Modern racing electric kickscooters aren’t that much slower than motorcycles. They are heavy, bulky and come with motors with insane wattage. The Dualtron X is one of the finest examples – with a top speed of 100 Km/h (62 MPH) and a totally weight of 60 Kg (132 lb), this monster can be barely called an electric kickscooter.

There seems to be a very clear link between scooter power and weight.

Now, what if I told you that you can have the best of the two worlds – amazing top speed and light weight?

RION Electric Scooter Review

Meet the RION

The RION is a top-end racing scooter that can race as fast as the Dualtron X, while being three times lighter. Coming at 18 Kg (40 lbs), the RION can easily be lifted and carried around by most adults. Its dual powerful hub motors and powerful battery are encased in a 100% carbon fiber body, whereas the traditional electric kickscooter comes in aluminum.

Let’s take a closer look at the scooter, though first let me quickly answer a very important question:

Which one of the RION’s are we talking about?

Everyone is talking about the “Rion scooter” and everyone is throwing different motor power, weight and battery voltage numbers. It’s obvious that there are several Rion models out there, though why don’t people (both common customers and big reviewers alike) share the name of the model they own?

Thing is, every scooter is custom made for the client. Rion Motors is a small, US-based company that has been developing and manufacturing Rion scooters since early 2014. They keep innovating and adding new features to their scooters, while leaving the frame design untouched. Rion Motors did a few attempts to categorize their scooters and break them down into models but at the end of the day this made things even more confusing.

As for today, the only standardized model seems to be the Rion Special Edition. It has fixed stats and price, and can be bought on Falcon PEV’s official store.

Usually, I review one model at a time, though this time it’s gonna be slightly different. I’m going to take the Rion Special Edition as a baseline, mostly because all of the other modifications pretty much change battery voltage and motor power, leaving the rest unchanged. With dual motors rated 5,000W in total, Rion SE is the slowest model in the family. There are other Rion modifications with motors rated 12,000W and even 19,000W, and in this review I will be talking about them too.

Rion Special Edition Electric Scooter Review

Rion Special Edition Electric Scooter Review

So let’s start this review by giving the Rion SE a test drive:

Handling

The Rion has more than enough power for most use cases.

The engine power is enough to push you forward as fast as you want, whereas the high quality double Shimano brakes give you great control over the vehicle.

The Rion feels super stable at speed. It was designed to be a racing scooter – it comes with track tires (sports custom racing sleeks made in Italy) and has virtually no suspension. This keeps you pinned to the earth the faster you go, though it also makes the Rion a strictly on-road racing machine.

Now, it’s not easy to handle so much engine power, which is why I would advice beginners to start their electric kickscooter career with a different model. Experienced drivers should be cautious too because the Rion has that deadly combination of being lightweight and having enough torque to go from zero to top speed in a matter of seconds.

If you thought the Dualtron X has insane torque and acceleration, multiply that by two and you will get the Rion. Besides, as some users pointed out, there’s a sort of dead space in throttle and the acceleration is either all or nothing at times.

Obviously, the 5,000 W model is not as savage as the 12,000W one, plus you can chose between different speed modes to make the ride easier.

Brakes

As you would expect, the scooter comes with high-end brakes. The Rion features dual Shimano XT M8000 disk brakes. They are 4-piston hydraulically-controlled, which allows for a powerful braking with a single finger.

Rions do not have regenerative brakes.

Rion Special Edition Electric Scooter Shimano Brakes

Rion Scooter Shimano XT Brakes

Rion Electric Scooter Shimano Brake Handlebar

Rion Electric Scooter Brake Handlebar

Comfort

Even though it lacks suspension, the Rion is very comfortable to ride on the right kind of roads.

The deck is wide enough to fit both of your feet comfortably. It’s also pretty long and it allows you to keep a more comfortable, and stable stance during the ride. To give you a comparison, the Rion is longer than the Dualtron Thunder, and about as wide as the Dualtron X.

The grips are comfortable and the handlebar is wide enough to grant you great control over the scooter. Other scooters (Dualtrons included) come with slightly narrower handlebars, with the ZERO 10x being the only exception.

