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Riding the e-Moto Volt G3 scooter
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My continuing review of the Amp Brothers and their line-up of electrical bicycles and scooters - This time it's "Riding the e-Moto Volt G3 scooter"
I was a bit wary about riding the e-Moto Volt G3. For one thing, the Amp Brothers casually mentioned that a test rider had dropped the demo scoot in a dramatic fashion. No injuries, thankfully, but this self-described "scooter rider" was apparently not expecting the electric scooter level of immediate acceleration. What I'm talking about is the availability of ALL of the torque as soon as you twist the throttle. It's not acceleration like a small-block V-8, but it is something that you should be ready for. Of course, I thought that it was a blast! The trick is just to be ready to go when you crack the throttle. I also wouldn't be sitting too far back on the seat, just in case of what top doctors call "wheelie".
The e-Moto Volt G3 looks like any number of small Chinese scooters, with a vague "transformer" look about it. The one that I rode was black, and I might consider one of their brighter colors (red and silver are available) to aid visibility to others on the road. It looks absolutely standard, with a nice big, bright headlight and turn signals with plenty of room behind the leg shield. Everything is in place, and it even offers a giant fake muffler. Wait a moment, that's no muffler. Perhaps the most recognizable feature of this purely-electric powered scooter is a large, aluminum heat-sink looking device just above where the muffler would be on a gas-powered scoot. It is the all important electric "PCM controller" or what transforms and regulates battery power to the high-performance hub-mounted electric motor. Amp Brother John told me that e-Moto builds the highest quality electrical scooters on the market and he pointed out that the controller is well sealed and cooled. He said that other manufacturers might cut a corner on the controller, but that it is the key component in building a good performing, reliable electric scooter.
While the e-Moto might look like a generic scooter, once you look closer you can see that some serious engineering went in to this diminutive scooter. The front end is all scooter, with what looks like a heavy-duty hydraulic disc on a 10-inch wheel. At the back, you notice another heavy duty hydraulic disc, but it also features a serious-looking frame to hold the wheel and the hub-mounted motor and the two shock/springs on either side of the wheel/motor combo. One more interesting feature of the e-Moto G3 was that the under seat storage is not only easy to get to, it's huge. For some reason, I thought that the inside of the scoot would be full of batteries, but pop the seat and you have a very normal looking storage space, easily big enough for your helmet and gloves or a day's worth of groceries. Overall, the e-Moto G3 is a well-finished unit and it exceeded my expectations in both execution and performance.
The performance of the e-Moto Volt is pretty exciting. It does jump off the line and reaches it's maximum speed very quickly. Due to licensing (it's classified as a moped in most states, despite the obvious lack of pedals) and the performance/vs range compromise, about 30 MPH is all you'll get out of it. The good news is that it will maintain that 30 MPH for about 30 miles which is a decent, usable range. The on-the-road performance puts it in an interesting category. It's faster than a 50 cc scooter off the line, but that same 50 cc would zing by the e-Moto on it's way to a top speed near 40 (for most de-restricted scooters, and yes, that is technically illegal for a "moped" in most states). While it's much faster than the other electric bicycle that I rode, it's not really fast enough to use on most roads unless you are hugging the right side of the rightmost lane like a moped or bicycle. Still, when you are in a neighborhood, or on a city street where the traffic doesn't (or can't) go faster than 25 miles per hour, the e-Moto would be great. A limited top-speed doesn't mean that you can't have fun on the e-Moto, in fact, with the giant brakes on this scoot and what seems to be good balance and an extended wheelbase, you can lean this little scoot over at will. The power is immediately there as soon as you are ready for it, and remember that happens without a sound and free from the usual "thumper" vibration. That was weird for about two minutes and then it became just the normal thing spending pennies to go places with a big grin on your face.
The bad news comes when you ask the ultimate question - how much? All things considered I don't think that the retail price of the e-Moto G3 is out of line, but it's a significant premium over a competing Chinese-made low end scooter. At around $3100, it does take some thoughtful reflection on spending that tidy sum to "save money". One could make it work if your neighborhood and workplace is scooter-friendly, but the payoff (other than cool geek-factor points) would take some time. Then again, at about 30 cents a charge (yes, one penny per mile) the payoff seems attainable if you use the scoot like, well, a scoot. It's still cheaper than that second car and remember, no gas or oil, ever.
Part 1 of this series
Part 2 of this series
Part 4 of this series
Next: Riding the Ultra Motors A2B
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