A couple of weeks ago we told you about Niall and John’s ‘Turn left at Dublin’ charity ride. The duo would be riding two Retrospective Scooter’s electric conversions. It turned into a 1000-mile journey.
The purpose of this trip (aside from raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support) was to give their electric scooters a thorough long-distance thrashing. Testing the equipment, settings, batteries etc. in all weathers.
No scooters were harmed
The Lambretta Niall was riding had literally just had the engine taken out and the electric motor and gubbins fitted. There are no frame modifications needed and everything is reversible (we’ll be showing you at the end of this 3-part series when the scooter is reunited with its original engine). John’s Vespa had been converted a few years ago and it’s his regular runabout.
Two-stroke snob?
Classic scooter owners often miss the point when they see the 2-stroke heart being ripped out of a classic scooter to be replaced by an electric motor. This is simply a way of allowing people in cities (where some ‘dirty’ internal combustion engines have been outlawed) to carry on riding their scooters. It also means anybody who wants the look, without the upkeep of a classic geared vintage scooter can have the machine of their dreams without the hassle of looking after it. Some buyers of the Retrospective kit are hardened classic scooter owners who just want something different. It’s horses for courses. Nobody loves a fruity two-stroke more than me but I can also see the need for an environmentally friendly option.
Range anxiety
Niall takes up the rest of the story. He told us “I often get asked ‘What’s the range?’ ‘How far can you go before you need to charge up?’ And I answer, ‘Why? Where are you going?’ Well, it’s 20 miles, 40 miles, 80 miles, 120 miles… how far do you think you need to go on a scooter before you potentially want to stop yourself for a rest and maybe charge up? You and the scooter…
‘Oh that’s not enough, I think I need more range than that…’ There it is, range anxiety. It’s a mindset that means we have to change our way of thinking about our transport needs, what are our daily journeys? And how do we best go about them in this new emerging world of EVs?
John (left) and Niall sample a pint of the black stuff on board the ferry to Dublin
The plan
Get off the ferry at Dublin and turn left, keep riding along the coastline all the way around Ireland, and try not to get alcohol poisoning before you end up in Dublin again.
It’s a road trip with no timescale.
We’re on electric converted classic scooters and we’ll run them all day every day and test their durability and reliability, play with the settings, get some idea of limitations on range/speed etc. and have a bit of fun touring.
The route
Ireland is a beautiful rugged country filled with stunning scenery, especially around its coastline. It’s best enjoyed traversing the B roads, it can also be quite wet and windy. What better way to test our electric conversion equipment than by doing a tour of the entire circumference of the island? An overall 1000-mile round trip. We wanted to make it a leisurely road trip, no hurry. Just get up and get going, ride, charge, ride and then stop before dark and find a nice place to stay and eat, sounds good? It was.
What do we bring as spares?
In the end, nothing really, just a tubeless tyre puncture repair kit.
The whole electric conversion kit is virtually friction-free – except for the Teflon cables that still activate the throttle sensor, rear brake cable to the master cylinder and clutch/safety switch activator.
There is no wear and tear on the three major components, the brushless hub motor, controller and batteries are all friction-free.
If the components cannot do a 1000 miles without failure then they’re not fit for purpose. I had faith in the equipment and the set-up, if something was to go wrong it would have to be damaged equipment as a result of a crash or knock.
The scooters
John on his 1966 Vespa Sprint was running an older version of our Retrospective conversion kit which was a 3kw hub motor with drum brake. It also had the earlier choice of controller brand, the non-isolating DCDC converter and it used the old turn key ignition.
My choice of scooter was a 1961 Series 2 Lambretta Li 125 with our latest version of the conversion kit. This has a 4 kw disc brake (semi-hydraulic) our high spec controller, the more convenient isolating DCDC converter (so we can tap into the old original wiring harness) and a keyless ignition system.
We have the power
The batteries were our medium-sized 72v 31ah and I also had one of our large-sized batteries, the 72v 35ah. John normally runs only one battery on his scooter; it’s all he needs for local outings. I usually run two in parallel just for that extra mileage. For this journey, we both took a third battery each, which in hindsight we could have done without.
Despite having a few years behind them now and many satisfied customers, our number one aim was to confirm the kit was reliable enough to be used for a trip like this and to run it all day in wet conditions as well as on rugged roads.
While running it along each day we could compare the range according to different riding styles and see which gets the better mileage. It also gave us a chance to play with the settings and see if that makes a difference.
Starting point
The 5 Nations Lambretta Rally in Caernarfon North Wales. I thought this would be a good place to get a nice send-off from the lads (and a merry night at the rally) before heading to the Hoyhead ferry to Ireland. Sure enough, it rained heavily, so the brass band didn’t turn up to see us off! We just got a few “Good lucks” and waves goodbye, (mostly from dry vantage points) beer in hand and ear-to-ear grins, it was so wet that the rideout had been cancelled. Away we went.
The video above is well worth a watch, John should have his own show! Be sure to watch the outtake at the end and beware, this video contains strong language.
Sunday – day one
Off the ferry at Dublin for the first day in Ireland and the open road lay before us. We turned left as planned and headed south towards Wicklow and Wexford.
We had a B&B booked in Wexford 85 miles away, it was late and getting dark. We followed the coastal A road and were glad of our LED lights that shone the road ahead brightly. They made the journey a real test of improved illumination, a handy addition to the kit on dark unlit roads… to be sure (groans at my Irishness).
