Scooters Go Electric! We Test Rode the GenZe 2.0

Portland has a scooter shop that sells an all-electric scooter for under $3,000. So we tested one out.

I've never been a daily motorcyclist or scooterist, but some of my very fondest summer days were spent rolling around on a scooter at age 15, and on an old motorcycle I bought off eBay a decade ago, much to the horror of my mother.

So when I got an offer to spend a couple days test-riding the new< Genze 2.0 electric scooter, I jumped at the chance.

Basically, it's a Vespa but with a big ol' lithium ion battery where the engine should go. It retails for $3,000 and you can set up your own test ride at the company's "Experience Center" on Southeast Grand.

They call it a "breakthrough" in technology, but I don't know much about that since I have never ridden any other electric scooters. But after riding it for a few days, and loaning it out to a couple other riders in the office, here are some pros and cons.

genze2

Pro: The Genze sure is slick. It has a nice look and runs reliably and silently.

Con: Theres a reason motorcycles are tuned to be loud, and it's not just that the people on them are assholes. Loud is safer. If I owned this thing, I'd get one of those Dukes Of Hazard horns and tap it near every box truck I passed.

Pro: You don't need a motorcycle license. Yup, just hop on and go.

Con: Though they say it'll go 35 miles per hour, all three riders from our office found it topped out around 30 miles per hour. A little more giddy-up would make it feel safer on roads like Sandy, Broadway and Burnside, where some cars are traveling 50.

Pro: It holds an impressive charge. We put about 35 miles on it without needing to recharge it. They say it takes about 3.5 hours to charge, so you

could ride it all the way from Gresham to downtown Portland and charge-up if you work someplace with a motorcycle lot that has power outlets.

Con: The controls are a little complicated at first. It's not totally intuitive, but easy enough once you've got the hang of them. It never took me less than a minute to perform the three tasks required to start it, but I'm sure that'd change over time.

Pro: It has a nice big soft-sided trunk space where you could store several days of groceries or a big sack of burritos.

Con: That soft-sided trunk would be pretty easy to break into, so it's not a spot to leave your laptop.

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