Side viewRacks and mountingsangle view
OwnerD. Moore
LocationTomball, Texas United States map
Vehicle1986 Honda Rebel 450
A basic conversion intended for semi-rural
commuter use. Not much to look at, but I think
I like the utilitarian rawness of it. I am now commuting on it, but there is much
more work to do!
Converted center of gravity is lower, weight
crept up by 10 or 15 pounds. (Mostly welded
steel battery racks...)
MotorEnerTrac MHM-602 Brushless DC
Very clean (chain-free) hub motor
installation, leaves more room for batteries!
I sent EnerTrac my swing arm and they did all
the mechanical adapter fabrication! They also
fitted a disk brake, to replace my original
mechanical drum. Excellent service. The thing
is SILENT with the sine wave controller.
DrivetrainGBS batteries, Kelly controller, EnerTrac 10kW
hub motor, single speed, no chain.
ControllerKelly KLS12301-8080IPS
KLS12301-8080IPS,24V-120V,300A,Sinusoidal BLDC
Motor Controller. Very smooth controller with
accessible firmware settings. At the moment I have both battery current and motor current set to 50%.
Batteries32 GBS LFP-G40AH, 3.20 Volt, Lithium Iron Phosphate
LiFeMnPO4 Prismatic Cell: 3.2V 40Ah. I bought
these in blocks of 4, with jumpers and
strapping plates. I adapted the strapping for
larger groups using stainless steel banding
material.
I like the four screw lugs but they make cable
lugs difficult. I drilled out blank "paddle"
lugs from CableOrganizer.com (PAN-LCA2-00-Q)
System Voltage96 Volts
ChargerElcon PFC1500
Off board for now. Room to mount it transverse
across the front, over the batteries.
HeaterRadiantly coupled solar fusion
DC/DC ConverterMeanwell RSD-200D-12
Separate Converters for the controller and the
legacy electrics.
Legacy System uses Meanwell Railway standard
RSD-200D-12 200 watts 67 - 143 to 12 volts
Controller uses similar smaller unit.
InstrumentationAnalog speedometer
CycleAnalyist
Four CellLog8S with 1A axial fuses at the
cell.
Top Speed65 MPH (104 KPH)
Very comfortable at 55MPH. I have been to 65.
Top speed limited by hub-motor RPM/Volt
AccelerationTo Do, VERY peppy.
Range32 Miles (51 Kilometers)
Should be about 40 miles to full discharge
Should be about 32 miles to 80%DOD at my normal speeds.
I have demonstrated 35.5 miles at 28.11 Ah on 45mph roads, so the estimates above may be a bit conservative.
Watt Hours/Mile97 Wh/Mile
97 Whr/Mi average during commute (2275.5 Wh over 23.4 Mi) Speeds range from 30 to 50.
EV Miles
Current:3,056 Miles (4,917 Kilometers)
 
    As of 5/25/2020
Seating Capacity2 adults (If I fix the back seat)
Curb Weight0
To do.
Probably about about 410, maybe 10 or 15 pounds more than stock.
TiresIt has 2 :--)
Conversion Time9 months part time until first ride. Fully registered, inspected, insured.
Conversion CostApproximately $6000, including donor bike.
Additional FeaturesBattery racks are welded 3/4" angle iron, and mount to the original motor mounts. There are 10x40AH cells on the bottom row, (6 down the center and two on each side rotated 90 degrees) There are three rows of cells on the top tier 7,8,7 each row. Cells are strapped into blocks with extended stainless steel straps fitted to the GBS provided end plates used in the original blocks of 4. Cell bricks are held in place with plastic pallet strap. The controller is mounted under the seat in the space formerly used by the air filter box.

I used plastic electrical boxes intended for making 90 degree joints in rigid conduit to provide housings for my main fuse, my shunt, and a mid-pack fuse. These are very nice because they come with a gasket. They will be simple to waterproof when I get around to that part... The contactor is in a 3-gang electrical wall box.
I wanted a home brew conversion that I could commute to work on, that meant 25 mile round trips with plenty of extra range for side trips. I wanted AT LEAST average commuter vehicle acceleration, and I wanted a top speed of 55 or 60mph to keep up on roads marked at 50mph, with a little padding. Since failure WAS an option, I wanted to keep cost (and risk) reasonable. These factors meant a motorcycle conversion. It was simply the only choice, given my criteria.
One small problem. I had no idea how to ride a motorcycle. :--) That turned out to be a fairly easy problem to solve. Nine months of head scratching later, I have a vehicle that meets all my criteria, is fun and safe to ride, and is fully road legal.
All in all, I am extremely happy with the conversion.

Update 2/19/2019 Still going strong with over 2000 electric miles. Cell resistance crept up during the winter, but it is dropping on warm days. Hoping for a nearly full recovery.

code by jerry