Customize Your Ride

by Jim Mikles
April 2002

Like the clothing we wear or the music we listen to, what we ride is an extension of who we are. People choose to ride "light" because they want to zip around town in a fun, hip and economical fashion. As for their rides, some folks are purely practical and remain perfectly content with off-the-shelf stock features. For others, it's not a question of whether they'll customize their machines, but merely a matter of what they'll customize next.

Why Do We Do It?
The reasons people become light-riders are as varied as the types of vehicles they choose. Each different type of vehicle-whether it's a motor scooter (like a Vespa or a Honda), an electric standing scooter (like a Hot Scoot or Phat eScooter), a gas-powered standing scooter (like a Go-Ped), an e-bike (like a Zappy or Currie) or a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (like a Ford or Bombardier), has its own unique community and sub-culture. A broad survey of all of these indicates that each culture goes hand-in-hand with the types of customizations that are most popular.

Motorized Scooters
The motorized scooter has been part of the counter-culture movement since the 1950s and the motor scooter movement has experienced several iterations over the decades. From the Mods to Devo to Revenge of the Nerds, a quirky, unique body design and a foot platform, or "deck," (rather than motorcycle-like footpegs), has remained at the center of the scooter design. Along with a robust user-modification movement surrounding the scooter's looks, scooters have also experienced ongoing manufacturer design evolution.

Scooter enthusiasts may upgrade their models for more powerful motors and opt for a custom paint job or some extra gear bags, but the most popular current trend in motor scooting is to acquire and refurbish some of the classic funky models from the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Because scooters are about image as much as transportation, rallies and events where scooter enthusiasts can meet, show off and share are numerous and popular across the country. These run the gamut from poker rides to races to antique motorbike shows. These vehicles are extremely economical, great in an urban setting where you typically have shorter, lower speed traveling requirements and can be customized to look as unique as the riders themselves.

Electric Bikes
Electric bikes, which have an electric motor to assist the peddler at speeds up to 20 mph, cater to a crowd that enjoys the experience of peddling but desires some extra assistance in the effort. For people who want that extra push, there are a number of custom utilitarian accessories available for the e-bike.

If you use an e-bike to commute, for example, because you don't want to sweat through your work clothes on the way to the office, you could probably use some standard road gear such as a light, a mirror, some extra wide tires, a cargo basket (for toting your lunch and those quick grocery stops on the way home) and a fender to keep road moisture from spinning up to soil your rear (plus the electronic circuit boards hate moisture). These accessories are equally useful for anyone who frequently e-bikes on public roadways. On the electronic forums and web sites that cater to e-bike enthusiasts, there's a lot of discussion about bike computers, which calculate speed, time and distance traveled, both on a per-trip and cumulative basis. A bike computer is a nice accessory for the more detail-oriented among us.

The other hot forum topic for e-bikers is whether to buy an e-bike fully e-equipped, or convert one yourself in the garage. Consensus seems to indicate if you are extremely enthused and have lots of time on your hands, then there are good kits out there for converting your favorite roadster. See Builder's Garage in this issue for tips on how to motorize your bike.

Purchasing a manufactured bike is a quicker and easier option, although probably more expensive out of the blocks.

"For most people, a 'name' product is often your best entry into the world of electric vehicles," advise the e-bike gurus at ElectricBikes.com. "Knowing that a company has been in business for several years, offers customer-tested products, and will likely be there in the future with parts and upgrades to keep your investment rolling makes a big difference. Generally, a low-priced unknown product with little or no backing will become difficult to impossible to maintain."

If you are like a lot of hip retirees and spending a lot of time on the open road following the sun or the fish or whatever, you might use your e-bike for local transportation once the Winnebago or fifth-wheel is parked for the night. In this case, you'll need an e-bike rack to transport your machine(s). Don't forget to make sure you have whatever accessories and hook-ups you need to charge your battery off the generator.

If space is of serious consideration, a nifty and popular option for folks on the go with their e-bikes is the folding e-bike, which collapses down to take less space. There are a surprising variety of options and models, including models from Currie, ETC, EX Bike, Montague and Th!nk.

Standing Scooters
This category of light vehicle typically appeals to a younger set, and as you might expect, offers a wide variety of custom options for looks, versatility and performance in the customization department.

