed for 6 months on the cheap bikes and need replacing annually to achieve any sort of distance (50km per full charge). Oh, they must be equipped with pedals to be legal. 

Anything less than fully charged and they will struggle up a steep hill and under load will discharge very quickly.

Basically they are cheap cr@p.

 

A good quality electric bike can be purchased, fast and durable but will obviously cost a lot more  (BTW. also banned in cities because of speed and fitted pedals are not an option!) 

Choose carefully my friend and happy silent motoring! 

 

Source of info:  5 years of living and travelling in China cities.  

[madhav]

I personally think the tech will improve as time goes on. Think better power, better torque, better range and obviously better quality. Already electric based transport has far less moving parts so a lot less to maintain and potentially go wrong.

Several countries have already set dates to completely ban the sales and production of all gasoline/diesel vehicles. China is the latest country to announce it, (remember they are responsible for 30% of the total production and sales of the whole world, so this is a pretty big deal)

 

Holland by 2025 
India by 2030.
Norway by 2025. 
France by 2040.
Britain by 2040.

Scotland by 2032
Germany hinted that they will follow suit soon also.

 

Thailand?.... 2200?
 
Car manufacturers are also on to it:

Volkswagen: will bring 30 or more by 2025, (roughly 25 percent of its total sales)
Daimler: (owner of Mercedes-Benz) will have 10 new EVs to market by 2022.
Volvo: all its models introduced in 2019 and after would be hybrid or electric.

BMW: by 2025 it would have 12 new BEVs and 13 new hybrids on the road.
Jaguar Land Rover: all of its new models from 2020 onward would be hybrid or electric.
Tesla: which plan to sell 100 percent BEVs now and forever.

 

As far as motorcycles go I am not so sure. I know Honda Thailand are planning to produce an electric model within a year or so

Edited October 17, 2017 by madhav

[madhav]

So the bike arrived, first impressions are that it is quite a neat little unit. Top speed I got it up to was about 60km/h on the straights. The torque is instant, and takes a bit of getting used to. I do like the instant on and ready to go part of things. I think for the price is quite reasonable.

 

This bike is perfectly suited to city life, the power is sufficient to take one to and from a destination with minimal fuss and the maintenance would be almost non existent. For my needs however, being that I live at the top of an extremely and unusually steep hill (see pics below), I do need something with quite substantial power. The bike did make it up with me alone (72kg), but with two  people it is not possible. I already have someone who want to buy it, so no skin off my nose.

 

From here I have looked for some more powerful electric based alternatives and quite simply there isn't anything sub 50k with enough power to suit my needs.

 

The same company star8 has a 2500 watt Pegasus model for 59k, see link here, looks great, but isn't able to be registered here in Thailand.

 

There is a 4000 watt model Vectrix VX-2 available, but is above my budget, it costs 120k baht here in Thailand for the basic lead acid model, does have some great specs, but needs to be ordered and would have to wait 6 weeks and can't even test it before. So forget it. 

 

The 3000 watt toyotron I considered, but not really happy to spend 70k bay on it when I can get a new Yamaha Aerox 155cc for 63k baht. 

So for my needs on an stupidly steep hill, there isn't much available in electric so I will probably go for the Yamaha Aerox which will have sufficient power and is well priced imo. 
 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/23409590@N04/shares/PbW3sY

Edited October 26, 2017 by madhav

[ktm jeff]

I was interested to follow this electric bike tale. Until they become more powerful , with a quicker re-charge time , and with price and quality similar to regular bikes , they wont suit many people. Give it 5 years , and maybe battery technology will have improved to such an extent they become viable. Same with electric cars. Have you considered a cheap dual sport bike , such as a Lifan X-Cross or the X-Plore 200. They are well within your budget , at about 48,000 Baht.Both would cope with the hills and road surfaces , and servicing will be cheap.