Santa Monica (CA) –Traditional push scooters are going high-tech with lithium-ion batteries.  At the Alternative Car Expo in Santa Monica, we test drove the Motorboard 2000 XR which can speed at up to 15 miles-per-hour  for 20 miles per charge.  David Roth, the co-founder and inventor of the scooter, told us that the lithium-ion batteries charge quickly and have enough power to push a 250 lbs person.

Roth Motor Company 15 MPH Motorboard scooter ... 

Video of the 15 MPH electric scooter and interview with the inventor David Roth

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Roth gave us a run down of the scooter’s technical details and then demonstrated its portability by collapsing and folding the handlebars towards the scooter body.  He added that the entire unit weighs just 16 lbs.

Many of our readers will be familiar with the A123 Systems lithium-ion batteries that power the scooter.  The 10 cells give up to 1 kilowatt of power and can go five to seven miles on a single charge.  An optional extended battery pack is available that will give 20 miles on a charge.

Powered scooters aren’t anything new and gasoline ones have been sold for years.  Of course those versions are quite noisy and Roth told us the Motorboard 2000 XR is just as fast.  He proved that by zipping around the test course at breakneck speed.  Then, after a few minutes of training, we hopped on the board and took a few laps.

It’s been several years since I’ve ridden a scooter and the first few seconds of the ride was a humbling experience.  You can definitely feel the torque as you pull the power lever.  Only a little bit of pressure sends you screaming down the road and – given our past experience with exploding and crashing things on video -  I didn’t even dare to try full depressing the lever.

The Motorboard XR 2000 is $800 and is purchased through the Roth Motor website.  Roth told us that each unit is hand built and currently there is a two week wait between order and shipment.

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