Electric Motorcycle Thread-now with Seca Turbo Content!!!

I think I found a new winter project, if the little woman gets Renovation Fever out of her system for our house...

Newscast about homemade Bike

Electric old school VFR

The vfr project got some flames as the purists scolded him for hacking his bike up, I applaud him for not crushing it, and think this is interesting. It may get a whole new level of consumer interested in motorcycles.

...Or it could be the beginning of the end, depends on your viewpoint... :lol:

 

Re: Electric Motorcycles-bane of evil, or saving the planet?

The thing about people being obsessed with everything being battery powered (and no more oil needed) troubles me because it is based upon ignorance. Most people don't have a clue how much energy goes in to manufacturing the batteries and other exotic materials of an efficient electric vehicle.

Don't get me wrong, I do believe electric vehicles have a place and can be economically viable in many situations.... golf carts, scooters, wheelchairs and small vehicles for moving people around in local areas. They are very efficient for that type of activity where an internal combustion engine takes time to come up to operating temperature and is better suited to constant highway speeds, etc.

The thing that ticks me off about a lot of the discussion of these things is that so many of the 'dumb-masses' out there think its all gonna be 'free', and we'll never need crude oil ever again. That's simply the epitome of ignorance.

The fact is that a battery cannot compete with the energy density of an equivalent volume of hydrocarbon fuel. And, crude oil (gasoline) is, after all, stored solar energy and has fantastic value. What we need is more efficient engines which are actually far easier to make than exotic batteries, let alone the recharging infastructure required to make them viable.

And has anyone tried to calculate to cost of the recycling required when all these batteries need replacing?

Nothing is free... and even if it was, we would still need to lubricate moving parts and electricity has no lubrication properties no matter how high the voltage.

 

Re: Electric Motorcycles-bane of evil, or saving the planet?

all other world issues set aside, considering JUST the vehicle and nothing else.....

i think electric powered bikes/cars are awesome. i dont think you will ever see e-power winning over internal combustion at the drag strip, but not every vehicle needs to be a race winner.

 

Re: Electric Motorcycles-bane of evil, or saving the planet?

Both good comments, the whole goal in these discussions is to be realistic, and try to not let politics and wacko extremism into the mix. Right now most people are doing it for a hobby, and testing the limits of what current technology offers. With every technology there are positives and negatives, and where the parts and electricity comes from are valid points.

My 12 km commute would do well with one of these bikes, methinks...

 

Re: Electric Motorcycles-bane of evil, or saving the planet?

I agree with you Kontiki, the backside of the whole innovative "green" technology is covered in the leftovers and external costs. I wish I could show you what we squander with our "green" technology (re: www.tscombustion.com). And the electricity to charge them up comes from somewhere. And that somewhere could be a coal-fired plant, a nuclear plant, or solar and wind. But it still has to be generated by some means and some of those means aren't too green or friendly to begin with. Hydro, sun and wind are great alternatives but you still don't see the U.S. getting behind it in anywhere near the needed magnitude to see any improvements in our global environment any time soon.
Still, I'd rather use quiet, inexpensive electricity than good old hydrocarbons any day. It just makes a heck of a lot more sense given the carbon emissions issues and dwindling oil supplies. And as demand increases, there will be more capital available to bring down costs and fund research into more sustainable and less ecologically intrusive technologies.
Incidently, lead-acids are readily recycled (and it isn't terribly expensive when you look at economies of scale) and LithIons are getting more efficient. Soon, we will have a battery system that can get close to the energy equivalent of hydrocarbon fuels. So just stay tuned, it's comin'. Might be a few more years but it's comin'.

 

Re: Electric Motorcycles-bane of evil, or saving the planet?

Just another thing in life that requires balance. Quite a few ppl out there that look down their green nose at others, because they just threw out their old freezer and bought a more efficent model. like robert said, all that has to come from somewhere. you can have your old 1985 chevy pickup crushed and get a new prius if you want, but did you really accomplish a damn thing from a "green" standpoint?

