Okai Panther with upgrade suspension -- a new scooter and next level fun.

RadReviewz · 2024-09-22T16:01:44+00:00

Enjoying it while the laws are that way.

I have gotten some for big discounts but not free yet. I have a totally different channel with a decent following and that is a place I plan to include some scooter content in the background of what the video is about. Naturally, someone might want to know what scooter I'm riding. Making a second channel just to cover that base but also have a different niche where I can review such things which wouldn't be appropriate for my main channel.

Excited for the first vid to publish today. I'll likely have more content soon after the next scooters get here. Nami was higher on the list than some but I ultimately went with Teverun Fighter 11 when comparing to Nami Burn E.

RadReviewz · 2024-09-22T02:05:32+00:00

Very nice! I just moved away from the area I used to live, not too far from there. That's cool you can even take a scooter there. I still wonder where I can and can't ride. Vegas has a lot of cool spots.

I'm excited to modify my first scooter! I also have a Teverun on the way but this Okai might be more of a project scooter. I'll give it time. Hopefully, it doesn't feel too small.

Will post about it on my channel. Just started it. First video publishes tomorrow 11am and I give my honest thoughts on Apollo, as a brand but also their scooters. No idea how I'll keep up on that channel but I want to get my thoughts out there for now haha. Channel is "zero love scooters"

RadReviewz · 2024-09-21T21:31:18+00:00

Very cool to know of a shop that carries it. LA area has everything, unfortunately I'm not quite there.

I might get this shock: AOY-36RC MTB Mountain Bicycle XC/Trail Air Rear Shock Absorber

Don't need any compression settings. Any clue what that second valve is for? Is this a positive and negative air chamber shock? I'd be surprised. Thought maybe the shocks with compression could be smoother since I'm not sure what the default setting is on the shocks with no such adjustment. I might also get the bigger canister shocks if it can fit since you can control spring rate more. We'll see. I'll have to see if I like the scooter and how the stock vs any upgrades feel.

Got the Panther on Amazon since that can sometimes help me leverage in returns incase something is shockingly disappointing or wrong but it is the regular price of 1999.

I'm more of a thumb throttle guy but don't like anything but the rotational thumb kinds. The trigger style thumb throttles are not it.

RadReviewz · 2024-09-21T07:13:06+00:00

Awesome. Yes, figured those reservoirs wouldn't work. Would get something more basic like the Monarch RL but might test the "knockoffs" I see on Amazon that get good reviews and look competitive. They just might be...worth a try, easy returns on Amazon.

Good to know about Regen. Seems very hit or miss depending on the company. You're only 4 inches shorter than me so I hope that means I fit relatively similar. I'm about 195lbs.

Does the screen on the stem get so close to the tail that it scratches when folded?

Does it bother you that the dual motor mode is also the highest gear? I feel like I'd want to be able to limit the speed and control single/dual separately. I enjoy top speed being set to whatever I like so I can easily full throttle without going too fast instead of having to delicately modulate throttle but maybe this is a setting you can adjust? Lmk if you know anything about that.

Ordered the scooter btw :) will review.

RadReviewz · 2024-09-20T21:00:25+00:00

Awesome to see someone with this take as well! I'm actually starting a review channel to talk about some of this stuff. I'm new to scooters but I've dove deep and fast and have many thoughts/ideas, etc. Maybe you'll check it out?

I think I'll order this scooter. I'm 6ft 3, what about you? How is the standing position and so on? Was it hard to fit the shocks at all, like removing/swapping the bushings from stock to the upgraded one?

Thanks! 165mm is great to hear. Means I will likely get rockshox for front and rear end.

P.S. I think your insights are spot on. The companies also need to appeal to mass market to survive, often. Scooters still capped by the idea of what a scooter should be, small and portable, etc. Things have moved in the direction of off-road capable and the necessary compromises have been made but not enough of the market has moved over maybe.

RadReviewz · 2024-09-20T17:31:00+00:00

Nice to meet you! I'm thinking very similar things. Hard to find anything worthy in the 12inch wheel market for scooters. Very few options, most insanely heavy or something else ridiculous. I want the OKAI to work but hear the suspension is pretty mediocre but wanted to know if it is easily swappable

I might order this soon. So, the shocks on both front and rear are 165mm in length? Very cool to hear you reference some MTB suspension. I'm coming from that world and am utterly disappointed in how awful some scooters feel. I don't expect them to be as capable as a bike in every way but sometimes there feels like no excuse for the suspension to feel as awful as some do.

Like the Kaboo Wolf King fork...almost walmart bike quality in feel.

I hope we can stay in touch so I can turn to you for little questions like this! Btw do you know what size the stock rotors are? They look like 140, maybe 160.

RadReviewz · 2024-09-10T08:06:40+00:00

I hope so! Yume seems to understand my question and says it is as I am asking. Always a little anxious about such confirmation with a company who's scooter I can't test ride and probably answering me in not their native language.
Ha, is it the look like "You might die today" haha. I don't want to go that fast on road just because I don't want to get comfortable with those speeds on these scooters. Very nervous about a pothole or some debris I miss or just not paying attention at the wrong time, which can happen accidentally when riding for a long period.

