XM-3500

Just in time for the Chevy Volt production design unveiling! Should be good timing...Everyone will be talking electric then. Should help us all to evangelize this tech..Hopefully GM hits a home run with the Volt. It's the last card in their dwindling deck... Can anyone say "All in"...

Here's a money saving tip for GM - just resurrect the EV-1; that should save you a good few hundred million in new design costs. Oh, but you'd have to admit you were wrong - so that ain't gonna happen!

Also, Toyota - bring back the RAV-4 EV. Now! (pretty please?)

Well I got the call from AdvancedElectric who told me they "only got 15 XM-3500Li's from China, not their full order..." so I didn't make the cut this time, wah!
I don't know if the 15 referred to THEIR allotment, or if that was X-Tremes allotment for all dealers?

You dealers out there...do you have any 3500Li's which aren't pre-sold and are available?

thanks,
Ross

Well I got the call from AdvancedElectric who told me they "only got 15 XM-3500Li's from China, not their full order..." so I didn't make the cut this time, wah!
I don't know if the 15 referred to THEIR allotment, or if that was X-Tremes allotment for all dealers?

You dealers out there...do you have any 3500Li's which aren't pre-sold and are available?

thanks,
Ross

That's not good news. Now, I find myself wondering if it's going to take months more to get that bike I ordered. I wish X-Treme would candidly update its customers.

Failing that, maybe Mountain Chen could give us some idea of what's in the transpacific pipeline?

All Gentlemen,it is a pity of delay in delivery. It is not faulty of Xtreme.

Our factory is making a move to bigger plant so that all production are delay recently.Next month all orders would be on schedule.

Mountain wrote me a few hours ago, adding to his words above, "Another 30pcs of XM3500li would be shipped next week."

So, maybe only two, three more week?

Hi folks,

Here's what I know.

The first container of XM-3500Li's arrived this week. About 20 bikes total. All shipped out. So, if you didn't get your shipping notice - I'm afraid you didn't make this shipment.

There's a second container due in a few weeks time that has around about another 20 bikes. These are all pre-sold. Folks who didn't get a bike this time around stand a good chance of getting a bike from this shipment.

I don't know if Mountain's comment reported by HalfMooner above represents 30pcs shipping from China. This would be a 3rd container and if I remember right it takes 4 to 6 weeks to get from the dock in China to the warehouse in Iowa. I really hope it's an additional 30. I'm hoping there will be some of these available for folks who are taking a wait and see approach.

I'll check with API later today.

Sorry to hear about the production shortage. Hopefully once Mountain gets moved into his larger factory, things will smooth out.

If first reports are positive (and we should be getting some any day/hour now I would expect) then Mountain's move to expand capacity will prove a very good thing indeed (and wise on his part).

Also, I can't help but think that the split that resulted in two suppliers/manufacturers where once there was one, can only be good for the consumers of this technology and for the manufacturers themselves. Not only does it help keep competitive forces in play, it should result in improved quality as these two fight to stay ahead of one another in a market where there is more than enough room for them both to thrive (as long as they hit their marks)...

Top speed at 55 MPH - Tested to 63 MPH.
De-tuned to 55 MPH for increased range.

http://www.x-tremescooters.com/electric_mopeds/xm-3500li/xm-3500li.html

Hi folks,

Here's what I know.

The first container of XM-3500Li's arrived this week. About 20 bikes total. All shipped out. So, if you didn't get your shipping notice - I'm afraid you didn't make this shipment.

There's a second container due in a few weeks time that has around about another 20 bikes. These are all pre-sold. Folks who didn't get a bike this time around stand a good chance of getting a bike from this shipment.

I don't know if Mountain's comment reported by HalfMooner above represents 30pcs shipping from China. This would be a 3rd container and if I remember right it takes 4 to 6 weeks to get from the dock in China to the warehouse in Iowa. I really hope it's an additional 30. I'm hoping there will be some of these available for folks who are taking a wait and see approach.

I'll check with API later today.

