Journey to getting an electric moped (A1, A2 class)

Padre_Pio

Depending on the commute, I'd choose an ebike over a scooter.

They're usually restricted to 25kph, but a bit of tweaking can get you to 35 at full tilt. Plenty fast around a city and you probably won't use it most of the time.

No tax, no insurance, small space, bike to work scheme, can remove the battery or bring them inside to charge.

Joseph SEE

I've emailed Seat to see when they are going to offer the rebadged Silence S01 in Ireland. Hopefully, it will be sooner rather than later this year.

Joseph SEE

sgalvin wrote: »

I have ridden mopeds scooters and motorcycles and offer the following.

When you buy a new 50cc moped they are limited to 45 km/h by engine and transmission restrictions (~2kW) to comply with Moped regulations and can be driven on an M (moped) or B (car) license. They are very slow and tbh not entirely safe even in a 50 km/h zone as they can’t do 50 and acceleration is poor. Not really powerful enough to carry a passenger and pull out safely from a junction.

Normally after the first service they can be derestricted and speed rises to 75-80 km/h. This pushes them into A1 license requirements but I’d say most people don’t realise/care. They are now 4 kW and are able to cope well with 50km/h and 60 zone and take a passenger. In 80/100 zones you end up riding in the gutter of the road. If there’s a bus lane I’d use it.

Larger capacity scooters in a moped size are an amazing tool in a city. As manoeuvrable as a moped, high riding position, mirrors higher than car mirrors for filtering and excellent acceleration to get in/out of trouble.
As you sit upright lots of wind noise on the motorway. Looses novelty after 30 mins!

Regular Motorcycles are a lot more work in a city. Lots of DIY gear changes in a city is chore (but fun in the right conditions) Performance is much better but more so higher speeds.

In the city the “point and squirt” of scooter cannot be beaten and I’d take it any day over a motorcycle.

Yes, the Silence scooter is taller and longer than nearly all of the other scooters with the exception of the C-Evolution maxi scooter which is a larger class. Your comments about wind at higher speeds means that the taller windshield accessory is going to be necessary for my use case.

Joseph SEE

Padre_Pio wrote: »

Depending on the commute, I'd choose an ebike over a scooter.

They're usually restricted to 25kph, but a bit of tweaking can get you to 35 at full tilt. Plenty fast around a city and you probably won't use it most of the time.

No tax, no insurance, small space, bike to work scheme, can remove the battery or bring them inside to charge.

The scooter won't be used for commuting as I work at home, everywhere is within walking distance and I already have an ebike. The scooter is going to be used for quickly traveling to family and friends.

biko

To clarify this thread isn't about the stand-up scooters with questionable legality I have changed the title to moped

Joseph SEE

biko wrote: »

To clarify this thread isn't about the stand-up scooters with questionable legality I have changed the title to moped

The title is now factually incorrect. These are not mopeds. They are A1 and A2 class electric scooters. It was fine before. Why don't you ask before blundering?

Joseph SEE

biko wrote: »

To clarify this thread isn't about the stand-up scooters with questionable legality I have changed the title to moped

Can you change the title to incude "A1, A2 Class Electric Scooter (Motorcycle)" for the sake of accuracy and remove the incorrect moped reference?

A moped is an AM class motorcycle and limited to 45kph.

Lumen

Joseph SEE wrote: »

The title is now factually incorrect. These are not mopeds. They are A1 and A2 class electric scooters. It was fine before. Why don't you ask before blundering?

Do you have to be so rude about it?

Joseph SEE

Lumen wrote: »

Do you have to be so rude about it?

Yes. There was no need to change it.

Calahonda52

Joseph SEE wrote: »

Yes. There was no need to change it.

.

Moped

fafy

Joseph SEE wrote: »

I've made up my mind about getting an electric scooter in the 125cc equivalent (125cm3 for the sake of SI purists. I'm going to try to chart the process (or at least a summary) on this thread and see how it goes.

Edit: More info.

