BMW Motorrad Concept Vehicle BMW E-Scooter. Innovative development study with electric drive.

Space is becoming increasingly scarce in the major conurbation centres and traffic density is growing continuously. Political and social conditions are changing. All these factors coalesce in increasing demands in terms of private transportation. The concept vehicle BMW E-Scooter with electric drive provides an innovative look at changing urban mobility needs.

While the currently available, purely electrically-powered scooters have been almost exclusively used inside towns and cities to date due to their perform- ance and range, which makes them suitable for short distances only, the concept vehicle BMW E-Scooter offers a much broader spectrum of use.

High range and excellent performance figures.

Since it was conceived as a future-oriented vehicle for commuting between urban areas and the city centre, therefore attracting funding from the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development, there were two main requirements for its development: dynamic figures comparable to those of a maxi scooter with a combustion engine and a high range in realistic conditions of use.

The concept vehicle BMW E-Scooter provides the necessary sustained output and maximum speed for safe and reliable overtaking on urban motorways and also when carrying two people. It is also easily capable of managing hill starts on steep slopes with a pillion passenger.

The development study also has the necessary maximum output to be able to achieve acceleration figures within the important 0 – 60 km/h range, which are at the level of current maxi scooters powered by a 600 cc combustion engine.

The high storage capacity of the battery allows a daily driving range of over 100 kilometres. In this way, the BMW E-Scooter concept vehicle provides a long-term, zero-emissions urban and suburban travel option which is suitable for everyday use.

Fast charging at conventional power sockets.

The E-Scooter concept vehicle’s battery is charged at regular household power sockets as found in Europe, the USA, Canada and Japan, so no special charging station is required. When the battery is completely flat, the charging period is less than three hours. However, practical experience has shown that the battery rarely runs out completely, so charging times are generally shorter.

Frame.

Unlike existing maxi scooters with combustion engines, the concept vehicle does not have a main frame. Instead, the aluminium battery casing — which also contains the electronic system required for battery cell monitoring — takes over the function of the frame. The steering head support is connected to it, as is the rear frame and the left-hand mounted single swing arm with directly hinged, horizontally installed shock absorber.

Electric machine, power electronics and charging device.

Due to its high output, the BMW Motorrad development study has no hub motor with direct drive or planetary gearbox. Instead, the high-performance electric machine is mounted behind the battery casing. The secondary drive consists of a toothed belt from the electric machine to the belt pulley mounted coaxially on the swinging fork pivot with drive pinion. From here, power transmission occurs via roller chain to the rear wheel. When the E-Scooter is decelerated in trailing throttle or when braking, the energy re- leased is recuperated, thereby increasing the vehicle’s range by between 10 and 20 per cent depending on driving profile.

The electrical components required for the electric drive are installed on the top of the battery casing. The external battery electronics system perma- nently collects and monitors data such as the temperature and voltage of the battery cells, both during travel and while charging. The power electronics acts as a control system and controls the electric machine. The charging device includes a charge cable which allows the battery to be recharged at a conventional household power socket. In addition to the other components like an ISO insulation monitor, high-voltage indicator and a high-voltage distributor, a DC-DC converter is included. It is required to change high voltage to low voltage power to supply the 12 volt vehicle supply and especially for the control units.

Cooling system.

During travel, the electric machine and power electronics are liquid-cooled, as is the charging device during charging. An electric coolant pump ensures coolant circulation through the radiator. While a coolant is commonly used for the battery in electrically powered cars, the E-Scooter concept vehicle uses an air cooling system in order to save space.

Safety.

BMW Motorrad is one of the very few motorcycle manufacturers to be able to draw on its own experience and expertise in the automobile field in the development of electrically powered vehicles. Synergies are derived from the development of the BMW E-Scooter concept vehicle not just in the ready availability of technical components but also in the area of high voltage engineering and the associated safety requirements. Here for the first time, standards established by the leading automobile manufacturers relating to high voltage safety (> 60 volt) and functional reliability are being applied to a two-wheel vehicle with electric drive. (Source: BMW Group)

Watch the videos below to see the BMW E-Scooter in action.

Also see related posts:

BMW’s Concept C in Paris

No Comment… BMW’s Scooter Concept C Video

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RYNO Motors‘ comes up with a self-balancing, one wheeled electric scooter. Its looks kind of resemble BPG Motor’s U3 in dicycle mode, but the design is yet more industrial, something I could imagine seeing in a Mad Max movie. This ongoing revolution in ground transporation technology makes me wonder what kind of crazy vehicles we will be seeing on the roads in a few years from now…

PT II

The estimated retail price for the Ryno scooter is around $3500, still much more expensive compared to a regular scooter, which can be purchased starting at $1000. Maximum speed is 25mph, you can go up to 35mph with a regular 50cc scoot. But on the other hand, this vehicle is all electric, so you don’t need to spend bucks on the gas. Also, it is light weight and small, so no need to worry about parking. The bike’s LiFePo4 battery has a charging time of 1.5hrs and a range up to 30 miles. Watch the video below to see how it works.

The post RYNO baby! first appeared on scootcats.

With gas prices rising and consumers becoming more environmentally-conscious, no wonder, more and more people decide to buy electric vehicles. We recently posted a study from Pike Research, predicting 138 million electric motorcycles and scooters on the road worldwide by 2017.

Given the numbers, someone better starts preparing to meet this increasing demand. Automotive manufacturers, such as VW, Mini, Smart already introduced their concept e-scooters earlier this year and late last year. But it’s not just the large OEMs preparing to get their piece of the pie. With the simplicity of the mechanics and dynamics; less speed and acceleration being acceptable compared to a conventional motorcycle or a car, and the low cost of production (again a much simpler design than a car or motorcycle), startups with the ambition of developing cheap zero emission electric scooters pop up every other day now.

