Nuts&Volts

Here are a screen shots of the CAD model I have. With and without the original engine and some other angles. This is not 100% done. Wheels and forks are stolen from an SV650 CAD model. Model has 5in of ground clearance, 55in wheel base and about 52deg of maximum lean. Top line on side view is roughly where the seat is

Yea my batteries/mount will be about $6K, but these are quality used cells. Probably a similar price to new cells in bulk orders. Additionally I have a charge time of about 4-5 hours right now from 0 to 100%. Batteries would handle an hour charge if I had the charger to do it. I've got a 220V 50A outlet in the garage

You are pretty much correct, these are very high numbers. You can beat thou that I have done my research The new Zero's (http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-s/ ) is 341 lbs and can do an EPA 114miles (real world who knows). I have already personally gone 100miles on a charge on my full fairing, 430lb Katana. This was commuting back and forth from campus and Hilliard in 4 times on 25-50mph roads. I used 96% of my battery and will be adding 15% more cells to the R6. The R6 roller with everything but ICE bits weighs ~170lbs, 155lbs in batteries, 40lbs of motor and controller, and 10 lbs of electronics puts me at 375lbs. With an aerodynamic body I should be very close to that 100miles@55mph. The 80-100HP motor/controller I plan for is being developed and probably won't be available for another year. It's just my goal to beat the original R6 performance. I dyno'd mine with 99.4HP at the wheel and ~400lb wet, we'll see! The other points mentioned about battery cost is very true. I was lucky to source these cells used from a fellow El Moto friend, but they aren't readily available. I am fairly certain I have the same cells which are in the new Zero's I linked above. The R6 complete will be about $9-11k not including tools and such. Thanks for the encouragement guys

Reserved for future information

Hello, As mentioned in my intro thread I have 2003 R6 that I am converting to electric. This is the second electric bike I've done. The first was 1989 600 Katana from which most of the powertrain parts are coming. I purchased the R6 in Sept, rode it all fall to get the feel for a gas bike and performance of the original R6 and have torn it down this winter. My main reason for first doing a conversion is because I cared about the environment and about better utilizing our energy resources. I wanted to do a car, but a motorcycle ends up being cheaper and simpler to do. Ever since I have been addicted to electric motorcycles. I continue working with these because I believe it is/will be a better solution in terms of performance, energy efficiency, cost of ownership, and technologically. I plan to work in the 2-wheeled electric industry (studying mechanical engineering now). If people are interested we can argue out the reasons for and against in another thread. I like to argue I plan to eventually have about 80-100HP available but will only have 40HP for this riding season and a top speed of about 70-75mph. My range will vary, but my goal is 100 miles at 55mph cruise. Final weight will be between 360 and 380lbs ready to ride. I will detail more specs later on. The main steps include tear down (complete) CAD design/layout (mostly complete) Motor Install (mount created) Battery Install (3/4 through the cutting) Misc Electronics mounting Wiring - high and low voltage Bodywork Throughout this thread I will try to highlight the various components, principles, and considerations that are used/needed when building an electric machine. Feel free to ask any questions you have and I will do my best to answer them along with update this thread. Here are a few pictures of what I have so far Bare frame - weighs about 140lbs General layout (orientation has been changed a little). Leaves entire tank and tail section to be used for storage. PS - R6 engine parts and some body work are for sale. Will post soon.

I give a little under the handlebar wave peace sign cuz I'm that cool. I enjoy the idea of waving, it reminds you aren't alone out there along the cagers.

welcome to the fun!

My uncle's a cop, I'll have to ask him if any of his buddies screw around on their bikes. Cool video

Cool if these meet the basic fit then I'll do some searching and see what I can do.

Yea I'm no brand purist, if they fit they fit. Just looking for a deal on bodywork. However these will be going on an electric R6 so the fitment is quite a bit different. I swear I'll make a build thread soon...

I may be interest in these soon. I would be fitting them on an 03 R6. Would it be possible to carefully cut out the fairing to fit a CBR600rr headlight? Is the shape the same at all?

Welcome abroad!

Haha yes I believe our best bet may be to just design something and FEA it. Need to learn a few more things in CAD about welds and stuff to get the model right. My biggest concern is knowing exactly what loads to apply to it, but I have a feeling just sitting down and doing some FBDs and some math will give me a general idea of the loads to test it at.

Good to know I may need his help on something soon. Thanks for the heads up

Hey, has anyone developed/built their own swingarm before? I am looking to design a CrMoly tube swingarm with a direct linkage shock like the new ninjas or ducatis. There would also be a split axle pivot point in order to mount an electric motor between the pivot axis. My team is able to do the CAD design and supply the material, but I was looking for some more expertise/experience on the matter. Similiar in design to this, but tube. Maybe even the same motor.. Simple Tube swingarm example. Two horizontal tubes and two angled ones, with a few added cross braces. Interested in hearing all opinions about how difficult it would be to design and build a tube swingarm and the complexity of setting up the rear suspension??? Thanks

Inconceivable! but welcome!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome to OR!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome. Good to have ya!

PS - if anyone is interested in seeing my bike, the OSU bike or other just talk electric motorcycles just drop me a PM or email

Bad324, I am trying to design it so that the battery don't extend out any further than the original ICE parts while getting the weigh as low as possible. This includes ground clearance and side clearance. With this setup I should have 6" and 52 degrees of lean before any battery tray (alum) grinds. I also have enough clearance for the suspension to fully compress. Additionally I have frame sliders that I will be attaching with swingarm sliders as well. That all being said, I believe any sort of slide shouldn't harm the setup at all. If I were to hit something head on would probably lose a few of the batteries, but the aluminum tray and plastic battery pieces would probably act somewhat like a spring. Otherwise I think the tray attachment points would shear allowing the tray to slide back in the bike. The batteries themselves should be quite stable, but a bad enough impact could puncture them and a fire is possible. To be honest I have never really thought about frontal crash. In a frontal crash would the front end (forks, wheel) snap back pretty far? Can't say I'm an expert on that. A very good thing to think about if I ever want to start designing these full time. Sometime about 3 years ago I started being all concerned with the enivronment. Learning about solar power and wind energy and all that jazz. I was into cars some too, so somwhere along the road I thought I would convert a car, but would never have 20k in my name to do a good performing build. So my mind turned towards motorcycles. Smaller=less parts=less money and motorcycles are cool . And so it began 3 years ago this month when i bought the Katana for $450

Here's a more recent picture of the R6 with the battery and motor layout. Still need to find time to start a build thread on here...

A conversion can range from anywhere from $3k to $10k on the road. I spent about $6k on the katana conversion (70mph top end, 50 mile city range, 40HP, lithium batteries, etc.). My R6 (not counting tools and things I fuck up) will probably be about $8k-$9k (1k bike-ICE, 5k batteries, 1k motor, 1k other electronics). I could spend about $4k more and match the performance of the R6 (except maybe top speed probably). If you want better numbers go to evalbum.com and search for motorcycles, you'll be amazed at what people have done! Nope not associated with the magazine, just like the idea of mixing electrical and mechanical disciplines. Glad I can help entertain you Isaac haha I'll start a build thread later today or tomorrow outlining the parts and the teardown so far...

Where is the best subforum to include a build thread?