 

Re: Electric Motorcycles-bane of evil, or saving the planet?

you have to start small

 

Re: Electric Motorcycles-bane of evil, or saving the planet?

That is how you make it up the hills?

 

Re: Electric Motorcycles-bane of evil, or saving the planet?

oh yea, there will be no pedal power for this guy, full time electric
top speed on the level 16 mph up a pretty good hill 13 mph
longest ride 20 miles, no signs of slowing down
speed control, on/off thru a starter solenoid for a mustang
current draw from a stop, about 75 amps @ 24 volts...hold on
no back brake....yee ha

 

Re: Electric Motorcycles-bane of evil, or saving the planet?

Polock, that is something I could totally do. Does he have plans or a parts list? Better/more pics would be nice.

 

Re: Electric Motorcycles-bane of evil, or saving the planet?

50 odd years ago in the U.K. everyone had their milk delivered by electric powered float, which was recharged at the depot at night. Just think where we would be if they had kept improving on that technology. But folks got cars & picked up their own provisions. Perhaps we should go back to the home delivery idea with improved electric vehicles. It could work well for city areas & save millions of individual car journeys.

 

Re: Electric Motorcycles-bane of evil, or saving the planet?

On the Bronco forum I'm on, one of the guys was talking to his friend, who is a mechanic at a dealership. He relayed a story about a campus safety Escape hybrid that came in for service...

Whoever installed the radio & equipment ran 3" long screws through the floor into the top of the battery. Cost on this repair (obviously not covered under warranty) was nearly $9,000.

They also complained that the vehicle didn't get very good milage.
The mechanic asked if they use heat in the winter and AC in the summer
"of course!"
"Then you're never running on battery power, once either of those is turned on, you're burning gas"

 

Re: Electric Motorcycles-bane of evil, or saving the planet?

pictures
sorry no plans, each bike frame is different
the motors and jackshaft are pretty standard stuff, the attachment to the frame is the tricky part
that aluminum pipe (torque rod)from the motors to the axle is necessary, the torque from a stop twists the frame tubes and makes the chain jump
motors are from e-bay item # 120287475442
he raised the price since i got mine

 

Re: Electric Motorcycles-bane of evil, or saving the planet?

Leaving aside the discussion on the various forms of electric/hybrid type vehicles, I almost immediately discovered, after purchasing my motorcycle, how much fuel we humans waste everyday just moving our bodies back and forth to work. At least I can say with confidence that by riding my bike almost everyday--rain or shine--I'm doing my part to reduce how much fuel I'm using.

The fact of the matter is that you will always expend energy no matter what avenue you take to move your person. How you choose to move will determine how much fuel you will consume. Of course, walking would probably be the least detrimental to the environment and consume the least amount of resources. I feel pretty good about riding my motorcycle that gets ~50mpg versus my '89 F150 that gets ~12mpg.

 

Re: Electric Motorcycles-bane of evil, or saving the planet?

Yes if everyone rode a bicycle or motorcycle even twice a week to work, it would help a lot. Even keeping the damn things tuned up helps a lot. I applaud the list members here for their assistance in helping the rest of us keep our bikes in tune!


Pollock: I assume you can turn the motors on/off from the handlebars, can the bike freewheel OK if you are pedalling or is there a lot of resistance?

 

Re: Electric Motorcycles-bane of evil, or saving the planet?

theres a push button on the right grip for on/off
it freewheels as normal with the motor off BUT with the motor on the pedals must keep up with the motor, otherwise the motor drives the sprockets that the pedal chain is on and piles up chain around the front pedal sprocket, because it's not keeping up, big mess jumped chains, locked up wheels, fast stop
there is a white ring on the smallest sprocket on the back wheel, it's smooth so putting the pedal chain on it isolates the pedals from the motors, with the chain on there you have on/off/freewheel, the pedals just hold your feet
thats how it stays most of the time

 

Re: Electric Motorcycle Thread-now with Seca Turbo Content!!

I have been on instructables for some time, and was surprised to see the familiar silhouette of a Seca Turbo!

(attaching flame suit)

How to Build an Electric Bike