Im new here and looking for some advice. I recently got a new job at the local water treatment plant in town. Its only about 0.8 mile from my house so the idea of riding a scooter to work has struck me as a viable option. I have shopped around a little and have drawn a liking to the schwinn stealth or the ezip version. Im actually having trouble finding one in my area and ebay hasnt been much help either. Could someone let me know where a good place to get one would be...new or used. Once I get one is there anything I should know about them? are there ways to modify them to get better performance? my budget is around $500 so maybe there could be a different model i havent even seen yet either. any information would be helpful. websites or cataloges would be sweet!
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All the information you seek has been placed on this forum. Please take a look at the information under Handbooks. When or if you get confused and have specfic questions it will be much easier to help you make a decision. Most of the information has been sorted into sections. Links to other sites and EV resources are also included.
Good Luck, hope to hear from you soon,
Grandpa Chas S.
Timmy,
With only a 0.8 mile trip, have you considered a bicycle? Or walking? You could buy a heavy-duty mountain bike and then if you want to go electric, you could easily add a conversion kit later.
If you're set on a Stealth (or the e-Zip replacement), please note that the gearbox drive has been problematic for many owners. When it fails, you will likely need to replace the entire rear wheel assembly at a cost of $150+ !
The gearbox-drive Currie scooters do not lend themselves to mods very easily. If you think you might want to change motors or gear ratios at some time in the future, you should find a scooter with a chain and sprocket drive. A 2006 Schwinn S750 has the identical frame as the Stealth, but the rear swing-arm is set-up for chain drive. (Newer S750's have the gearbox and smaller motors) The 2006 models are no longer in production, of course, but there is a "refurbished" one on e-bay right now:
Ebay item : Schwinn Electric Scooter Model S-750 Color Green
You might also keep your eye on Craigslist or local classifieds to find one. I bought one thru Craigslist in September for $80 and all it needed was batteries.
Other options are a used Schwinn S600 (full suspension and chain drive) but they are harder to find:
Ebay item : Schwinn S600 Electric Scooter w/New battery charger!
Lashout scooters have much better build quality, but are also out of production. I've had one for a year, and at 24V and 400W, it is quicker than my Stealth with 36V and 1000W. There are some for sale on e-bay:
Ebay item : SALE!!!! Floor Model 400w Watt LASHOUT Electric Scooter
OR:
Ebay item : NEW IN BOX 400w Watt LASHOUT Electric Scooter
Good luck. Let us know what you do.
Harlow
so i bought a scooter from craigslist. Its a schwinn with the chain drive. The picture i got of it looked like a 1000watt stealth but after i got there and looked at it i noticed that it was only a 450 watt model. I bought it for $100. did i get screwed? it seems very fast and looks like theres room for some modifications. But I have this winter to tinker with it.
Paying $100 for a good working scooter doesn't put you in "screwed" territory, by any means. Unless it all starts falling apart. ;-)
I've purchased 4 Currie-type scooters from Craigslist and paid from $60 to $135.
What model is it? Voltage? Roller clutch on the motor shaft (freewheel)? Suspension? Can you post a pic?
What mods have you got in the back of your mind? A popular one is to add a battery and increase the voltage, and therefore, speed. Might also require an upgrade to the controller, but brushed-motor controllers are fairly cheap.
Keep us up-to-date.
im new here and im unsure how to post a pic yet. its a full suspention schwinn missile fs. really good shape but the range is sad, lol. i wanted to upgrade the motor to maybe a 1000 watt and up the voltage to 48 or 60. its a 450 watt 24 volt now and in really good shape. it prolly has the origianl batterys. the previous owner bought it from his brother and said he was getting about 5 miles out of a charge, but after riding it today i wouldnt push more than 2 or 3 out of it. im excited, and hope to learn a little from this. im a maintenance man for the city water plant and love to tinker with things. i even thought of making my own frame for a scooter out of aluminum or something. any advice would be helpful.... thank you
You might consider a PowerPack Motor/Controller. The link will take you to pictures of a Schwinn Missile FS that has been modified to include (4) 12V batteries.
http://www.powerpackmotors.com/Missilewithrisermodificationpage.html
Although 48V chargers are available, I'd suggest you think about "bank charging" to give your new batteries the longest possible life. I've re-wired my scooters to accept parallel bank charging using a single 12V automotive-type charger. My batteries stay in balance and I can get a replacement charger quickly at local stores.
thats kinda the idea i was thinking of. i took some measurements on my scooter and i seen the same thing. if i raise the deck up about one inch i can get 4 or 5 12v batteries in there and still have room for the controller. that site didnt say how many watt motor that is, or at least i didnt see it. ive seen i can get a 1000 watt motor for around $100. controller for around 50. and i live about 5 miles from a place that makes industrial batteries. they make 10 and 12 amp 12 volt batteries too so im not to worried about batteries. but i do have a few questions. LiFePo4 batteries, are they worth the money? and i have a few more on gearing. I figured with a larger motor i can drop the size of my rear sprocket to gain some top end. any suggestions? thank you once again
Hi Folks, I have Schwinn Stealth 1000, and I just got my 36V Lifepo battery. Seems when I connect it, the power blips when I roll the throttle, and then it shuts down. Charged volts is like 41.5 or higher? Is there a throttle or other mod I can do to make it work?
awilensky, your controller is almost certainly shutting down because of low battery voltage. You'll either have to replace your LiFePO4 battery pack with a 48 volt pack, or replace your 48V controller with a 36V controller.
Robert
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Timmy, www.thesuperkids.com is a good place for controllers and motors at pretty good prices and other bits too. Just remember one thing though. The faster you get it going the longer it takes to stop. Riding the sidewalks for at least 6000 miles between 3 schwinn scooters I can tell you that situations pop up suddenly that require an instant stop almost every time I ride it. Many times I wanted a little more speed out of it and talked myself out of it for that reason. Just be careful. You may just get a bruise out of it...or you could be paralized...Just be careful. I agree that the gear drive units are problematic. I have one and have had to do a lot of work to it to make it reliable. I don't think schwinn's quality control is at a level high enough for making reliable gearboxes. The chain and sprocket will last about 3000 miles before the motor sprocket wears out and the chain is too stretched out. The rear sprocket could last 6000 miles...I never wore one out yet. One thing I found out is if your scooter has the new wider tires you cannot use the roller clutch type motor sprocket. It will hit the tire. Frank