A Scooter Is A Scooter Is A Scooter, Or Is It???

It would seem to be true. After all they all have a seat, a handlebar, three or four wheels, a motor and transmission and one or two batteries, (usually two).  So it would seem to be true, if you don't look too deep. It's just like saying a bicycle is a bicycle, or a car is a car, or a guitar is a guitar, or a girl is a girl, or a friend is a friend, on and on and on. But, unless you're the person that thinks a Timex is no different than a Rolex, (they both keep time, right?), or there's no difference between a Playboy Bunny and the girl you see at the Walmart checkout, (she may be good looking, but...), still it's just not true.  There are similarities, and while it would appear that one is pretty much the same as another, if you've ever found one car or bicycle better than another, or you're a guitar player that prefers a Martin over a Taylor,  you just know that it's not true.  You may prefer a different scooter than I do, or than that person over there does, which in itself pretty much proves that I'm right.  If I wasn't, there'd only be one kind. Instead there's dozens. Each brand has it's strong points and weak points. For instance an example of one for me is the actuator, on a Rascal they are finger actuators meaning you pull back with your fingers which is easy, on a Pride they're thumb controlled, meaning you push with your thumbs, which when turning sharply is difficult. Another example is the front basket, on most Rascals it's mounted to the frame and has no effect on steering, on most other scooters it's mounted on the handlbar and can if you put too much in it make the scooter hard or dangerous to steer. So you have to look at the various features and specs to make sure your scooter is right, right for you that is.
Another way to look at it is that any scooter will get you around, and yes, that happens to be true. If you can put up with or ignore the negatives. A 350 lb man can ride a small scooter, even though the weight limit is 250-300 lbs or so,  he might get away with that, at least for awhile, but most are 20-21 inches wide with 9" or smaller tires. But, is him being squeezed into a small seat, uncomfortable, the handlebar right in his chest or belly, or that he would constantly be in danger of tipping over  a real concern?  The other side of the coin is the little 90 lb lady who gets a bariatric scooter with a weight limit of 500-550 lbs. Yes it's unlikely she'll ever wear it out, or stress it too highly, but frankly it's just too much scooter. Too big, too hard to get around in, she'd be more suited to the smaller or ultra-light scooter in the pevious example. 
There are many things to consider, among them are: what you want it for, indoors/outdoors/or both, weight capacity, losing weight or gaining weight, scooter length and width, anti-tip wheels, correct seat width/depth, how wide are your doors, turning circle, stability, speed, how tall or short are you, where will you store it, travel distance per charge, battery life, tire size, rural home or in city, tippiness or likliness to tip over, carrying capacity, does the basket interfere with steering, power, ability to go up a hill, acceleration,  break down for transport, need a lift for vehicle, need a ramp for your home, and more, any of which can make one machine better than another....for you.
So yes, if you look just at the surface, it can look like a scooter is a scooter. But if you go into it in depth, make your salesman do his job right, and get the one that's right for you, you'll quickly see that it's not true.

Lee Murray

WE-GO at the VA

Have been taking the WE-GO into the VA's and showing to the therapists. To use Syracuse as an example, four or five of the OT's looked at it, rode in it and drove each other around in it. They were very impressed and said they had never seen anything like it, but that it would definitely fill a need. Then I showed it to the guys in Prosthetics and they also said it was unique and there were vets that they knew could benefit from it.

Lee Murray

What's the biggest danger of ANY three wheel scooter? Tipping Over...

Enter the 600/700Balance scooter.  Many people are afraid of three wheel scooters because they feel tippy. A Rascal is less so because at 25 inches wide it's wider than many, for instance the Golden Companion is narrower and I personally know of several people who've tipped them over, one guy was still in the cast from breaking his arm. Rascals always came with tip wheels on both sides of their three wheels to help prevent tipping.  I actually talked many people out of a four wheel in favor of a three wheel by standing on one side of the platform and jumping up and down, at the time I weighed over 200 pounds, and rarely could  get the tip wheel to touch the ground. That sold a lot of three wheelers. But, still, if you tried hard enough you could tip even it. This was a concern to Rascal, and the owner, who holds several patents, so he decided to see if he could improve the design, and he did.  They widened the platform slightly, made the tip wheels larger and moved them out to the front corners. They are also magnetically centered.  Now when the scooter turns or tips the front mounted tip wheels touch down and effectively change it to a four wheel scooter. I was given an opportunity to try it out while it was in development and was challenged to tip it if I could, I tried, driving through the building as fast as I could and turning sharp, spinning in circles. I couldn't tip it.  I was told by one of the managers that they had put one of the new B fronts on a rear section that would do 10mph and almost took out some file cabinets but could not make it tip over. 
Last spring it was released as the 600B or Balance. I took one around to the VA hospitals, to everybody that tried it I said, "I have 20.00 that says you can't tip it."  Many of them were good sized, and really tried, but I never had to pay the 20.00.  The owner of Rascal has told us that he believes this design will obsolete the four wheel scooter, by giving the manueverability of a three wheel, and the stability and safety of a four wheel. Now we also have a smaller unit originally called the 300B, now the called the700B, it's 4 inches shorter and even more manueverable.  Here is an overview of the 600B put out by Rascal:

The Rascal Balance 3-Wheel Mobility Scooter

“Ride with Confidence”

The Rascal Company has led the industry in technological breakthroughs in personal electric vehicle technology for 35 years. Michael Flowers founded The Rascal Company with his late father, Francis, and is co-inventor of the original Rascal 3-wheeler. He is also the inventor of the

two vehicle-in-one Rascal ConvertAbleÒ and the powerfolding Rascal AutoGo.  The new Rascal Balance 3-wheeler features magnetic self-centering, stabilizer wheels.

