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Hi. I can't find much info on using single shaft hub motors for converting things like quads and golf carts. Can someone point me in the right direction?
Thanks,
Jim
Thanks,
Jim
Single Shaft Hub Motors
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Youtube
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Hi Jim, I too am looking for this information.
I have spent many hours mindlessly looking through Alibaba, Google, and Youtube for a solution to attach a single shaft hub motor to the suspension of an ATV or golf cart and it seems like you really have to make it up yourself at this stage. I have a dual 2000W QS motors hub kit coming in a few weeks and will have to fabricate something myself and have started modeling something up in Fusion 360.
Have you found any existing solutions?
I understand the limitations of the hub motor being at the end of the suspension, but for utility quad bikes or golf carts, I feel there might be a use case for them. Will test it out anyways as the vehicle we are developing is a quad sized golfcart (a bit over half size of a traditional golf cart), and the hub motor allows us to add more power where the existing smaller transaxle is very limiting.
Don
I have spent many hours mindlessly looking through Alibaba, Google, and Youtube for a solution to attach a single shaft hub motor to the suspension of an ATV or golf cart and it seems like you really have to make it up yourself at this stage. I have a dual 2000W QS motors hub kit coming in a few weeks and will have to fabricate something myself and have started modeling something up in Fusion 360.
Have you found any existing solutions?
I understand the limitations of the hub motor being at the end of the suspension, but for utility quad bikes or golf carts, I feel there might be a use case for them. Will test it out anyways as the vehicle we are developing is a quad sized golfcart (a bit over half size of a traditional golf cart), and the hub motor allows us to add more power where the existing smaller transaxle is very limiting.
Don
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Good luck with that one - the use case is even worse than for road vehicles....hub motors suck for torque which is something you should not give up in an offroad vehicle.
Even operating on level grass takes more torque than on pavement, let alone bogging or doing hills.
So it's not just unsprung weight that's gunna be a problem.
I look forward to you proving me wrong.
Even operating on level grass takes more torque than on pavement, let alone bogging or doing hills.
So it's not just unsprung weight that's gunna be a problem.
I look forward to you proving me wrong.
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Thanks for your reply Remy.
We are currently using a small type of motor/transaxle that does the job but is limited in the tasks it can perform. They are used as a helping hand around larger properties, hobby farms etc., to do tasks like taking the bins to the road and back, towing a polly trailer for clean-ups and collecting wood, checking mail, and just getting around the property quickly.
We have a few on our 40-acre property here in Australia, and I could not go without one now. Just need more power and the frame doesn't allow for a larger golf cart transaxle. So have been exploring options.
The current motor is brushed DC and rated at 1500W, putting out around 80Nm of torque. The hub motors we have ordered are each rated at 2000W and put out 165Nm torque each. I just figured this would be more than enough, but to be honest, the only experience I have with hub motors is on the dual-hub electric off-road scooters we use here all the time. I really like brushless and was impressed by the power of the scooters to get us around including the steep hills we have on our property. The small ATV size cart we use is pretty light and uses lithium batteries.
Ah well, if it's no good then at least I tried and will have to start looking at building a new frame which I was planning to do further down the track.
Will let you know how it goes.
Don
We are currently using a small type of motor/transaxle that does the job but is limited in the tasks it can perform. They are used as a helping hand around larger properties, hobby farms etc., to do tasks like taking the bins to the road and back, towing a polly trailer for clean-ups and collecting wood, checking mail, and just getting around the property quickly.
We have a few on our 40-acre property here in Australia, and I could not go without one now. Just need more power and the frame doesn't allow for a larger golf cart transaxle. So have been exploring options.
The current motor is brushed DC and rated at 1500W, putting out around 80Nm of torque. The hub motors we have ordered are each rated at 2000W and put out 165Nm torque each. I just figured this would be more than enough, but to be honest, the only experience I have with hub motors is on the dual-hub electric off-road scooters we use here all the time. I really like brushless and was impressed by the power of the scooters to get us around including the steep hills we have on our property. The small ATV size cart we use is pretty light and uses lithium batteries.
Ah well, if it's no good then at least I tried and will have to start looking at building a new frame which I was planning to do further down the track.
Will let you know how it goes.
