<$1k DIY Neighborhood Electric Motorcycle

[captainslug]

I'm changing the chain transmission axle to a 5/8" OD keyed shaft, so I had to change out the bearings. I'm waiting for a replacement freewheel adapter to come in the mail.

All of the wiring is finished, as are the turn signals.

Front fender is almost done.


Rear mud guard

[captainslug]

More progress and the first rolling tests.
Here's what the "gas tank" looks like when it's charging.

I think I like the fender more this way.

I tested outside at low speeds. It's currently blowing the 30amp drive fuse under normal acceleration. So I'm going to replace it with an 80VDC 50amp circuit breaker.

[Nevyn]

Awesome pics - too bad you can't mass produce 'em!

side note: with these last two rounds of pics (never before), Google Chrome has started whining that captainslug.com might host malware - you might want to check your site?

[captainslug]

Originally Posted by Nevyn

side note: with these last two rounds of pics (never before), Google Chrome has started whining that captainslug.com might host malware - you might want to check your site?

The index.html for the site was infected with a trojan yesterday. I uploaded a fixed version, but it won't be completely fixed until Google reindexes tomorrow.
No other files on the site were affected.

[Nevyn]

What's the current weight of the bike?

[captainslug]

Success today.

Installed an 80VDC 50AMP circuit breaker to replace the 30amp fuse holder.

I then went for a test ride and managed to get up to 30mph. However the motor got pretty toasty so I'll need to add active cooling.

Originally Posted by Nevyn

What's the current weight of the bike?

I still haven't weighed it.

[Nevyn]

Are you going to use an electric pump for active cooling?

Stupid thought: Use a small wind turbine to power a pump.

[captainslug]

Chain tensioner added to first reduction. Works beautifully.

I need to make a mounting plate so I can attach this temperature-controlled blower fan as shown.

It handles really well. I'm actually surprised by how comfortable it is.

[Christ]

Do the holes in your motor plate match up with the holes in the motor? You might not need that fan if you just chamfer those holes into venturis and line them up perfectly with the holes that are already in the bottom of the motor for cooling, which (while fairly insignificant) will save you some energy from using the fan, whereas using the fan will actually block more airflow, and might cause the motor to heat up even faster, which will require that the fan kick on more often.

I'm assuming your motors are internally cooled by some form of induction?

[captainslug]

Originally Posted by Christ

I'm assuming your motors are internally cooled by some form of induction?

It's a cheap motor and has no internal cooling of any kind.
The holes in the plate do match up with the holes in the motor housing. A blower fan is pretty much required if I don't want to melt any of the brushes or burn off the bearing grease inside the motor.

The blower will consume 1.35 amps at full tilt. But its speed varies based on the inlet temperature. It was scalped from a low profile Dell computer, and while it doesn't have a huge CFM rating blower fans are capable of more static pressure than axial fans, so it can handle more restriction.