Just spoke with API / X-Treme: 2nd container 4 to 6 weeks out. 3rd container probably 8 to 10 weeks out.

Any reports yet? Seems like folks should be receiving their bikes by now. Dealers: any confirmations that any of your customers received their bikes?

I received a email from my dealer on 7/25 who told me there is a couple of days delay. They also said that they have 12 customers waiting for the xm3500Li and that I am scheduled on the first shipments out. So I have not heard anything furter but waiting patiently < (do you know how hard that is)

I was also dropped off the list of lucky ones in line for one of the first XM-3500s. In addition I also had to deal with trying to get X-Treme to back out the charges to my credit card, which they did once I got to talk to a real person there. Apparently they were processing orders for more 3500s than what was in the container.

So how long is too long to wait for a XM-3500? 2 months is about my max to wait for any chinese scooter. My patience is really starting to wear thin.

For me the riding season is slowly coming to a close as the colder weather starts to creep in. I remember having to pry my poor frozen gloved fingers off the handle bars of my motorcycle in the cold weather.

Gordon

I received a email from my dealer on 7/25 who told me there is a couple of days delay. They also said that they have 12 customers waiting for the xm3500Li and that I am scheduled on the first shipments out. So I have not heard anything furter but waiting patiently < (do you know how hard that is)

Joe, sorry to break the bad news but if you didn't receive a shipping email and they haven't charged your card then I don't think you'll be getting one this time around. I just had to break the bad news to my customers as well. You might want to call your dealer.

Sorry :-(

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. My credit card got charged at around 2:30 this morning. I received a call from the shipping company (Sorry forgot the name) around 8:00 this morning notifying me that the box (he said looks like a scooter of some sort) will be delivered Monday late morning or early afternoon. I've been waiting since early June. (I am taking slow deep breaths, at least until Monday)

i just got 5 xm3500 i am very inpressed so far at 39 miles with almost full charge yet.,.,mark

i have two in stock and available for sale.,.call me for info 507=273-8750

Are you an authorized retailer for X-Treme?

Hey Kids-- this is an email response that I received concerning two questions: #1: my place in line from this extreme dealer in Texas (I prepayed with a cashiers check July 7th {that also got me another $100off the price=total $3999 including shipping} and #2: about my interest in buying another Li battery pack(to add to the bike or for a side car) plus another charger or 2.

Mikie: It will be awhile before parts are cataloged and made available for sale by part number with a price. We will have a listing soon thereafter on the X-treme parts index page at www.scootersupport.com/x-tremeparts.htm . Details were sketchy about the arrival of parts and we didn't dig into that element yet since it is low priority for a brand new scooter. There is a large parts shipment due in late next week, but it's unknown what all it includes. We're still trying to figure out why only a half container came in instead of the full container they expected. But, you kind of expect some problems with a new product made in China. Sometimes they have shipped a scooter model short just because they didn't have batteries to install in the scooters they had assembled. So they shipped what they had assembled with the batteries, and shipped the rest later when batteries came in.

You are near the top of the list and so there should be no problem for your order when they arrive sometime in September ETA. X-treme confirmed your order status again just to be sure. Sorry there is no more information about when in September they might arrive. Maybe if the hold up was just for batteries they will arrive sooner than later. We can only hope.

Is this hope thing they mention at the end some veiled reference to Obama ? Will we have to wait until the first Tuesday in November before it all breaks lose? Stay tuned for the next episode coming monday when Henry42 gets his delivered or we hear more from mleitzen....M

In lieu of a first-hand report on the 3500....