I've given myself a deadline of this summer (July/August) to check out the options, get a learner licence and purchase the scooter. I'd really like it to be the Silence S01, as I think it's the best design with a battery that should have impressive longevity (maybe they are using A123). However, I won't rush in and will see what owners think before making my mind up.

I'll be updating the posts below with more info for each option from time to time.

Any further updates on the various choices?, i did look up the:

Etergo- not much happening, and unlikely to be available for purchase here, in the short term, seems to have stalled in development, since they were bought out by Ola.

Silence- S01 & S02 don’t seem to be available here yet. I contacted Seat, and they have “no confirmed dates on this, or if this is something that will be available in our marketplace”, yet, they have a page on the Irish website specifically about this

https://www.seat.ie/company/urban-mobility/e-scooter-concept.html

Joseph SEE

fafy wrote: »

Any further updates on the various choices?, i did look up the:

Etergo- not much happening, and unlikely to be available for purchase here, in the short term, seems to have stalled in development, since they were bought out by Ola.

Silence- S01 & S02 don’t seem to be available here yet. I contacted Seat, and they have “no confirmed dates on this, or if this is something that will be available in our marketplace”, yet, they have a page on the Irish website specifically about this

https://www.seat.ie/company/urban-mobility/e-scooter-concept.html

Etergo isn't looking good.

Silence no longer looks a good option either. They stated that the motor had a Vmax of 100kph. I don't think it can hit 90.

They stated the motor was made in Spain by them. It seems to be made by QS; not them.

They originally stated the battery was going to be LiFePO4. It's lithium ion. If you know your chemistries, LiFePO4 typically has longer cycle life than Lithium ion at the expense of energy density.

It's only a 14S battery. That's really the reason why the motor can't hit 100kph. Even with a really low winding motor; lower voltage is a hindrance. You can't use mechanical gearing in a hub motor to get around that. You'd probably need 20S to hit 100kph in a low winding hub motor.

Silence owners have logged many issues on a German forum.

There's a French company that are releasing a 125 class scooter. Red Electric. A lot more expensive than Silence, but more promising. As a rule of thumb, you need about 10kWh to travel 100km at 100kph. That's a bit more than 4 of Red Electrics battery modules.

They have three models. These are 45kph, 80kph and 120kph capable.

fafy

Joseph SEE wrote: »

Etergo isn't looking good.

Silence no longer looks a good option either. They stated that the motor had a Vmax of 100kph. I don't think it can hit 90.

They stated the motor was made in Spain by them. It seems to be made by QS; not them.

They originally stated the battery was going to be LiFePO4. It's lithium ion. If you know your chemistries, LiFePO4 typically has longer cycle life than Lithium ion at the expense of energy density.

It's only a 14S battery. That's really the reason why the motor can't hit 100kph. Even with a really low winding motor; lower voltage is a hindrance. You can't use mechanical gearing in a hub motor to get around that. You'd probably need 20S to hit 100kph in a low winding hub motor.

Silence owners have logged many issues on a German forum.

There's a French company that are releasing a 125 class scooter. Red Electric. A lot more expensive than Silence, but more promising. As a rule of thumb, you need about 10kWh to travel 100km at 100kph. That's a bit more than 4 of Red Electrics battery modules.

They have three models. These are 45kph, 80kph and 120kph capable.

Impressive:
In French - https://www.redelectric.fr/

In English - Overview - https://motorbikewriter.com/red-electric-scooters-come-with-impressive-range/

fafy

More details on the Seat Mo (aka “Silence”)

https://www.seat.com/mobility/mo/e-scooter-125.html

Detailed Manual:

https://www.seat.com/content/dam/public/seat-website/urban-mobility/mo/e-scooter-125/continue-reading/pdf/manual-seat-mo-escooter-125.pdf

This model is already available in Spain, and will be available in some other EU countries in the coming months. (Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Sweden and Greece)

ExMachina1000

My friend has 2 container loads of electric scooters ready to ship from a reputable manufacturer in China.

ted1

ExMachina1000 wrote: »

My friend has 2 container loads of electric scooters ready to ship from a reputable manufacturer in China.

