How to build a 96-Volt Electric Motorcycle

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.
 
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Step 1First, find a donor bike

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.
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374 comments
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Nov 9, 2010. 3:51 AMgeorgeshtc says:
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..



Jun 28, 2008. 12:44 PMswordsmen says:
Why don’t you use boat batteries instead of wheelchair batteries? Boat batteries can be recharged like wheelchair batteries and they hold more power.
Jan 19, 2012. 1:47 PMac-dc says:
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.
Aug 19, 2009. 8:37 PMkagenin says:
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.
Aug 20, 2009. 9:31 AMkagenin says:
Ah, thanks for clarifying.
Dec 12, 2011. 7:44 PMThorsMitersaw says:
If this is a direct drive, that means you can not coast, correct? And that high speed will always equate to high rpms?
Dec 13, 2011. 10:18 AMThorsMitersaw says:
Would/could it be practical to incorporate the/a transmission of some sort to operate within a wider band?
Dec 13, 2011. 10:19 AMThorsMitersaw says:
also, nice choice of bike. never seen this thing before and thought it was pretty fitting. looks vaguely 80's japanese anime scifi
Nov 23, 2011. 10:20 PMv_peter says:
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???
Mar 4, 2011. 2:46 PMli789 says:
what happens when you drive it say thru a puddle? would it shorten out?
Nov 9, 2011. 9:30 AMwmacdougall says:
It would depend if he sealed the circuitry (or any electric current running through) or not.
Oct 31, 2011. 8:39 AMdharampal says:
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
Oct 2, 2011. 11:27 PMbjforesthowell says:
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?
Aug 23, 2011. 7:42 AMvinyard says:
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.
Jun 13, 2011. 7:00 PMpineapplenewton says:
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.
Jun 14, 2011. 5:05 PMpineapplenewton says:
yeah that helps allot. So to create your belt drive did you buy 2 sprockets one to fit each shaft and a belt? or is there one set or something, i don't know how i would go about getting that type of thing.
Jan 13, 2009. 5:57 AMnpaisnel says:
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
Jun 1, 2011. 4:35 PMFurtherThanTesla says:
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.
Nov 29, 2010. 7:41 PMqwertyman10 says:
Did I miss something, or is this bike capable of shifting gears? and if not, is there an easy of making it able to shift gears? Where I live, we have a lot of hills, and I wouldn't want to compromise torque for speed, or vice versa.
Apr 3, 2011. 4:54 PMandrewclark says:
qwertyman10

I see you asked this question in the comments under another step too and no one has answered. I believe no question is a bad question if you don't know the answer, and if you are afraid to ask you may never learn. I'm just sorry you had to wait till now to get a response which you might not even see. (I'm not sure how the notifications work on this site)



There is no transmission so no shifting. In this project the motor is directly connected to the drive shaft by a belt that looks similar to the ones used on Harleys. The author suggests using a chain drive bike as opposed to a shaft drive, for better efficiency. (The shaft must turn some gears back in the differential where it connects to the back wheel which makes it less efficient but also lower maintenance.) If you did this the motor would be connected directly to the chain by a sprocket. Still no shifting.



As for any compromise in torque or speed you don't need to worry. Electric motors have so much more torque than an internal combustion engine that special steps need to be taken to keep it from ripping apart the drive-train, and speed is determined by volts so it's all about the batteries you choose.



Hope this helps.
Apr 4, 2011. 1:19 PMandrewclark says:
Thanks Kentucky-bum,


Great instructable by the way. I'm now itching to try this myself. I have a very long commute so it wouldn't work for that, but I could always use it for short local jaunts.

Mar 22, 2011. 7:13 PMecorter says:
Nickle Metal Hydride

search "Irobot battery"

Ed
Feb 27, 2011. 8:05 AMraceryz350 says:
is rain a problem with shorting crap out?
Feb 1, 2011. 4:29 PMluckadoo42 says:
Would a couple of 12v electric fence batteries work?
Feb 6, 2011. 8:21 AMluckadoo42 says:
Just one more thing i cant figure out: what is an AmpHr?
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Author:Kentucky-bum(EV World)
A jack of all trades and a master of many; I was the Sr R&D Engineer and Manager of R&D for a very large company, but now I am consutling on my own. I can truly say 'been there, done that', but I can...
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