Remarking on his latest invention, Flowers says: “4-wheeled scooters are stable, but are not

maneuverable and are uncomfortable for larger riders. 3-wheelers can tip sideways in sharp

turns, which is disconcerting and sometimes dangerous. The Rascal Balance is different. It's

comfortable and stable, plus it’s easy to maneuver in tight spots like stores and riding in crowds.

The Rascal Balance makes you feel better and safer!”

The magnetic stabilizer™ is a major technological breakthrough. It is currently offered on 2 new

models in 2 different sizes – 300 B, mid-size, 43” long and 600 B, full-size, 46” long.

The stabilizer technology automatically deploys when the Rascal Balance turns at any reasonable

speed. As the front wheel turns, the outside stabilizer wheel touches down on the riding surface.

The centrifugal force immediately releases the magnetic field holding the stabilizer fork and

wheel in place. At this point, the 3-wheeler becomes a 4-wheeler.

As the Rascal Balance turns, the stabilizer wheel follows the identical path of the steerable wheel.

When the front wheel is turned in a straight direction, the stabilizer wheel automatically returns to

its normal position above the riding surface and the magnets lock the fork and wheel back in

place.

These maneuverable Rascal 3-wheelers also feature a superior frame-forward™ design. This

frame design provides maximum comfort in lower body posture. There is a much larger foot and

leg accommodation range when compared to most other 3-wheelers and especially their 4-

wheeler counterparts. They provide all of the benefits of current Rascal 300 and 600 3-and-4

wheelers combined:

• Safety

• Comfort

• Ease-of-use

• Maneuverability

• Style

No other 3-wheeler provides all of these important benefits in one package! There’s a new

Rascal Balance model that will provide outstanding comfort whether the Rascal rider is 4’6” or 6’6”.

FAQs for the Rascal Balance

1. What is the Rascal Balance?

It’s a highly maneuverable, stable, comfortable and easy to use 3-wheeled mobility vehicle for personal use. The Rascal Balance is The Rascal Company’s solution to having to choose between safety (4- wheelers) and comfort (3-wheelers). Both of the Rascal Balance 3-Wheelers incorporate Frame-Forward™ Design and Self-Centering Magnetic Stabilizer™ Technology.

2. What makes The Rascal Balance different from its predecessor, the Rascal 600T?

The 600T has long been known as the industry leading 3-wheeler for style, comfort, handling, durability, weight bearing capacity and stability. With the Rascal Balance, The Rascal Company has made the best even better with the addition of our unique Frame-Forward Design and Self-Centering Magnetic Stabilizer Wheels.

3. What is Frame-Forward Design?

Frame-Forward Design improves your seated posture because it provides added foot room and comfort for a wide range of customers. It allows leg extension and improves vehicular weight distribution.

4. Why is Posture so Important?

Similar to automobile seating, the comfort of a scooter seat is a direct result of hip, knee and ankle position. Also known as body posture, most people base their buying decision primarily on seating comfort. Anatomical studies indicate the angles at the joints of the hip, knee and ankle should be greater than 90° to maintain a comfortable, seated body posture. Although a couple of degrees may not seem to make a big difference, it may be what causes a person to feel comfortable or become prematurely fatigued or deal with induced pain from poor seated position.  The Rascal Balance superior postural positioning provides users with a minimum of 90° joint angles at the hip, knee, and ankle. This is a direct result of how the ergonomic adjustable seat, the adjustable dash and adjustable handlebar, and the roomy Frame-Forward designs interact with each other to perfectly fit riders of various weights and sizes!

Lee Murray

Rascal Convertible Scooters

Rascal convertible scooters are unique from every other scooter on the market in that because of the patented feature of convertible front sections it can easily be changed from a three wheel scooter to a four wheel scooter and/or back. Most scooters on the market can be broken down to some degree for transport, but in addition to that due to the patented feature, the Rascal can be changed from three to four wheels and is the only one that can be. This link shows the

Rascal demonstrating the convertible feature

Currently there are just two front sections. Originally there were three different front sections: the three wheel, the four wheel and the convertible section. The convertible was a powerchair front that put the front wheels behind your feet, turning your scooter into a powerchair. Primarily for use in the house and limited use outside. As I said it was discontinued, and a new chair the WE-GO which I'll talk about soon has just been brought out, to replace it. Also, the 600T three wheel front shown above has been replaced by the 600B/700B three wheel fronts, which I'll also talk about soon.

Lee Murray