B24 Liberator REVIEWS

I have been thinking about an electric scooter for years. When, due to a job change, my commute was reduced from 50 miles a day to 6 miles round trip I knew the time had come.

After looking at everything I could find on the internet and talking to a few dealers, it seemed to me that the best buy out there was the scooter being sold as the B24 liberator. At that time (November 2003) they were being offered for $1499.00 with free shipping.

I made the purchase over the internet and after a few snags, the first one got lost,  my B24 liberator arrived in a big box delivered to my driveway. In the add they said some assembly required. What I had to do was attach the mirrors and plug in the batteries.  It came pre-charged so within an hour it was ready for its maiden voyage around the block.

My first impression was that it looked better then I had expected. The paint was good. No scratches or dents. The front license plate bracket is a little crooked but I can live with that.

Since the motor is the rear hub the scooter is soundless. You twist the twist grip and off you go. Acceleration is fair at first but once you start moving it picks up speed quick. Top speed is around 30mph.

The rear brake works well; It is a hydraulic  disk. The front is not so good. For those who have been riding motorcycles for a while it will take some getting used to.  Since all the weight of the scooter is in the rear, however, stopping with the rear brake is not a problem. I have yet to lock up the rear tire because of weight transfer while breaking hard.

Charging is via a 96 volt detached charger. That was one of the big drawbacks of buying the least expensive scooter out there. It does not have an onboard charger. This has not been a problem for me since I recharge it every night. The longest  ride so far was about 20 miles and the charge meter was showing that the batteries were getting low.  Even with low batteries  it was still able to get my 200lbs home at the speed limit.

Storage space is the other problem; there is none. The B24 has 4 12volt batteries stuffed under the seat, consequently, there is not enough room for a toothpick  under there.  I see that  there is a trunk available for a similar scoter that sells for a lot more. I may try to put one on the B24. The up side, however, is that since it is a step through scooter you can very easily sit a bag of groceries between your feet, or hang a plastic shopping bag from  the little hook provided on the inside of the fairing.

In California the B24 can be registered as a moped. The form can be downloaded on the internet. The fee is a one time charge of  $6.00. I think I received my license plate within 3 weeks of sending for it

To date I have put about 300 miles on the B24 and it has performed flawlessly. For going to  work and short runs to the store it is ideal.   The scooter has far exceeded my expectations and has turned out to be a perfect commuter.

Review by Sam Arquilla