ElectricMotorcycleForum.com

Hi Everyone:
I have a 1986 yamaha riva scooter that I'd like to stick a hub motor in and convert to electric.  I found Kelly controls some years ago, but now I see Golden motor.  Is there a place I can buy from that is high quality?  I want it to be regen, and I think that's more or less standard.  I am not sure how many watts I need - it will be a street scooter and my round trip to work is about 10 miles - the way people drive I'd like to have a 50mph top speed.

I think I read these electric scooters are quick off the line (no gears and high torque) - is that true?  And what about motors that have changeable windings?

THANK YOU!!!!
Patricia 

I guess that's why I was thinking of converting my 200cc Riva - it's already street legal, and capable of 70mph on the freeway, so I guess I'm just changing fuel to "electric."  The 125cc Riva I just bought for $300 is another story... 

I am getting up the courage to buy a 6kW wheel-hub-motor setup to convert my Yamaha Riva 200cc to electric.  I found a 125 Riva, which has already been done by http://www.evalbum.com/835...   But I'm wondering what the law says - I'm sure it varies by state (I'm in California) - what does the DMV say about these conversions?  I know when I first registered my scooter, they recorded the engine ID number plus the frame ID number - but during a conversion the engine ID goes away...   do we have to re-register the vehicle?  Do electric vehicles even *need* to be registered?  One of the reasons I'm asking is that the 125 has no registration...  if I put a small motor in it - maybe it doesn't need to be registered?

If anyone has good link(s) to information of this type, I'd appreciate knowing...

THANKS!
Patti  

I have one of the big Rivas (1986, 200cc) and haven't seen any conversions on that model - but I want to convert it to electric.  The hub motors have dropped seriously in price in the last year, so I'm going to go that way.  I can get an 8kW with regen for less than $1500.  The first hurdle is the rear suspension - I'm trying to get a junk swingarm and a couple of spring shocks on the newsgroups.  I'll have to have someone modify the swingarm for length, shocks, and a disk brake caliper.  Then come the batteries.  I only intend to use this for a 4 mile commute to work, but everyone drives at least 50mph on the main surface streets here, and there's no way to avoid the main streets, hence the 8kW hub motor.  So 60VDC is probably the minimum with this hub motor:  (??)
http://www.newkellycontroller.com/product_info.php?cPath=26&products_id=435

Aside from asking for any help/suggestions as I start this project, I have a dumb newbie question - since the scooter will be sitting at work with me, I can only charge it at home at night.  I've converted a lot of my apartment to solar with solar cells.  Is it anywhere near efficient-enough to charge batteries during the day (with solar), then use those batteries to charge the onboard scooter batteries at night?  I'm guessing not.  Maybe I should construct interchangeable battery packs that get charged every other day and swapped out at night.  Sounds heavy...

Thank You!
PattiMichelle