Electric Vehicle Technology's Z-20 scooter
by Dominic Muren, Philadelphia, USA on 04.26.05
Last week, we showed you what a little ingenuity could do for the EVT 4000E electric scooter. Some of you might have wondered whether there were other options for bikes to use. Well you're in luck. Building on the success of it's earlier models, EVT America introduces their burly successor the Z-20.
This zippy little bike has a number of improvements over the EVT-4000E. The most obvious is the new styling, which moves away from the angular, Japanese scooter aesthetic to something that looks almost like a jet bike from a video game -- we heartily approve. A larger seat means that toting your friends around will be much less cramped. As far as technical specs go, the newly engineered hub motor which powers the Z-20 generates 40% more torque than previous models, which makes for better acceleration and more responsiveness on the road. And for a limited time, this new model has an introductory price of only $1,999 US which includes the trunk and windshield upgrades at no charge.
The only thing we see missing from this beauty is regenerative braking, which still hasn't become common in smaller scooters, probably because it would raise prices above what people are comfortable paying. All the same, if you look into buying one of these, a request for the option might help the EVT designers to see the need is there.
:: EVT Z-20 Scooter [by DM]
Makes me wish I had some spare dosh right now to make the purchase, I love all things battery-powered.
I'm really glad to see more and more of this stuff becoming available in the States.
I wonder if regenerative braking is worthwhile in two-wheeled personal vehicles. Creating a motor that's halfway efficient as a generator adds considerable mass, and you'll still need a full braking system for safety.
Good call Stewart.
Since the bike is so light anyway, there probably isn't much energy lost in accelerating and breaking the bike. It might be neat though to just wire the motor up as a generator, knowing that it wouldn't make back that much power, but that it would be something.
Instead of regenerative breaking on such a light bike, maybe the motor could be wired to power an on-board espresso machine! Now that would be cool :)
Now wouldn't that solar charger on that flash ad at the top of the page be the perfect complement to a scooter like this? Even better, how about putting some of those solar cells right into the bodywork! They would have to help at least a little bit. Charge that thing up at the beach! In fact, how about putting those cells on all electric vehicles bodywork?
also, please note the difference between braking and breaking :)
Paul-
Actually, we recently posted a reader's DIY solar project to convert the EVT 4000e (the Z-20's younger brother) into an all-solar cycle:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/04/don_dunkees_diy.php
Stay tuned for information about turning an EVT 4000 or even this bike into a solar ride of your own.
And thanks for the catch on the braking bit -- if only spellcheck could tell me when I'm just wrong :)
Dominic - great post!
This is by far the most interesting vehicle I've seen. I'm cycle-only, and planning to stay that way for now, but when this becomes available with a Li-Ion battery (which EVT tells me they will soon), it'll be pretty hard not to buy one...
Seems like all of thier scooters are currently on sale and cost approx 2k. What's the advantage of this one over something like the ETV-168 which I like the look of more.