[USAVeteranRealtor]

I am doing research on a possible build in the future. I have become a huge EV fanboy since converting my Catrike expedition to electric and have put over 5000 miles on the bike using old laptop batteries. I have always had a fascination with one of my friends motorcycles in my motorcycle riding group, but the bike has some flaws that need correction and i think an EV version would fix that...

How many watts of power would something around 800-1000lbs would need to maintain highway speeds? Would something like an off the shelf portable gas generator be capable of this adventure or would i need to use something closer to the voltage of the battery system. Like use the same motor that is propelling the car as a generator on the trailer ran by a cheap small gas engine to produce a set voltage?

Why im asking is this, im researching on the possibility of building something very similar to the motorcycle displayed above, but instead of using a motorcycle engine, i want to go EV and make it FWD for better traction if possible. I have a lot of 18650 cells laying around from my battery pack builds for my electric catrike build. I have thought about building the motorcycle to have around 75mile range on the on bike battery bank, then have a trailer attachment i could use for longer distant riding that would have a small generator setup to provide power to the electric drivetrain while able to maintain speeds up to highway.... 80mph...

I know this is possible, just unsure how difficult it would be and how many watts i would need as im no engineer or electrician.. Im just doing this out of a hobby sake..

I know the Chevy Volt only consumes around 260 watts while maintaining highway speeds

Here is a picture of an old sport car that was able to drive anywhere in the country using his trailer generator...

 

[Duncan]

I know the Chevy Volt only consumes around 260 watts while maintaining highway speeds

NO - at 60 mph even the very slippery EV1 used about 10,800 watts - I would expect a Chevy Volt to use about 17 Kw

Which ties into it's 16Kwhr battery and 50 miles range

 

[Karter2]

...I suspect that "260w" figure the OP had seen was actually the "Watts per mile" average figure, that is sometime quoted ?
But yes, cruising at 80 mph would need more like 10-20 kW depending on good aero and no hills .
...but getting up to that speed would be painfully slow, and a decent hill would seriously slow you down.
You need to plan for the real situations you are likely to meet.
This thread may give you some insight... http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/stuck-my-build-need-help-bldc-182929.html
And if you really intend to use those laptop 18650s to give you 20+ kW and a 75 mile range, i hope you are prepared to assemble a large pack (2000+ cells) that will weigh 100+ kg.