Quote:
Originally Posted by McCool
I've got a 93 Honda Helix that's in pretty rough shape. I've been thinking about pulling all the plastic off to see what's underneath and what I'd have to work with if I went with something other than gas. From what I've heard, even if the CV was in good shape, I wouldn't want to hook up an electric motor to it due to the inefficiency of CVs. I think the original 250cc 4 stroke puts out about 17hp and this bike will hit 70 mph on the highway.
For my purposes, I would be happy with a 15-20 mile range between recharges with a top end of 50 mph. Most of my riding would be about 35 mph.
Seems like there is plenty of space on this bike for all sorts of experimentation. What would be the best route to go on such a bike?
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Ah, geez. I did these calcs a couple of years ago, but didn't really keep anything. You could lose the CVT and drive the rear directly with a belt or chain. I think the rear end ratio is something in the 16:1 range. Because the 250 is liquid cooled, there's a lot of stuff that can come out to make room. It's still a small enough machine that I would recommend an advanced battery pack (NiMH or LiIon) to keep the weight down. I would think you could easily get a 20 mile range using an affordably small pack of advanced batteries and an Etek or equivalent at 72V, at probably around the weight of the original scoot. You might be able to cram enough lead in there to do it too, but then you'd be looking at suspension work.