Yamaha Electric Moped has bombed

RoadieRoger

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 8, 2010
720
196
The Yamaha EC-03 was originally £2650 and I noted two for sale in a Yamaha Dealer today for £800 off ie. £1850 . As the promotion finished on September 15th they haven`t sold at the reduced price . This machine has a 1.4 kW motor , 50V/15aH Lithium- ion battery which takes 7 hours to charge . On test the battery failed at 14.2 miles according to Twist and Go Magazine . No pedals of course , just footrests . Would be better off with an Ebike !
 
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Fordulike

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 26, 2010
3,802
1,537
Crikey, that's shocking. Why on earth such a respected company would market a product with such a poor range is beyond me.
Bet the things bloody heavy too. Wouldn't want to be pushing that home when it runs out of juice :eek:

Edit: Found the specs and yeah, no way I would want to be pushing that home.

and seriously, if I had to tax, insure and take a CBT, then I'd want the thing to go slightly faster than 25mph. Doesn't even keep up with town traffic, which is dangerous in my eyes :(

Engine type AC synchronous motor
Rated output 0.58kW
Maximum Power 1.4 kW @ 2,550 rpm
Maximum Torque 9.6 Nm @ 280 rpm
Battery voltage/capacity 50 V / 15 Ah
Battery type Lithium-ion battery
Charging time 7hours
Final Drive Sun & planet gear
Frame Backbone
Front tyre 60/100-12
Rear tyre 60/100-12
Front brake Mechanical leading trailing shoe brake (Drum brake)
Rear brake Mechanical leading trailing shoe brake (Drum brake)
Front inside diameter of drum 95mm
Rear inside diameter of drum 150mm
Front suspension Telescopic fork
Rear suspension Unit Swing
Front shock absorber Coil spring
Rear shock absorber Coil spring, oil damper
Front travel 50mm
Rear Travel 55mm
Inner tube diameter of front fork 22.2mm
Overall length 1,565mm
Overall width 600mm
Overall height 990mm
Seat height 745mm
Wheelbase 1,080mm
Minimum ground clearance 110mm
Wet Weight 56kg(with battery)
Top Speed: 25 mph
 
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flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,766
30,351
I love this extract from one commentator's online article:

"The Yamaha EC-03 is, for all intents and purposes, a really powerful bike that comes with plenty of superb features. Just enjoy your riding experience with this bike, and you won’t feel disappointed."

However, it appears to be just an in-town transport and shopper, and indeed online articles describe it as such, mentioning urban transport and city dwellers. Within a flat town for social and domestic uses I suppose it could well be acceptable, but it's a very limited market outside of Japan.
 

103Alex1

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 29, 2012
2,228
67
That battery is way too small to be of any real use apart from popping to the shop and back. The thing about electric mopeds (especially heavy ones like that) is that they are permanently in use on throttle-only without any pedal assist and so for a 1400W peak bike the consumption is going to be sky high used in that way.

Seems nigh on no possible way the original price could make sense. If you're going to have to tax and insure an moped you may as well buy a petrol one with a sensible top speed and range imho. The petrol consumption of a 50cc or 125cc scooter is very low. This is a difficult market niche for e-vehicles in Europe. It's precisely these reasons why higher powered bike conversions (crank drive / geared hubs especially) with option to ride unpowered or with light assistance as bicycles are so attractive. But if registered even those may well still not justify the costs of registering and insuring.

Oh - and 9.6nM max torque ... on a 50kg bike ? RAC here we come :p
 
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D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
Everybody in China rides an electric scooter like that, so they can't be that bad. Most of them have SLA batteries, so range must be even less. 10 miles range is no problem if you only go 5 miles. The main reason for their popularity is that you can buy them in the supermarket for £160. That's less than a tenth of the price of the Yamaha. Here's Andrew in the supermarket trying to decide whether to add them to the Oxygen range. You can see the price in RMB (divide by 10 to get pounds). If I could've got a couple in my suitcase, I'd be riding round on one now.
 
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Streethawk

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 12, 2011
634
15
For the original price, users are going to expect at least a 30 mile range at 30mph. My bike goes further and faster, albeit with pedalling.
 

103Alex1

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 29, 2012
2,228
67
Everybody in China rides an electric scooter like that, so they can't be that bad. Most of them have SLA batteries, so range must be even less. 10 miles range is no problem if you only go 5 miles. The main reason for their popularity is that you can buy them in the supermarket for £160. That's less than a tenth of the price of the Yamaha. Here's Andrew in the supermarket trying to decide whether to add them to the Oxygen range. You can see the price in RMB (divide by 10 to get pounds). If I could've got a couple in my suitcase, I'd be riding round on one now.
I'd give 'em £300 for the Yamaha. That's a tidy mark-up ;)
 

Danidl

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 29, 2016
8,608
12,253
73
Ireland
That battery is way too small to be of any real use apart from popping to the shop and back. The thing about electric mopeds (especially heavy ones like that) is that they are permanently in use on throttle-only without any pedal assist and so for a 1400W peak bike the consumption is going to be sky high used in that way.

Seems nigh on no possible way the original price could make sense. If you're going to have to tax and insure an moped you may as well buy a petrol one with a sensible top speed and range imho. The petrol consumption of a 50cc or 125cc scooter is very low. This is a difficult market niche for e-vehicles in Europe. It's precisely these reasons why higher powered bike conversions (crank drive / geared hubs especially) with option to ride unpowered or with light assistance as bicycles are so attractive. But if registered even those may well still not justify the costs of registering and insuring.

Oh - and 9.6nM max torque ... on a 50kg bike ? RAC here we come :p
The level of air pollution in major cities in Asia is such that travelling on small electric scooters makes huge sense. With a 5 mile commute over a flat city e.g Saigon , these devices are the business. Small petrol scooters contribute to the adverse smog. It is probably the extra cost of insurance and taxing in Europe which ruins the economics.
 
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austinsjullian339

Just Joined
Sep 27, 2021
4
1
Crikey, that's shocking. Why on earth such a respected company would market a product with such a poor range is beyond me.
Bet the things bloody heavy too. Wouldn't want to be pushing that home when it runs out of juice :eek:

Edit: Found the specs and yeah, no way I would want to be pushing that home.

and seriously, if I had to tax, insure and take a CBT, then I'd want the thing to go slightly faster than 25mph. Doesn't even keep up with town traffic, which is dangerous in my eyes :(

Engine type AC synchronous motor
Rated output 0.58kW
Maximum Power 1.4 kW @ 2,550 rpm
Maximum Torque 9.6 Nm @ 280 rpm
Battery voltage/capacity 50 V / 15 Ah
Battery type Lithium-ion battery
Charging time 7hours
Final Drive Sun & planet gear
Frame Backbone
Front tyre 60/100-12
Rear tyre 60/100-12
Front brake Mechanical leading trailing shoe brake (Drum brake)
Rear brake Mechanical leading trailing shoe brake (Drum brake)
Front inside diameter of drum 95mm
Rear inside diameter of drum 150mm
Front suspension Telescopic fork
Rear suspension Unit Swing
Front shock absorber Coil spring
Rear shock absorber Coil spring, oil damper
Front travel 50mm
Rear Travel 55mm
Inner tube diameter of front fork 22.2mm
Overall length 1,565mm
Overall width 600mm
Overall height 990mm
Seat height 745mm
Wheelbase 1,080mm
Minimum ground clearance 110mm
Wet Weight 56kg(with battery)
Top Speed: 25 mph
Miami Video Production Company
how much is this now adays?
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,973
6,292
44176
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,973
6,292
you can buy it if you got 20k kicking about in change :p
 

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