| Owner | David Snow | ||||||||
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| Location | Ohio United States map | ||||||||
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| Vehicle | 1981 Kawasaki KZ440a Now titled as an Ohio 2008 Self Assembled Vehicle | ||||||||
| Motor | Perm Motor Perm 132 Permanent Magnet DC | ||||||||
| Drivetrain | ANSI 40 chain. 12 tooth sprocket on motor, 48 tooth rear sprocket. Chose to go with idler sprocket instead of cutting into swing arm. | ||||||||
| Controller | Alltrax SPM72300 Originally Kelly 72401 72 volt, 400 amp regen controller. I don't recommend Kelly controllers, tend to go poof soot for no reason. | ||||||||
| Batteries | 22 Thunder Sky LFP40, 3.20 Volt, Lithium-Polymer June 2009 chose to take lithium plunge, expensive but worth it. If you can swing the extra expense go with lithium from the beginning. Don't forget a battery management system. I purchased mine from Alex at www.genasun.com Originally chose to go with less expensive FLA batteries, four 12 volt NAPABAT8301, 27dcm. | ||||||||
| System Voltage | 72 Volts | ||||||||
| Charger | Thundersky 72-10 originally Soneil 1214CC for FLA batteries, nothing but trouble. I replaced them several times, fortunately they are lifetime guarantee. | ||||||||
| DC/DC Converter | Meanwell SD-100D-12 origininally DC2415 from www.evparts.com/prod- DC2415.htm | ||||||||
| Instrumentation | Standard speedometer, added PakTrakr 600 to monitor battery condition (note to self, PakTrakr does not like rain or overvoltage) | ||||||||
| Top Speed | 60 MPH (96 KPH) Had 54 tooth sprocket in rear to start, 36mph top speed, chose to go to 48 tooth rear, better top speed, doesn't make much difference on acceleration from dead stop. | ||||||||
| Acceleration | Seems like second gear from dead stop, but after a half second or so she takes off, no problem keeping up with city traffic. Still tweaking Kelly controller. | ||||||||
| Range | 30 Miles (48 Kilometers) 5/1/08...25-30 miles is to 100% discharged. I'm trying to keep trips in the 15-20 mile range to keep batteries around the 50% discharged mark...update...7/10/08...well, the 25-30 was what I had hoped for, realistically am getting 21 mile to 100 discharged...and the other part about just going to 50% DOD...ha! I like to ride this thing way too much. I like to push it to see how far I can get, often going to 80-90% discharged...batteries still holding a charge though. 9/14/08... #1 battery starting to go bad, getting to 50% discharged then voltage plummets. Range now is 13-15 miles. 10/1/08...all 4 batteries replaced, fortunately they were still under warranty, back to full power. Now I have to figure out why they went south so quickly. June 2009, 72 volt lithium pack now gets 30 miles plus. | ||||||||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | 2 adults. I've tested acceleration and distance with single and double. Having gf on back doesn't seem to make too much difference with either acceleration or distance. | ||||||||
| Curb Weight | 480 Pounds (218 Kilograms) | ||||||||
| Tires | Original OEM | ||||||||
| Conversion Time | Started beginning of January, worked 1 or 2 days a week for several weeks converting frame, mounting motor, batteries and controller to finally get it going on it's maiden voyage on February 20, 2008. Thought that was the hard part... noooooooo... hard part was reassembling all the little things, blinkers, fenders, finding the right handlebars, redoing front brake line, hunting down a headlight, then deciding to do the right thing and have it inspected by the State Highway Patrol to get it titled properly (ask me about that one, long story) | ||||||||
| Conversion Cost | Originally $3000ish, now in the $6000ish range | ||||||||
| Additional Features | Chose to extend frame for battery tray, center of gravity is ideal. | ||||||||
| Was watching the show Cool Fuels (August 2006) and saw the episode with ElChopper ET. Fell in love with the idea of converting a motorcycle for $1200. Purchased plans for ElChopper ET and went from there. Thank you to my family to encourage me to pursue this project...all of them in their own ways. Son Ryan was there to lend a hand often, Son Eric who was interested but school and distance kept him from hands on (except when he came home for Easter and bent the handlebars ;-), Daughter Shannon and son Brad for betting me I wouldn't do it, gf Sue for being a good passenger, and Mom and Dad for all of their help. A HUGE thank you to Dave G for his welding skills, excellent ideas, and overall great guy status in my book. He spent many hours listening to me babble about this project, and came up with some great ideas as we progressed. If it wasn't for him I'd still be dreaming about converting a motorcycle to electric instead of riding it around now. Thank you to Dave's father-in-law Jim, for welding the drive sprocket and asking his neighbor to bore out rear sprockets. Thanks to Duke at NAPA in Bay Village, Ohio. Thanks to Jeff C. for making the nice fitting battery cover. Thanks to Lynn at Anything Worth Repairing in Cleveland for the nice job on seat recovering. Thank you to the motorcycle shops in the Cleveland area who laughed at my idea when I asked them if they'd be interested in working on this conversion, made me even more determined to complete it. | |||||||||
1981 Kawaski KZ440
Last Updated 08-22-2013
Copyright © 1997-2024 by Mike Chancey