Don
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You need to multiply the current motor torque rating by the gear reduction ratio to arrive at current torque rating. If it's up to 8:1 and you're using 4 motors, should be at least same with what you have.
Sounds like you have a good idea what you are doing -- others reading this in future may not follow the original reasoning. I think what we have here should now suffice.
Sounds like you have a good idea what you are doing -- others reading this in future may not follow the original reasoning. I think what we have here should now suffice.
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Good point with the gear reduction ratio.
In my ignorance, I figured it was an overall torque rating as it was the transaxle and motor specs, but thinking now, it's just the motor torque output of course.
It's actually 16:1 so I'm way off.
I have a small quad frame that I've been wanting to make electric, and a bunch of 100 Ah decent used LifePo4 cells so can use them in that.
Cheers for your input.
In my ignorance, I figured it was an overall torque rating as it was the transaxle and motor specs, but thinking now, it's just the motor torque output of course.
It's actually 16:1 so I'm way off.
I have a small quad frame that I've been wanting to make electric, and a bunch of 100 Ah decent used LifePo4 cells so can use them in that.
Cheers for your input.
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Hellllo Down-Under!
Yes, I spent some time and money on it this summer before other things took over, and think I have it solved in a cheap and simple way. PM me.
Jim
Yes, I spent some time and money on it this summer before other things took over, and think I have it solved in a cheap and simple way. PM me.
Jim
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...it's a big secret, apparently.
Hi, I am also in Australia (Victoria) and working slowly on converting a Yamaha Moto4 quad to electric that I can use on my 40h (hilly) bush block. I'd be keen to learn and share more.
Also, I am really interested in the dual-hub electric off-road scooters you mentioned that work well on steep hills. Any information you can share on make, model, specs would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Also, I am really interested in the dual-hub electric off-road scooters you mentioned that work well on steep hills. Any information you can share on make, model, specs would be appreciated.
Thanks!
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Hi Tim. Sorry for the late reply, been flat out.
The two dual-hub scooters we have here are from Alibaba and were around 600 US plus shipping. Think they cost around $1000 Aussie dollars to get here. Dual 1000W motors. I can't find the link to the Alibaba page, but if you just type in "dual hub electric scooter", you should see a heap of them.
If money is not an issue, then there is the very powerful Kaboo Wolf (check out on YouTube) which also has long battery life etc. Think they are around 6K or so. You see them from time to time on Marketplace secondhand for around 4-5K.
We live on the outskirts of Perth, in the hills and our property boarders onto national parks and mountain bike trails, so we are on our scooters probably around 3-4 times a week and they are so much fun to get around on. The steep hills can be tricky, not because of power but more of getting traction. We have evolved to always sitting on the seats they provide and find this much better which is a lot like a motorbike. Mountain bike trails are the best fun, especially uphill climbs.
The hubs for our off-road machine are on the sea now and should be here soon and I will report back if they were any good for this application.
Cheers. Don
The two dual-hub scooters we have here are from Alibaba and were around 600 US plus shipping. Think they cost around $1000 Aussie dollars to get here. Dual 1000W motors. I can't find the link to the Alibaba page, but if you just type in "dual hub electric scooter", you should see a heap of them.
If money is not an issue, then there is the very powerful Kaboo Wolf (check out on YouTube) which also has long battery life etc. Think they are around 6K or so. You see them from time to time on Marketplace secondhand for around 4-5K.
We live on the outskirts of Perth, in the hills and our property boarders onto national parks and mountain bike trails, so we are on our scooters probably around 3-4 times a week and they are so much fun to get around on. The steep hills can be tricky, not because of power but more of getting traction. We have evolved to always sitting on the seats they provide and find this much better which is a lot like a motorbike. Mountain bike trails are the best fun, especially uphill climbs.
The hubs for our off-road machine are on the sea now and should be here soon and I will report back if they were any good for this application.
Cheers. Don
Thanks! I will do some more research on dual hub, all terrain e-scooters. That Kaboo Wolf looks wild and way more than what I need.
I just want to chug up my hill and perhaps have a small trailer that I can carry some things in. All the best with your conversion project, looking forward to updates.
Tim
I just want to chug up my hill and perhaps have a small trailer that I can carry some things in. All the best with your conversion project, looking forward to updates.
Tim
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