my electric motorcycle build

Complete cart

2012-01-25T23:49:00.001-08:00

2012-01-24T13:28:00.001-08:00

Trailer

2012-01-23T23:08:00.001-08:00

Bike rack of the gods

2012-01-22T16:07:00.001-08:00

Hum woes

2012-01-20T16:01:00.001-08:00

Steering module

2012-01-19T19:59:00.001-08:00

Tri•harder

2012-01-17T21:47:00.001-08:00

Trike revamp

2012-01-17T20:31:00.001-08:00

This is how the beat......drops

2011-09-09T18:59:00.000-07:00

Purgatory

2011-09-09T18:39:00.001-07:00

2011-08-31T23:23:00.001-07:00

2011-08-31T21:30:00.001-07:00

Chainstay

2011-08-31T00:28:00.001-07:00

Mongoose

2011-08-28T22:47:00.001-07:00

Ghetto jig

2011-08-28T20:17:00.001-07:00

Craigslist bike

2011-08-26T20:45:00.001-07:00

Staybrace, motor mount?

2011-08-26T19:45:00.001-07:00

Stays

2011-08-26T18:38:00.001-07:00

Sacrificial lamb

2011-08-26T16:28:00.001-07:00

shinytrack

2011-08-23T18:46:00.000-07:00

Sidetracker

2011-08-19T20:48:00.001-07:00

Frontracker

2011-08-19T20:47:00.001-07:00

Downtube

2011-08-02T21:19:00.001-07:00

First bend

2011-07-27T20:11:00.001-07:00

Schwinn tailwind

2011-07-27T10:46:00.001-07:00

Redtrack

2011-07-20T17:27:00.001-07:00

Boardtracker hubbie

2011-07-20T16:46:00.001-07:00

Framed

2011-07-13T20:32:00.001-07:00

2011-04-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

2011-04-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

2011-04-07T13:13:00.000-07:00

2011-04-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

2011-04-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

2011-04-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

2011-02-09T20:30:00.000-08:00

2011-01-20T13:56:00.000-08:00

2011-01-18T09:33:00.000-08:00

2011-01-10T08:17:00.000-08:00

2010-12-15T20:34:00.000-08:00

2010-10-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

custom latex mask

2010-10-26T08:23:00.001-07:00

do you know me boy?

2010-09-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

what could this be for?

2010-09-16T17:24:00.000-07:00

cube runner redux

2010-09-13T10:38:00.001-07:00

new stockpile

2010-09-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

cube runner

2010-09-09T16:13:00.001-07:00

2010-09-04T00:28:00.001-07:00

roughneck

2010-09-03T22:21:00.000-07:00

2010-08-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

modified controller enclosure

2010-08-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

at the shop of bamboo

2010-07-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

2010-06-04T13:46:00.000-07:00

shady battery pack disection

2010-05-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

VTOL

2010-04-11T12:53:00.003-07:00

VTOL

2010-04-11T12:53:00.001-07:00

VTOL

2010-04-11T12:52:00.001-07:00

fork stuff

2010-03-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

frame mods

2010-03-31T17:27:00.001-07:00

bike and personal protection

2010-03-17T22:46:00.000-07:00

new dual disk front hub

2010-03-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

pit bike brakes rock

2010-03-10T20:52:00.000-08:00

2010-02-26T20:31:00.000-08:00

3/4 view arc-angel

2010-02-21T21:34:00.001-08:00

larger image

2010-02-21T18:14:00.001-08:00

2010-02-21T17:47:00.000-08:00

2010-02-21T16:58:00.000-08:00

2010-02-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

dray

2010-02-21T11:58:00.001-08:00

the arc-angel

2010-02-20T20:08:00.000-08:00

2010-02-13T18:13:00.000-08:00

choppersus.com wide disk freewheel hub

2010-02-11T18:18:00.000-08:00

2010-02-07T21:37:00.001-08:00

Einstein!!!

