Oreion Reeper

Well I've had the Reeper now for about a month. There have been the usual small issues to clean up such as tweaking the front end alignment and modifying the skid plates due to the receiver hitch I had fabricated and installed. All-in-all very fun and boy does it get the looks. I can't count how many times people have pulled beside me at a light and made comments. And let's face it - isn't uniqueness one of the qualities we all liked about the Elio?

I haven't been off road in it yet, however I did use its 4-wheel drive capabilities to get out of line at a fast food place I didn't want to wait in. Up and over the curb and grass and down the other side just as easy as can be.

It's a fun little thing to drive. Perfect for errands around town. It costs me about $14 to fill the tank. I'm looking forward to a few car shows and of course a run on the beach in the near future.

nice .... how does it ride .... is it stable at interstate speed

Once I got the front end properly aligned it rides OK. About the fastest I've had it is around 55. Top speed is probably around 75 or thereabouts before you hit the rev limiter. But make no mistake - this is a low speed vehicle. I'm not even legal being on the highway, nor would I want to be there. Believe me you don't want to go really fast in this thing. Let's face it - it's designed for off road so it's short, narrow and top heavy, everything you don't want a highway car to be. It has huge shocks so you feel the bumps. I wouldn't want to drive this thing cross country. But some have.

I have a 28,000 BTU coolant heater from Summit Racing I'm going to install before fall. Also getting a hard top option with better fitting doors from the after market suppliers. That way I can play in the snow this winter. I got this to tinker around with and have fun cruising the beaches . So far it's doing exactly what I want it to do.

When I come back to the Elio forum and I see what it's become due to the delays in production it's sad indeed. I remember all the excitement and enthusiasm early on. Who knows perhaps Paul will pull it off. I sure hope so. In the meantime I'm not getting any younger so I'm having my fun while I still can.

I thought they were pretty cool until I saw the "25 mph vehicle" sticker

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Nice report . I don't see a license plate . do you have it registered ? How much is insurance ?

Mark Ambrose said:

Yeah...you're absolutely correct but...

In Maryland they're working with the legislature to up the registration to class-M, which is 50 mph. This would cover all roads but the highways and who would want to drive one of these there? The way I see it this is not too different from what Elio is trying to accomplish with their helmet law initiative. I think governments should get out of the damn way and stop trying to save us from ourselves.

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Actually, I see it more as the Government is trying to save ME from those people who would try to drive one of those on the freeway. It looks like a fun vehicle for sure but I sure wouldn't want those on the highway at speed. I'm sure if people could do it without getting in trouble, they would. Traffic jockeying to get around them would be dangerous and that's a good time to get the government involved. I don't want my kids hurt because someone puts an unsafe vehicle on the road with her (and that goes for all that "government mandated stuff" like turn signals, brake lights, etc.)

Here's an update on my Reeper that I bought as a play toy since Elio looks like it might not happen. I bought it in May 2015 and stopped driving it in August 2015 because of full knee replacement surgery. I put 992 miles on it in 3 months. Drove it on the the highways without a problem. Drove it on the beach and had a blast. lately I took it on it's first real off road adventure. You can see it here:
I'm planning on installing a regular car heater in it shortly. It's a super fun little vehicle. Really gets the stares and thumbs up. This is my daily errand runner PLUS...I can take it off road. You can't do that in an Elio. Sorry to say that I'm extremely glad that didn't wait for the Elio. I really hope it eventually gets produced. But I'm retired so commuting is no longer an issue for me. Neither is gas prices.

Mark Ambrose said:

Once I got the front end properly aligned it rides OK. About the fastest I've had it is around 55. Top speed is probably around 75 or thereabouts before you hit the rev limiter.....

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How did you get it up to 55? Or rather, if it is licensed as an LSV, doesn't it have a speed governor to keep it from going over 25 mph? I've been looking at getting an electric LSV, which here in Washington state I can legally modify myself to go up to 35mph ("Medium Speed Vehicle" in local parlance). Do you have similar laws where you live?

It has a bracket that locks out 4th and 5th gear and a bracket that limits the throttle. 3 screws and those are gone. There are laws in Maryland that recognize "medium speed vehicles". The dealer is working to get this thing classified as. One of the issues is a back up light. The wiring is there. A light comes on the dash that shows you are in reverse there is just no back up light installed. Easy thing to fix. Medium speed would allow access to speeds up to 50 mph. Given the low gearing (this is primarily an off road vehicle after all) You are running about 5,000 rpm at 55 mph. It will do this all day long however I stress it is not a highway machine. It only weighs 1,400 lbs. 99% of the time I use it for running errands in town where my speed rarely gets above 35 mph and occasionally a major road or two to get to an off-road location. By law I'm allowed to cross highways. I haven't been stopped or hassled by any police and I've driven this thing across the Bay Bridge which is a major access to the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Might want to re-think the placement of your extra gas can.