Have they a European Certificate of Conformity?

ExMachina1000

ted1 wrote: »

Have they a European Certificate of Conformity?

Edit.
Actually I dont know tbh. EC certification is mandatory isnt it. This company already sells to European mass buyers

I may be in the wrong thread. I'm talking about scooters rather than mopeds

ted1

ExMachina1000 wrote: »

Edit.
Actually I dont know tbh. EC certification is mandatory isnt it. This company already sells to European mass buyers

I may be in the wrong thread. I'm talking about scooters rather than mopeds

Ah very different. Brave move by your friend. If they don’t comply with the new standard it could cost him.

ExMachina1000

ted1 wrote: »

Ah very different. Brave move by your friend. If they don’t comply with the new standard it could cost him.

After checking the link to the Chinese manufacturer and wholesalers the scooters do come with the CE mark.

LeeroyJ.

Hi there, sorry for reviving this old thread, it seems the main dealer of these electric mopeds in Ireland has gone out of business. My moped was damaged (vandalized by kids as is always the case) and I am unable to find any motorcycle/ moped dealer or garage that is willing to service it. Does anyone here have any experience? I've called most of the stores around Dublin and none of them are willing to work on electric mopeds.

fafy

LeeroyJ. wrote: »

Hi there, sorry for reviving this old thread, it seems the main dealer of these electric mopeds in Ireland has gone out of business. My moped was damaged (vandalized by kids as is always the case) and I am unable to find any motorcycle/ moped dealer or garage that is willing to service it. Does anyone here have any experience? I've called most of the stores around Dublin and none of them are willing to work on electric mopeds.

Which dealer, which model are you referring to, there are many selling Electric Mopeds

LeeroyJ.

fafy wrote: »

Which dealer, which model are you referring to, there are many selling Electric Mopeds

Elion.ie is the dealer and my model is a NIU electric moped. I've called a few dealers and they all refuse to service as they haven't sold it to me.
I also called a few garages that specialize in EVs and in Motorbikes/mopeds but they all refused. Its a bit of a **** Situatuon as my machine was damaged.

ted1

What type of damage is it ?

LeeroyJ.

ted1 wrote: »

What type of damage is it ?

2 Flat tires (poked), broken/Bent off handbreak, Deep scratches to the exterior (less urgent), broken rear mirror.

ted1

LeeroyJ. wrote: »

2 Flat tires (poked), broken/Bent off handbreak, Deep scratches to the exterior (less urgent), broken rear mirror.

Ok, they are not unique to the bike. They are no different than a regular ICE moped.

Bring it to a motorbike repair place, or any tire place.
The mirror you could do yourself. Lots of parts available


https://www.benchwheel.de/collections/accessories-spare-parts?page=3



https://m.aliexpress.com/i/4000093429534.html

LeeroyJ.

ted1 wrote: »

Ok, they are not unique to the bike. They are no different than a regular ICE moped.

Bring it to a motorbike repair place, or any tire place.
The mirror you could do yourself. Lots of parts available


https://www.benchwheel.de/collections/accessories-spare-parts?page=3



https://m.aliexpress.com/i/4000093429534.html

Thanks! Ill give that a go!

Miketoffee

Hi, I am thinking of buying a bike from Elion.ie.would you recommend or not.

silver_sky

Bikeworld were testing out the Silence recently. They posted about it on Facebook. I wonder will they start selling them soon. I don't know which one this is, any ideas?

fafy

https://olaelectric.com/

This is the company who bought out the Dutch based Ertgo, they have launched 2 models in India - S1 & S1 Pro, but International sales are coming, the faster model the S1 Pro, is selling in India for the equivalent of €1,500 (130,000 rupees). That model is quite similar to the original App Scooter from Ertgo. They have built a huge factory in India.

fafy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117680500#Comment_117680500

Its hard to tell, the S01 & S02 look quite similar, but range on either is not great. Globally 200km range is now normal, but depends on what you use it for i suppose

i see Silence recently launched a UK website:

https://www.silenceuk.com/