I spoke with mleitzen today about having one of his shipped out West and he's checking the rates for me; will know tomorrow.
Also looked into escrow services and escrow.com seemed to be the deal; about $100 for the escrow service.
Ability to use CC via escrow is a bit vague on their site, but worth investigating.

mleitzen reported to me that he's enjoying the 3500 with his GF/Wife(not both!) on the back(350Lbs total human payload).
I think he said he's been cruising around at up to 38, but hasn't pushed it yet to see just how fast it'll go.
He mentioned there's a switch next to the throttle for the low and high speed range selection, which can be changed on the fly.
He mentioned the speedometer seems, surprise, surprise, to read higher than actual speed, though he hasn't "officially" tested it.
He said the brakes seemed to be "light" for the weight.
Sounded like the solenoid shifter system is gone, but maybe y'all knew that already?
He said it's heavy and that it's Larger than he expected.
He said it's very quiet and he's getting lots of interested people asking him what it is.
Arrived in the steel-framed carton fully assembled but for...hmmm, mirrors I believe.
Remember this is second-hand info via a deficient memory retention device(me), so take it for what it's worth.
And apologies to mleitzen if I misrepresented what he told me, and if his GF/wife is upset about who that other gal was riding on the back :)

Ross

Details were sketchy about the arrival of parts and we didn't dig into that element yet since it is low priority for a brand new scooter.

Thanks for passing all that info along, Mikie!

The part I quoted above seems to show an attidude that would not be acceptable (or maybe not even legal) for ICE vehicles coming from Detroit -- or from Yokohama, for that matter. Hopefully, this industry will mature to the point that at least having a supply of friggin' PARTS on hand from the very first day for electric vehicles will become normal practice. Especially as we the first buyers are essentially acting as beta testers.

Oh, well, we're on the bleeding edge of a new era, and for the most part, I'm enjoying it.

September, grrrr....

....about having one of his shipped out West...

Also make sure you investigate what you are going to get for paperwork for possible registration problems. If this is a private party sale and not a dealer sale, X-treme is only obligated to send the MCO to the initial purchaser. Most MCOs that I have seen generally list the name and address of the purchaser on it, if so then the orginal purchaser would have to title the scooter before he could legally sell it and transfer ownership. There is generally no place on an MCO to transfer ownership from. Now if the MCO does not list the purchaser by name then an invoice or bill of sale and hand over of the MCO would work.

Then What about the 6 mo waranty. Is that transferable? With a new model like the XM-3500Li that has no track record yet, I would not feel very comfortable without a waranty of some kind.

EM,
Good points to consider, indeed.
thanks,
R

It arrived. I took around 50 pictures. I will upload the good ones once I figure out how. (Help is appreciated.) There was not any paperwork for licensing. (I was forewarned that the paperwork was not sent with the moped/scooter/motorcycle. (I am still trying to figure out what to call it.)

I suppose it would help to know my motorcycle riding experience. None. OK, really, I completed the Motorcycle Rider Education Program about a month ago. The motorcycle used was a Kawasaki 125 Eliminator and the top speed on the course was 20 MPH. I thought you might want to know as a foundation for my observations. The acceleration and handling seems to be about the same as the Kawasaki.

Overall, I like it. (My range of everything is from not too bad to fairly good. Horrables or fantastics are not part of my vocabulary) The rest will be miscellaneous ramblings. (This is the stuff that I wanted to know and could not find anywhere) The height and width dimensions are not accurate, however the length appears to be accurate. I measured 75" Length X 25" Width X 51" Height (to the top of the mirrors.) I could fix the box (11" x 8.5" X 6.5") that the battery charger came in under the seat easily with about another 20% - 25% space left over. The right brake lever is the front brake; the left brake lever is the back brake. I thought it was cool (Yes I'm allowed to use that word, I'm 55) that it has both a motorcycle stand (left stand) and a scooter stand (center stand with two pegs that you lift it up to park it). The "windshield" is opaque not tinted. I counted twenty batteries.

