What bike would y'all start with to pull it off?

Cruiser? Sport bike?

I like to do a dual sport or adventure touring but I don't think they would make a good ev with all the extra drag an weight. Like an older BMW gs or something

A non techy friend is asking me for help and ideas

I've found all the motors controllers batteries and stuff I would use... I need a charger a battery manager and the actuall


I really think a 'busa would be pretty damned good if I coulpoukd find one with no motor for the right price.

5/12/2014 10:15:14 PM

An 80's/early 90's general use Japanese motorcycle is usually your best bet. Something like an XJ650 or Silverwing or such. You want something where the parts are cheap and everything is well documented. Mid-size cafe style lends best to these sort of mods. All you really need are the frame, wheels, shocks, and brakes. Cluster and lights are nice but not needed since you can just add all that with LEDs after the fact.

You want the most solid frame and accessories at the lowest weight that will be easiest to attach your batteries, motor, and electronics to. Sport bikes and larger cruising bikes generally do not fit that bill unless you want to spend a fortune on custom fabrication. Plus older bikes with solid frames but bad engine/transmission can be had for nothing. Make sure its a clean title, that's really all you need (motorcycles are titled to the frame . . . . you can swap anything and everything else and it'll still be fine).

5/12/2014 11:46:15 PM

an electric motorcycle would be an absolute bitch to learn on or ride if it had much power at all. they make all their torque at 0 rpm which would be very difficult to get used to. you could possibly do some trick ramp circuitry on the throttle but not super intuitive or predictable. the bikes ive seen it done on are heavy as shit (600lbs) and make ridiculous power, like 2-300hp and have a very hard time putting the power down. then they die from heat after like 10 laps

5/13/2014 1:02:27 AM

All the motor controllers are completely programmable and the cluster would essentially be an android tablet. Also this will be the 3rd bike for the guy. He currently has an f4i stunt bike and an r1.

Also I've actually ridden a zero sport and with the torque limiting to prevent over amping the batteries along with the complete lack of a clutch it's easier to ride than the sv I learned on.

They actually feel like a gs500.

The issue is we would like to make a "cool" bike rather than just a commuter. That's why he has asked for my help. The engineering license helps get people who only work with oems to talk to you.

I mean the first question mission motors asked was "do you have a company or is this just a hobby project.

[Edited on May 13, 2014 at 5:51 AM. Reason : .]

5/13/2014 5:40:46 AM

Basically he was looking at the zero and liked it... But for 18 grand.... Really not quite what he would want.

5/13/2014 8:11:53 AM

If you are going to build, you are better off building an electric bicycle. More practical and much easier to build. Motorcycle-appropriate li-po battery packs, controllers, and motors are just not that that widely available. Not sure what you found, but it's probably hodge-podgy at the least.

Also, LOL at dual-sport or adventure-touring electric motorcycle. I am all for electric vehicles, but that shit's just dumb.

5/13/2014 10:47:23 PM

Quote :

"an electric motorcycle would be an absolute bitch to learn on or ride if it had much power at all."

Actually its the exact opposite . . . . an electric motorcycle is FAR easier to learn on and drive. You don't need to worry about controlling the clutch with your left hand or shifting gears with your left foot. Its slightly more difficult than a "scooter". Electric motorcycles have programmable ESC modules that prevent you from applying so much torque that you instantly flip over, heh.


Is this for daily driving or for the track? You can definitely convert any motorcycle to electric but there are major considerations in cost, range, and power output. For around town as a general use machine at a reasonable price you want what I said earlier. But if you want performance that's a whole different can of worms. You'd then want to use a sport bike chassis, keep all the fairings (they're there for a reason, aerodynamics) and you'll need a custom machines motor mount for that specific chassis and ESC programmed for that bike's characteristics. Its a large undertaking. And then batteries, the sky is the limit.

5/14/2014 3:15:17 AM

100 of these
http://www.electriccarpartscompany.com/40Ah-32V-3C-br-LiFePo4-Lithium-Prismatic-Batteries-br-HiPower-LiPo-EV-Battery-br-China-Production-br-44L-26W-64H-in-br-114-65-164-mm-br-35-lbs-16-kg_p_53.html

Although I may build my own with pouch cells or something. Also the leaf cells are awesome and cheap.

