Going electric

The eCruiser electric motor assembly

The eCruiser is a battery-operated scooter that runs on a 2kW electric motor (the motor is in the rear wheel hub). It’s made in China and is a modification of a petrol scooter design.

The controls and displays are the same as a petrol scooter’s but a battery gauge replaces the fuel gauge: lights indicate the volts available and go from green to yellow and red.

Unlike petrol scooters, it has no engine noise or vibration when “idling” or sitting at traffic lights. You hear only a faint whine when accelerating from a standing start – above 10km/h you hear only wind noise.

Battery

Most electric scooters run on lead-acid batteries, which take around 8 hours to charge, last around 500 charges and claim a range of around 50kms. The eCruiser uses lithium batteries. These charge in 2.5 to 3.5 hours, last around 3000 charges and claim a range of around 70km.

The lifespan of a lithium battery is claimed to be roughly 8 years if you use the scooter every day, compared with as little as one and a half years for a lead-acid battery. Lithium batteries are much more expensive – so the eCruiser costs around $5700 while some lead-acid models cost as little as $2500. Lithium batteries are around $2200 to replace; lead-acid are $500 to $600.

Charging

The eCruiser is charged by plugging it, via a battery charger, into an ordinary wall socket. The charger (about the size of two hardback novels) comes with the scooter.

A green light shows when the battery is fully charged. In our testing, a full charge took around 3 hours and cost 50c in power.

Running out of power on the eCruiser means you need to recharge it for at least half an hour to get going again – more if it’s not just a short distance. Petrol stations often have external power outlets. If you have a long enough extension cord, shops or cafes may let you use an hour of their power.

Paul Arnold of SynECO Systems says you need to plan when and where to charge the scooter, especially when travelling longer distances. “I tell people if you stop for half an hour and can plug it in, it’s worth doing to top up and extend your range.”

While the eCruiser’s full charge gave us only around 35km of usable power, we did plenty of hill climbing – and that uses a lot more power than riding on the flat. Most moped riders wouldn’t travel more than this in a day, so the distance per charge wouldn’t be a problem.

The charger and extension cord take up most of the under-seat storage of the scooter – so buying a top box is sensible for storing your helmet and carrying luggage.

Options

SynECO Systems sells an eRanger for the same price as the eCruiser we tested – both come in a range of colours. It also sells these models with the cheaper and shorter-lived lead-acid batteries for around $3900. Larger scooters are also available.

Several other brands of electric scooter are available, predominantly in Auckland and Wellington.

Servicing

Because the electric motor is so simple, the only ongoing service costs are brake pads, brake fluid and the occasional light bulb. Servicing and spare parts can be obtained through SynECO Systems.

Trade-off

Some petrol scooter brands cost half the price of the eCruiser, have a record of reliability, and have many dealers and service agents. But the eCruiser produces no emissions and costs just 50c to travel 50km in average conditions. The same distance would cost around $2 or more on a 50cc petrol scooter. Over a year, that could save around $700.