Breaking the Addiction?
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With all of the unpleasant side-effects of our addiction to oil (e.g. pollution, dependence on OPEC), I’ve been wondering how to reduce my own personal oil dependence. I’ve already been using my 55 mpg (= 65 mpg Imperial = 4.3 liters/100km = 23 km/liter) motorcycle for several years for most commuting & some errands, so the next step was to either buy a vehicle that gets even better mileage (but still uses gasoline), or buy one that doesn’t use gasoline at all. My preference was the latter.
The next questions were what fuel to use and what vehicle to get. The U.S. Dept. of Energy has a great alternative fuels webpage, on which one can find the pros & cons of various alternative fuels and a partial listing of alt fuel vehicles. They even have a sort of “store locator” to find locations near one’s home that sell each type of fuel. Since I’m keeping my conventional car and motorcycle for long trips, I figured a short-range vehicle for commuting and errands would be fine. I decided to get the Taiwanese-made, Vespa-style EVT-168 electric scooter after extensive research*. It can be charged at home using a standard household outlet, and, at about $2,200 delivered, is a way to test the alt fuel lifestyle (drivestyle?) without making a massive investment. On that note, beware of cheapo scooters that are more likely to be novelty items than durable vehicles.
Having ridden my EVT over 200 miles so far, here’s what I’ve observed:
Pros:
- Very economical - uses between half and 5/8ths of a cent worth of electricity per mile; those 200 miles have cost me less than $1.25. For comparison, if gas is $2.00/gallon, a 25 mpg car costs 8 cents per mile, or $16 to go 200 miles.
- Very inexpensive to register & insure - registration was under $10, and adding it to my cycle policy increased the premium by only $75 per year.
- Low maintenance. No oil changes, timing belts, head gaskets, water pumps, or any of the myriad other expensive service tasks that a combustion engine requires. Just charge the batteries & occasionally check the tires, brakes, and lights.
- Decent range for my needs. The batteries are good for about 35-40 miles before they need recharging (which takes 5 hours). That’s plenty for my 5 mile one-way commute plus a few errands.
- Nearly silent. I can leave my house early (or come home late) without waking the neighbors.
- Nearly pollution-free. Although electric vehicles are often claimed to be “zero-emissions”, they’re really only as clean as the power plant that made the electricity used to charge them. Using data from the EIA’s web site, and the fact that a full charge for the EVT requires 2 kW-hours, I calculated that this scooter is cleaner than a 275 mpg car! If you can charge it with “clean” power (such as hydroelectric, wind, or solar), then it really is zero-emissions.
- Great handling. Initially, the scooter felt unstable compared to my motorcycle (the smaller wheels have less gyroscopic stability than a motorcycle’s much larger wheels). However, this turned out to be a benefit, as the scooter flicks into turns with almost no effort. Now my regular motorcycle feels ponderous by comparison! I’ve let people with no riding experience try the scooter, and they have no trouble at all.
- Freedom from limited public transportation routes and schedules. I tried riding the bus to work for about a year before I bought the scooter, and even though I only live 5 miles away I had to take three different busses and it would take 40-60 minutes! If you live somewhere with good public transportation, then this won’t apply.
Cons:
- Too slow - if you’re used to normal traffic speeds, then the top speed of about 30 mph is dreadfully low (equivalent to a 49 cc gasoline scooter in speed, but not in noise, maintenance, or emissions). Obviously, it can’t be taken on the freeway, and even on surface streets it feels underpowered. To keep from obstructing traffic, I’ve been riding it in the bicycle lane most of the time, which is actually a benefit when traffic is gridlocked. There are faster models available, but I didn’t care for their styling, and I also suspect they’ll have shorter range if similarly priced. I suppose the low speed won’t seem so bad if one can make the mental paradigm shift that this isn’t a slow motorcycle, but rather a very fast, zero-effort bicycle (yeah, that’s the ticket!). Anyway, for short distances the extra time isn’t too bad; my commute takes about 20 minutes by scooter vs. about 15 minutes by car or motorcycle.
