X-treme X 560 electric scooter review

Well my first commute on my x-560 was a success. Luckily I can bring my bike into my office and charge it otherwise it would have died half way back home. My commute is 10 miles thru downtown Austin,Tx. You can Google map the folowing to get a good look at my commute. It is as follows...From Congress & Ben White Southbound to 2nd St..Eastbound to Trinity, north bound to MLK Blvd. The return trip includes more hills and usual head wind. I am lucky enough to have bike lanes the entire distance except for the Congress Ave. Bridge. so that keeps me away from traffic. The bike handled the trip with a grade of an A-. I do not think this bike has a range further than 6 miles of mixed flat,hilly,and downhill for me. I do have a defective front tire that does not seem to be truly round. So look for a future posting on how X-treme handles a warranty claim.

One other thing I have failed to mention is how fun this scooter is to ride. It is a blast and I catch myself smiling and laughing at the "get up and go!" this scooter has.

I had my first problem with this bike today. I was going about up and down some hills in my neighborhood and the fuse holder overheated and melted down. When I removed it for inspection I saw that it was a very cheap and poorly made fuse holder.Rather than replacing it with one from x-treme, I headed to Autozone and got a heavy duty in line fuse kit and installed it on the bike. The problem seems to be solved.

I checked the X-treme website and saw that tires are not covered in the 30 day warranty unless they are damaged in shipping. I did find a new tire from a local scooter shop for only $12 so I guess when you add up time and cost to send a bad tire back and wait for the new one, it was worth it. So after one week of ownership, I have had to replace a tire and fuse line for a total of $18.

The new fuse line is an upgrade one may consider as soon as they get the bike. It seems to run more efficient and there is much less heat being produced from hot wires and a hot motor.In fact,all the wiring around the motor is cool to the touch after a long ride where as with the stock fuse line, all the wiring would get very hot. The motor still gets warm but not so hot you cant touch it. The fuse line I installed is made with 12 gauge wire and is rated up to 30 amps. This bike only needs a 25 amp fuse so this line is more than capable at getting full power to the motor and holds its own under stress from a low battery or hills. It still uses a glass fuse but the new fuse is almost twice as long as the stock fuse.

After several commutes now I must say that I am very happy with this purchase. Driving my car took $35 and rising a week in gas. This bike will likely pay for itself in 11 weeks in fuel savings. If you have a small commute and can use bike lanes I highly recommend this bike for you. Perfect for college kids.Also, I have found that placing a fan over the charger to cool it will charge the bike in 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

My scoot seems to be getting better as far as range and power the more I use it. I think the batteries are charging faster and holding the charge longer the more they are dumped and charged. Before each commute I go thru a check to make sure the bolts are tight and the tires are properly inflated. I do this to make sure it is safe and will be capable of full power. A tire that is not properly inflated will seriously diminish this bikes power and range. Any ebayer is welcome to contact me for specific info on how I modified my bike and the parts used. If you are not mechanically savvy dont fret, I can walk you thru any of it from parts and tools needed to actual installation help. If you can work a small wrench,screwdriver and a wire cutter, you can do any maintence or part replacement on this bike.

This bike is quite durable. So far I have jumped it off driveways and sidewalks and I like to pop wheelies off speed bumps and it has held up. No cracks in the welds or anything. I dont know how it would hold up if I crashed it in wall or car. That would probaly destroy some of the plastic parts. However, the steel in the frame,the welds, and the thicker plastic used on the deck and body is holding up well to the abuse I have dealt to it.

I have had this bike for 2 months now and though I am pleased with it, I will be upgrading to the XB 508. My main reason for the upgrade is size,power and range. The 560 met my needs but at the bare minimum. The 508 looks like it will fit better and have more juice. My neighbor's boy who is a junior in HS wants to buy my 560 so I will sell it to him for $150, giving him a good deal. So here is a run down of my experience with the 560...Bike-$365 xtras-$18. Money back...4 tanks of gas not bought at $80 each-$320, Bikes resale value-$150. I will have a profit of $87! Not too bad for the experience. This about does it for the 560 review. When the 508 gets here I'll start up a review blog on it.