Help with mobility scooter power

Thread Starter

Robo1974

Joined Apr 19, 2014
4
Hi

I have recently purchased a used mobility scooter
pro rider road king
24v
1100w motor

it was the most powerfull on i could find cheaply
my problem lies in the fact that its very hilly around here and the scooter just cant make it up the hills.
is there anyway to increase power?
I know that increasing voltage increases power but that also means a complete rewire i guess?
can i upgrade the speed controller and pot? it has a 5 k pot at the moment.
i am a newbie at modding this kind of thing but im capable of doing most things
.

any ideas?
 

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inwo

Joined Nov 7, 2013
2,419
I'm kind of a scooter guy.:D

I had a similar problem with a razor mx350 for grandson. It was useless off road or on hills.

I put a 4 to 1 gearmotor on it from a razor atv. There was no room for sprocket change. The low cost design used the smallest possible gear on motor shaft and largest on wheel.

Look at your final drive. See if it could accommodate ratio change.

My brother has a very similar scooter in his surplus store right now. When I get down there, I'll look at his, for ideas.
 

inwo

Joined Nov 7, 2013
2,419
His is a Rietti Civic Rider. Haven't found much info on either model.

It uses an integrated motor/differential. Not much chance of gear change, unless factory mods are available.:(

Also tires are low profile already. Not much chance of smaller tires helping.
 

Thread Starter

Robo1974

Joined Apr 19, 2014
4
Yeh dont think i want to open that gearbox! can the pot be adjusted? or will that make no difference? they are obviously set in such a way that forward gets most power could it be turned without effecting any of the other circuitry?
 

inwo

Joined Nov 7, 2013
2,419
I doubt the pot or controller can be set higher.

You might check battery voltage under maximum load.
Check at battery and also at controller.

Scooter has good reviews for power and hills.

Although scooters will shut down under low voltage conditions, I do notice a drop in speed and torque, as battery gets low, in some of my EVs.

If it were mine I would do a full power test, by connecting battery voltage direct to motor on a hill.

That would give a baseline maximum power level, to compare with the pwm from controller.

I hesitate to suggest you do this as it may be difficult to do safely.
 

Rbeckett

Joined Sep 3, 2010
208
I have the same scooter and it goes over hill and dale all over our 5 acres. It climbs and pushes through the brush with no problem at all, look at the pot in the hand control to see if it is in spec or out. Too much resistance will cause the problem you are describing quite easily. Hope that helps you find the source of the issue a little quicker.

Wheelchair Bob
 

shortbus

Joined Sep 30, 2009
10,045
Is it possible some one added a resistor in series with the pot? To make the scooter more controllable for the previous owner.
 
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