Inmotion L9
$999
This Inmotion L9 review covers a new electric scooter offered on IndieGoGo from Inmotion, an established manufacturer in the electric unicycle game. The L9 is an interesting scooter with some innovative features, but somewhat awkwardly oversized and feels very much like it was built for the sharing market.
Technical Specifications
| Tested top speed: 18.9 mph* | |
| Tested range: 31.1 mi* | |
| Weight: 37 lb* | |
| Max rider weight: 310 lb | |
| Water resistance: IP55 |
Highlights
| Powerful and torquey motor | |
| Excellent range | |
| Innovative features | |
| Awkward handlebar height | |
| Huge folded footprint |
Our content is independent, but buying through our links may earn us a commission.
Summary
Our Take: Comically Tall Handlebars With Some Innovative Features
The L9 is a giant scooter — it is both longer and taller than the beastly 77 lb Zero 10X when unfolded, despite weighing significantly less. It has a very solid 30+ miles of tested range, and a powerful, torquey motor that allows it to get up to its 19 mph tested top speed quicker than many other scooters. It has great hill climbing ability and a dual spring suspension and air-filled tires for decent ride quality.
The L9 has some interesting innovations, including built-in turn signals that activate when you lean and a safety system that prevents the accelerator from activating when you are folding it.
The L9 is available from an IndieGoGo campaign that is promising an August 2020 shipment date. We always advise caution when investing in a campaign like this, as many have gone badly for the backers. If you are interested, we always recommend you wait till it is available to the general public (you may even end up getting your scooter sooner than backers).
Best Alternatives and Competitors
| Model | Top Speed** | Range** | Weight | Price |
| Inmotion L9 | 18.9 mph | 31.1 mi | 53 lb | $899 |
| Horizon | 24 mph | 26 mi | 42 lb | $799 |
| Ninebot Max | 17.8 mph | 28.1 mi | 42 lb | $799 |
| EMOVE Cruiser | 26.2 mph | 50.3 mi | 55 lb | $1399 |
Inmotion L9 Electric Scooter Review
Performance Summary
| Acceleration (0 to 15 mph) | 4.2 seconds |
| Top speed | 18.9 mph |
| Braking distance (15 to 0 mph) | 17.2 ft |
| Range | 31.1 miles |
| Hill climb test | 12.4 seconds |
Acceleration
The Inmotion L9 electric scooter has surprisingly punchy acceleration thanks to its single 1000-watt electric motor. The scooter will peel out if you floor the accelerator from a standstill.
We tested the 0 to 15 mph acceleration during our standard battery of performance tests, and it was 4.2 seconds — quite quick for such a large, tame-looking scooter.
For comparison, the Segway Ninebot Max reached 15 mph in 5.4 seconds, and the Xiaomi M365 took 6.3 seconds. The M365 represents the older typical shared scooter, and the Ninebot Max is representative of newer ones.
You can see all our independent, real-world electric scooter performance tests here.
Hill Climb
The L9 is also a surprisingly apt mountaineer — it completed our 200 ft, 10% grade hill climb test with a 165 lb rider in just 12.4 seconds at an average speed of 11 mph.
A typical shared electric scooter would take between 16 and 20 seconds to complete this climb and average between 9 to 6 mph.
Top Speed
We tested the L9 to have a top speed of 18.9 mph.
Range
The Inmotion L9 has a range of 31.1 miles based on our real-world range test, thanks to its 675 watt-hours (54 volts) lithium-ion battery pack.
We perform this test on an urban loop that has hills, stops, and rough terrain. We ride the scooter as quickly as is safe in its least energy-conserving (fastest mode) with a 165 lb rider.
Despite this sizeable battery, charging is a quick 3.6-hours when you use a second charger and the additional charging port. With a single charger, the charging time is 7.2 hours.
Compare the Inmotion L9 with real-world tests from other scooters on our performance comparison page.
Braking
We tested the 15 mph braking distance of the L9 scooter to be 17.2 feet thanks to the front regenerative brake and rear disc brake.
Braking feels good when riding at speed, and initial braking is quite strong due to activation of the regenerative brake.
Though we would prefer to see an additional mechanical brake for redundancy, this braking configuration is relatively good and performs as well as other scooters with regenerative + disc brake.
Ride Quality
Ride quality on this scooter is outstanding, thanks to a dual suspension system and large pneumatic tires. The ride is an improvement over the Ninebot Max, which has 10-inch pneumatic tires, but no suspension.
In fact, the L9 ranks very well in ride quality, compared to other scooters we’ve tested. In the front, you have what looks like a suspension fork pulled off of a bicycle. In the rear, a spring suspension is hidden under the deck.