The owner's manual was located under the seat, which I found unusual. The battery charger with manual was attached to the outside of the moped/scooter/motorcycle. The manual does not accurately reflect the XM-3500Li. Some pictures don't match and some the components are not identified (e.g. Part A is the indicator, however there is not a line pointing to the indicator.) The manual has a section on battery maintenance that matches the findings on the research I have done on lithium batteries. There were some issues like no instructions for attaching the rear wheel guards (at least I think they are rear wheel guards) one nut was off center so I used a screw and nut from my box of miscellaneous screws, nuts and bolts I keep around because I too lazy to get rid of them. The hinge on the seat broke about the 5th time I opened it. It looks like a bad weld. I checked the other main welds and they seemed to be in good shape. The cling film (over the lights) was hard to get off. I noticed some surface rust (the kind you get when items are shipped overseas by ocean going vessels) on the front fork. A little "rust-o-leum" should take care of it. I had ordered blue instead of black. Maybe the blue models are not available yet. The rear brake lever sensor sticks. I small adjustment should take care of it. The mirror bolt covers look like distributor cap wire covers. The mirrors have an odd shape, maybe for better visibility. There are air vents that can under the correct conditions allow rain to get into the battery area. When the brakes are applied there is no power to the motor. Nice safety feature. I not totally comfortable with how that is going to affect starting from a stop on a hill. (There are some fairly steep hills in East Tennessee.) I noticed that with the side stand down the power to the motor is shut off. When the scooter stand down the power is still on.

There is a symbol on the dash that looks like a bicycle that I haven't figured out yet. Also there is a yellow button with a "hazard" symbol near it in the right grip area that I haven't figured out yet. There is a hook (like a clothes hanger) just below the handlebars that I haven't figured out either.

Anyway, those are my first impressions of the XB-3500Li (The label on the side is XB not XM)

Thanks for the excellent first review Henry! Did you get to ride the bike? What has your top speed (indicated and actual) been?

Pics of the charger and battery stack will be excellent.

Thanks!!!

Great news, Henry, and good set of first impressions.

Could the hook below the handlebars be for holding grocery bags? I know a number of the smaller scooters have such hooks, so you can place a bag or two on the floor between your knees and it won't fall off.

In order for me to register the 3500 in Georgia, I need a NHTSA sticker on the bike indicating that it's safe for road use. Do you see any such sticker anywhere?

Can you tell how bright the headlights are, are they automotive 55w bulbs, or smaller 35w bulbs? The pictures have all shown a small white light mounted in the windshield, have you figured out how well that works yet? (or is it still there?)

As MikeB indicated..the hook is used for bags hunging and to hang the helmet when You stop for a while...That's the idea

Henry42 said When the brakes are applied there is no power to the motor. Nice safety feature. I not totally comfortable with how that is going to affect starting from a stop on a hill.

Play with it ...later You are going to find confortable with it...You´ll know the reactions..and go fine ;-)

Hi Henry,

Congrats on the new bike.

You'll need to call Customer Care at X-Treme and ask for the MCO (manufacturer certificate of origin) to be mailed to you. That, along with your bill of sale, will be the paperwork you need to take to the DMV for registration.

The operation of the controller and the brakes and side stand is the same as with the XM-3000. As far as starting on a hill - you can always "crack open" the throttle a little bit while the brake is still applied. When you release the brake the power will immediately flow to the back wheel. This means you won't roll back while you open the throttle after releasing the brake. Just try it out - it's easier to do than to describe!

The XB decal on the bike is a mistake at the factory. But, I think X-Treme figured customers would prefer the bikes sooner rather than having the decal replaced.

Still waiting to hear from the shipper about my bike...

Hey Henry-- thanks for all the info. Most of what you have shared about the hardware is the same as my Kasea 2000. What we would love is more info on the battery pack, BMS and actual speed how it does those
steep hills, how the dual speed button or lever works for extra power or higher gear(sic) & how quickly it starts and flows into moving traffic.
Pictures of the charger and stats on the charger--how many amps? How long to charge up?

You are, my man Henry, our collective guinea pig, be careful and most of all have fun.

ps one safety tip I learned the hard way guys....do not leave the bike ON when you are backing up with your
feet, one can easy torque on the hand grip as you are pushing back with your legs and the bike will then take off forwards and easily jerk out of your hands....been there and done that! Mikie