Since the Rion is a racing scooter, it does not come with a seat, neither it has a way to attach one. I guess you could potentially mod it, though I would suggest you to avoid making holes in carbon fiber.

Suspension

As you probably know, the faster you go the stiffer you want your suspension to be. A lot of people criticize the ZERO 10x for having soft suspension because it makes it hard to maneuver the scooter on high speeds.

Designed as a racing scooter, the Rion has stiff rear suspension and no suspension at all on the front wheel.

Rion Scooter Deck

Rion Scooter Handlebar

Portability

‘RION’ and ‘portability’ are almost synonyms.

Coming at 18 Kg (40 lbs), the Rion is hands down the most portable racing scooter there is. If you are not convinced, just take a look at any other racing scooter: the Kaabo Wolf Warrior II is 46 Kg (101 lb), the Dualtron Thunder is 43 Kg (95 lb), and the Dualtron X, the only scooter that can run as fast as the Rion, is 60 Kg (132 lb).

One of the things that make the Rion so lightweight is that carbon fiber is about 1.5 times lighter than aluminum. The second reason is that the Rion has a pretty small battery.

Now, the Rion does not have any of the fancy features such as foldable handlebar or adjustable stem, however it doesn’t really need any of those to be the king of portability, for a racing scooter.

Rion Review

Rion Electric Scooter Folded

Additional Accessories

The Rion comes with zero bells and whistles. One look at the beautiful, yet barren handlebar is enough to notice that there is no bell, no lights, and no LCD/LED dashboard. The only things you are going to find on the handlebar are the two brake levers, the thumb throttle and a phone holder.

RION’s Application

The scooter has a pretty advanced “brain” that you can access through your phone. Once you download Rion’s app and link it to your scooter, you will gain access to all the functions and info you need:

• Full telemetry (current speed, battery level, ride distance, etc)
• Control driving modes, speeds, etc.

Looks

The Rion looks both gorgeous and futuristic.

Here’s the deal. We all love how cool and modern carbon fiber looks. Compared to other electric scooters, the Rion looks like it was brought from the future. Its elegant thin lines match perfectly its conservative dark gray color palette.

The few parts that don’t have the carbon fiber texture come in any color you want. When ordering your scooter from Rion Motors, you chose the colors. However if you order it from Falcon PEV, you got to chose from one of the colors they have in stock.

Rion Electric Scooter Side

Rion Electric Scooter Side 2

Rion Electric Scooter Front

Rion Electric Scooter Rider

Durability

Carbon fiber is very resilient and durable.

The Rion was designed to stand the test of time. The stem, the handlebar, the deck, everything is thick and sturdy. The stem is rock-solid when locked into place. There is no slop, no wobble. The scooter does not shake under you when you drive at 40+ miles per hour.

The scooter is assembled in Los Angeles, US, and its most important parts come from Germany (motors), Italy (tires and wheels) and Israel (aluminum alloy sub-frame).

Now, don’t get me wrong. The Rion is not your off-road beefcake. It was not designed to ride under rain or on mud. The frame is sturdy, however I believe water could easily enter the deck. I also haven’t found any mentions of the scooter being IPX5+ certified so please don’t risk your $5700+ scooter by driving anywhere else but on dry, clean paved roads.

Carbon fiber

Carbon fiber is a wonderful material but it’s a little bit more vulnerable to the elements compared to aluminum. There are some things you should keep in mind:

• Temperature. Carbon fiber loses some of its properties after its temperature goes up above 65C (150F). It becomes less resilient, which means that you should not leave your scooter under direct sunlight if you live in a hot area.
• Humidity. Humidity further increases the negative effects of high temperature on the carbon fiber epoxy composite.
• Structure. You can drill holes in aluminum or any other metal, however carbon fiber is different. It’s strongly advised to not disrupt the fibers in any way. If you are planning on modding your scooter, I would highly suggest you to get a Dualtron instead.

Power

The Special Edition comes with dual hub motors rated 5000W in total (peak) and an 80V battery. This means that the scooter can potentially run as fast as a Dualtron X. Torque and acceleration are insane though, which might mean that the Special Edition can potentially run as fast as ~100 Km/h (~62 MPH).

