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dcb 05-25-2009 11:53 AM

halfbakery: motorcycle pusher for light EV
 
1 Attachment(s)
Quote:

EDIT from Darin: this thread sprung out of this one, where I showed my towing rig for the ForkenSwift, and posted this picture:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1243264040


Question, what if you own a motorcycle, and figure out remote clutch and throttle, and use it to push your small EV on longer hiway trips? :)


http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1243269357

MetroMPG 05-25-2009 12:39 PM

I love it. Small scale version of:

http://metrompg.com/posts/photos/hybrid-944-pusher.jpg

link: http://www.jstraubel.com/EVpusher/EVpusher2.htm

For the motorbike, all you'd really need is a throttle control and on/off switch. Couldn't you leave it in top gear, accelerate electrically up to speed, then close the bike's ignition to fire the ICE and continue accelerating/cruising?

I don't think the ForkenSwift could handle the weight of the bike (even if only the front portion) cantilevered off the back, like that SUV. Might need a light 2 wheel dolly to put the bike's front wheel in and tow instead.

Halfbakery is so much fun. :)

Frank Lee 05-25-2009 04:17 PM

That Max would easily get squirrely back there and wipe out.

dcb 05-25-2009 05:01 PM

LOL, well I was thinking more of a 250, in a high gear. And something to hold it by the front wheel a bit better (and hope the forks last). The idea is that is just for cruising the hiway, the electric car still does the driving around town and up to speed. Wouldn't draw any specifics from that pic :) You want a bike/gearing that is just big enough to keep things moving.

Frank Lee 05-25-2009 05:38 PM

I was also going to mention, forks aren't designed to transmit thrust- might want a different mount.

Probably the thing to do is, instead of pushing your EV around on longer trips, just hop on the bike.

Bicycle Bob 05-25-2009 05:51 PM

I think that braking force on forks equates to thrust, but I'd go easy on the cornering.

dcb 05-25-2009 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank Lee (Post 106229)
Probably the thing to do is, instead of pushing your EV around on longer trips, just hop on the bike.

Yah, but sometimes folks would want their ev car in another part of the country (i.e. a show, or weather). If you have stuff, or passengers for a long ride it might make sense (assuming you already have a bike and a small electric car) :)
http://www.spaceg.com/multimedia/col...motorcycle.jpg

Ryland 05-25-2009 09:50 PM

Big flaws that I see are most motorcycles are a wet clutch where the clutch has 5-9 plats and run in oil and have alot of drag, they do this to make them more compact, the transmissions are non-syncro most of the time so any shifting that you did do would be very rough, but you can get electronic shifting kits and ignition cut offs so you can shift without the clutch at all, designed for racing.
The cam on a motorcycle engine is also designed for power not mpg, that is why my 100cc honda can put out 11.5hp, if that was a 1500cc (1.5 liter engine) that would be 172hp and because of that gets 70mpg with a combined cycle and rider weight of 450 pounds...
Maybe make something that looks like a motorcycle rear end, using a shaft drive motorcycle like a gold wing and a better suited engine like a metro xfi, but it's also not going to work with a normal trailer hitch, it is going to need a solid mounting system, I've seen bent motorcycle forks and they are not pretty, most likely bent from alot of hard braking with the front of the bike (900 pound touring bike) as non of the plastic was even scratched, fender was fine, the guy just said it handled "weird"... fork legs looked like bananas.

Frank Lee 05-25-2009 10:39 PM

I'm in the process (tedious and expensive I might add) of replacing fork tubes right now. That's why I thought of it.

dcb 05-26-2009 12:27 AM

There are some interesting benefits of using a whole motorcycle though.

1. It should be better sized for the sole task of maintaining hiway speeds than a typical car ICE.

2. It offers complete redundancy. If the car breaks down you have a bike, if the bike breaks down you have a (short range) car. If you are an adventurous experimenter you might appreciate that :)

3. It should bypass any extraneous licensing. You don't have to license a special trailer that you use once a year if you already own and use a small bike. You don't really have to worry about legalities as the bike is already DOT/EPA, and bike dollies won't draw much attention.

I think the hitching/control issues are completely solveable for someone familiar with the systems intended purpose and who drives accordingly. This isn't anything for production though, just an idea that might be useful in a fairly specific set of circumstances.

Coyote X 05-26-2009 01:04 AM

A scooter is automatic so with one of them you just need a throttle. But the clutch would probably not be very happy pushing a car around.

I would suggest using RC car controls to operate everything on the bike. That way you could just unplug the harness and the bike is free and still mostly normal looking. 3 servos to work it all. one for the throttle using a small lamp pull chain type connection to the carb so it doesn't interfere with the normal throttle. Need one for the shifter up and down. It would most likely have to be unhooked from the shifter arm when riding to keep from breaking it. And a monster servo for the clutch connected similar to the throttle by connecting it on the arm coming out of the engine.

Getting power to the bike would also be helpful so you could put a remote neutral indicator light in the car so you know when you found N and can let the bike just hang on for the ride.

Just some ideas I am tossing out there. I have no idea if it would actually work. But it would be cool to see running :)

Frank Lee 05-26-2009 01:55 AM

I think the potential for unwanted incidents is high...

Coyote X 05-26-2009 02:33 AM

Definitely need a camera running for the first 30 minutes of using it :)



But I would probably try it anyway.

metroschultz 05-26-2009 09:43 AM

http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/4...30123642pm.jpg
This was a very solid way to attach a motorcycle to the rear of my car.
It rolled with the car in turns and never felt "loose".
You have to have a passenger to help unload though.

vinny1989 05-26-2009 06:40 PM

Metroschultz - that looks so dangerous, yet very funny. I can easily believe it didn't fall off though.

What about the back end off of a 'maxi scooter' like a suzuki burgmann 650? Their automatic, and when stripped to the bare frame and engine wont weight much?

Lug_Nut 05-26-2009 07:24 PM

Jalopnik - Moto Tow: A Honda Goldwing Wrecker - Weird

IheartGeos 07-02-2009 05:07 AM

metroschultz, are you serious?!?! If so, that's more ballsy than I think I would be, with my geo *or* my bike! I guess, actually, if it felt really sturdy I might take it around the block...

Now you've got me thinkin'!!!

The main advantage of using a motorcycle is if you had one already, or as an excuse to buy one. "Honey, I need that Ducati to push around the electric Geo!"

You know, if you are worried about the forks, you could always engineer a trailer thing that hitched to the frame instead of the front wheel. It might be more clumsy looking, but it would probably be safer in the long run.

If you were going to do this a lot, you could make a thing down at the carbs where you hook in a second throttle cable or unclip the bike and clip in the cars, depending on how the bike is made. It would work on my old '83 Suzuki, I think. You could do something similar for the clutch, and just leave the bike in high gear, while inside the car have a locking lever so you can lock the clutch in a disengaged position.

Bonus: Regenerative braking to recharge the batteries!


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