MadChargeA couple years ago, the Dualtron Raptor used to be the iconic Dualtron scooter and the model that was pretty much used as the foundation for upcoming models, such as the Dualtron Ultra, Thunder and Spider.
As it usually happens, as Minimotors released new models and the design evolved, the Dualtron Raptor slowly fell behind its younger brothers. A lot of its key features became obsolete and for the price, the Raptor is no longer a good deal, compared to some other models you can get nowadays.
A few months ago, Minimotors Released the Raptor 2 that is supposed to be a modern version of the Raptor. Just like you, I was very curious to see whether the Raptor 2 will be as groundbreaking as the Raptor, so I rushed to get mine and test it out. Here is what I found out:
Dualtron Raptor 2 Review
image credits mymobelity
Handling
Just like the previous model, the Raptor 2 is very fun to use.
The scooter looks super stable at speed and offers great ride control thanks to its adjustable torque, powerful rear drum brake and regenerative brakes.
Overall, I’d say the Raptor 2 is even more beginner friendly than the previous model. It has a bit of everything for everyone – beginners can tone the motor power down to have a smooth start, whereas experienced drivers can satiate their need for speed thanks to the insane torque of the scooter when all speed settings are maxed out.
People who buy it as a last mile solution won’t be disappointed either, seeing how the scooter offers great maneuverability and control.
Brakes
The Raptor 2 comes with a rear brake with ABS (meaning your wheel will never lock), as well as regenerative brakes on both wheels. The latter is what I find myself using the most often since it’s not as powerful as the drum one.
Comfort
The Raptor 2 isn’t exactly the king of comfort, however it does come with quite a few improvements over the former Raptor that make the ride so much more pleasant.
My first test drive on the Raptor 2 was on the same road I tried my Raptor on a year ago and I can tell, the difference is striking. I am used to scooters with big wheels and conventional air tires so it was hard for me to be unbiased here.
Reason being, the Raptor 2 comes with small 8-inch wheels with solid rubber tires (to put things into perspective, the Xiaomi M365 has 8,5 In wheels and air tires). That being said, the scooter still feels like a huge improvement over the Raptor. If the quality of roads in your town is better than in mine then you will certainly enjoy riding this new model.
If you want more comfort for the price, the Dualtron Eagle might be a better choice with its wider and larger tubed tires (10×2.5 in), however it’s also 10kg heavier. Scooter weight is a key factor to keep in mind.
image by EKScoot Diaries
Suspension
Now here is where we can feel the real difference between the Raptor and the Raptor 2. The newest model comes with the same suspension as the Dualtron Spider, maybe even the same cartridges. The suspension feels as responsive as on the Spider, absorbing most of the bumps and making the ride so much smoother.
For those of you who don’t know, Dualtron rubber suspension is pretty much a rubber cartridge that is installed on each wheel. The way the suspension works can be easily fine-tuned by adjusting its height and switching between the five different cartridge types. This way, you can go from ultra soft all the way to extra hard suspension. This flexibility is one of the key features that make modern Dualtrons so great.
The Dualtron Raptor, on the other hand, doesn’t have a lot to offer when it comes to suspension. Back when it was released that was acceptable, however nowadays the standard bar is way higher.
Other Features
To be honest, even though Minimotors did implement a lot of the newest features on the Dualtron Raptor 2, they still left out a few minor ones that I was expecting to see on their newest scooter.
The first feature that comes to mind is the angled foothold. Users have been modding their Raptors and adding those footholds for years now. Minimotors finally picked up on that and included this accessory into their scooter design. I’m surprised they did it for the Mini but not for the Raptor 2, though.
The second feature I would love to see on the Raptor 2 are wider wheels. The Dualtron Compact has those and they make the ride considerably better. I know that in order to change wheel width they’d have to change a lot more in the design of the scooter, however it’s a quality of life feature I was secretly hoping to see in the new Raptor 2.
Wheels
The wheels are still 8 inch diameter with solid rubber tires. This isn’t the best configuration for comfort, and the way the Raptor 2 comes with a decent suspension makes up a bit for the small and hard wheels.
