EMOVE Roadrunner SE: A Favorite Seated Scooter Gets Cheaper

The EMOVE Roadrunner SE is Voro Motor’s budget version of their beloved Roadrunner seated scooter. It might have a little less speed and pick-up, but this scooter is still super-fun to ride.

EMOVE Roadrunner SE – $799

It’s safe to say the EMOVE Roadrunner has claimed the honor as our favorite seated electric scooter on the market, and the EMOVE Roadrunner Pro, when it came out, blew us away with its top speed and acceleration.

The new EMOVE Roadrunner SE is the little brother of the Roadrunner family, coming in at around $600 less than the Roadrunner V2. Does it measure up to the original? Did Voro Motors cut too many corners to make this scooter affordable? I’ll answer these questions and more in my review.

One thing that became clear: while you can compare this scooter to its bigger siblings, it also comes out way ahead in value when compared to standing scooters that cost as much.

Who Is This Scooter For?

The EMOVE Roadrunner SE is for anyone who wants a fast seated scooter on a budget for commuting or running errands, and at 30 pounds, it’s easy for city-dwellers to lift up and down a few flights of stairs.

The SE also makes a great platform for modding and hot-rodding and can be customized for higher speeds and more performance.

EMOVE Roadrunner SE Specs

Our Full Video Review

EMOVE Roadrunner SE: Performance

Top Speed

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Roadrunner SE at first since the Roadrunner V2 and Pro are both dual motor scooters, but I was surprised by the top speed of the SE.

Although it’s only a 350W scooter with 500W of peak power, the SE still easily reaches a top speed of 20 mph. I clocked the speedometer at 25 miles per hour on a slight downhill, and the GPS showed around 23 miles per hour.

On average, you’re going to get top speeds of over 20 mph on this scooter, which exceeds the manufacturer spec.

Acceleration

As I said, I didn’t expect much in the way of acceleration given that this is a single motor seated scooter, but it’s actually really quick, in part thanks to its 36V system and super-light construction.

“This is a single motor scooter – 350W nominal, 500W Peak – but it still gets really decent speed and plenty of acceleration considering the price.”

Range

As you’ll see in our full video review, my test course has plenty of hills, but the Roadrunner SE had no trouble covering almost 15 miles – 14.7 to be exact – on a single charge.

This was, again, a surprise. I would have been happy with 10-12 considering the specs and the terrain. We typically get around 50-60% of the claimed range in our tests.

Braking

Once the brake pads bedded in, the mechanical disc brakes worked perfectly well for me. Although we’re starting to see some hydraulic brakes on scooters under $1K, they’re really not necessary on a scooter that goes under 25 mph.

Also, one of the appeals of the SE is that it makes a great platform for building/customization, and swapping out the current brakes for semi-hydraulic/hydraulic set could easily be done if you sized up the power specs, too.

Hill Climb

Until the last mile or so, I consistently hit speeds of 20-22 mph on hills while on my range test course with the EMOVE Roadrunner SE. This is extremely rare for a single motor electric scooter, most of which tap out at under 15 mph on 10% grade hills or above.

Ride Quality

The Roadrunner SE does not have rear suspension – you’d have to step up to the Pro for that. It does, however have a front suspension fork with 30mm of travel.

While that might not seem like a lot, the front suspension is noticeably better than a solid fork and gives you some useful damping over bumps. Voro Motors has also gone with the same upgraded seat that’s on the Roadrunner V2. It’s pretty squishy and absorbs a lot of road vibration.

14″ tires feel nice, though they aren’t tubeless, and the handlebar setup is fantastic. This is a standard bike stem with a 33.8mm clamp, so you can swap out these riser bars for any set of handlebars you want.

EMOVE Roadrunner SE: Design, Build & Reliability

As I mentioned, the EMOVE Roadrunner SE makes an excellent platform for customization. Not only are the handlebars swappable, but so is just about everything else on this incredibly lightweight, 30-pound frame (only 19 pounds without the battery!).

It’s such a simple scooter that, even if you’re not going to upgrade the power or the voltage (and you can), you can still swap out grips (here are some of my favorites), bars, tires and more, paint it, sticker-bomb it, whatever and make it your own.

It all starts at such an affordable price, and I’m really happy to see this adjustable cockpit area

EMOVE Roadrunner SE: Is It Worth It? Our Verdict

It’s clear that Voro Motors didn’t cut corners in the build of the EMOVE Roadrunner SE – It’s an excellent entry-level electric scooter on its own terms, with performance that rivals most standing scooters in its price class and doesn’t feel hugely reduced from its older sibling.

As a platform for adding, customizing, and rebuilding, the SE is also a fantastic deal, since you could, essentially, turn it into a much beefier, faster scooter over time with a few investments and some elbow grease.

At the end of the day, the SE can be whatever you make of it, a great base model seated scooter or tiny hot-rod, your choice. We think it’s worth it for the low investment of $800 up front.