2010-02-07T10:47:00.001-08:00

2010-01-23T18:08:00.000-08:00

latest steel

2010-01-21T20:33:00.000-08:00

homage to big red

2010-01-16T12:19:00.000-08:00

controller housing side piece

2010-01-10T18:40:00.000-08:00

final design

2010-01-09T01:08:00.000-08:00

back to the drawing board

2010-01-07T20:54:00.000-08:00

I received methods controller in the mail and wouldn't you know it doesn't fit in the styrofoam enclosure I spent so much stinking time sanding. so with a kind donation of some 1/16th sheet steel I will attempt to do something similar, but much boxier with.

frame and controller
enclosure overlay
and all done

Disk caliper mount and chain stay reinforcment

2010-01-05T21:15:00.000-08:00

the basic idea

2010-01-05T00:24:00.001-08:00

2010-01-04T18:07:00.000-08:00

2010-01-03T22:03:00.000-08:00

HPM500b in a light personel transport

2009-12-27T16:29:00.000-08:00

2009-12-19T13:19:00.000-08:00

Run to kinkos, paper battery on the way

2009-12-08T17:38:00.000-08:00

Stanford Report, December 7, 2009

At Stanford, nanotubes + ink + paper = instant battery

Dip an ordinary piece of paper into ink infused with carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires, and it turns into a battery or supercapacitor. Crumple the piece of paper, and it still works. Stanford researcher Yi Cui sees many uses for this new way of storing electricity.

Jack Hubbard

Post doctoral students in the lab of Prof. Yi Cui, Materials Science and Engineering, light up a diode from a battery made from treated paper, similar to what you would find in a copy machine. The paper batteries are treated with a nanotube ink, baked and folded into electrical generating sources like the one wrapped in foil seen here.

BY JANELLE WEAVER

Stanford scientists are harnessing nanotechnology to quickly produce ultra-lightweight, bendable batteries and supercapacitors in the form of everyday paper.

Simply coating a sheet of paper with ink made of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires makes a highly conductive storage device, said Yi Cui, assistant professor of materials science and engineering.

"Society really needs a low-cost, high-performance energy storage device, such as batteries and simple supercapacitors," he said.

Like batteries, capacitors hold an electric charge, but for a shorter period of time. However, capacitors can store and discharge electricity much more rapidly than a battery.

Cui's work is reported in the paper "Highly Conductive Paper for Energy Storage Devices," published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"These nanomaterials are special," Cui said. "They're a one-dimensional structure with very small diameters." The small diameter helps the nanomaterial ink stick strongly to the fibrous paper, making the battery and supercapacitor very durable. The paper supercapacitor may last through 40,000 charge-discharge cycles – at least an order of magnitude more than lithium batteries. The nanomaterials also make ideal conductors because they move electricity along much more efficiently than ordinary conductors, Cui said.

L.A. Cicero

Bing Hu, a post-doctoral fellow, prepares a small square of ordinary paper to with an ink that will deposit nanotubes on the surface that can then be charged with energy to create a battery.

Cui had previously created nanomaterial energy storage devices using plastics. His new research shows that a paper battery is more durable because the ink adheres more strongly to paper (answering the question, "Paper or plastic?"). What's more, you can crumple or fold the paper battery, or even soak it in acidic or basic solutions, and the performance does not degrade. "We just haven't tested what happens when you burn it," he said.

The flexibility of paper allows for many clever applications. "If I want to paint my wall with a conducting energy storage device," Cui said, "I can use a brush." In his lab, he demonstrated the battery to a visitor by connecting it to an LED (light-emitting diode), which glowed brightly.

A paper supercapacitor may be especially useful for applications like electric or hybrid cars, which depend on the quick transfer of electricity. The paper supercapacitor's high surface-to-volume ratio gives it an advantage.

