<$1k DIY Neighborhood Electric Motorcycle

[captainslug]

I'm going to start with the steel battery rack (since it's finished) for testing. Later if I want to shed more weight I'll make a plastic one.
Just did some final grinding and sanding to get an ideal fit. Tomorrow I can drill the holes for bolting it to the frame.



All of the frame components and battery rack will eventually be powder-coated flat black.

Next comes getting the tires off of the rims. I'll have to wait until I can borrow the tools to get them off. Then I will start rebuilding both wheels after painting the rims.

Some good news about switching from the brushed motor to the brushless hub motor. The hub of the rear wheel is pretty trashed. The previous owner had drilled through and used long bolts to hold the chain sprocket.

[my first gmc]

man, that looks great. Production level quality right there.

[bennelson]

Ditto.

Makes me want to clean up my EV Cycle, but I may have a chance to do a conversion of a drive shaft cycle this summer. This is giving me some good ideas for that.

[captainslug]

Plan for the rest of the battery rack parts. Will have a slot for a 6th battery. Eventually making the set 72V, or just as an optional "boost" on a toggle switch.

[captainslug]

Since I'm not going to be adding any fairings to this bike, I've repurposed the spots on the tank where they would have attached. The right side will have the keyswitch.

And the left will be a status indicator for the charger (LEDs and lens to be added later). I made it out of aluminum using the lathe.

The battery back is now bolted to the frame. I also have a plan for the headlight/front fender combination.

[MazdaMatt]

I doubt you don't know this already... but remove the batts from the frame if you have any more welding to do. That's looking incredible

[captainslug]

Originally Posted by MazdaMatt

I doubt you don't know this already... but remove the batts from the frame if you have any more welding to do. That's looking incredible

Yeah of course.
There's weld finishing to do on the battery rack to bring it to final rigidity and some cosmetic welds on the frame to cover up a few holes. What is shown now is just test fitting to confirm the fit of the rack in the frame, and the batteries in the rack.
This whole bike will eventually get completely assembled and tested, then torn down, sand-blasted, and powder-coated.

[Daox]

I'm just gonna agree with everyone else. It looks GREAT!

[captainslug]

Found some good scrap at work that I can use to make clip-on handle bars.
Spent some time after work on Friday lathing them to the required dimensions.

I still have to mill a channel in the collar pieces and then weld the bars in.

[captainslug]

I bought a set of tire irons and removed the tires from the rims. My first time doing this myself by hand.
I can now start the process of rebuilding both wheels. I also ordered a front brake caliper and lever so I won't have to bother trying to make an adapter to attach a rear brake rotor on the hub motor.
At some point later this year I will add a hub motor to the front wheel. Primarily to increase braking force of the front wheel while increasing regen capability. Secondarily to increase wet traction.

My custom controller made by Keywin of Shezhen mfg arrived as well. 60-85V 1200w with regen braking (non-throttle type).

I'm also working on converting the rear fork from an axle knockout to a dropout. Installing the rebuilt wheel with the hub motor wouldn't be possible using the normal knockout.

Money spent: $980

Thankfully there's nothing left to buy in terms of parts.The final cost of powder-coating the frame will likely break my budget by a little bit.