I am told that battery-run scooters are running popularly in
China & Japan.I live in India and here they are newly introducing this as an alternative.I want to take opinions from people who are familiar with this,before I take the risk of buying it. The only major problem I've seen is there is no current way to re-charge on the go. If your bike is good for 12 miles, don't go any farther than 8 and be sure there is an outlet available at your destination to recharge. Also give yourself enough time at that destination to fully charge your cells.
Unfortunately no one will let you test ride a battery bike long enough to run through a complete charge. Usually you can borrow a friend's bike to try it out for a day or so. If you happen to have a friend that owns a battery bike that's great. Otherwise you have to just buy one and hope it is everything the manufacturer claims.
Be prepared to buy expensive replacement batteries quite often. If you can, look for a hybrid bike that uses a small 2-cycle or 4-cycle engine to keep the batteries charged. If you can't find anything like this you may be able to make one up yourself with an old weed eater motor and an alternator from a car. You just have to figure out where to get a 36V regulator. Yes, but it depends on the distance you will be using it and the terrain. | 