- Unpredictable range as the batteries age. With 2300 miles (less than 100 charge cycles) on the scooter as I write this bullet, one of the batteries prematurely went bad, stranding me about 6 miles from home. The three other batteries tested out OK at my local Batteries Plus; I’m investigating getting a replacement. I should mention that this was after a longer than usual ride: 17 miles vs. my usual daily maximum of 11. Still, I had done a couple of 20-25 mile rides when it was new, so this was a rude surprise. In fairness, though, those previous rides were back when I was still riding in “Economy” (vs. “Power”) mode - the top speed was slightly less, but the batteries weren’t being stressed as much.
That’s really my only complaint; other than that I’m happy with every other aspect of it. Well, I should confess that I’ve had to take quite a bit of good-natured ribbing for switching from a manly motorcycle to a somewhat girly scooter - my favorite comment so far was from my co-worker Larry, who yelled in passing, “Is that Hell’s Angels or Charlie’s Angels?!” 
It’s all in good fun, and I get a chuckle out of such comments, but I get a much bigger chuckle out of the fact that for most of my daily travel I’m no longer contributing to the oil companies’ record profits.
Electric vehicles may not yet have the speed & range to be viable primary vehicles, but I’m finding this scooter to be a decent secondary vehicle. If what I’ve described appeals to you and could help you drive your regular car less (and your manhood isn’t easily threatened if you’re male), then I highly recommend getting one!
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* I found several reviews from around the world (USA, Canada, France, UK), and also tracked down & questioned a U.S. owner. Note that some of the reviews are for the nearly-identical EVT-4000 instead of the 168 (same motor, controller, & batteries; different styling & front brake). Also note that some of the reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt, as they were written by, well, let’s just say not-entirely-unbiased enthusiasts. However, the cumulative impression I got despite skepticism was positive. My own experience has been quite positive overall, as described above.
Update October 26, 2007 - added one bullet each at the end of the “pro” and “con” lists above. The experience of getting stranded (and pushing it past two gas stations on my way home before two of my neighbors rescued me with a pick-up truck) has reinforced my opinion that vehicles powered solely by lead-acid batteries are not ideal primary vehicles. Plug-in hybrids will hopefully be a better solution once they’re affordable for the masses. As a secondary vehicle, though, and for short trips, the scooter is still fine and a lot of fun - I’ve even ordered a faster and longer-range R-20 model, which will hopefully be fast enough even in “Economy” mode that the batteries don’t wear out prematurely.
Great move getting this bike. How does it perform in the traffic and higher speeds?
Be save out there!
Dan
I really enjoyed the write-up! I too was reprimanded by my buds for getting rid of my 2002 M3 for something more economical.
Now, if I could only get my hands on a Tesla Roadster.
I take offense on the “girly” comment!!!!!
Nice write-up. I’ve been toying with the idea of getting something like this, and this is a good starter guide.
Me too. Though the 30 mph might be too low for me. Is there something that goes at least as fast as 60mph. I don’t necessarily want to go on freeways but wouldn’t mind the speed when cruising the less traveled highways of the Bay Area.
Hey Suman, good choice. After all that riding we did and seeing you on your motorcycle, imagining you on the scooter is sure to give me nightmares for a few days.:-). But other than that, it is a great idea and glad it’s working out!!!
AWESOME I LOVE VESPAS…I have a silver toy model on my desk. VESPAS ARE THE COOLEST!!!!!!!
You are definitely the “greenest” guy I know. Can you imagine our country’s oil surplus if more of us took the route you did? One “attaboy” from me.
Thanks for all of the comments! Keep ‘em coming. Let me address the couple of questions that were raised:
Dan - *what* higher speeds?!
Seriously, I try to avoid traffic, and only merge when the coast is clear or when traffic is slowing for a red light. They really need to improve the top speed of this baby. Apparently, there are more powerful versions of the hub-motor available, so I might try to upgrade at some point in the future.
Anup - the only 60 mph-capable electric scooter I know of is the Vectrix (vectrix.com), which is due to be released later this year (similar to the Suzuki Burgman in appearance). It’ll have basically twice the speed and range of the EVT, but cost nearly five times as much. If you can spend $10k on a secondary vehicle, go for it! Though I would probably wait for reliability data to come in, what with it being a new model.
