It's ELECTRIC...maybe

[MadisonMPG]

Hello everyone, this isn't my first post here, but it might as well be. I am looking into buying a non running <600cc bike. Gutting the engine and doing the nasty with it...and by that I mean making it EV. I was wondering if anybody here had any tips on which bike to get or what size and just basic information I will need down the road.

[Ryland]

I would pick something that is commen so other parts are easy to get and something that has engine problems, being light weight is nice too.
my top picks would be a 1970's Yamaha RD350 or 400, they were a two stroke with a very short lived engine, the draw back to them is the compact engine would give very little battery space unless you went with lithium.
my next choice would be a Honda CX500 the water cooled engine on those is really good but they do not like being left alone for years at a time so one that has been sitting might look good but have an engine that is shot, they are also shaft drive so a large motor like a golf cart motor could fit, the draw back to that bike is the size and weight of them, they are big, good for batteries tho.
you could also just look for bikes with bad engines...

[SVOboy]

Do a search on her for bennelson's electric bike, it's a good model for the DIY'r, I think.

[Christopher Jordan]

Originally Posted by Ryland

I would pick something that is commen so other parts are easy to get and something that has engine problems, being light weight is nice too.

I was looking at Craigslist for another City-el or EV trike this morning at motorcycles/scooters>electric. I use a manual wheelchair (why I want 3 wheels) but never really thought about those 3-wheel scooter wheelchairs.

I saw a similar 3-wheel microcar online, and that put 'evil' thoughts in my mind! The grocery stores have those little plastic "car" shopping carts, so why not hot-rod that scooter with a full body and watch a few jaws drop?

1 + 1 = 3, right???

[bennelson]

I've been real happy with my motorcycle.

The frame is a little beat up, but getting parts for it has been no problem. All of the medium-size Japanese motorcycles in the early 80's practically had interchangable parts. Also, insurance is really cheap on an older, standard motorcycle.

A sport bike like a Kawasaki Ninja is also a great candidate for an EV conversion, although a little more to insure, they look great and are very light weight.

Mine was originally a 440cc engine. You may just want to make sure to get something with passenger pegs. If it's big enough to carry two people, it's big enough to carry you and some batteries.

Also, look for a frame that has two pipes forming the lower part of the frame. That way, you can build a little frame between them to hold the batteries.

[MadisonMPG]

You wouldn't have an instant messenger or something to make it easier to talk would you?

[bennelson]

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