Hi Friends!
I'm leaving in just a few days to travel over 1,000 miles AROUND Lake Michigan on my resurrected Vectrix electric motorcycle.
I mean AROUND Lake Michigan. I live about 35 miles west of the lake. I will be following the coastline clockwise until I'm back home. It will be a long-range travel/camping/film-making adventure. I'll be meeting up with some other people, both to ride with and to film interviews for a documentary about what motivates DIY'ers.
This will be on my Vectrix electric super-scooter. I purchased this last winter, in completely non-working condition. It was my winter project to learn about it and how to fix it up. Then, in the spring, I purchased a Nissan LEAF battery pack from a junk yard and used it to replace the cycle's dead battery. About one third of the cells from the LEAF were used in my project. We then used the rest in a new friend's Vectrix (same make, model, year, and color!) and to another friend for his custom electric cafe racer. Essentially, we have built three electric motorcycle from one crashed Nissan LEAF.
https://youtu.be/h0dDHJKzX78
https://youtu.be/-z4o8y2RR2A
That's now a theoretical 9KWH battery pack. So far, I've managed up to 91 miles per charge (but that was over several days, at scooter speeds, in town only.) For continuous riding, I've been able to get up to 75 miles per charge riding slow on the backroads or up to 60 miles going faster.
I've also added two more chargers to the bike. Each of those was built from three Mean Well 48V power supplies, wired in series for about 1,000 watts at 150 volts. With the stock 1500 watt charger on the bike, this gives me 3500 watts of charging power. All three chargers can run on 120V or 240V. This makes it easy to charge at a J1772 public charging station, as those are 240V only. I built an adapter that physically adapts the J1772 to a standard household style electric outlet and includes the communications requirements for J1772.
On the trip, there will be plenty of EV charging stations near the cities, but once away from there, there is NOTHING. (Most of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is State and National Forest. Lots of trees, no EVs.)
Fortunately, where there aren't EV chargers, there DO tend to be camp-grounds, state parks, and RV parks.
I built an adapter that lets me pull four circuits from an RV power connection - 3 of them at 240V (for my three chargers) and one at 120V for recharging my video camera.
https://youtu.be/h-59sR8I-l4
Right now, I'm finishing a custom back end on the cycle. It's a combination back-rest/cargo area/aerodynamics improvement. I've built this out of aluminum and will be covering it with coroplast.
So far, it's looking pretty good. I have enough room for all my gear, and the coroplast should keep it out of the weather and somewhat secure.
As of right now, it's only four days before I leave on the trip, and I still have plenty to do!
Here's how you can help:
To start with, if you live anywhere near the coast of Lake Michigan and can offer me a couch to crash on, a meal, or point me to the nearest electric outlet, please do. If you have a cool DIY clean transportation, renewable energy, or water-saving project, I'd love to stop by and see it!
Secondly, help spread the word. Social media likes and shares are great!
The entire project is being posted through my 300MPG.org web page.
loopthelake and you can find it on Facebook as well.
https://www.facebook.com/LooptheLake2
Lastly, financial support is GREATLY appreciated. I'm doing all this on no budget. With no budget, I will be eating cold ramen noodles and freezing my butt off at camp-grounds in the great frozen north. With your support, I may be able to get a hot meal or a warm bed for a night! Seriously, your support means a lot to me!
Contributions can be made through:
Loop the Lake - DIY Road Rally by Ben Nelson - GoFundMe
Or at:
Donate