The suspension is very smooth on good quality roads and also does well at eating potholes up. The suspension is a little too slow to respond to smaller bumps, so on poorly finished roads, many of these vibrations will be transmitted to the rider.
The handlebar-to-deck height (aka stem length) is 43.2-inches — 2.5-inches taller than any scooter we’ve tested. This length puts the handlebars in an awkwardly high position for many riders. If you’re considering this scooter, you might want to measure out this distance and see if it will be comfortable for you.
Inmotion L9 Features
Portability
Overall, the L9 is not a very portable electric scooter due to its awkwardly large size.
The Inmotion L9 weighs 53 lbs and has folded dimensions of 51-inches (length) by 20-inches (width) by 22-inches (height).
Here’s a table below of how its folded dimensions stacks up against other scooters we’ve tested:
| Length | Width | Height | |
| Inmotion L9 | 51 in | 20 in | 22 in |
| Wolf Warrior 11 | 58 in | 24 in | 19 in |
| Zero 10X | 50 in | 26 in | 20 in |
| EMOVE Cruiser | 48 in | 10 in | 16 in |
| Ninebot Max | 46 in | 18 in | 21 in |
The folding mechanism is quite nice and even innovative. It has a safety feature that requires you to push a metal button before folding — this prevents accidental folding when riding. When locked into place, the handlebars feel solid with no wobble.
Cockpit
The Inmotion has a very interesting cockpit with a giant central console. The giant central console is unique and makes us wonder if its oversized to accommodate electronics for the shared market?
The LED display shows speed, battery, gear, and turn signal indicator. The display is bright and easy to see in daylight. There is a single power/mode button that controls everything.
The L9 is supposed to have Bluetooth connectivity for more configuration, but we could not get it working.
Other than the giant central console, the rest of the cockpit is standard, and it includes a touchy thumb throttle, mechanical bell, and brake lever. The handlebar grips are average quality and feel nice on your hands.
Lights
The L9 has high-mounted, very bright white LED headlights, as well as side-mounted turn signals.
The turn signals are hard to see during the day, but very visible at night. A unique feature is that the turn signals are activated when you lean — a useful feature. However, it would be nice to be able to activate them manually so you can start signaling sooner rather than in the middle of a turn. We do applaud Inmotion for this attempted innovation.
Read our complete guide to staying visible at night.
Tires
The Inmotion L9 has 10-inch tubeless pneumatic tires in both the front and rear. This is the best type of tire because it offers the best ride in all weather conditions. It is also the most flat-resistant type of pneumatic tire.
However, air-filled tires are still prone to flats and that is their main disadvantage. We think their benefits outweigh this and many flats can be prevented or easily repair.
Read more about preventing and repairing tire flats.
Deck
The Inmotion L9 deck has 19.1-inches by 7.3-inches of standing space — making it fairly comfortable. However, it is shorter and narrower than many much smaller scooters, including the Segway Ninebot Max.
Build Quality
Overall, build quality on the L9 electric scooter is equivalent to other quality scooters manufactured on a smaller scale (think the Fluid Freeride Horizon, Apollo, Zero, and EMOVE lines).
Parts feel strong, and the scooter is well-made, but it doesn’t have the fit-and-finish and refinement that an ultra mass-produced scooter like the Xiaomi M365 or Segway Ninebot scooters has.
The folding mechanism feels very solid and doesn’t feel loose or wobble.
The charging port covers wouldn’t snap into place on the model we received and just sort of flopped in the wind.
The Inmotion L9 has a water-resistance rating of at least IP55 throughout the scooter, which is superb. Practically speaking, you can ride the scooter in the rain without worrying, but you should not submerge it in water.
Inmotion L9: Review Conclusions
We are very pleased to see new and somewhat innovative electric scooters hitting the market, and the Inmotion L9 is no exception. Each of these new scooters helps to increase competition and the quality of all offerings.
The main benefits of the L9 are its excellent range, ultra-torquey motor, and excellent suspension. If you’re adventurous, it’s currently available as a preorder through an Indiegogo campaign. We do advise caution as there is no guarantee that you will receive anything. You will also have to wait until August 2020 for delivery.
If the Inmotion L9 doesn’t fit your needs, see our alternatives. You can also check out our Editor’s pick of best electric scooters.
Inmotion L9 Specifications
| Manufacturer | Inmotion |
| Weight | 53 lb |
| Folded dimensions | 51 by 20 by 22 inches |
| Motor power, continuous | 1000 watts |
| Top speed | 19 mph |
| Range | 59 mi |
| Battery capacity | 675 Wh |
| Battery recharge time | 3 to 7 hours |
| Max rider weight | 330 lbs |
| Brake type | Regen + Disc |
| Tire type | 10-inch Pneumatic |
| Built-in lights | Front and Rear |
| Water resistant | IP55 |
| Warranty | – |