That being said, the Raptor 2 is not the best model to use on damaged and bad roads. I’d say, no scooter is capable of offering a smooth ride on a bad, bumpy road, however if you really care about comfort, the Dualtron Ultra with its 11 inch ultra-wide tires is certainly a better choice.
Portability
The Raptor 2 has a handle post two with touch double folding mechanism. It’s a rugged, well-designed system that holds the stem in place both when folded and when unfolded. When unfolded, the stem does have a little play. It’s not something new to this model, and it’s not something that affects safety in any way. That being said, some people mod their Dualtrons to reinforce that joint, and make it rock-solid and immovable.
The scooter comes at 22.6 kg (50 lbs), which is a couple kilos lighter than the former Raptor and about the same weight as the Spider. This here is the second key feature that makes the Raptor 2 a scooter worth considering.
Additional Accessories
The scooter comes fully-equipped and ready to use.
Lights
The scooter comes with a full set of lights. The frontal LED lights are powerful enough to allow you to drive at night and the brake lights add a little bit to the safety of your ride, letting people know when you engage any of the three brakes.
The scooter also comes with the signature Dualtron LED stripe attached to the stem. It looks cool and it adds to scooter visibility at night, which is always nice.
Dashboard
The Dualtron Mini comes with the Ey3 throttle, which is yet another key improvement over the Raptor. The Ey3 throttle is the golden standard when it comes to scooter dashboards because of its features and ease of use.
The Ey3 is a sleek-looking LED display with a finger throttle attached to it. While the display itself is nice – it shows you % of battery left, current speed, trip distance and motor mode (Eco, normal or turbo), what really makes the Ey3 great are the electronics that are inside. The Ey3 manages how the scooter works and it allows you to access and fine tune those processes.
This means that you can easily control the acceleration curve and access to options such as soft start, cruise control, regen brakes, auto off, max motors output, and many others.
More userful and recommended accessories can be found here https://www.madcharge.com/product-category/accessories/universal-accessories/
Looks
The Raptor 2 looks a lot like the first model, with an addition of the LED stripe. The deck plate is identical by looks (though there is a difference, as we will see below). I’ve heard some people get their Raptor 2 models with slightly different mudguard design than mine, however the difference is purely aesthetic.
Overall, the Raptor 2 looks sleek and modern, and it’s a scooter I am proud to ride in public.
Durability
The Raptor 2 looks like a very solid and rugged model, though a bit less beefy than its predecessor.
Compared to the Raptor, it features a few extra holes to reduce the amount of material and therefore, weight. Its deck also has thinner walls; In average, the metal is 30-50% thinner. To be honest, I wouldn’t consider that an important factor that would affect durability in any significant way, though time will show.
Overall, the scooter still feels sturdy and the deck wall thickness is similar to that of the Dualtron Spider. Minimotors has a good reputation when it comes to build quality of their scooters and the Raptor 2 is hopefully no exception.
Power
Coming with two hub motors with a 3000W power output on peaks, the Raptor 2 is way more than just a toy. On max settings, you can reach top speed in a matter of few seconds. As any other electric vehicle out there, the Raptor 2 has a brutally steep acceleration curve, which makes it a great adrenaline pump even for the most experienced drivers.
If you want a racing scooter though, the Raptor 2 might leave you slightly disappointed. On paper, it has a top speed of 59 Km (37 Mi) but in reality, I wouldn’t expect more than 53 km/h. Compared to the Dualtron Thunder, the Raptor features the exact same acceleration till it hits the ~30 km/h mark.
Note: The max speed, as usual, depends a lot on the weight of the rider and road condition. A friend of mine who’s 85kg made the scooter run 53km/h on your average road with patches here and there. It could probably be 54-55km/h if the road were in perfect conditions.
Range
As advertised, the Raptor 2 comes with a 60 volt -18.2 Ah Li-ion non-LG battery. It’s a pretty decent battery pack that offers a decent amount of range for such a lightweight scooter.
It is important to notice that the claimed 59 Km (37 Mi) range takes into account that you will be using the 25km/h (15 Mph) speed limit and will be engaging your regenerative brakes instead of the drum ones. 59 Km (37 Mi) is what you can get the most from the scooter on Eco mode by driving as carefully as possible.