Electric scooters are already quick and efficient, but one of the most fundamental custom upgrades involves getting even more speed and range from the motor. This is a potentially tricky prospect. Most e-scooters come stock with the classic lead acid battery system for power. This power system largely dictates speed and range (in conjunction with rider weight and road terrain). A lead acid battery system provides adequate voltage and has predictable time-per-charge, time to recharge and life span. It gets lower marks for its weight (heavy) and its issues with "memory" whereby too many recharges without full discharge shortens the battery life span. Nevertheless, this is the industry standard.

Fortunately, battery recharge time can be improved with after-market "super-chargers," and veteran riders will usually keep a spare battery on hand so one can charge while the other is in use. There are even methods (using a custom-molded battery tray) to carry an extra battery on the vehicle itself to increase to potential scooting distance. As for the actual voltage chemistry and longetivity of the battery, there's not much else to be done.

Recently, the nickel-metal-hydride battery (NiMH) is gaining support and popularity on the e-scooting circuit. NiMH gets good reviews for performance, weight, charge time and top-end speed with no "memory" issues. NiMH users almost unanimously report improvements over their lead acid counterparts. The battery packs and chargers are expensive, however.

Fuel cells, which consume hydrogen and oxygen to generate power and don't store and discharge electricity like a traditional battery, are expected by many to eventually replace batteries for electrical power, but there are no reports yet of fuel-celled scooters.

When it comes to other e-scooter accessories, most things such as fast-chargers, seats, baskets and decks are available for specific brands and models of scooters. For example, the Phat E-Scooter by Currie offers a fast battery-charger and an accessory seat and a seat/basket combination. The HotScoot by Badsey has a wide variety of accessories available, including a seat or seat and basket assembly; colored, anodized hubs; different tire sizes and multi-colored decks. The HotScoot is currently the only e-scooter that comes stock with a NiMH battery pack. Badsey also has a racing model called the EMX racer, which has an extra beefy frame and a larger motor, for more speed and endurance.

For the extremely bold, one way to increase e-scooter speed is with a so-called "turbo button" that allows the rider to bypass the voltage controller at high rpms and pump the full battery voltage to the motor. It's not necessarily illegal or unsafe, but it is beyond the manufacturer specifications. According to the e-scooter user groups, this method can increase scooter speeds up to 30 mph, in which case you might be particularly interested in a wheelie bar accessory.

Other e-scooters with their own custom accessories include the Xooter ex3 and the Zappy by Zap World.

Other common scooter accessories include lights and bells (which are particularly useful since the e-scooter is so quiet). There are dozens of discussion on the Yahoo e-scooter forum, which claims it's the largest in the world, about which bike light and bell assemblies fit well on the various models of scooters.

Depending on where and why you scoot, accessories could also include carrying bags or bike-rack locking mechanisms.

When it comes to gas-powered scooters, there are a variety of different models out there, but the gas scooter sub-culture revolves squarely around the Go-Ped. Go-Ped Nation.com is one of several Web sites that caters to the avid Go-Pedder. Customized Go-Peds appeal predominately to the male, adolescent, post-skateboard, pre-car set. Go-Peds are loud, fast, and very customizable.

"I put lots of time into modifying them and clean them every day," says a typical 15-year-old rider from Boston who uses the online handle Acejam2k. "My parents are quite amazed on how much I dedicate my life into something like this. I just can't wait until I get a car!"

From larger spindles to extra large carburetors and tuned exhaust pipes-you can find online advice and performance reasons for doing it all. Once you've got all this extra speed and your ride is, like, all tricked-out dude, you'll be able to get extra burly doing tricks like the wheelie, ollie, bunnie hop, X-Up, fufanu, tailwhip, ice pick and a variety of other death-defying scooter contortions. Please wear a helmet and some body armor.

Hybrid & Electric Cars
Neighborhood electric vehicles come pretty custom-made out of the box, but some extra passenger-compartment canvas can help keep you warmer and a car stereo could improve your commute.

If you drive a hybrid car, you too already have a pretty custom vehicle on your hands and you probably won't be souping it up under hood. Fuel cells are expected by many to be the next revolution in hybrid electric and pure electric cars, but until that happens, for most people the motor you've got will pretty much remain the motor you've got. The usual cosmetic custom car accessories can still apply, though, including custom rims, tinted windows and fuzzy dice.

Jim Mikles is a California-based freelance writer.

• Digg This!
• del.icio.us
• Technorati
• Reddit