Mike Bachand's Kawasaki EX500

Owner

Mike Bachand

Location

Highlands Ranch, Colorado United States ^map

Web/Email

WebPage

Vehicle

1994 Kawasaki Original EX500
Sport bike (theft recovery) conversion

Motor

Advanced DC A89-4001 Series Wound DC
6.7 inches by ~10 inches
At 48 volts it produces 2850 rpm and 6.0 continuous horse power. In my application at 72 volts it produces 6HP and 3940 peak rpms. I expect it somewhere about 85% efficient. An Etek would be less durable, rev higher, and be more

Drivetrain

direct chain (525 O ring type) drive 12t/45t for a ratio of 3.75
gearing still seems a bit tall.

Controller

Curtis 1209B-6402
48 to 72 volts input
400 amps (actual measured peak) output
no noise

Batteries

6 Optima Yellow Tops, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, AGM
Configured as a 2 + 2 + 2 stack. No regulators or balancers in place, considering parallel charging with soniels.

System Voltage

72 Volts

Charger

K and W BC20

Heater

N/A

DC/DC Converter

TDK 34x02192 Model FPD12-4-2-48
DC Input: 48 volts @1.8 amps, DC Output: 12 volts @ 4.2 amps. Too weak to run lights and accessories, so MC type 12v battery installed.

Instrumentation

Almost none. Crude bar type battery guage.

Top Speed

72 MPH (115 KPH)
original 14/45 went ~80 MPH for very short periods of time.

Acceleration

Adequate, better than almost all cars, no tire smoke,

Range

20 Miles (32 Kilometers)
normal riding in hilly terain e.g. Colorado foothills

Watt Hours/Mile

Don't know

EV Miles

Start:	2,100 Miles (3,378 Kilometers)
Current:	2,600 Miles (4,183 Kilometers)
Total:	500 Miles (804 Kilometers)

Seating Capacity

2 adults

Curb Weight

540 Pounds (245 Kilograms)
Chassis is 265 equally balanced front to rear without any batteries. Original bike weighed ~420 pounds wet as an ICE.

Tires

stock

I love the jump on and go with no warm up required. When my ICE cycle sits for more than 30 days the gas dries out of the carbs and I have to charge/crank for several minutes to get the vaccum to suck in enough gas to start. Very convenient for quick errands. Amazed at number of things within 10 miles distnace from my house. Have used onboard charger a couple of times when range fell short.

Weight is carried fairly low easy to manage. Fairly simple conversion e.g. No A/C or heater or cooling issues to deal with. EV motorcycles do have space constraints for batteries and the usual weight issues to address. This model has poor ground clearance ~5" due to the 3 layer battery configuration.

code by jerry

EV Ninja