"This technology has potential to be commercialized within a short time," said Peidong Yang, professor of chemistry at the University of California-Berkeley. "I don't think it will be limited to just energy storage devices," he said. "This is potentially a very nice, low-cost, flexible electrode for any electrical device."

Cui predicts the biggest impact may be in large-scale storage of electricity on the distribution grid. Excess electricity generated at night, for example, could be saved for peak-use periods during the day. Wind farms and solar energy systems also may require storage.

"The most important part of this paper is how a simple thing in daily life – paper – can be used as a substrate to make functional conductive electrodes by a simple process," Yang said. "It's nanotechnology related to daily life, essentially."

Cui's research team includes postdoctoral scholars Liangbing Hu and JangWook Choi, and graduate student Yuan Yang.

Janelle Weaver is a science-writing intern at the Stanford News Service.

whew!

2009-12-06T19:53:00.000-08:00

the golden motor is spinning again, just as I suspected it was going to take alot of trial and error getting it back together so that the axle was oriented correctly. Much thanks to the forum members at endless sphere and golden motor, not so much to the golden motor staff but...whatever. Even without the help of the manufacturer I believe that this is another step towards understanding the full capabilities of this motor.

Now the next step will finnaly be mounting this motor to the frame of the bike using a 8 inch diameter steel tube cut to about six or seven inches and placed right behind the seat tube.I do believe after taking the motor apart that the claims of the motor being waterproof are possible with a bit of modification and precaution in the placement of this motor on the bike. The weak points seem to be at the axle berrings and where the motor cover and the rear housing meet. I think that if the berrings on the drive shaft are kept inclosed and the rear housing/cover joining is treated to some sort of sealant this baby should be able to ride in the rain no prob. This comes as a relief to me as I really wanted to be able to have a good portion of the motor exposed not only to show off the motor but to alow the motor case to sink that heat away with air flow.

Now if I can just get my hands on a bunch of A123 cells I might actually be able to get this project rolling. But the light at the end of the tunnel is still quite a ways down cosidering I haven't even begun to think about a BMS.

Electro-G, very conceptual electric conversion

2009-12-06T12:57:00.000-08:00

Oh shit, NINJAS!!!

hi rez motor shots

2009-12-05T11:57:00.001-08:00

what ever happened to this bad boy?

2009-12-05T08:27:00.000-08:00

I remember seeing this video years ago and I saw it again today, it seems like the motors coils shift to allow for different torque settings. Possibly allowing for adjusting the peak efficiency rmp. Damnit I hate vaporware.

the brains of the operation

2009-12-05T07:41:00.000-08:00

This is the work of guy on the endless sphere forum I was told to look into about a good controller for my bike by another member. He goes by the handle Methods and damn does he do some fine work. By day a mild mannered electronic engineer and by night a soldering iron wielding warrior for the electric revolution. Apparently building a decent controller from scratch rocks, but is seriously tedious and time consuming, so he started taking programable infineon controllers and modding them out and reinforcing the electronics. The result, a high powerful (by ebike standards) and very adaptable full featured controller. Considering his real job, he is practicly building these pro bono and I for one say that I could not be more greatfull. For anyone who thinks they got the skills they can replicate the whole proccess themselves with the help of this forum here

Electrical
Voltage range: 36V - 100V
Peak Current: >300A
Current Limit: 5A - 120A
Regen Voltage: < style="text-decoration: underline;">Features
Fully Programmable via supplied USB cable
Regenerative Braking
Cruise Control
3 Speed control
Pedal Sense
Cycle Analyst Ready
Power Switch
Power Indicator
Reverse Switch Grip
60 degree or 120 degree compatible

Whats Inside
Genuine IRFB4110 Mosfets
Precision Calibrated 4W shunt
10AWG Teflon coated tinned copper cabling
6AWG equivalent traces
Precision 1% Reference

Reliability
100% Testing
Cleaned and inspected
Conformal coated
Glued Capacitors
Large Heat Dissipating Case
High Pedal Lockout
Reverse Lockout

