ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE CONVERSION

ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE CONVERSION PROJECT OVERVIEW

HISTORY: I've dreamed of building a single-person commuter vehicle since I was a teenager in the 1980's and read about the Vector HPV's. Who can resist the beauty of a streamlined HPV? In December of 2006, I did some research on the Internet to benchmark electric motors, batteries and control systems. In January of 2007, I sat down with my calculator and pencil and did the calculations. My conclusion was this: Motor and controllers are great but lead acid batterys lack storage capacity and KW/pound capacity to justify vehicle being practical for even a one-way, 25 mile commute. NiMH and Li Ion are not readily available and they cost too much. We need to find a practical fuel cell alternative with higher energy density than lead acid. With this in mind, I set out to build my first electric vehicle.

GOAL: Build a test platform for energy storage devices (e.g. Fuel Cells, New Technology Battery's, Sodium Hydrides, etc.) PROJECT: Rebuild 1975 Honda CB-125S (125cc) frame with 12 Hp Electric Motor. MATERIALS COST: $1,650 Electric Motor kit plus $500 to purchase and rebuild motorcycle frame (bearings, tires, seals, aluminum, hardware, brake pads, etc.). LABOR COST: Priceless and free (I worked weekends and evenings on this). SPECIFICATIONS: Energy Storage: Four (4) Sealed Lead Acid, 12 volt, 38 Amp Hour batteries in Series for 48V nominal (Approx. 1000 watts are available for use during a 30 minute discharge) Motor: Perm-132, 12Hp Peak Permanent magnet DC motor, 200amp max draw, Electronically limited to 2 Hp per Michigan "Moped" laws. (1975 Honda 125S Gasoline engine had 15Hp peak at 11,000 RPM) Controller: Curtis 1204-410 Max Speed: 62 mph, Electronically limited to 30 mph per "Moped" laws. (17 tooth at motor, 40 tooth on wheel w/72.5" circumference rear tire) Range: 25 miles at 28mph, 17 miles at 37mph click here to see data Recharge Time: 2-7 Hours with 18 amp charger, 10 Hours with 4 amp trickle charger Cost to Recharge: less one penny per mile Finished Weight: 280 pounds (Note: Gasoline version weighed 170 pounds) Weight of batteries: 120 pounds Weight of motor: 24 pounds

BUILDING AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE: Note: If you would like to build an electric vehicle, you should visit http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/ to see what other people are working on. To learn more about the energy consumption of my electric bike CLICK HERE. To learn about aerodynamic drag forces and fairing designs CLICK HERE To see some fairings I experimented with CLICK HERE