Latest news come from Estonia. A core team including a designer, an electric engineer, a mechnical engineer and a business consultant came together with the idea to produce small but capable two wheelers for urban commuters. And they did it.

Exo electric scooter

The Exo electric scoot from Estonia has been designed for both, on-the-road and off-the-road conditions. The Aluminum bodies are  all functional, there is no overweight, no extra parts without purpose. And it only weighs about 88 pounds. If you do not want to park it outside,  you can easily fit it into an elevator and take it to your apartment and charge it there. Here are some of the specifications of the Exo Neutrino Max model:

For more information, visit the Exo website.

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The folding motorcycle helmet is not commercialized yet. The helmet design is one of the student design projects that made it to the finals of the 2011 Australian Design Awards. The Proteus folding helmet fits easily into any backpack in folded configuration and provides a great solution for riders who often end up leaving their helmet on their motorcycle, making it vulnerable to theft or end up riding without a helmet because it is not convenient to carry it around. Read more at the Australian Design Awards page.

The post Proteus Folding Motorcycle Helmet first appeared on scootcats.

Lately, we have been writing a lot about upcoming electric scooters, there is one more model we have not covered yet. This one is a bit different though, beyond its unique style, this zero emission electric scoot is a transformer. Uno III from BPG Motors is able to transform while riding for better handling of higher speeds and on idle mode for compact storage and parking. It can get small enough to fit into an elevator and inside an apartment.

The Uno has three wheels and operates in two modes. In dicycle mode, it balances on a single pair of parallel wheels, providing the rider with a compact and highly maneuverable ride. At high speeds, the Uno transforms into a scooter; a middle wheel deploys forward and the outer wheels shift backwards completing the transformation. The transformation into motorcycle mode is easily completed with a push of a button. The current prototype has a top speed of 30 MPH in motorcycle mode and a top speed of 15 MPH in dicycle mode. Charging takes 3 to 4 hours, which enables traveling up to 30-35 miles.

u3 motorcycle mode

u3 dicycle mode

Many of us are not familiar with riding in dicycle mode, but according to BPG Motors, this is easier than riding in motorcycle mode.

The U3, which will be licensed as a scooter class vehicle, is expected to be available early 2012. The price range is expected to be between 5000 USD and 7000 USD. You can reserve yours online at the BPG  website.

The post Stylish, unique and transformable: U3 first appeared on scootcats.

scooter driving out of the McCar

You no longer need to be a superhero to drive out with a scooter from the back of your running car. Now, imagine you are driving with your pals and you notice you forgot something at home and need to go back, the McCar allows you to do so without interrupting the trip. You can leave your pals continue driving towards the destination, while you take a ride back home using the integrated scoot.

Geely, a Chinese auto manufacturer, just introduced its new concept electric vehicle with an integrated scooter inside.The McCar is not named after your favorite burger, its name is derived from Magic Car or Motorcycle Car. Because parts of this car magically transform into a scooter.

To be more exact, the rear middle console directly transforms into the seat of the scooter and all other parts are hidden below the front arm console and the rear space. But this is not the whole story, the scooter can be brought into running mode before driving out from the car. And of course, it is all electric and the scoot is being charged while the car is running. It would be fun to see this scoot go into production. Watch the concept video below.

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Here is the video showing Volkswagen’s idea of renting its new concept e-scooter at major city centers.

Also read, Volkswagen unveils its electric scooter.

The post VW’s e-scooter renting concept first appeared on scootcats.

We witnessed the unveiling of electric scooter concepts from German auto makers, Mini (BMW) and Smart during the past year, one more German auto maker joined the trend today. This time Volkswagen surprised everyone by introducing its new e-scooter concept at the 2011 Shanghai Motor Show.  The new e-scooter was presented to the press during the media day.

The VW e-scooter runs through a 350 watt battery powered motor and has a 25 mile range. However, for now, this scooter is intended for the Chinese market only. See pictures of the e-scooter on Autocar.co.uk website.

Also, see related posts:

Smart develops scooter with airbag

Will the Mini Scooter concept make it into production?

The post Volkswagen unveils its electric scooter first appeared on scootcats.

BMW Motorrad’s upcoming scooter, Concept C, was  presented to the French public at various Paris locations last week. The scooter was seen at the world famous night club, VIP room and two BHV Homme menswear locations. See the video for VIP room below.

The last presentation at BHV Homme turned into a big show, as an ice sculptor used a 1300lbs block of ice to carve an exact replica of the Concept C. Later, the finished sculpture was placed at the touristic Centre Pompidou, where it attracted many tourists.

Watch the ice sculpture show video below.

The post BMW’s Concept C in Paris first appeared on scootcats.

After 2 years of research and tests, The Malaysian company Eclimo is ready to roll out its first generation electric scooters. The company unveiled its e-scooter on March 16, 2011.

The e-scooters feature electric drive technology, its lithium batteries are directly connected to the wheels ensuring minimum energy loss.

According to Eclimo, the differences between electric scooters and regular scooters are as follows:

Regular scooters:

Use ICE (internal combustion engine)
Use petrol as fuel to run engine
Use fuel tank to store fuel
Needs to change gear ratio to change speed
Emits smoke and CO2
Has noisy exhaust pipe
Engine to wheel link with gear and chain
Heavy maintenance on the engine
Frequent change of gear and chain
Change of brake pad according to usage

Electric scooters:

Use electric motor
Use electricity to run electric motor
Use battery to store electricity
Fully automatic
Zero emission
No exhaust pipe, almost silent
Electric motor to wheel direct drive, without any link
Maintenance-free electric motorNot available, therefore no cost involved
Less frequent change due to rear wheel’s regenerative braking system

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