How to build a 96-Volt Electric Motorcycle

Like many others I decided to quit waiting for a decent electric road bike at a reasonable price, so I built one out of a spare bike I bought off eBay for about $700. I based mine on a '82 Yamaha turbo because 1) I have the ICE version (hence the spare), 2) I like that it is fully faired so it looks 'normal' and 3) it's a shaft drive and one of my main goal was to make it as maintenance free as possible. Shaft drives weigh a lot more and are not as efficient as chain drives, but they are maintenance free. Here is a picture of the finished product. Like Stryker (who built the 72 volt version) I live close to work so distance was not an issue, but speed and performance were, as I have over 3 miles of a rather steep curvy road to go home on. One big thing to consider when doing this is the finished product. Like Stryker I am using AGM sealed lead-acid batteries because of convenience. But since I like the final product so much my goal has always been to upgrade it to some Li-Ion or Ni-MHyd batteries as soon as the become commercially available. It would shave 100 lbs off and give me twice the range, so it's an investment worth making.

Step 1: First, find a donor bike

I have an 1982 Yamaha Turbo. It looks like this. I also had a spare-parts bike (that I bought off eBay for ~$700). It was, for the most part, complete but in pieces.

I decided that I was probably not going to use the spare-parts bike for anything so I stripped it.

Comments

[georgeshtc]

hello again mate, just another question about the ev conversion,

motor start and run capacitors are they not required for your conversion?

as you have not included that in your list..

[Disc Dog]

You only need a motor starter/capacitors if you use a single-phase AC motor. DC motors and 3-phase AC motors do not require motor starters. However, a single-phace AC motor will also need an DC/AC inverter (to convert the DC power of the batteries to AC power) and a 3-phase motor does need a motor control inverter (to have variable speed control). Long story short: Use a DC motor and you don't need those things; you only need a DC motor controller.

[Ares252]

you should make a solar charging station :)

[trustsushi]

http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/tls/3651446226.html

would this motor work?

[Disc Dog]

I'm afraid not. Two reasons: It's an AC motor and needs an AC controller that runs on DC (battery voltage) which are big and expensive, but the bigger reason is that its only 1/2 a horsepower; not enough ponies to even get a bicycle down the road. You are looking for a DC motor that is rated at 72 volts DC (minimum) and at least 3 or more horsepower. It looks to be a 'big' motor but its not. It's designed to run a bench grinder, that's all.

[lawsonrw]

Hello,

Did you use a DC/DC Converter? I see on similar instructables that others are using them, calling it safer. Whats your take?

[Disc Dog]

I checked; it's on page/step 5.

[Disc Dog]

Yes, there is a DC/DC converter in there. There has to be to run the 12VDC systems off the 96VDC. Look for it somewhere in this instructable.

[Jimichan]

Hey Kentucky-bum; Ever hear of a tri magnum? Google it! Converting your bike to a trike would give you room for a lot more batteries.

[Disc Dog]

Jimichan, I have heard of them before, and actually helped a buddy build one (gas, about a zillion years ago :-). I had given your suggestion some thought, and I see where Honda has introduced a 3-wheel bike similar to the Bombardiar Spyder, so I suspect that 3-wheel EVs based on that idea are just around the corner. Me, I plan on converting my Toyota Spyder for an 'extended range' EV. I don't mind 20 miles range on my Bike; I only live 5.5 miles from work.

[jerhpk]

3 wheeled electrics already exist. Not to hijack, but look into Myers Motors. It's not a traditional trike, but it is a three wheeled electric. rqriley dot com also has plans for sale for the 3 wheeled options (tri magnum already mentioned).

Like the job, just can't do it myself.  I work about 20 miles away, and don't have access to outdoor plugs at either work or home.  find a way to incorporate solar panel charging, and I'll be there!  Will definitely keep this in mind, it's already bookmarked.

[npaisnel]

Shame you guys in the USA only use 110 as household for the majority of items. Over here in Europe/UK it is all 240v AC

[Disc Dog]

It really is a crime. The only reason they set it up that way was to make money off the consumer. It's less efficient and the hardware needed to move that twice the amps cost more. But most of use have 220 going to the house and garage, so for EVs we can get by on 220 for overnight charging.

[FurtherThanTesla]

Saftey is also a major concern. 110v is most often not lethal, while 220/240v is far more deadly. It makes sense that most standard household appliances use a voltage that is safe for people. Ive been shocked a number of times by faulty appliances. If they ran on 240v, I might not be here today.

[skylossobaka]

220 is a high enough voltage that it throws you back away from the electrocution.

110 is a low enough voltage that it doesn't, allowing the electricity to clamp you to the hot wire.

The choice to go with 220V in most of the world is for exactly this reason - its harder to die accidentally with 220V than 110V.

Nonintuitive, eh?

[billiam7787]

its not the volts that are as deadly, as much as its the current, hence why more people than you would think survive lightning strikes.

[rjbatc]

I got shocked by 220V two times, the first time when I was about 10, the second time about 16, and I am still here, w/o any problems.

