Proof that DIY electric motorcycles can be built for under 3K
Click above to enlarge Lennon Rodgers' electric motorcycle
Big motorcycle manufacturers are just now beginning to jump on the electric bandwagon, but that doesn't mean you have to wait a few years if you want to enjoy gasoline-free two-wheeled motoring right now. There are a number of used bikes on the market that are ripe for an electric conversion, and it may not be as expensive as you think to add an electric motor, controller and batteries to an existing machine. Here are two examples.
First up are Donald and Andrew Higginbotham, a father and son team that managed to create their own electric motorcycle from a used Suzuki RF900 plus three months of weekend work. After the bike's engine, transmission and radiator were removed, 72 volts worth of batteries were fitted, which provide power to an electric motor and controller that were purchased from Electric Motorsport. Either an ETEK or a Perm 132 combo should work fine.
Next up is Lennon Rodgers, who says that he was tired of breathing in harmful exhaust fumes while riding his bicycle and decided to do something about it himself. Starting with a Lifan motorcycle chassis from China, Rodgers added a 300 amp permanent magnet motor along with 72 volts worth of lead acid batteries and matching 300 amp controller with regenerative braking capability. A few other bits and pieces, plus plenty of time and effort rounded out the package for under $3,000 using parts sourced solely from the internet. Best of all, Rodgers created a handy DIY guide for those looking to replicate the project.
[Sources: Electricmotion.org, The Ledger via Motorcycle.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Tim 9:26AM (1/31/2009)
Sounds like a pretty fun hobby, but I'm the type to go buy bread instead of making it at home. Then again, you can't buy electric motorcycles for less than $3K.
Is licensing a problem?
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Toshi 10:45AM (1/31/2009)
The issues are registration, as the above poster points out, and support. There's a reason that companies such as Aptera and Brammo are taking their sweet time in polishing their products. Well, two, the first being that they're low on VC cash. The other reason is that they're debugging their products so that the end user doesn't have to, and setting up a support network to fix them when they inevitably break.
Although I built (and have repeatedly fixed) an electric bicycle that is my sole form of transportation, I would not feel comfortable doing the same for a vehicle that goes 45-60 mph, potentially on the freeway, vs. my current 24 mph.
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jharlan 11:25AM (1/31/2009)
It's an anti Harley!! A smooth , quiet, powerful machine!
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diffrunt 11:36AM (1/31/2009)
The next billionaire of our electronic age will be the one who dramatically reduces battery weight & bulk while increasing efficiency.
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paulwesterberg 11:44AM (1/31/2009)
> 72 volts worth of batteries
This measurement is meaningless, it is a unit of power at a specific instance.
A charged capacitor could deliver 72 volts, but not for very long.
What we want to know is:
How many kwh do the batteries hold?
What is the maximum range?
Thanks for playing "I want to be a real reporter when I grow up."
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paulwesterberg 12:07PM (1/31/2009)
Range: 25-30 miles depending on conditions
Top Speed: 45 MPH (though the front gear can be easily swapped out to go faster)
Weight: 480 lbs
Transmission: Direct drive 72 teeth sprocket in the rear and a 12 teeth pinion/gear on the motor
Braking: Regenerative and friction (regen is activated with the right thumb using the old starter switch. It is varied using a throttle on the left grip by twisting forward).
Charging Time: ~6 hours
Energy Requirement: 70 to 75 Watt-hrs/mile
Electricity Cost: 1.5 cents/mile
travis 2:11PM (1/31/2009)
From his website, they're 44Ah batteries, 6 of them in series for 72V..... 3.168kWh
Jeremy Korzeniewski 10:07AM (2/02/2009)
Paul, most people are pretty familiar with the 12 volt lead acid battery that's under the hood of their cars, so it seemed to make sense to write it that way. For the sake of this particular article, which is just an overview of what a few people did to make their own electric motorcycles, I don't think it was that glaring of a problem.
paulwesterberg 1:27PM (2/02/2009)
It is trivial to create a power pack that puts out 72 volts.
All you need is 6 12volt batteries that are wired in series.
You could also do this with 48 AA batteries wired in series - wouldn't last very long, but it would put out 72volts.
The trick is making a battery pack that can put out that much power for an extended period and do it consistently for many cycles. This requires a computerized battery management system to make sure that the charge/discharge is gradual and spread evenly.
jeffzekas 2:21PM (1/31/2009)
Brilliant!
