OwnerPatrick McKay
Owner's Other EVs2003 Bladez
2012 Custom Croborg
2009 Evo 800W
LocationJohannesburg, Gauteng South Africa map
WebWebPage
Vehicle2005 Kona Kahuna
Full suspension mountain bike with a custom
built ABS plastic battery box.
MotorCrystalyte x5305 Brushless DC
The 5305 is the hill climber of the Crystalyte
range. Lots of torque.
DrivetrainBicycle drivetrain
ControllerCrystalyte 72v48A instant start
The 18 fet model, seems to run more than the
claimed 48 amps!
Batteries24 Headway 10AH, 3.20 Volt, Lithium-Ion
The cells are 3.2v 10AH and weigh about 330
grams each. The whole pack weighs about 8kg
System Voltage77 Volts
ChargerKingpan Kingpan 300w
Charges well
HeaterCustom heater, burns calories and increases
range.
DC/DC Converter None
InstrumentationCycle analyst
Top Speed40 MPH (64 KPH)
Does about 65km/h on a flat road. 73km/h
downhill, 55km/h uphill, pretty much regardless
of how steep the hill is.
AccelerationGreat, if I open the throttle fully the front
wheel lifts off the ground. I pull away from
most cars at intersections. Definitely faster to
50km/h than my old 200cc yamaha.
Range30 Miles (48 Kilometers)
My normal riding style means 50km is easy to do.
If I use it as a motorcycle then it'll only do
30km The most I've done so far is 68km and I
probably would have managed another 6 or 7km
before cutout voltage was reached.
Watt Hours/Mile10 Wh/Mile
On a flat road at 45km/h I should do 30Whr/Mile.
On the road with my general riding style I
average between 10 and 12wh/km. More or less 16
to 20 wh/mile
EV Miles
Current:8,000 Miles (12,872 Kilometers)
Seating Capacity1 adult
Curb Weight80 Pounds (36 Kilograms)
Conversion Time3 months
Conversion Cost$2000 including the used bike.
Additional FeaturesI have an Aurora P7 flashlight with bicycle mount as a headlight.
Great light, puts out 900 lumens and has a flashing mode I use in
daylight.
I built the battery box out of 3mm ABS plastic using acetone and a
mixture of acetone with dissolved ABS as glue. Regular acetone glues
fast, but the mixed solution forms a very strong weld like finish.

A full charge costs me under $0.05 in South Africa!

I've since upgraded to a bluetooth BMS. It's really nice to know
what's going on in the battery pack and being able to tweak
parameters now that the cells are getting quite old.

Everything still works perfectly 10 years on. I love electric motors!

code by jerry