DIY electric motorcycle from New York
An enterprising man in New York has managed to build an electric motorcycle which he's referring to as the Battery Box. This term comes from the design of the frame, which is just large enough to house the battery components and is built from aluminum for minimal weight. The batteries are a lithium polymer chemistry and offer 48 volts with 40 amp hours of power. Based on the voltage, we assume that the two electric motors are DC. One motor is hub mounted at the rear and provides 6kW of power while an additional, smaller 3kW motor adds some additional acceleration when called upon.
Front forks from an Italian moped contribute to the Battery Box Motorcycle's light weight. The builder claims that this bike represents his first design and a second, more refined machine will be offered for sale for an expected price of $8,000. Check out the video after the break for some more information. Thanks for the tip, Mark!
[Source: Battery Box Motorcycle]
Video:
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Seth 4:08PM (7/02/2008)
Woot! Props to this guy for attempting and succeeding in a project that I've been wanting to do for a long time.
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ddub 5:13PM (7/02/2008)
Any word on top speed and range?
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steve 6:07PM (7/06/2008)
$8000 - He must be crazy !
Why do these bike creators think anyone would pay $8000 for an electric bike when you can pick up an ICE that gets around 70 mpg for $3499?
Sure its great that its electric powered, and Im guessing that they think that because its LiPo that means it must be expensive, but 48v and 40Ah of LiPo batteries only runs about $1500 retail, and I cant believe the motors, controllers, wiring, and other stuff warrants a price tag of $8000!
Its great to see another creative engineer putting together an electric bike, but please retain some grasp on reality when it comes to trying to sell it!
BTW, the website gives a range of 40 miles, and a top speed of 50 mph. With around 2KWh of battery capacity, thats about 50Wh per mile. For comparison a bicycle gets about 15Wh/Mile (assuming 200 Watts pedal power covers 15 miles in 1 Hour, but at only 15 mph)
Given a very rough approximation, and assuming that the aerodynamics arent that differnt from the bicycle, that gives it a speed of about 25 mph to achieve that 40 mile range. However I could be wildly wrong with my math here :)
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ronaldraygun 2:22AM (7/05/2008)
Sorry, dont know much about bikes, what's an ICE?
stevefazek 11:36PM (7/02/2008)
I could do much better for less.
that crappy thing costs no more then 2200 bucks to build paying retail.
Its time people use a Off the shelf Chinese rolling chassis of around 150CC. A nice Light Frame, Wire wheels you can order more powerful hub motors that could get the bike moving around 45 MPH
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steve 6:12PM (7/06/2008)
Ronald - ICE = Internal Combustion Engine, ie. a regular gas powered motorcycle.
Take a look at the prices and fuel consumption figures for bikes like the Kawasaki 250 Ninja ( $3500 and 60 mpg) , KLX250S ($4500 and 70 mpg), and most motorcycle manufacturers have similar road and dual sport models that are similary priced, and with similar gas mileage.
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