Dave's EV GrinMy Declaration of IndependenceE Tek motor brushes
OwnerDave Arnold
Owner's Other EV 1982 Volkswagen Rabbit
LocationFort Pierce, Florida US map
Web/EmailWebPage email image
Vehicle1979 Honda CBX
A bone Stock, left flooded in a hurricane, bike. Stripped and modified, to accept a swingarm mounted pancake dc brush motor. Also modified to accept '81 bodywork and saddlebags.
****Finally rebuilt both front fork tubes with seals, wipers and oil! Wow what a difference! Also completely sick of the crappy front tire (was always wobbly,bouncey,and started cracking on the sidewall)with an identical except the size was increased to 100/90-19 from 90/90-19. Also the larger tire has much higher ratings. It feels rock solid(well almost)****
MotorBriggs and Stratton E-Tek Permanent Magnet DC
Purchased from Electric Motorsport.com.
DrivetrainA bone Stock, left flooded in a hurricane, bike. Stripped and modified, to accept a swingarm mounted pancake dc brush motor. Also modified to accept '81 bodywork and saddlebags.
Direct drive, #35 chain, 14T-70T sprockets.
ControllerAlltrax 4834
Purchased from EV Drives on ebay. (evdrives.com) Stuck with the 300 amp model, with the software tweaked down to @ 250 amps max, to avoid excess heat in the motor, save juice and apparently reduce brush wear dramaticly when used in the non-typical rotation direction.
Batteries4 East Penn Deka 8A27M, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, AGM
95ah. Purchased from St. Lucie Battery and Tire.
System Voltage48 Volts
Charger ABC
4 on board, 6A 12V output, 100-240vac input. Sweet retractable 15' cord reel.
HeaterSunshine, mixed with nutty Florida drivers. I keep reminding myself that, "objects in mirror appear closer that actual"!
DC/DC Converter So cheap, I never asked Roderick who made it!
20-60V input 10A 12V output. Purchased from EV Parts.com
InstrumentationThe inexpensive Curtis "fuel" gauge . Also the stock analog volt gauge and speedometer.
Top Speed52 MPH (83 KPH)
45 mph max at @75% discharge(only did that once!). One section of US-1 creates some tailgating troubles(hell, in Florida, every road is like that, even if you're doing a thousand miles an hour!). I can usually avoid the 55 mph roads for the most part. It seems to get the best speed for discharge at around 40 mph.
AccelerationPeppy off the start..good through the mid range.
Range25 Miles (40 Kilometers)
Approximately 20-25 miles at 50 mph, 45-55 miles at 25 mph to @50% depth of discharge.About 40 to 65 miles max discharge.(all dependent on head or tailwinds on country roads.)
Watt Hours/Mile196 Wh/Mile
Power usage: After a 15 mile commute , It takes 7 hours to recharge my pack. My chargers draw 3.5 total amps at 120 volts ac. 3.5 amps x 120 volts = 420 watts per hour (.420 kwhr) x 7 hours = 2,940 (2.94 kw)watts total divided by 15 miles = 196 watt hrs (.196 kwhr) per mile.
Cost to operate: .420 kwhr (at 6.3 cents/kwhr, my domestic rate here) = 2.65 cents/hr x 7 hr = 18.55 cents per charge. Rounded up to 19 cents and divided by 15 miles = 1.26 cents per mile. Battery pack life, (@50% depth of discharge over 4 yrs) with average use of 360 days/yr = 1,440 days. Divided by $550 = 38 cents/day, divided by 15 miles = 3 cents/mile. Total cost, excluding tires, brake pads, motor brushes, lamps, sprockets, chains or accidental damages = 4.26 cents per mile. *Update: my cost for electricity went down 1 cent per kwr*
EV Miles
Start:26,042 Miles (41,901 Kilometers)
Current:27,794 Miles (44,720 Kilometers)
Total:1,752 Miles (2,818 Kilometers)
 
    As of 6/28/2008
Seating CapacityMe...and IF there's a passenger...a THONG-LADEN-HONEY, ONLY.(with tattoo of course!)
Curb Weight580 Pounds (263 Kilograms)
It lost weight with conversion. Was 625 lbs stock(dry).
TiresCheng Shen, "HI-MAX", inflated to 45 psi.
Conversion TimeAbout 230 hours including installing new tires, refurbishing brakes, paint work, etc. Actual conversion(mounts, wiring , and misc..), much less. Thinking about it ... 15 years! Still a few more hours to spend tidying up while doing maintenance, adding bells, whistles etc...
Conversion Cost$2,368 so far. Additional costs will eventually include some l.e.d. marker/signal bulbs, an electronic flasher and daytime headlamp modulator to save some juice. Minus @ $1,200 via ebay part reclaimation.
Additional FeaturesI've saved over $400 in gas over the last 5 months and it's only cost about $20 in electricity! I do use my truck for a few miles here and there still hauling the kid and such. I just filled it up for the first time in over one and a half months. Gas was 30 cents a gallon cheaper then!!!

Funny story: I pulled into a gas station once, after laughing as I passed by several of them, got my turn at the pump hose... then said "oh it doesn't use gas" and drove away laughing at a few guys. Still laughing as I got home, I discovered my well wasn't functional anymore .... never again.
Recently, at the local store: A couple guys parked next to me say (new york accent), "It's something like off james bond, wow, what year is that?" I say "1981"... they say "wow I didn't even know they made them" "48 volts, wow... turn it on so I can hear it." ...I say "you can't hear it"... his buddy says, "hey, hey, it is on!"... I ride away... Too funny !!...
Thanks to all, who contributed to it's succesful completion... And especially to my wife Debbi, responsible for the encouragement to carry me to the end, and beyond... Dave

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