Hi Lads!
Newbie here, and first what a great forum you have. Right, creeping over.
My interests outside of work for the past few years have been tuning 2-stroke Italian scooters – some geared, some with CVTs.
I am contemplating the electric conversion route both for that green feeling and also as I am lucky to have moved very close to my work (3 miles each way) and so can afford to compromise range for performance (I’m sure you’ve heard those famous last words before……;-) )
My spec for the conversion would by to produce something that accelerates quickly rather than having a high top end speed, is economical and doesn’t obliterate completely the lines of the bike or make it obvious what it is (I think the term the 4-wheel lads use is ‘Sleeper’…..)
Here are some photos of the donor bike I’ve got to convert – much more about practicality and style than performance!!
http://scoot.net/faq/Italjethttp://www.italjetscooterspares.co.uk/spares/modelImage.asp?modelID=7342The fuel and oil tanks and under-seat storage areas can all be used for conversion parts.
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I wonder if I could gather your opinions on some videos/websites I have found of interesting scooter conversions?
This lad has pure and simply and very cleverly inserted the complete motor into the original crank housing of the scooter engine, then replaced the CVT transmission with a chain drive!
Dead simple, and would look very much like the original, but when I look at it I worry about the motor temperature. You could argue that the housing will act like a large heat sink but I always like to see air round a motor. Plus I think he has struggled to obtain the necessary gearing within the confines of the transmission housing. Thoughts?
This one is more thought-provoking. Bolt an electric motor onto the flywheel end of the scooter engine, machine a new ‘crank’, and carry on using the CVT.
http://e-motion.lt/I like this idea. I have read a lot on your posts about the negatives of direct drive, and think this would be a good way of introducing the motor torque gradually/gently, maybe extending it’s life?
Pros –
1. The motor would be stuck out of the side of the scooter, maximising airflow and allowing more room under the seat for batteries etc.
2. Uses the existing CVT, which can be tuned to engage at optimum motor rpm
3. Bike looks identical from LHS
4. No swingarm fabrication required – same wheels/brakes etc.
Cons –
1. Weight imbalance
2. Would spoil the RHS look
3. Compromise cornering clearance (not that there’s much danger of getting your knee down….)
4. Terminals exposed to elements??
My thinking is that the conversion could be made quite easy by just producing some machined adaptor parts. Harder might be finding/making bits to balance the CVT – most 2-stroke engines make their power around 6000rpm plus, whereas the max speed I’ve seen these electric motors run to is around 3300.
What do you lads think? Any other hints/tips about converting such a bike would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Paul Hunter.
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