Badsey Emx

BADSEY EMX

Internal-combustion alternative?

ELECFRIC DRAGBIKES ARE EXCITING, but not really all that practical. If electric vehicles have a place in our future, they will be used for basic transportation as short-haul people movers. But that doesn’t mean electric vehicles have to be boring. Take the Badsey EMX, for example.

Manufactured by Badsey Design of California (34102 Doheny Park Rd., Capistrano Beach, CA 92624; 714/661-8699), the EMX stand-up electric scooter is an evolution of a previous idea. “I spent eight or nine months researching an electric exercise bicycle,” says designer Bill Badsey, who already had a conventionally powered scooter in the works. “I’d done enough research to realize that I could put electric components into my gas-powered two-wheeler and redesign it as an electric machine. We pulled out the weed-whacker motor, mounted two batteries and stuck an electric motor in it. From the first time I rode it, the sensation of no noise and wind in the face was just mind-blowing.” Early prototypes were built from aluminum and then steel, but the production version uses a two-piece monocoque chassis formed in fiberglass. Both the unsuspended front fork and rear arm are polished aluminum, and wide, low-profile Bridgestone kart-racing tires are fitted to spun-aluminum wheels. The brake lever, handlebar and steering stem were sourced from the bicycle industry, while the thumb throttle and RK drive chain are ATV/motorcycle items.

Powering the EMX is a singlebrush, 24-volt, permanent-magnet electric motor. Two 12-volt, maintenance-free, gel-cell batteries provide the energy source. A golf-cart-type controller modulates the current between the batteries and the motor. A built-in charging system allows the EMX to be recharged via an attached cord that plugs into any 115-volt outlet. Depending on the level of energy depletion, three to five hours are required from a full charge.

Riding the EMX is a kick in the pants. Top speed is limited to 18 mph, but the electric motor puts out enough low-end torque that the bike accelerates quickly and wheelies easily. And even in a Ferrari, BMW and Mercedesinfested burg like Newport Beach, the EMX is an attention-getter of the first order-everyone we encountered oohed and aahed over the bike and wanted to take it for a spin.

Besides the yellow of our test model, the EMX also comes in blue, red or white.

Purchase price of the EMX is $1995-on the steep side for a 98pound scooter, especially one that will need recharging every 10 miles or so. But Badsey is betting that the EMX will be a hit with environmentally aware consumers. He expects most EMXs will be used purely for fun, though the scooter can be licensed in some states as a motorized bicycle. For that purpose, Badsey sells an accessory taillight kit for $99. And for those who prefer to sit rather than stand, the Custom model-with its removable, shockabsorbing seat-is available for an additional $199. Businesses have expressed interest in that model, too, as a way of getting around large warehouses without fouling the air.

Badsey isn’t the only person with his eye on the future. Both Honda and Yamaha have electric scooters on the threshold of production.

Matthew Miles