Electric Scooters

[Corey]

I'm considering buying an electric scooter. I'm leaning toward the Toyotron Dragon-G. It has a 1000W motor, range of about 60Km and a top speed of about 48Km/hour.

My concern is that all of the brands here seem to be made in China and all share similar defects. Some, like the Dai-O, are assembled in Thailand from Chinese parts. I'm not a mechanic but I didn't see anything mechanical that worried me; however there are a lot of superficial problems with them. The plastic isn't as smooth or sturdy as a Japanese motorbike, the hinges and latch for the seat seem flimsy, etc... I figure it would take 2-3 years for the bike to pay for itself, but they all come with only a 1 year warranty.

Anyone have any experience or advice?

Thanks!

Corey

[Greenside]

I've put out several requests similar to yours over the past year and had no feedback at all which was very disappointing. Up here in Chiang Mai, the air would be much improved (not to mention the noise pollution) if there was a good take up on electric bikes on the sacle of that in Kunming or many of the Chinese cities I have visited. It seems to me that one of the reasons holding them back is that the cost is on a par with regular gas bikes whereas in China (and Laos if I remember rightly) they are about half the price - say 16 to 25,000 baht which makes a lot more sense in terms of the payback time.

Maybe it'll take something the likes (but not the price!) of the Zero to get the Thai kids interested in electric bikes (CNet review here)

[steelepulse]

I've had one for about 4 years, have had to change the battery once and the battery charger once.  As long as you know what you are getting, they are ok for short journeys.  I rarely take the scooter out farther than maybe 3 or 4 kilos.  Going uphills it is pretty powerless, but that's to be expected.  It's kind of fun to go by people making no noise and they all just look amazed that there is such a bike.  Whether you save any money on gas vs. charging the battery is unknown to me, but I like the bike.

As far as what brand it is, I have no idea, only that it is Chinese.