Kick scooter converted into awesome all-terrain electric scooter
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The original Royce Union Transit scooter before the conversion
The top of the Royce Union Transit scooter, the deck would later have a wider polycarbonate/carbon fiber platform bolted on top
The rear shocks of the Royce Union Transit scooter
The front suspension is hidden within the steering column
Big wheels with chunky tires are vital for any off-road vehicle
Clearly, some adjustment will be needed
Comparing the size of the rear shock from the Royce Union Transit scooter with those to be used for the build
The aluminum rear swing arms and ex-mountain bike shocks
The swing arm and shocks ready for the 12.5-inch rear wheel
Starting to take shape, but still a long way to go
The front fork came from an old mountain bike
Building the front suspension - springs, damper, some steel tube and solid rod, and U aluminum
The custom-created shocks were fitted to form a leading link suspension arm
Side view of the front shocks
Taking the Katz scooter for a motor-free test run - looks a bit awkward to push
The motorless test run revealed some handling problems, so Katz rebuilt the front fork, which slightly raised the angle of the deck but improved performance
Three CIM motors from dismantled robotics projects were hooked up to a reworked gearbox
The three-motor one-stage gearbox is encased in aluminum housing before being mounted underneath the scooter's platform
The electric motor setup in place underneath the scooter's deck
An idler and a chain tensioner were fitted to help compensate for slight alignment issues
A wider polycarbonate deck is later bonded with carbon fiber, which makes for a more comfortable ride
The carbon fiber sheet, cut to shape and ready for bonding the new polycarbonate rider platform
The Katz scooter has a brake lever at the back of the platform that activates caliper grips positioned on either side of the rear sprocket to make a rather novel disc brake
Close up of the scooter's brake lever positioned between the two rear shocks
Pressure on the brake lever
A Kelly KDS72200E controller placed next to a DVD for size comparison
The controller mounted with the motor unit to save space
The Katz scooter is ready for its battery pack
The eight Turnigy 5000 mAh 4s Li-Pol battery packs that will power the motor
The batteries were placed into an aluminum case fronted by a removable polycarbonate cover, in a 16S2P configuration
The new handlebars came from a mountain bike and were fitted with a hall effect twist grip throttle
The Katz electric scooter is ready to roll
Katz says that the batteries and motor are not quite as vulnerable as they may first appear
A chain guard has been added to prevent the chain coming off when used off-road
The scooter has a top speed of 25 mph and a range of at least 8 miles
The Katz all-terrain electric scooter
The scooter has so far been tested on grass, rough dirt or mulch trails and roads
The scooter's Hella master power switch
Katz says that a full recharge will take about 12 hours, not because of the batteries but because of the 50 watt charger
Katz put the charger, along with the 12V power supply from a 2006 iMac desktop, into the shell of an old ATX power supply for portability and convenience
Article Summary
Ben Katz has spent the last few months ripping apart and reassembling an old kick scooter to build what he describes as an all-terrain electric scooter. He's mixed in bits and pieces from robotics projects and mountain bikes, supersized the wheels, created custom shocks, built a novel disc brake, and added lots of aluminum to make a pretty sweet ride. He still has a few finishing touches to add but it's ready to roll, as you can see in the video after the jump.
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