Modifications
90V Regen Mod
100V Power Resistor Mod
3K Base Mod
250uOhm Shunt Mod
50V / 100V Switch Mod
Programming Mod
10AWG Wire Mod
4110 Fet Mod

after more sanding and a increasing chance of emphasima

2009-11-24T19:44:00.000-08:00

yup, thats right, pink is back! I whiped up a hot wire knife from some copper wire lying around and some big 'ol six volt batteries I used for my tv head costume wired in series to eachother. Split it right down the middle and used some bamboo skewers to hold the pieces on there. The next step is to cover the mold in something to protect the styrofoam from being dissolved by the fiberglass resin and allow for some finish sanding. Someone recomended bondo so I will see how affordable that option is and might start working tommorow night on that.

now with the clothes off

2009-11-22T17:12:00.000-08:00

Finally got the housing off of my motor, no thanks to the guys at golden motor. I couldn't wait any longer to get a reply from them so some guys at the shop helped me get it disassembled.

a123 in the place to be

2009-11-22T17:04:00.000-08:00

Those crazy kids at the EV shop not only have tons of nanophosphate cells just plain kickin it, but they have a single cell that has been doing four minute fast charges and discharges back to back for weeks now and will continue to until it has completed 1000 cycles as it is rated to. The purpouse of this is to see how the fast charge system affects cell life. Aparently the cells progress is viewable online and even will send one of the crew a text message if something goes wrong.

Dont tell anyone that I spent a good amount of time under that table cuddling with those boxes of a123 cells...kidding

...or am I?

second try at a controller housing

2009-11-17T17:08:00.000-08:00

Meet Grace

2009-11-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

Grace is an E-bike from germany, it sports batteries and controller contained inside its cnc frame. It is capable of 45 kph and is water tight. It has a 30-50km range and comes in at a whopping $8000. I say if you got the cash, go for it.

a shout out

2009-11-13T17:28:00.000-08:00

to the MIT electric vehicle team for being so receptive. I cant wait to get to meet all of you and see what you have cookin . These guys are working hard to put the electric vehicle ahead of ICE's, and look cool in their porsche while doing it.

a idea for an easy project?

2009-11-13T17:13:00.000-08:00

cool rider makes this nifty spokeless puller. I wouldn't mind taking a hub motor and building a less sleek looking one myself and balance it out by not dressing like such a douche.

"gas tank" style controller housing

2009-11-12T16:43:00.000-08:00

Inspired by aussiejesters fiberglass battery box I decided to make a controller housing using the same technique. By the way, that guys work is crescent fresh. Take some time to check out his trike video on youtube with the same screen name.

Originally I was just shaping this piece as a mock up to use as a guide to make the housing out of wood. But I'm starting to think that wood might be too vulnerable to the elements and cause heat build ups. Not that the solid wood idea is totally out the window but the fiberglass option just keeps looking better. I'm shopping around for a large styrofoam block to shape the final piece out of at the moment.

hello hello, is there anybody out there

2009-11-08T19:57:00.000-08:00

So I've been tossing the idea about to take this blog from just being about my build to something with more stuff from the ev world outside my little project. So to start things off I would like to shout out to any other ev nuts out here in the Boston or bay area to come together and possibly form some sort of club, or association of some sort. So far all I've seen is the MIT ev team and I think it would be great to have something for not only students, but all tinkerers and DIY type people in the area. I love all the help from the people at endless-spere but there's just something to be said for getting together with people face to face and letting the ideas flow. I really do think that the electric revolution is very likely upon us but also that the onus is on us to kick it in the pants with some good ol fashioned american ingenuity. Along with a good heaping dish of trial and error.

So if you're into volts, amps, watts and speed let's get together and see what we can come up with. The bay area is a great place to be if you're into technology so it would seem a crying shame not to take advantage of that.