+

http://uqm.com/products/full-electric/prototype/passenger-vehicles/

I've found the chargers radiator system etc.
Tho still working on which battery management I like.

All told I think I can get it done under 12k and have the power to make a zero look like a moped.

Y'all forget researching and building shit is what I do for a living .

If my buddy decides he wants to do it. Also I'm pretty good with my tig and aluminum now so making custom brackets etc doesn't bother me at all.

[Edited on May 14, 2014 at 10:46 AM. Reason : .]

5/14/2014 10:44:47 AM

100 of those will weight 350 lbs and wouldn't even fit into a GoldWing frame.
You will have to find a way to balance charge 100 cells
300V DC current running a few inches away from my nutsack? I hope you have bulletproof way to isolate all wires and connectors
Also, LiPo batteries are highly prone to combustion if charged or discharged improperly.
Without going into technical details, you will have a 600 pound bike that will ride like a refrigerator on two wheels with a propensity to run out of juice or spontaneously combust.

I don't know what kind of researching and building you do for a living, but I highly doubt you can build a better overall package than folks at Zero or Mission for less money.

I love seeing a Garage project in works, but this is shaping up to be a bigger fail than MaximaDrvr's extra crispy twin turbo design.

5/14/2014 1:14:36 PM

It's pretty much day two... Got a quote on that motor too.... 25grand

Truth is 10kwh @144 volts and a hpev ac-20 motor is the reasonable bike.

72hp 82ft-lbs and 70-100 mile range.

The new motor options are what I was kicking around this morn... He wants 100hp... It's really not possible for a reasonable amount of money.

That's a 60lb motor/controller, 270lbs in battery (20x24x18)+12lb inboard charger but how much does say a liter bike frame weigh?

It's nice to have the true essence of garage douchebag thriving in Igor.

5/14/2014 3:39:43 PM

How am I being a douchebag by pointing out the stuff you posted above wouldn't work? Especially after you claim that you are going to make a second or third-generation product from an established company with dozens off engineers, years or R&D, and a proper supply chain look like a toy?
All while not-so-subtly hinting that you are a licensed engineer who apparently does a lot of research and shit, while also not-so-subtly implying in another thread that people with off-the-lot EVs are posers somehow just because they didn't build them I am not even an engineer, but seeing how you just totally changes your specs by a factor of 2, and were off on the costs of the motor you were looking at by at least a factor of 5, I can tell that you didn't do enough research on this particular project. I think "Selfpwn poster" is a pretty good description there, boss.

5/14/2014 8:35:49 PM

soy douche too

5/14/2014 9:36:15 PM

I would start by thinking about what type of writing this person will be doing, and how an electric vehicle would do the job better than a gas-powered one. There is definitely room for unconventional thinking and even new classes of bikes right now as the regulations concerning EVs are not fully flushed out. For example, you can take a burly electric bike that is "almost" a dirbike onto MTB trails, where even a 125cc pit bike would not be allowed.



If the bike is for commute in the city, limiting the range will let you have a smaller and more compact bike, and if you want to go the super-lightweight way, you could take bike paths and avoid the traffic (probably not much of a concern in Raleigh, but a real advantage here in Washington DC)


http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/27/grace-one-city-e-motorbike-review/

Right now it looks like you are trying to build this:



But you may end up end up with a less polished version of this instead:


http://www.gizmag.com/johammer-electric-motorcycle/31575/


[Edited on May 15, 2014 at 10:29 AM. Reason : .]

5/15/2014 10:24:48 AM

Ok his commute is 23 miles
7 back roads 11 highway (64 so 70+) and then capital from the belt line to downtown.

Right now he rides an f4i like its a supermoto .

I'm wondering if 2 185v 30ah battery packs weighing about 100lbs each would give versatility.
It would allow for a lighter bike when you want it with less power but you could but both cells in when you Desiree

Make the packs about 25" tall x 10" deep x12" wide and run them up through where the gas tank was from where the motor was one behind the other.

The motor i really like is available In orders over 1000 for 4 grand with controller.. But for a 1 motor run "for prototyping" $25k

But it's built into a couple of hybrid car transmissions so I'm looking there.

Have you seen the weights on the mission motors, and lightning bikes ? Those suckers are pushing 650lbs. I guess that's where I got my initial (albeit skewed) weight goal from.

5/15/2014 12:36:31 PM