Okay, Harley Davidson Corporation, it's YOUR turn. Bike sales are down... how about a Hybrid Harley?
However, it should be noted that Mr Rodgers, the builder of the $3,000 bike, has a degree from MIT and works for JPL-- in other words, he's a "Rocket Scientist" (as in, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to do it!").
Attention US Congress: this is one more reason to vote for the Two Dollar Gas Tax! We shall only have affordable, electric vehicles when the pocket books of citizens FORCE them to use more ecological means of transport!
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-M.Dub 2:55PM (1/31/2009)
I have to disagree with forcing people into efficient cars. I want an efficient car for myself, but I don't want to be told that I HAVE TO have an efficient car....FWIW
Anyway, the market is kinda killing the Hummer brand anyways, right?
=)
-M.Dub 2:57PM (1/31/2009)
Sorry, misread your post. Higher taxes on gas wouldn't be a bad thing...
dm789 5:25PM (1/31/2009)
I agree I realized when the gas price was so high people start taking public transport, number of accident went down drastically. Business save some money because there is less traffic. Same with the food,
Herm 4:09PM (1/31/2009)
higher taxes will discourage people from doing bad things.. we should increase taxes on poor people, motivate them to get off their ass and move on up.. and same with food, motivate people to eat less.. cheap food will kill ya.
I can think of lots of things to tax..
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jake 4:41PM (1/31/2009)
It doesn't make sense to tax poor people more to motivate them, all you'll be doing is making their life worse, it doesn't help motivate them at all. And the general theory that poor people want to stay poor or are just too lazy to move up doesn't hold water, there's a lot of other circumstances to consider.
You need to tax people who can actually pay for the taxes. As long as the gas taxes are used for improvements along the same area (roads, research into more efficent cars etc) then it does make sense.
Of course for people who don't like the disincentive method, there are also the incentive method, like the hybrid tax credit (though ultimately that comes from our taxes also, except it doesn't come directly from those who consume more gas, but rather from everyone).
JDred 8:14PM (1/31/2009)
You know, we had a Revolution against the British over two hundred years ago because they used taxes to "Control" what we bought and did.
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revs 6:12PM (2/02/2009)
I create custom electric motorcycles @ www.blindspotcycles.com
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electricitycycles 12:22AM (2/03/2009)
Gas taxes should not be added because then mass transit rates will go up as even their bulk purchase of fuels will still be impacted. While its a great idea, the trickle down effect onto all products and services is significant. What we need is a transition to alt fuels and that is happening in baby steps with many people working on building more efficient bikes.
The easiest way to do this is to follow the idea recently made popular by Andy Grove to retrofit exisiting vehicles to alt fuels. Whether it's adding the capacity to take bio diesel to shift to all electric, every change will have an impact in the longer term goal .
The above examples are great because they show just what can be done with in a short period of time. There are many examples out there such as http://www.evalbum.com/type/MTCY.
This is a revolution from the bottoms up and we want you to join. If you ride, ride electric. If you don;t ride learn or get involved building bikes for friends and neighbors.
Regards,
Electricity Cycles
twitter: ecycles
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Seth 3:36PM (2/03/2009)
Not if the funding raised in taxes goes to eliminate the fare in public transit.
electricitycycles 5:55PM (2/07/2009)
I agree with your answer depedning upon the city. In the NYC area where I live, our amss trasnit is great. But in other areas of the country its not conducive and Public transit has its own problems. The pension systems used to manage public transit have been shelled (googe LIRR and medical retirenments) and the people working for them as well as the legacy vehicles aren't gettting any younger.
In this article, PJ O'Rourke lamented in 2006 that the light rail system to commute in Minneapolis, MN would cost $19 each way to recapture the costs put into place or enough for each worker to have leased a BMW x5 instead. http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110006428. LA has horrible mass and the same can be said for other cities that have urban sprawl issues. As such, I'm a huge fan of electric busses.
But you still are going to have people that don't work within the exact boundaries of mass transit in areas that don't have the tax base to draw from. Electric bikes are going to cost money to buy new or to retrofit but they aren't going to tax the grid with the amount of power they need to draw . Nor will the taxpayer be drained thgouh public debt repayments for years on end with legacy costs to maintain.