What should I buy and where can I buy it?

We need a bit more info, especially what top speed and sustained cruising speeds you need your scooter to achieve. There are a lot of scooters out there, but if you don't have a local dealer it's a crapshoot. The Chinese scooters tend to have defects on arrival, and even those without them can be seriously damaged in shipping. (Mine was damaged so badly I wish I'd refused delivery.) With a 14 mile round trip, you can consider both lithium and sealed lead-acid (SLA) scooters. The lithium bikes have longer range, lighter weight and short recharge times, but the SLA bikes can be more reliable and torque-y, not to mention cheaper.

Sounds like you want a scooter in the 3500 to 5000 watt range, Lithium or SLA. Do you have a price in mind? In any case, you want to find a scooter mechanic in your area, preferably one with experience with Chinese scooters. It's ok if you can only find a gas scooter mechanic: if he or she is good then they will be able to work on the electrics with a bit of a learning curve. Ironically, even though the E-scooters are on the whole less reliable and robust than all but the worst gas scooters, they are also simpler in construction.

I've got a 2001 Oxygen Lepton that's better constructed (Italian instead of Chinese) than most and has never given me trouble, but even though all it needs is new batteries and maybe tires (from sheer age) I don't think it's fast enough for your commute even with its good acceleration - it tops out at 28MPH. I've been trying to find a good home for it for the last 7 months, but everybody wants either gas engines or lots of speed. ;-(

Another thing to keep in mind - and this directly relates to what you wrote about 1500 watt scooters - is that most if not all of the manufacturers greatly exaggerate their scooters' performance stats. The one who don't outright lie base the stats on absolute best possible conditions. That means a very light rider wearing snug clothing and riding at a constant, slow speed on absolutely level ground. Real world performance tends to be 50% to 60% of the claimed range, and about 70-90% of the claimed top speed. (The speedometers are always "optimistic.")

About my Lepton: it's 1800 watts, if I remember correctly, uses 4 37AH AGM (a type of SLA that's robust) batteries, and so runs 48 volts using a motor mounted above and ahead of the rear wheel with an enclosed chain or belt drive. (I've been told it uses neither, but it must be one of them, and I think it's chain.) This produces *much* better acceleration than a similar or even bigger hub motor, but it also limits top speed, because the motor is running at about 6000RPM at 28MPH. I'll link to a topic on it here below. It has 1668 miles on the odometer. Bottom line: if you decide you want to refurbish it (batteries and tires are all it needs, and not necessarily tires right away) you can have it for $500USD, with you handling all the details and expenses of shipping it. If you want me to remove the batteries and mirror for shipping, I'd like to get $600. I can provide plenty of photos. I suggest you first see what kind of mechanic you can find, and check again for a local dealer, because there is nothing like having a dealer nearby to handle problems. You might even be able to find a former Oxygen dealer!

Understood about the costs of shipping the Lepton - I wasn't trying to "sell" you it, just noting I had one for sale. The Retro model is a bit too old-fashioned for my tastes ('40's styling as opposed to the Lepton's '60's styling) but it should suit your needs - IF the 30MPH top speed is actual, and not "indicated." It's apparently an SLA model with separate charger like my Lepton. Johnny can probably tell you its range, and remember: if you can't recharge at work, it needs to have at *least* a 28-30 mile real world range, to prevent battery damage from sitting around with less than a 50% charge all day. That and the slow recharge time are two of the three biggest drawbacks of SLA batteries, the third being fewer cycles in the pack's "life" than good lithium batteries. Although frankly, from what I read here about cell failures in lithium packs, I think I actually prefer the rugged, reliable (but heavy!) SLA batteries. I got ten years of light to moderate use from mine.

I made a dumb typo. "...it needs to have at *least* a 20-25 mile real world range, to prevent battery damage from sitting around with less than a 50% charge all day." is how it should read.

The above comment about wattage and motors may apply to hub motors, which tend to be rather gutless, but they don't apply to the 1800 watt Lepton (and other geared drives). In Sprint mode it will carry a normal sized adult and a child up a steep hill easily and briskly. I also disagree with using price as a primary consideration, because Chinese scooters on the whole have a pretty bad record for both initial quality (lack of defects on delivery) and long-term reliability. Or, to put it another way, don't buy a Chinese scooter with an unknown reputation unless you can afford to buy another one soon afterwards. The only reason I got an X-Treme was it was less than $1k on Ebay, and even then, with the defective parts replaced (I had to find and pay the labor) under warranty, I hated it for quite a while...

you are right, i forgot to say that you need a few mechanical skills to make little reparations and if you do not want to repair your scooter you need a dealer

personally i find that the biggest difference between an escooter and a gas one is that you cannot sell it...
it means you sit on your scooter and you loose a lot of value if you have to sell it, for that reason buy something with a good performance

Hi Bill,

The eGo electric scooter appears to be no more. Their website now contains dangling links, and, in California, their previous distributors no longer appear to carry the eGo.

Whichever scooter you choose, I urge you to make sure that there is a local scooter shop that can and will maintain it. Even electric scooters have problems, as evidenced by the posts in the Visforvoltage forum.

I have owned 2 electric scooters, and, both times, I experienced weeks during which the scooters were non-operational. I had to (tediously) perform troubleshooting myself, with over-the-phone help from the manufacturer. I had to order replacement parts, wait for them to arrive, and perform the repair work myself. This is fine if electric scooters are merely a hobby, but not fine if you are depending on the scooter for daily transportation.

In my case, I ended up settling on a 125cc gasoline-powered scooter. No, it is not as clean or quiet as an electric scooter. However, it gets 85 miles per gallon, and there are 2 local shops that will maintain/repair it for me. A high-quality gasoline scooter, such as a Genuine, SYM, Kymco, Yamaha, or Honda (avoid cheap Chinese scooters) will have excellent reliability.

why not buy a electric bicycle converson kit from online shop? you can google it everywhere.

"I have been considering the possibility as well as that of a tailor made electric bike. I've not yet ruled out either but would prefer the higher speed of an electric scooter to improve the chance of staying with the traffic (when it is moving) and it seems to me that I may still need a local dealer for spares and/or repair when required."

Forget it, electric bikes are wonderful if you drive downhill...