[EJFitz]

Hey everyone!
I’m new to all of this, but I’ve been trying to read up as much as I can.
I have two motorcycles that I would like to convert to EV, and I would like some help deciding what motor and battery voltage/capacity I will need.
The one I would like to do first is a 1961 CB77 superhawk. It’s 305cc currently and I would like to ideally get up to 45mph and as much range as I can. I don’t think I’d be able to get 85 mile range with this size bike but if anyone thinks otherwise please let me know! That’s the distance to my parents house and would be nice to be able to ride to them now and then.

The second is a 1971 CB350, but that one will require more work anyway as it’s completely disassembled right now so maybe I’ll save that for a future project .

Any info that people can give me regarding motors, batteries, etc would be great!

Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cricketo]

As always with these, look at Zero Motorcycles for the reference. You get the battery sizes, weights, performance and some component ideas from a real thing.

 

[gregski]

having converted a Suzuki Katana myself a 100 years ago, lol I have two questions:

1. can you weld?
2. can you weld aluminum?

and to maximize your space for batteries, have you considered a MOTORCYCLE HUB MOTOR ?

 

[roach374]

@gregski , got any recommendations for an onboard, L2-compatible charger?

 

[cricketo]

Any charger that will take 240VAC input can be made L2-compatible by addition of a J plug with corresponding circuitry. You can even use a converter cable like this :

https://www.tucsonev.com/images/Zero/Zero%202%20C-13.jpg

J1772 Home

This page is about a J1772 Adapter boxes, J1772 plugs and J1772 inlets for Electric Vehicle Charging, PEV Adapters for J1772 EVSE, J1772 Plug and cord, J1772 Extension cords, Tesla to J1772 Adapters

www.tucsonev.com

 

[roach374]

Any charger that will take 240VAC input can be made L2-compatible by addition of a J plug with corresponding circuitry. You can even use a converter cable like this :

https://www.tucsonev.com/images/Zero/Zero%202%20C-13.jpg

J1772 Home

This page is about a J1772 Adapter boxes, J1772 plugs and J1772 inlets for Electric Vehicle Charging, PEV Adapters for J1772 EVSE, J1772 Plug and cord, J1772 Extension cords, Tesla to J1772 Adapters

www.tucsonev.com

Thanks. I should have been way more specific: I'm more looking for a specific recommendation for a 240V charger that is small / compact enough to fit on a motorcycle and charge 32S/90Ah LiFePO4 (so ~116VDC / ~30A). And maybe this is a totally unreasonable request lol.

 

[gregski]

please see if Elcon chargers will work for you, and sorry I thought I sent this from my phone yesterday

this is what their cheapo PFC1500 model looks like not sure if this is Level 2 but it takes 220v

 

[roach374]

please see if Elcon chargers will work for you, and sorry I thought I sent this from my phone yesterday

this is what their cheapo PFC1500 model looks like not sure if this is Level 2 but it takes 220v

I wish I had room for an Elcon charger, but it's just too big for my bike unfortunately. Looks like this Chinese one is my best bet so far, at 90x168x288mm.

 

[gregski]

I wish I had room for an Elcon charger, but it's just too big for my bike unfortunately. Looks like this Chinese one is my best bet so far, at 90x168x288mm.

before I hallowed out my gas tank I just never carried a charger, I mean do you really need one on the vehicle, if you have a set destination just buy one for your parents house and keep the other in your garage, any friends of yours will just have to get one too, if not what kinda friends are they to begin with, LOL

 

[roach374]

before I hallowed out my gas tank I just never carried a charger, I mean do you really need one on the vehicle, if you have a set destination just buy one for your parents house and keep the other in your garage, any friends of yours will just have to get one too, if not what kinda friends are they to begin with, LOL

If they don't have their own EV bikes and chargers at this point, who needs 'em?

 

[schelle63]

Ah, the CB77, it became immortal with Robert Pirsig's masterpiece:

Robert Pirsig's "Zen" CB77 SuperHawk Rides into the Smithsonian - Motorcycle.com

Historical for not needing any maintenance

www.motorcycle.com

During conversion You will need to entirely disassemble the bike anyway. So with the CB350, that part is already done. I have a CB250 (and a CB350), these are heavy bikes, compared to what today's bikes weigh.
According to wikipedia, the CB77 weighs 153kg, and the CB350 is 170kg. I don`t know the rated load capacity of the bikes, I would consider this figure as the important criteria when choosing which bike to convert.

Make figures: adding kg of motor/inverter/cables/etc. will give you an idea how many batteries (again: kg) you can install without exceeding the max. weight. And this will give You an idea which range to get. For battery's live expectance it is good to calculate it's charge capacity from 20% to 80% only (occasionally 100% is ok.).
You should really consider a hub motor (as gregski recommends), for both weight and space reasons. 85 miles is a big target.

I would not like to travel without any option to charge my vehicle at any place (where a plug is), unless it is a very short trip; therefore a (small?) charger should be (at least optionally) on your lugage rack. And will add aditional weight.
Like in real life: you get nothing for free. I like that chinese chargers mentioned by roach374, I ordered one (48V) for my little moped.

This will be an interesting project, looking forward to the progress and whish You good success!
Markus