I Electrified My Push Scooter with a Power Drill

This describes converting a Razor A5 Lux push scooter into a front-wheel-drive electric scooter using a Hercules 20V cordless drill as the motor. Power is transmitted through a keyed 12mm rotary shaft and one-way bearings so the wheel can free-spin when the drill is off. The setup reaches about 10 mph with the author aboard, slows mildly uphill, and delivers roughly 2 miles from a 5 Ah battery. Throttle remains the drill’s original trigger relocated to the handlebars; it’s overly sensitive and prone to brief wheel spin on initial throttle application, so the rider often gives a kick start before engaging drill power. The drill is loud and has high low-speed torque.

Construction relied on a mix of off-the-shelf hardware and fabrication: a Hercules drill, CSK12PP one-way dual keyway bearings, 6201-2RS bearings, shaft collars, keys and key stock, M6 bolts/nuts, and a 200 mm keyed shaft. The front wheel and tire were 3D scanned and printed in ASA (wheel) and TPU (tire) in three pieces with internal teeth and keyed spokes to prevent slippage. Trigger wiring required opening the drill and extending multiple wires with 12 and 18 AWG; the builder admits a “janky” wiring loom for now. It works well enough and was enjoyable to build, though not cheaper than buying a ready-made electric scooter.