Quote:
Originally Posted by JJJoseph
I'd be very nervous about this. This is a 200lb motorcycle (without engine) carrying 400lbs of batteries & electrics? It could snap like a twig! I'd be worried about the tires being overloaded, too.
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That is why I picked a motorcycle that is so big and one that is designed to double as a touring bike, with a heavy front faring, saddle bags, trunk, there are even people putting trailer hitches on them, I was worried as well about the weight on the frame and tires but I was also worried about having enough braking power, so I picked a motor cycle that had big brakes designed for handling the weight of a loaded down touring motorcycle.
The frame looks to be plenty strong and the battery box is a stressed part of the frame, the tires and suspension don't seem to notice the weight, but I'll double check that I'm within the load range of the tires, ride height is looking pretty normal and I've taken it over some good sized speed bumps without the suspension bottoming out, I haven't tried doing that with a passenger yet of course but I'm good sized and it handles me just fine.
I've been thinking about faring to make it more streamlined but I don't want to add more weight to it, a canvas, fiber glass or sheet metal faring over the batteries is on the list of things to do, just to keep them more protected and me protected from them, I dind't increase the frontal area that much, the battery box sits a little lower then the stock engine but it's about as wide and much smoother then the stock gasoline engine was.
As it is I haven't been able to test top speed because my batteries that have a normal useful life of 5 years are getting close to 8 years old so my top speed so far is around 15 to 20mph off road in a field and I'm holding off on getting a new set of golf cart batteries because I really want to get some lithium batteries from a guy I know who is getting a larger pack in his car, but I'm thinking I might be able to borrow a set of golf cart batteries from my parents if they end up getting a set for the GE electrack tractor, but at this point the project is on hold while I save up money for batteries, but until then I plan to keep working my old set, trying to bring them back to life.