Thanks for the compliments too, everyone!
Impressed with the contents of your website. Most definitely you must continue to publish interesting articles relating to electric transportation. We at EVTAMERICA are about to come out with the Z-20, an electric motorcycle capable of reaching a speed of 45 miles per hour. If you want information just go to our website and check it out and signup for the mailing list. There is a SignUp box at the bottom of the page and you can choose between registering for the waiting list of the Z-20 or simply the mailing list.
Best wishes,
Fernando
EVTAMERICA
Thanks, Fernando - where’s my check?
Just kidding! Wow, I’m impressed someone from EVT read my write-up. Say, while I have your ear, how about making a retro version of the Z-20 for those of us who prefer classic styling?
I have a follow-up regarding riding in the bicycle lane. This morning a policeman pulled me over & told me it’s illegal to ride a motor vehicle in the bike lane. Despite the slow top speed, scooters have to ride in regular traffic lanes; faster traffic will just have to go around. At least he was nice enough not to give me a ticket!
In case anyone’s interested, I’ve started a separate blog where I’ll post further info & pics regarding my scooter experiences. At present there’s one image of it in the parking lot at work.
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-BF5hthkibqtx5jzd0keTd3g-?cq=1
Suman, thanks for the data. Gives me a much better idea of what it can do. Too bad I can’t use one. When they come out with a version that can include a kid and accompanying parphernalia, let me know! :> It’d be perfect around here for non-beltway driving to/from school, metro, stores, soccer games, etc.
Just in case my participation with this blog is what got me audited at work, I’d just like to state for the record that the content of my postings here is my personal opinion only and although I am an employee of Intel, the statements I make here in no way represent Intel’s position on the issue, nor am I authorized to speak on behalf of Intel on this matter.
Geez, lighten up!
Awww - you can’t leave us at the edge of our seats like this can you? Please do expand on your unfortunate experience in a detailed blog.
Yeah Suman, don’t leave us hanging. Btw, if you want, I can set you up with a pseudonym like the kinnums and dharpe gujes of this blog.
I was wondering if someone in HR read this & didn’t realize my reply to Fernando was just a joke. Turns out it was just a random audit, but it certainly freaked me out!
Neither I nor Intel condone the accepting of bribes. Oh wait, I’m not supposed to speak on behalf of Intel… AAAARRRGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
For those wondering about the scooter’s durability, I’ve put roughly 2000 miles on it in the past 9 months, and it’s still running fine. It has only cost about $14 in electricity to travel that distance. My 25 mpg car would have used 80 gallons of gas costing $220 (assuming gas costs $2.75 per gallon), and would have released 1520 lbs of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Even my 55 mpg motorcycle would have used 36 gallons of gas costing $100, and released 690 lbs of CO2.
Pretty decent savings for one person with a little vehicle! OK, I’ll stop patting myself on the back now…
However, just imagine if even 5% of the U.S. population did this. Extrapolating to one year with the car example, one person saves 107 gallons, so 15 million people would save 1.6 billion gallons of gasoline annually. OPEC would not be pleased.
Regarding emissions: even if you don’t have solar cells or your own personal fusion reactor to charge a scooter emissions-free, you’ll still reduce the amount of pollution you create by using an electric scooter instead of a gasoline car or motorcycle. Based on the commute I described above, 2000 miles in 9 months = 2667 miles per year. At 12.5 miles per kWh, that means 213 kWh per year for the scooter. If charged from the grid, that works out to 291 lbs. of CO2 per year.
E-scooter compared to car: 1520 lbs. CO2 emissions in 9 months = 2027 lbs. per year. Net savings is 2027 - 291 = 1736 lbs. CO2 eliminated.
E-scooter compared to motorcycle: 690 lbs. CO2 emissions in 9 months = 920 lbs. per year. Net savings is 920 - 291 = 629 lbs. CO2 eliminated.
Note that if you use a gas motorcycle instead of a car, you still make a big difference. Motorcycle compared to car: net savings is 2027 - 920 = 1107 lbs. CO2 eliminated.