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newguyintown · 06-10-2011, 02:39 AM

Hi everyone, I'm new to ecomodder,
I want to convert an old motorcycle into an electric one. The engine, starter, gas tank, and fuel lines are in pretty bad shape right now. It's been sitting in the garage for like 8-10 years and the gasoline has pretty much turned to napalm. The rest of it is doing fine, aside from some dust, and sludge. There's not much rust or wear on the rest of it. For these reasons I thought it would make a good candidate for an electric vehicle conversion. I don't have photo's yet, but I'll try to get those as soon as possible. I need help as far as parts and pieces, assembly, and all the tricks and tips. I thought maybe you guys here could help me out with that.

What I know I need so far is:
Some sort of motor(not sure how many kw or horsepower it has to be yet)
A battery pack (Probably needs a matched voltage to the motor?)
A controller to regulate current flow
Some sort of throttle to send a signal to the controller
Something to measure voltage, speed, amperage, etc and display it(I think I need this but I'm not sure.)
Possibly some sort of key or lock mechanism, so that nobody takes off with it.
I think the charging can be done through the controller but I'm not sure.

I have some idea of where to get some things, but I thought there might be some people here that could offer me better options.

I'm not sure yet where to get a good motor or controller, or how big it has to be.

I found Li-ion battery cells that are 18650 cells on ebay (supposedly what they use in the battery pack for the tesla)
They're 3.8amps, and 3.7 volts. They would give me a good battery pack, but I would have to do the wiring myself. I have an idea of how to do it, and would love to have the experience of doing that part myself, instead of buying an already made battery pack.

I found a throttle at electric motorsport for $50. I'm not sure if this is the whole setup I need, or how that interacts with the controller, or if $50 is a good price.

I don't need the motorcycle to have really more than a 30 mi range or 45mph top speed, but I'll take what I can get. I don't mind doing more work on it to save money or gain experience, but I would prefer to keep the cost under $1000 if possible. I'm not sure if that's possible, but that's my goal.

Please reply with any info, or experience you'd like to share. I'd really appreciate it.

06-10-2011, 02:39 AM	#1 (permalink)
newguyintown EcoModding Lurker Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Mississippi Posts: 22 Thanks: 21 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Electric Motorcycle Conversion Hi everyone, I'm new to ecomodder, I want to convert an old motorcycle into an electric one. The engine, starter, gas tank, and fuel lines are in pretty bad shape right now. It's been sitting in the garage for like 8-10 years and the gasoline has pretty much turned to napalm. The rest of it is doing fine, aside from some dust, and sludge. There's not much rust or wear on the rest of it. For these reasons I thought it would make a good candidate for an electric vehicle conversion. I don't have photo's yet, but I'll try to get those as soon as possible. I need help as far as parts and pieces, assembly, and all the tricks and tips. I thought maybe you guys here could help me out with that. What I know I need so far is: Some sort of motor(not sure how many kw or horsepower it has to be yet) A battery pack (Probably needs a matched voltage to the motor?) A controller to regulate current flow Some sort of throttle to send a signal to the controller Something to measure voltage, speed, amperage, etc and display it(I think I need this but I'm not sure.) Possibly some sort of key or lock mechanism, so that nobody takes off with it. I think the charging can be done through the controller but I'm not sure. I have some idea of where to get some things, but I thought there might be some people here that could offer me better options. I'm not sure yet where to get a good motor or controller, or how big it has to be. I found Li-ion battery cells that are 18650 cells on ebay (supposedly what they use in the battery pack for the tesla) They're 3.8amps, and 3.7 volts. They would give me a good battery pack, but I would have to do the wiring myself. I have an idea of how to do it, and would love to have the experience of doing that part myself, instead of buying an already made battery pack. I found a throttle at electric motorsport for $50. I'm not sure if this is the whole setup I need, or how that interacts with the controller, or if $50 is a good price. I don't need the motorcycle to have really more than a 30 mi range or 45mph top speed, but I'll take what I can get. I don't mind doing more work on it to save money or gain experience, but I would prefer to keep the cost under $1000 if possible. I'm not sure if that's possible, but that's my goal. Please reply with any info, or experience you'd like to share. I'd really appreciate it.