If you don’t like having so much power under your feet, you can chose one of the three speed modes that will limit acceleration and top speed. You have the Sport, City and Safe modes.

Range

To make the scooter lighter, Rion decided to provide it with a rather compact 18Ah battery. Simply put, the scooter isn’t meant for long rides. I don’t have any specific numbers on how far it can go, however I wouldn’t expect its range to be any higher than 48 km (30 mi).

On the bright side, the Rion comes with a pretty beefy 5A charger that can bring the battery back to 100% in a matter of a couple hours. So if you, say, can get to the office in one charge, you will most likely have enough time to charge your scooter there before you have to drive back home (Usually, it takes around 1.5 hours to go from zero to full).

Price

Currently, the Rion Special Edition is priced 5,700 USD on Falcon PEV.

For other models and customizations, visit rionmotors.com and inquire about ordering one.

Other RION Models

So far, I have been talking about the Rion Special Edition, which is the model you can buy right now from a reputable seller (Falcon PEV).

There are a few more Rion models worth checking. You can use them as reference to get an idea on what Rion Motors is capable of building, in case you want to order your custom made scooter from them:

RION2 Supersport

Advertised on their Instagram as the next Rion to hit mass production, the RION2 Supersport will have 12,800W dual motors, an 80V 21 Ah battery, a range of 64 km (40 mi) and it will come with Shimano XT8020 brakes. While way more powerful than the Special Edition, the Supersport is also heavier, coming in at 25 Kg (55 lbs).

RION Race Edition

The predecessor to the Supersport, the Race Edition has similar specs. It was already tested by some reviewers and they seemed very excited about it. On paper, the scooter can go as fast as 128 Km/h (80 Mph) (Limited to 60 Mph for the US).

RION APEX

A limited edition model introduced at the Silverstone Racetrack. Sponsored by BAC (Briggs automotive company), the APEX was advertised as a “one of a kind scooter”, though it is unknown what’s so unique about it besides the paint job.

RION2 19,200 Watt

It was only mentioned once on Rionmotors’ Instagram. It was called RION2 and the advertised wattage was 19,200 W. I am not sure whether it was a modified RION2 Supersport or something else.

RION Race Edition vs. RION Special Edition vs. Dualtron X

(*) Estimates

(**) You should contact Rion Motors

RION Special Edition Specs

Max Distance: 48 km (30 mi) (Estimate)

Battery: 80 V; 19 Ah

Motor Wattage: 5000W Peak, 2500 RPM; Planetary Geared Brushless Hub Motor Made in Germany

Gradeability: >=45°

Tires: PMT Racing Slick Tires from Italy. Rear: 150/50 R 6.5, Front: 90/65 R 6.5

Suspension: Only Rear Wheel

Brakes: Hydraulic Front and Rear, Shimano XT M8000

Lights: No

Dashboard: No

Charge time: 1,5 hs

Weight: 18 Kg (40 lbs)

Unfolded Size: 1250 × 680 × 1200 mm (49x27x47 inches)

Material:  Carbon Fiber Chassis. 35mm Carbon Fiber Stem; Easton EC70 Carbon fiber Handlebar; 6016 Aluminium Alloy sub frame made in Israel

Where to Buy RION Electric Scooters

Recommended Accessories and Upgrades

Join the forums to discuss more about the RION Special Edition

In Conclusion

The Rion SE is something we haven’t seen before. It is very different from other scooters in literally every single aspect, which makes it awesome in its own way.

Obviously, Rion scooters are not for everyone. First of all, the price is quite high and if all you need is a fast commuter, there are way cheaper and more versatile options on the market (check the ZERO 10X at $1700 and the E-Twow Booster V at $1200).

Secondly, Rion scooters are obviously meant for racing and even though you can certainly use them for commuting, you should be aware of their design limitations (small battery, on-road slicks, virtually no suspension, no IPX certification).

On the bright side, Rions are very fun to drive and if you want to get the most out of your scooter, you can contact the company and work with them to create a configuration that suits your needs the best.

Anyway, I’d like to know your thoughts in the comments section below. If you found this article useful, please consider sharing it on your social media. Thanks for reading!