I made my electric scooter from mostly used parts, because when I saw how much scooters from foreign manufacturers cost, I realized that I could make it for less money.
This is how 17-year-old Mirko Keča, a third-grade student at the Electrical Engineering School in Banja Luka, began his story for “Nezavisne novine”.
Mirko was born in Kozarska Dubica, where he finished the first five grades of primary school, then moved to Banja Luka, where he still lives today.
According to him, he became interested in electronics at an early age.
“I always liked to be in the workshop, to do something related to electronics. At first I was just interested in working on a small switch, and later I continued working,” said Mirko.
As he says, the idea for this scooter appeared in the summer of 2019, when electric scooters appeared on the market.
“When I saw that scooters from foreign manufacturers cost 900 BAM, I thought why should I pay so much when I can do it myself for much less money,” says Mirko.
He adds that he already had some ideas in his head, because he originally planned to make an electric skateboard.
“I had a background, I knew what and how, because I planned to make an electric skateboard, then I decided on an electric scooter, because it is easier to drive, and it has more advantages than a skateboard,” said Mirko.
He points out that he found the parts very quickly and moved to his grandfather’s workshop in Kozarska Dubica, where he started working on this project.
“The work on this scooter lasted for a year and a half, and it was mostly made of used parts. The wheels, battery and a small part of the electronics are from an old hoverboard. The battery has been slightly modified“, said Mirko.
He adds that in most cases it is a little harder to remove the battery with a scooter, while with this scooter it only takes a few seconds.
As he says, there is currently only one company that has a functional prototype of a replaceable battery on a scooter, but no one has implemented a battery rental system.
“I did most of the work myself, my dad was there to help with welding, and I did the design, assembling the electronics and other work,” said Mirko.
He added that a friend from school helped him in presenting his project, who, according to Mirko, has better presentation skills.
As Mirko pointed out, this project cost him a total of about 400 BAM. His parents and grandfather provided financial help for the scooter.
According to him, he has an idea to raise this project to a higher level and to do something similar to “BL Bike”.
“Together with the city, a project similar to ‘BL Bike’ could be done, only that instead of bicycles, it would be scooters. Why would some foreign companies produce it in our city when we can have our own domestic product“, states Mirko.
As this promising young schoolboy told us, this is not his only project.
“Another scooter is in the construction phase, which serves as additional training and a way to develop an even simpler manufacturing process,” says Mirko.
