| Owner | Ben Nelson | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner's Other EV | 1996 Geo Metro | ||||||
| Location | Oconomowoc, Wisconsin US map | ||||||
| Web/Email | WebPage | ||||||
| Vehicle | 1981 Kawasaki KZ440 | ||||||
| Motor | Briggs and Stratton Etek brushed Permanent Magnet DC used Etek motor off Ebay | ||||||
| Drivetrain | 14 tooth sprocket at the motor to #40 chain to a 72 tooth sprocket on the back tire | ||||||
| Controller | Alltrax 4830 Alltrax AXE 300 Amp Programmable. Acceleration is set to "ease into it" and I slowed the response to the throttle a tiny bit so that every bump in the road didn't make me change speed. | ||||||
| Batteries | 4 Optima YellowTop, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, AGM Spill-proof 55 AH batteries. Over 800 cranking amps. | ||||||
| System Voltage | 48 Volts | ||||||
| Charger | Schumacher Currently charging with an off-board charger that can do anywhere from 12-72V. That way I can use the same charger to charge my Electrak lawn mower and Citicar. | ||||||
| Heater | The warm feeling I get inside | ||||||
| DC/DC Converter | Artesysn BXB100 33-75v to 12v converter. I think it is used in computers. Got it for $10 on E-Bay | ||||||
| Instrumentation | Cheap multimeter, speedometer. 0-300 amp ammeter built into gas tank. | ||||||
| Top Speed | 45 MPH (72 KPH) 45 mph - 52 downhill, 40 up big hills | ||||||
| Acceleration | peppy - got to be careful how I pull away from a dead stop Reprogrammed controller - much smoother excelleration now - nice! | ||||||
| Range | 20 Miles (32 Kilometers) Most my trips are about ten miles or so. To town and back - library, work, grocery store, post office, etc. | ||||||
| Watt Hours/Mile | 100 Wh/Mile Using a kill-a-watt at the wall, into the charger and dividing by miles, usually comes to right around 100 watt hours per mile | ||||||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | Just me - Does have passenger pegs. Rides fine with a passenger, but acceleration suffers | ||||||
| Curb Weight | 400 Pounds (181 Kilograms) Weighed on the big scale down the street at the landscaping place. Weight includes onboard charger, gas tank (just there for looks right now) and 4 55ah sealed lead batts. | ||||||
| Tires | whatever came with the bike - Finally mounted new tires summer of 2011. | ||||||
| Conversion Time | Main conversion was about 2 weekends. Plus countless hours on the internet and lots of time rebuilding the wire harness and other dinking around | ||||||
| Conversion Cost | Etek Motor - $500 Kawasaki Frame - $100 Alltrax AXE controller - $300 nuts, bolts, connectors - $50 custom rear 72 tooth sprocket - $100 title and registration $123 Not having to stop at the pump - Priceless | ||||||
| Additional Features | Just a really cool cycle | ||||||
| Just getting started on the project. Very excited about it. I hope I can get far enough done to ride it once or twice before the end of summer. Everyone I have contacted through this web board has been great! I built a camping trailer from scratch last summer. What fun! The main thing is just to find other people who are into cool stuff like this! 6/6/07 - Got to work on the cycle a bit the last couple days. I made a motor mount plate from some aluminum scrap plate I found and mounted the motor. I am canabalizing the batteries from my electric bike for now to get the cycle to an "experimental" mode where I can just make it go for as cheap as I can. So, I am starting with 3 - 18 amp hour sealed lead acid. I know that won't make a motorcycle go far, but I just need to go down the street for testing. I ordered a 72-tooth rear sprocket from Sprocket Specialists about a week and a half ago. That's supposed to show up tommorow. Then I should be able to mount the chain and make the tire spin. 6/9/07 - MAIDEN VOYAGE Just tested it out. Went 4 miles altogether - goes about 35 mph. Only set up on 36 volts with 18ah batteries. I don't have turn signals, breaklights,headlights, etc yet. Also the front brake drags a bit. But it WORKS! IT'S ALIVE!!! 6/15/07 - MREA Energy Fair (www.the-mrea.org) Took my cycle up the the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair. Had a great time showing it to people. I was the only one there with a DIY project. Lots of expensive hybrids and other vehicles out of my price range. I still have less than a grand in this whole project. Got lots of great info from people at the festival. Thanks to Jeff, Steve, Ed, Michael Paul, and anyone else who was hanging out there. 6/17/07 - Weight & Endurance road testing. I weighed the cycle down the street at the landscaping supplier. Bike weighs 280 lbs. I reset my trip odometer and zipped around my sidestreet at various speeds up to 30 mph, mostly flat, but also did the big hill coming back from the landscaping place. I had just over 8 miles when I got the volt meter reading to 36 volts no load. So I figure I have an 8 mile range on a full charge on my current 36 volt configuration. 6/20/07 Reprogrammed controller. Changed the throttle response - much smoother to pull away from stop signs - less touchy. I also activated the "High Pedal Disable" and set the max current output to 66%. That should make it so I can't pull over 200 amps at a time from the batteries - hoping that makes it harder to accidently burn out the controller or motor. Still has good acceleration and same top speed. 7/5/07 Just got the title and registration in the mail. It is registered as a "street modified" Hobbyist Vehicle. Hobbyist plates are only purchased once. You don't have to renew them every year (saves $$$!) Only drawback is you can't drive vehicle in January. I don't see this as a problem... 8/19/07 Got to work on the cycle a fair amount this last week. Installed a speedometer cable. Cut out the bottom of the gas tank. Wired up the left hand brake(rear brake) so that it activates the tail light. Got DC/DC converter working. Wired oil light in tachometer to now show accessory power and brake light on dash to activate when tail brake light does. Installed cigaretted plug for other accessories. Went to DMV and got my Motorcycle Temps. 5/26/08 Upgraded from 36 to 48 volts. Built a small metal rack to hold two batteries side-by- side sticking out from the frame so I could fit four total batteries on the system. New top cruising speed of 45 MPH!!! June 2011 - Built a custom steel rack out of angle to hold the batteries. Now, two batteries are mounted vertical, and two horizontal, so all fits in the frame real nice. I did have to notch a tiny bit out of the gas tank to make it all work, but it looks great. I also stuck a hole saw through the gas tank to install an ammeter there, as well as a green "the cycle is one and ready to go" light. | |||||||
1981 Kawasaki KZ440
“Lightning”
Last Updated 10-11-2011
Copyright © 1997-2012 by Mike Chancey