well, with a larger chassis, adds weight, but ALSO adds capacity for more batteries.
With Lead... more lead, is more distance. Same thing basically can be said with LiFePo. More amp hours onboard, the further you can get. I think 50mph is fine, but i think you'll have a hard time with any motorcycle, getting anywhere near 50 miles range with lead. consider 6 55ah batteries...about 3960Wh. Consider a cruising average Wh/mile is around 150 (likely less). Thats about 26 miles. Thats with 300lbs of lead. If you go LiFePo, and get 100Ah packs, and do 72V (lets say 24 cells at 3.2V and 76.8V)....you MIGHT be able to get 45-50 miles out of it, but at quite a cost... likely over 5 grand just in batteries (90Ah thundersky are 220 from electricmotorsport.) and thats without charger or BMS. It all depends on how deep the pocket books is. Stick with a larger chassis, 600CC, 500CC. Mine is a 700, with lots of room for batteries, and 140lbs with no engine. stock is around 500lbs. thats 360lbs I can add in lead, lifepo, controller, motor etc. decide how much you want to spend first.... you CAN convert for under 3 grand (I've barely spent 900 bucks and have everything I need). And remember, you can upgrade batteries and motor later. Getting a good chassis that's easy to work with is the main thing. If you go with a 250 size, you might give up capacity. On Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 6:28 PM, Sri Subramanian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi everyone, > > I am a newbie in this vocation, and I am considering what bike to buy for > this project. > > I've read the 'El Ninja' book, listened in on your conversations and checked > out conversions on the Austin EV site, and it looks to me like I need to > pick a bike with these criteria: > > [I am assuming that the bike I convert won't be freeway capable, so about 50 > mph max and < 50 mile range max] > > 1. Light, light, light. Trim as much as possible. > 2. Minimal rolling resistance (and won't hurt to be aerodynamic as well). > 3. Have enough space under tank for batteries (I am thinking LiFePO4, so not > too much worry there). > 4. Modern (so decent suspension, brakes) and common make, model (so parts > easy to get). > > So, my first issue is: how does one estimate the weight of a bike when the > motor is out. E.g. how much heavier is say, a Ninja 500 rolling chassis over > a Ninja 250 one? Does it matter enough to be a consideration? > > If I want to take my first criterion seriously (and am not worried about > freeway speeds) would I not want to get an even smaller CC bike, 125cc say a > dual-sport bike? More generally, are there any gotchas with using an on-off > road chassis (presuming I can switch out the knobby tires)? Of course, these > bikes are less aerodynamic than the sport bikes, so that's a downside. > > I've also considered a Yamaha YSR 50 or Derbi GPR 50 chassis, but comfort > may be an issue on those bikes. > > Thanks for any feedback! > Sri Subramanian > -- Travis Gintz 1986 Honda VFR DC conversion Http://blog.evfr.net/