In reality, if you like speed and don’t avoid hills, I wouldn’t expect from the battery to deliver more than 30km (18 Mi) range. I haven’t managed to deplete it before reaching the 30km mark no matter how hard I tried, so 30km is the range you can safely bet on. The rest depends on your driving style.
Charge Time
It takes 9 hours to fully charge the scooter with the default brick. You can cut that in half by using two chargers or bring it down even further all the way down to 2.8 hours with the fast charger.
Dualtron Raptor 2 vs. Dualtron Raptor vs. Dualtron Spider
Raptor 2 | Raptor | Spider | |
| Max. Speed | 59 Km/h (37 MPH) | 59 Km/h (37 MPH) | 65 Kmh (40 MPH) |
| Range | 59 Km (37 Mi) | 50 Km (31 Mi) | 60 Km (37 Mi) |
| Weight | 22.6 kg (50 lbs) | 24.6 kg (54 lbs) | 20 Kg (44 lb) |
| Carrying Capacity | 100 Kg (220 lb) | 100 Kg (220 lb) | 100 Kg (220 lb) |
| Motor power | Up to 3000W | Up to 2600W | 3,000W |
| Gradeability | 47% (25°) | 47% (25°) | 45% (25°) |
| Tires | 8 in x 2 in solid | 8in x 2 in solid tube | 10 in On-Road Tires |
| Suspension | Front and Rear Rubber Suspension | Front and Rear Rubber Suspension | Front and Rear Rubber Suspension |
| Brakes | Drum and electric brake (rear wheel) + ABS | Drum and electric brake (rear wheel) | Front and Rear Disk Brake with ABS + Regenerative Braking |
| Display | Ey3 Throttle | LED dashboard with Speed, battery level, ride modes indicators | Ey3 Throttle |
| Price | USD 2000 | USD 1850-2050 | USD 2700 |
Dualtron Raptor 2 Specs
- Max Speed: 59 Km/h (37 MPH)
- Max Distance: 59 Km (37 Mi)
- Battery: 60 volt – 18.2 Ah Li-ion, Non-LG
- Motor Wattage: 30000 W peak, hub motors on both wheels
- Gradeability: 47-60% (25-30°)
- Max Load: 100 Kg (220 lb)
- Tires: 8.5-inch, tubed wide tires
- Suspension: Dual spring suspension
- Brakes: Rear-wheel drum brake, regen brakes on both wheel
- Lights: LED headlights and taillights, brake lights, LED lateral stripes and Column
- Dashboard: Eye Dashboard/Throttle
- Charge time: 9 hs (factory), 4.5 hs (two factory chargers)- 2.8 hs (fast charger)
- Weight: 22.6 kg (50 lbs)
- Material: Body: 6082-T6 Aluminum, Shaft: SCM440 Steel
Where to buy Dualtron Raptor 2
Join the forums to discuss more about the Dualtron Raptor 2
Recommended Accessories and Upgrades
- Protective gear: https://www.madcharge.com/electric-scooter-riding-safety-and-protective-gear/
- Helmet: https://www.madcharge.com/product-tag/electric-scooter-helmet/
- Extra front lights: https://www.madcharge.com/product-tag/electric-scooter-lights/
- Turn Signal Widget: https://www.madcharge.com/product-tag/electric-scooter-turn-signal/
- LED Backpack: https://www.madcharge.com/product-tag/electric-scooter-backpack/
- Phone Holder: https://www.madcharge.com/product-tag/electric-scooter-phone-holder/
- Mirror: https://www.madcharge.com/product-tag/electric-scooter-mirror/
- Bag: https://www.madcharge.com/product-tag/electric-scooter-bag/
- Horn: https://www.madcharge.com/product-tag/electric-scooter-horn/
In Conclusion
It is clear that the Dualtron Raptor 2 isn’t as groundbreaking as its predecessor. It doesn’t offer anything new, however the features it has do allow it to compete with other modern Dualtrons.
Overall, the Dualtron Raptor 2 has the same niche as the Raptor and it is designed for those of us who want a lightweight commuter and a fun scooter we can drive around the town. The Raptor 2 is a solid pick as a last mile solution, and it does offer enough nice features to justify the price tag.
That was all for today, thanks for reading. If you found this review useful, please consider sharing it so more people can benefit from reading this.