No one likes riding in the dark with it raining, so glad we got that test out of the way. All good. We arrived late at the B&B which had a garage, very handy for leaving our batteries on board to charge.
Day two – Monday
Scooters fully charged again we just had a short 60-mile hop to Dungarvan to see my old mate Dave Power (right) and visit Power’s Garage – the home of Classic Scooters Ireland.
Now at this stage, I can tell you that I had no fear of the scooters making it all the way around. It was the riders that were more in danger of “Irish hospitality festivities” that may well have derailed the trip if we did not take it easy, so we tried our best is all I can say.
Day three – Tuesday
We got up very late but were soon on the road again. Cork City beckoned and we’d see how we’d get on charging along the way. As it happened we had a little tour around Cork city centre and stopped off at the famous English market. I purchased my favourite Irish home comfort food, some real freshly made, by a butcher (none of that processed packet stuff ) white pudding. I like it, beautiful taste, but should not really be part of a calorie-controlled diet.
Having depleted my main two medium batteries at this stage – about the 60-mile mark, doing a steady 30-40 mph we decided to stop at a roadside pub on the other side of Cork and ask them if we could charge up our scooter batteries while we dined there.
Fishing for electric
The Anglers Pub Cork were more than accommodating and let us charge our two batteries on board using our extension lead to the nearest socket (just by a side door). We left the scooters for an hour to boost charge them to around 75-80%, which was enough to see us to our planned next destination Killarney, another 45 miles up the road.
Charge anywhere
This midday charge routine was to be repeated most of the way around Ireland. We could easily have done without the need of our third ‘reserve’ battery, which although we did tap into now and again, it was just so we didn’t get caught short. But that would be bad planning on our part. Then again what’s the worst that could happen? You run out of battery power. Unlike an electric car, it only requires a household plug socket. How far are we ever really away from one of those? I guess we could have asked someone for a quick charge off their electricity? hot-wire a lamp post? You get to know your range limitations and plan your stops/charge points. It’s not that hard to figure out, there is a battery level gauge just like a petrol gauge – the information is there…
Killarney
We had the most beautiful ride into Killarney. Kerry certainly is one of the most idyllic places to visit in Ireland, such views and scenery frame the Emerald Isle at its best. At this stage, we could see the scooters were just happily purring/whirring along and there was an air of confidence that this was going really well. The backroads are fine and lovely to be travelling along, no hurry, with speeds averaging 35-40mph. We were really enjoying this and it was all going to plan, in fact moving along nicely at a steady pace. I’m liking road trips! No rush to be anywhere in particular, it’s all about the ride!
Day 4 – Wednesday
Heading north now, up along the west coast, the ‘Wild Atlantic Way.’ They call it that due to fierce winds that blow in off the sea. There’s nothing between here and America, which you can almost see on a really sunny day if you’re stood on top of a high vantage point like a hill, or a wheelie bin.
Confidently we rode along in the wind and rain testing our steeds on all manor of potholes and steep inclines, such fun on the twisty scenic roads. It’s no big drama if your end destination isn’t determined until it’s getting close to 6 o’clock when it’s just starting to get dark and you’d like something to eat and a pint. Where are we? Bally, Ballin, Balidoo that’ll do… it’s got a pub.
We did have some destinations that were planned and the next day it was Westport or bust! My good friend Frankie Mallon has a restaurant there and we were keen to try out the finest food on all the west coast of Ireland.
Our halfway mark was Galway, now we thought we’d do the same routine again, just go until the two main batteries were completely depleted and then tap into the third reserve battery. Then get to a pub/restaurant to stop and charge up over lunchtime. As it turned out we bumped into a fellow scooterist who spotted us on the road. Alan from Galway (sorry I didn’t take note of your surname) very kindly invited us back to his house for some tea and sandwiches and of course a charge of the batteries.
Home charging
Alan had a few scooters, he’d heard of our trip and these electric conversions but it’s not something he had plans to venture into. Like most scooterists in the scene, it’s not something they’d consider having because, for one it’s not really being forced upon them yet, or is it? We chatted over lunch and I was surprised to learn Alan was initially unaware that our charging was from a normal household socket, as opposed to the street charge points for electric cars which are completely different. They are supercharge-specific, car-only charge points which would fry our batteries so just simply not the same thing. Of course, since Alan had never considered buying one of our conversion kits the particular details of its makeup and layout are simply something he wouldn’t have delved deeper into. Yet if it were a deciding factor for an actual potential buyer then I was kicking myself for maybe not making that more clear in my advertising. Then again, that’s part of the reason why we’re doing this trip – for more awareness.
Road bug
Thanks to the charge from Alan we breezed through Galway centre and onwards and upwards to Westport. These road trips do make you want to just keep moving. It’s not doing places of interest real justice, as you do tend to just skip through them. It’s like a bug that you just want to keep moving – especially when there is an amazing meal awaiting for you at the end of that day at An Port Mor restaurant Westport.
Dinner fit for a President
Frankie spoilt us, there was no menu, he treated us to six ultimate taster dishes of his finest cuisine, with a relevant glass of wine to complement each dish. That should be a thing in restaurants, no fussy eaters here, ‘This is what I’ve made, I’ve poured my heart and soul into it, so just enjoy it.’ I can see why President Biden stopped there to eat.
To be continued
Did the boys make it without a hitch? Find out here.
More info on these electric conversions can be found by visiting this link
