Electric Motorcycle conversion

[bennelson]

I had to so some sanding, repainting, and then clear coat on the tank.

It's done and looks fine, but it was a lot of work and still doesn't look quite as nice as the work my brother did on it.

Powder-coat painting keeps looking more and more attractive. One coat, and you're done!

The tank did need some Bondo, and I don't think that would have worked for powder-coating, but maybe it's time to get an inexpensive powder-coater and build an oven I can push a motorcycle into.....

[Nevyn]

My dad's motorcycle helmet is chrome-colored; make him look like a Cylon.

Bike looks wicked sick. LOVE IT!

[bennelson]

The cycle is now SHOW-READY!

Does that mean it is totally done? Heck no. I still have to do the headlight/tail-lights/horn/turn-signals wire harness and the DC/DC converter to power it.

But nobody looking at the cycle at the energy fair needs to know that!

Anyways, here's what I did today...

Had to take out the top batteries to get the middle section of battery rack out. I had to take that out because yesterday I managed to pop a weld. I snapped off the little ring of pipe that holds the middle rack to the lower battery and the frame.

I reground it, re-welded it, painted..... Waited for hours for paint to dry, then put it all back together.

At least I had other things to do while the paint was drying.

Since I had the middle rack out anyways, somebody mentioned to weld my two stacks of three washers to make spacers. I finally did that!
See! Washers, now welded together!


I also did not yet have the return spring for the rear brake. It turns out that the spring hooks onto a peg that's on the MUFFLER! Well, there's no muffler anymore, so it's time to FABRICATE something!

The muffler would have mounted below the right passenger foot peg, so I made a small metal plate with two holes, one for the foot peg bolt, and one for a 1/4-20 bolt for the spring to hook on. I put the small bolt through, welded it, then ground off the head (It wouldn't have fit otherwise.)



After that, it was time to work on the chain guard. I found a hunk of aluminum computer rack server rail. It was about the right thickness for a big spacer between the motor mount plate and the side of the cycle. I cut it 9" long and ran it vertically. Here, you see it left of the motor.



I then went to work trimming some salvaged plexiglass to the right size, with cut-outs to go around the bolt-holes and odd shapes on the right. The server rack material featured threaded holes, so I just found the right size screws and drilled a couple matching holes through the plexiglass.

I also cut a narrower piece of plexi for the top. I am still not sure of the best way to attach it. Right after I took the following photo, I just ran a piece of electrical tape over the corner of the two pieces. It actually looked pretty good... I might just use some clear silicon or something to finish that corner.



I don't know if it comes through in the photo or not, but it looks like the chain and sprocket are in an aquarium.

Here's the cycle again, once I finally got it back together (but before I got my tools put away!)



Here's the other view, with horrible orange background lighting.



Here's where I will be for the next four days! Hope you can make it too! Look for me, I'll be the guy by the motorcycle in the "Open ReVolt" shirt

[bennelson]

Here's a video of work I did on Monday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofSloVHfC74

[bennelson]

Here's a video from end of day Monday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBgVXBe89uI

[bennelson]

Here's video of what I did yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwa3a6JpMyk

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by bennelson

The cycle is now SHOW-READY!

It's rolling again !
Good job !

[benfroggg]

Ben-
I've got an Electirc Harley build I did recently. 3 "12v" LiFeP04 batts for "36v" setup, the max the motor can take. (I say that in quotations because lithium batts run and charge higher than 12v)
Have you had any issues with the motor running hot? Have you measured the case temp of the motor (especially after a long run) and if so, what was the temp?
I think I need to step up to 48v and buy the larger motor to accommodate that. The motor is H rated which is over 350df internal temp. However, I've gotten the outside casing of the motor up to 190df on a long run....

Anyway, I saw in your log you've gotten over 33 miles on a charge; is that your total range as of now?
Also, what is your top speed on a flat with current gearing?
I'm limited to 42mph on a flat at the moment.

Thanks!
B

[bennelson]

The motor doesn't run hot. The average amperage use is less than the continuous rated amperage of the motor. After a ride you can feel a slight warmth with your hand on the motor, that's it.

It's geared for 45 mph, because that's the speed limit right outside my house, and I'm mostly using it in 25 mph zones anyways.

I haven't changed the number of batteries in my setup, it's the same range as before. 33 miles on a charge was my "endurance run". I ran the cycle for over an our around the local (slow speed) residential streets. I typically say it will do 20 to 30 miles on a charge. 20 if you were riding at 45 the whole time, 30 if you were doing 25 the whole time.

[benfroggg]

I guess I'll have to upgrade the motor when and if this one burns out. I'm going to keep running it as for now; with the notable exception of some aluminum cooling fins and a 12v fan for the hot days/stops after a hard ride. The Etek motor seems like it's the way to go.

Have you considered a fairing for lower Cd? I saw earlier in the bike's history you had a smaller handlebar fairing. I've included a photo of my bike with front huge fairing:


(note: this fairing now goes all the way to the back of the bike not indicated in the photo)

I'll admit, it looks like a roman chairiot from the front. However, it increased my practical range from 28 miles to 33 miles on a charge. This fairing most certainly increases CdA, but obviously decreases Cd by enough that it improves the overall aerodynamics significantly. Another point is that my legs/waist down stays much warmer than previous bikes. I'll be riding to some extent in the winter this should help keep me much warmer. I want a frame mounted upper fairing to integrate with this lower fairing before it gets cold.

I know my fairing is totally ugly but I don't care about that aspect of it. Aesthetics have never been a strong point to me. A person like yourself might be able to make something that looks better and dramatically improves your aerodynamics.

I guess the other question is how much you'd need the extra range. I only use this bike for in town trips less than 20 miles round trip. However, I have to make a weekly 33 mile one-way (total 66 miles) that I could take the bike to (and recharge when I get there for 3 hours with my 18 amp charger) the destination if I could squeeze a few more miles out of it. Your needs may not require such increased range.

Another side note is that my top speed on a flat increased from 39 to 42 with this fairing. Acceleration after 30 is better too.

Great job on your build!
B