[lloydrmc]

What he said!

[wooders]

Guys

I have just seen some battery parts for sale on ebay, Would be pretty easy to make a 96v pack.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EV-Battery-Pack-Kit-16V-60Ah-Lithium-Phosphate-LiFePo4-Electric-Vehicle-/160785868555?

[swordsmen]

Why don’t you use boat batteries instead of wheelchair batteries? Boat batteries can be recharged like wheelchair batteries and they hold more power.

[ac-dc]

Given same battery tech, what it is used for and called is fairly irrelevant, they are basically different battery sizes or different plate thickness to arrive at different capacity.

Similarly you can buy a thick plate (deep discharge) battery in a wide range of sizes regardless of what they are called, though it is often the case that the most popular sizes used cost less.

[kagenin]

I'd imagine that lifespan is an issue. Boat batteries may hold more power, but you won't be able to recharge them as many times as a wheelchair battery before they'll stop holding a decent charge. I would imagine that wheelchair batteries are designed to be as hassle-free as possible (since a disabled person in a wheelchair probably won't be able to do most maintenance of their own chair), while basic boat maintenance requires you to check your batteries on a regular basis anyway. But I'm not 100% sure about these statements, it's just conjecture on my part.

[Disc Dog]

Kagenin, Most large, industrial deep-cycle batteries are lead-acid, but not sealed; they are what is commonly referred to as 'flooded'. On average they deliver about 30% more power than a sealed lead-acid battery but require routine maintenance. You must check the water level in them regularly or they die a premature death. But contrary to what you said, you also get about 30% more charges out of flooded batteries (vs. SLAs). I chose SLAs (sealed lead acid) because of the lack of maintenance knowing full well that they will not go as far, nor last as long, as flooded batteries. (The price of being lazy :-)

[kagenin]

Ah, thanks for clarifying.

[ThorsMitersaw]

If this is a direct drive, that means you can not coast, correct? And that high speed will always equate to high rpms?

[Disc Dog]

You can coast, but it's like letting off the throttle with a gas engine with a manual transmission only no compression to slow you down. The electric engine just free spins. And, yep, if it goes more than 70 mph you run the risk of over speeding the motor beyond its rated rpm.

[ThorsMitersaw]

Would/could it be practical to incorporate the/a transmission of some sort to operate within a wider band?

[Disc Dog]

One of the distinct advantages of electric motors over ICE is that the power band is much wider over the operating RPM range. In other words you only really need additional gears to get over 60 in a hurry. But that also means you need additional horsepower--it takes twice as much hp to go from 55 to 70. I don't have that much hp in my bike. Just enough to get it to 55 in a hurry and 65 with a bit of a delay.

Additional gears also mean additional weight and complexity too. Most productions EVs (Leaf, Focus, EV1...) only had one gear. As a matter of fact, the EV1 was the fastest production car GM had ever made up to its demise in 1995; it could go 183 mph on one gear...but it also had a 20,000 rpm motor :)

[ThorsMitersaw]

also, nice choice of bike. never seen this thing before and thought it was pretty fitting. looks vaguely 80's japanese anime scifi

[Disc Dog]

The '82 Seca Turbo was kind of the first of the 'Star Wars' design with full body fairings...another reason I chose it :)

[v_peter]

Hi! I don't have anything against an eletric bike. But please tell me that this isn't real. You didn't took one of the rarest bikes from Yamaha? To remove the most special thing, the early motorbike turbo???

[Disc Dog]

Hey, I kept my other Seca Turbo alive, didn't I :)

[li789]

what happens when you drive it say thru a puddle? would it shorten out?

[wmacdougall]

It would depend if he sealed the circuitry (or any electric current running through) or not.

[dharampal]

hey, wanna if we can use dc motor as generator for ebike and can help to charge batteries by pedalling the bike and then using battery power for running the motor

[bjforesthowell]

I'm looking to make my conversion on a Honda Zoomer, and I've been all over the web looking for motors. Where did you manage to pick yours up?

[Disc Dog]

[Sorry about the delay for the response; I've been out of country for the last few weeks.] I had mine laying around from an auction I had gone too a long, long time ago. You can pick them up on ebay every so often, but if you just do a search for 'used DC electric motor' you can chase a few sites that offer them. You can also pick them up new on the net at places like this: http://www.evolveelectrics.com/index.html

[vinyard]

I apologize for the question as I am sure the information is here somewhere. For the life of me I cannot find it. What is the range and top speed of this bike? There is a new electric bikes by Brammo that costs $9000 with a 80 mile range and goes 100 mphs. To get the same specs do you think you would end up spending about the same amount of money? Thank you.

[Disc Dog]

My bike is DC powered, the Brammo is AC powered that's why it is faster. I think. to get the same specs you would end up spending that much. If you have $9K to spend buy the bike.

[pineapplenewton]

Hey, i hope this hasn't been asked but, i am going to do a conversion with this same model of bike and i was wondering if using a love joy typed coupler would work to connect the drive shaft to the motor instead of the belt system you have.