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[s33dless]

Hello folks, i'm thinking of gearing up for my first motorcycle project. The donor bik I'm planning on is a 2000 Buell M2 Cyclone. The curb weight is 434.3 lbs. What kind of motor should I spec? I'm not looking for much on range, 20 miles would be awesome. I do want to be able to got at freeway speeds though (as close to 70 mph as possible). AC for a motor would also be nice. Any suggestions for me? Thanks in advance.

[NoiseBoy]

This forum is more geared toward OEM motorcycles so you may be better off trying elmoto.

One of the most straightforward (relatively speaking) ways to convert is to use a powertrain kit from Zero, but it seems that currently they aren't selling to private individuals except in special circumstances. Hopefully this will change though.

You will need to give more information.  What is your budget? how much experience do you have of working with high power electronics and batteries?

[s33dless]

Thanks for the reply. Budget isn't really a concern for me, I have contacts I can use to source parts for cheap. I'm pretty well versed in high power systems, but I slept through all of my electrical machines course, so I'm having a lot of trouble selecting a motor since I'm not sure where my parameters should be. The controls and power system I'm confident I can handle, but I'd need to select a motor first.

[frodus]

While this forum has many OEM motorcycle owners, there are a few of us around that have built them. You can ask questions here, but I do agree that elmoto.net may provide a more fruitful response.

On my motorcycle (since sold), I used a K91 Advanced DC motor, then moved to an AC20 motor. They're great motors, both of them. It all boils down to budget. Pick one. Don't say there is none, because that may mean you've got $15k to spend, which would make a nice bike. If you say $2k, its much harder to build something.

What kind of acceleration? range? top speed? (I realize you said 20 mi and 70mph, but that was a goal, not max figures).

[s33dless]

Thanks for the input. I do have a thread over on elmoto, but I'm looking everywhere for advice
I haven't settled on a peak acceleration yet, but that's an input in one of the many models I'm cleaning up (should help me spec a motor). Minimum range would have to be 15 miles. I originally wanted to do a 48V system, but that's looking less and less likely. I want to do my own controls instead of buying a package, so AC is right out the window, it's way too much math.

[frodus]

Get a series wound motor (there's a K91 on diy electric car forum right now for cheap). It ought to get to 70mph or so. Gear it to 5:1 or so and get a cheap series wound motor controller. By the time you get all the electronics right (snubbers, caps, FET/IGBT's, algorithms, current control, etc), its easiest to just get a cheap used controller..... or even a new one! They start around $300 used and the motor might cost you a few hundred if you can get it still. I had that in my VFR and it went pretty well.

Then look at a 72V or higher pack of 40Ah or higher CALB or GBS cells, and you're golden.