NIU Life (or life at 28mph)

  Anyone on two wheels worries about security . Bicycle theft is a huge problem, and there are continual worries for motorcycle,  motor scooter and moped riders as well. There are multiple security options for the riders of two wheeled machines, and some of these are common to all of the above. Leave the machine in a well lit, public place. Use two different locks. Use a secure parking provider. Lock the thing to something immovable. Make it hard for a lock to be attacked with a sledgehammer / cutting disk.  None are infallible. The NIU UQI GT Pro has another trick up its sleeve - and I wait to see how this works in action. This is the app based alert if the machine is moved. I think this is linked to the inbuilt alarm, and GPS tracker.  Now, I'm not a huge fan of alarms - they are too prevalent in the UK, and when anyone hears one it tends to get ignored. Alarms can be triggered by strong winds - and this may be a problem with something as lightweight as this eMoped...

 Go on - imagine a motor scooter . What comes to mind?  I'll wager it looks like a classic Vespa or Lambretta. Now - imagine a motorbike . What do you see? It's probably a racing bike, or a police BMW. Go on - try thinking of a moped . Hard isn't it? If you're of a certain age it might be a classic Puch, Tomos or Mobylette. If you're a bit younger, you might be seeing a Yamaha FS1e (the infamous 'Fizzy'). With these images in mind, it's not hard to see why the purveyors of electric two wheelers (not bicycles though) are having a hard time knowing what their machines should look like in order to both attract customers, and not to deter buyers either. Most companies in this market have gone for the 'classic scooter' look - the wannabe Vespa - although I'll make an honorable mention of Govecs for their rendition of the classic Schwalbe design! Some go for the motorcycle / moped vibe - but for an eMoped neither feels right to me. The scooter look...