Super Simple Electric Scooter!!

Yes, today we build a friction drive electric scooter that is powered by an 18 volt cordless drill!!

Personal Story: My parents wouldn't let me buy my own electric scooter, so I built one out of stuff we had around the house.

P.S. Keep Dad happy. Buy your own cheapo cordless drill at Harbor Freight and don't use his!!

Okay, onto the parts list.
> A cordless drill (the bigger the better)
>A simple push scooter
>A piece of stick-on velcro (you will use the scratchy side only. If you can get it use rubber tape.)
>A rectangular piece of wood or plastic (this will support the drill)
>A whole lot of zipties
>A bicycle hand brake and cable (for the throttle)

Here is a link to a video of the scooter in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGU0sXQlGlY&context=C3c53192ADOEgsToPDskJShJx5qy0SGTljaewFJPcT

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Step 1: Remove The Brake Pedal

Step 1: Removing the only safety system on a razor scooter, the brake!!

My scooter had a small pin on the brake assembly that I hammered out with a small bolt and a hammer.
Your scooter may have a bolt and nut or something like that and it shouldn't be that hard to remove.

Before posting this, I tried to make the scooter with the brake pedal still on. It presented many challenges, so I removed the stubborn thing. Removing it made everything easier.
After you have done this you can move onto the next step.

Crimson-Deity says: Apr 6, 2013. 2:09 PM

Hahah, this is awesome!

Adnan Fahim says: Dec 26, 2012. 4:49 AM

IS IT WORK?

tyzei says: Jul 22, 2012. 5:21 AM

great job

ride on toy dude (author) in reply to tyzeiJul 22, 2012. 11:47 AM

thanks!!

Owlgirl says: Dec 29, 2011. 4:11 AM

My friend has one made by Razor- there expensive so this would be awesome! How fast does it go?? GREAT JOB!

ride on toy dude (author) in reply to OwlgirlJan 1, 2012. 7:02 PM

about seven miles an hour

entirelyworthless in reply to ride on toy dudeMar 23, 2012. 3:22 PM

Dude, nice job! Making your own electric scooter at this age, thats pretty cool.

ride on toy dude (author) in reply to entirelyworthlessMar 23, 2012. 4:23 PM

Thanks!!!

Owlgirl in reply to ride on toy dudeFeb 18, 2012. 5:35 AM

Thanks! I really want one!

pietzeekoe says: Dec 19, 2011. 9:57 AM

I think rubber would be a better alternative for the velcro because the hooks pick up every bit of lint they come across and i think rubber would have better traction anyway.

ride on toy dude (author) in reply to pietzeekoeJan 13, 2012. 7:10 AM

it totally would
all i had was velcro

machoturtle says: Dec 17, 2011. 4:54 PM

Awesome I'm gonna have to try this! Dude go homeschooling, i homeschool too.

ViperSniper in reply to machoturtleDec 19, 2011. 3:54 AM

im doing homeschool aswell

pie popper in reply to ViperSniperJan 12, 2012. 9:59 PM

Homeschoolin partaay!! haha

Anyway... nice idea. It looks like it would be kinda hard to ride with the cord and zipties in the way though, what if you threaded those through the tube along the bottom? Your scooter has plugs in it, see in step one where you took out the break...

Good job though :)

ride on toy dude (author) in reply to pie popperJan 13, 2012. 7:09 AM

my cable wasn't long enough to do that

javajunkie1976 says: Jan 6, 2012. 4:17 PM

This is SO annoying, I just thought of this exact same thing two days ago and you beat me to it!!

Welsh is best says: Dec 20, 2011. 7:00 AM

good idea, could look better though.

Dream Dragon says: Dec 17, 2011. 3:41 AM

That's a really nice little mod, thanks for sharing it with the world.

It's worth pointing out that you should check your local laws regarding such things. The rules vary and can be a minefield, so take some time to make sure you aren't going to land up with a fine or jail time before you start. I remember doing something similar when I was much younger and getting into difficulties for driving a "motorised vehicle" without appropriate license and insurance. Talking politely to the police and at least knowing the limitations of the machine meant that I "got away with it" but it could be a non trivial concern.

With that in mind, removing the Brakes and not providing an alternative braking system might not be a good idea. If you hack the trigger switch you should be able to move it right up to the handlebars without resorting to break cable and if you do THAT then a relatively simple mod will give you braking effect from the "EMF" of the motor, you might even be able to get some regenerative effect.

Extending the run time with a second battery is a good idea and if you DO that make sure it's another of the same type.

Finally, if you are hacking the battery, then it would make sense to hack the drill too, a lot of the case is empty due to the way the drill is used as a HAND tool, but is not needed for this application. See if you can make it more compact and try to improve the trigger switch/brake cable situation.

Your project is cool, thanks for sharing it, and keep having fun.

ride on toy dude (author) in reply to Dream DragonDec 17, 2011. 7:52 AM

Oh and thanks for the advice about the laws.
I didnt know about that.

ride on toy dude (author) in reply to Dream DragonDec 17, 2011. 7:49 AM

I didnt mention this in the instructable but the scooter cant coast because the drill wont spin after you release the throttle.

doby162 says: Dec 16, 2011. 8:43 PM

Wow, that actually goes at a decent speed! If you battery lasted long enough you could use that for short distance transport :o) Awesome instructable!

ride on toy dude (author) in reply to doby162Dec 17, 2011. 7:50 AM

I might but it doesnt go up hills very well.

tmfitzhugh says: Dec 16, 2011. 9:16 PM

For additional ride time you could wire two of those batteries together, + to + and - to -, this will keep the voltage at 18v while having a larger reservoir of energy. If you hook it up + to - you will have the same run time but 36 volts and probably burn up the motor, so dont do that lol. Pretty sweet idea and nice job on the instructable! Perhaps you have an engineering career in your future? Keep up the good work.