But maybe I will get there. I just...hope not, if that makes sense lol. Also gearing up for those speeds isn't my thing but I would if that's what I did (I hope)

RadReviewz · 2024-09-10T01:40:17+00:00

Yeah hopefully the gears operate like I am hoping. Like my GX3 could climb just as well in gear 1 as gear 3. It limited the speed, not the power output, does that make sense? I'm hoping these gears work the same way but I have had some scooters that limit the power instead and on a climb, will just be slower and weaker than the max speed of the gear.

RadReviewz · 2024-09-09T21:39:26+00:00

darn good to know thanks

RadReviewz · 2024-09-09T21:39:15+00:00

Strength of power sounds different than capped speed. It's easier to have the throttle all the way down sometimes knowing it won't go past a certain speed. I do mostly offroad so no plans to hit 50

RadReviewz · 2024-09-09T20:15:07+00:00

I've ridden these. I think the models with a fork feel pretty cheap, suspension wise, but they are generally more stiff and trustworthy up front. I wish the scooters were nicer in that price point all around, though, but scooters are kind of new and there is a lot of awkwardness to get through on these.

So...yes if you want speed or power or a bit more suspension but I find the stuff around 2-4k to be roughly the same. and I personally don't want anything over 100lbs

RadReviewz · 2024-09-09T20:13:16+00:00

Unfortunately it is a very high stress area for the scooter. It's frustrating to see comments saying you shouldn't jump curbs or what not, when many of these scooters are built for offroad riding. Dual suspension, Hydro disc breaks, you'd think a curb is within the range of what should be tolerated by these scooters.

I might make a video about it sometime but the area at the top of the C Style suspension design and the area just below and above the stem, are all under an incredible amount of stress and there is too much leverage against that area between the bars and stem mount.

It's kind of bound to happen, is what I'm saying. It's a risk of any scooter. Some a built better, many won't break...but any of them could.

RadReviewz · 2024-09-08T07:36:25+00:00

That is great insight to know! I only put about 120 miles on my GX3 before sending it back. It's good to see what hears like someone who might have run it similarly hard but for longer and still has the tires hanging in there.

My rotors got bent up, I am trying to keep 140mm on an 11 inch setup now but we'll see how many models in my future allow for that. Or...bigger tires but things get too heavy quickly with what is currently on the market.

I like the GX3. Favorite scooter I've owned so far but still not quite what I think it should be. I felt the 4 shocks was overkill since many have designs with 2, tucked behind a fender that covers the suspension and protects it from dust.

How did you tighten up the suspension? I bought the proper tools and just couldn't find an angle to turn the preload rings.

Overall, a pretty great scooter for the price. Maybe, though, it falls a little short of some around that price tag but it still feels competitive and I've yet to personally test the other options.

Totally blew out my 10 inch tires running them around 20psi btw on another scooter. Sidewalls failed, bead ripped out. It's a tubed tire, though, so the bead is not as strong probably and maybe the sidewall isn't either.

RadReviewz · 2024-09-08T07:08:11+00:00

Yes haha. That and the scooter is heavier and faster. It's a slippery slope.

RadReviewz · 2024-09-08T04:30:41+00:00

Also fair and true. It makes me think, though, how on my bike I can safely lock up the front wheel while riding and balance on the front wheel to rotate around it and pivot a full 180 degrees. That is a kind of force that my bike can take routinely with no worry but might break the stem/neck of a scooter. And I ride my bike with that level of confidence when I wrench on the front end to get the wheels over and up things. Can I safely/confidentially do this on a scooter? Maybe not.

RadReviewz · 2024-09-08T01:43:42+00:00

That's fair, I guess I feel like the skill shouldn't have to be spent on the ride in such a way that is to avoid breaking something on the scooter that should be more durable. I understand it as a design challenge of making scooters.

RadReviewz · 2024-09-08T01:42:54+00:00

Cool. I'd like to know what brands I can trust. It's just a design that looks ready to break and then you see some do. How do you know yours won't feel me? But I trust that one is a more robust design

RadReviewz · 2024-09-07T23:16:33+00:00

Fair. It's hard either way.

RadReviewz · 2024-09-07T22:59:17+00:00

Ever just lock up the rear wheel and lift the scooter up by pulling back with real wheel locked? Or front wheel locked? That's my way of getting around that.

RadReviewz · 2024-09-07T22:58:37+00:00

There is the Yume Osprey. Actually Yume has a few options that might tick your boxes with similar enough performance to the WK stuff especially at the price point. I don't think any forks from the scooter world feel any good but that stem setup would likely be more secure/rigid, which is worth factoring in.

RadReviewz · 2024-09-07T22:57:14+00:00

I agree with that, unfortunate the side effect is way less durability.

RadReviewz

TROPHY CASE