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Electric Mini-Motorcycle!
by robermelendez on July 17, 2013
Table of Contents
Electric Mini-Motorcycle! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Intro: Electric Mini-Motorcycle! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Step 1: Get your rolling frame! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Step 2: Design and get your electric drive! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Step 3: Mounting the Motor/Drive Train . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Step 4: Mounting Motor Controller and Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Step 5: Electronics! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Step 6: Testing! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Step 7: Share your experiences! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
http://www.instructables.com/id/Electric-Mini-Motorcycle/
Intro: Electric Mini-Motorcycle!
This instructable will show you how to design, build and test your own mini motorcycle. Small electric vehicles are a great way to learn engineering, physics and many
hands-on skills. We'll start with an old pocket motorcycle frame and end up with an EV capable of cruising at 20-25 miles an hour (or more if you are crazy!). I normally
use my own pocket motorcycle (i call it Chiquicycle !) for cruising around campus and getting to class in time.
This is my website: rjmelendez.blogspot.com check here for some more wacky projects.
Thanks to Abraham Garza, Charles Guan, Victor Rodriguez for their contributions.
Step 1:Get your rolling frame!
First step in making your own pocket bike is to find the frame. Luckily craigslist and ebay is full of people trying to give away their old pocket bikes because they sons
have grown out of them or because the electrical system got toasted by some kid doing burn outs. I have helped many of my friends find pocket bikes online and here are
the models and brands that most often come up:
Razor Pocket Bike s form the majority of pocket bikes Chiquicycle is a Razor MX350 i got from some people that had taken it apart and were about to throw it away. If
you look hard enough you should be able find a couple of used razors for a small cost (<50$).
Honda Minimoto is another popular model.
Also there is a lot of pocket bikes that used to be gas and you can easily convert to electric. These frames tend to be heavier but more sturdy and their brakes are much
much better that child motorcycles.
After you get your frame, take a good look at it and try to find any missing parts. Sometimes you won't have the chain, or the driving sprocket. Luckily you should be able
to find most of these materials in the internet here are some good resources for pocket bike specific parts!
http://www.monsterscooterparts.com/razorparts.html
http://www.pocketbikeparts.com/default.asp
Many times you can probably replace the original parts by bicycle parts (Chiquicycle has a bicycle handlebar + bicycle seat). In addition the brake levers/cables can
definitely be bicycle parts.
We have a "pocket bike gallery" in cambridge MA, we have all sorts of bikes we can convert so don't limit yourself to a specific brand or style!
Make sure your rolling frame (wheels, handlebars, chassis and brakes) are in good condition before you start modifying it.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Electric-Mini-Motorcycle/
Step 2:Design and get your electric drive!
Next is to get an electric drive for your pocket motorcycle. The drive has 3 components: the motor, the controller and the batteries.
Before selecting components its important to get a sense of the voltage and current you will be dealing with. Voltages for pocket bikes range from 24-40V and current
limits can vary from 20-60A.
Motor:
First question is if to use a brushless motor or a brushed motor. Brushed motors are cheaper but they may need more maintenance. Brushless motors are generally
higher performance but also generally more expensive.
Brushed and Brushless motors have an important parameter to pay attention to this is the Motor Back EMF constant commonly reference to Kv. Kv is measured in
RPM/volt and represents the speed that the motor will obtain in no-load conditions. A high Kv means the motor will spin faster at steady state but it will also produce less
torque per unit current. It is the "gear ratio" of motors, a lower Kv will generally give a lower final speed but more torque for the same amount of current. Think of a high
Kv being like higher set of gears on your bike/motorbike or car (harder to pedal but faster). i recommend a Kv of less than 200 for a pocket bike. Chiquicycle has a 245 Kv
motor and i wish it was lower so i could have a better acceleration.
Make sure the motor you select can handle the currents and voltages you select. However keep in mind most motors can actually surpass their ratings quite a bit. My
friend is running 40V on a motor rated for 24V for instance. Always look on forums for and tips and hints about motors to use.
Here are some great brushless motors from hobbyking: (when ordering from hobby ALWAYS make sure to use PAYPAL payment option)
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__663__59__electric_motors-turnigy_sk3.html
Controller:
The kind of controller is specific to wether your motor is brushed or brushless. Again keep in mind the voltages and currents you want to run on. The controller is what
ultimately will decide how much current will get pumped into your motor so make sure you are happy with its current rating.
Kelly makes good controllers here are some links:
kelly brushed: http://kellycontroller.com/mini-dc-controller-kds12v-72v-c-27.html
kelly brushless: http://kellycontroller.com/mini-brushless-controller-kbs12v-72v-c-60.html
Another cheaper option is to use a chinese electric bicycle controller from Ebay. These controllers are cheaper but come with no guarantees and no manual. Chiquicycle
currently has one of these controllers and it works fine. My friend charles has a good tutorial about these chinese controllers: http://www.etotheipiplusone.net/?p=2387
Batteries:
Most stock mini motorcycles operate either on 24V or 36V lead acid batteries. Lead acids are cheap but are pretty heavy. You can get lead acids pretty much anywhere,
you can also reuse the batteries that came with the original bike if they are not burnt out.
Chiquicycle has a custom soldered battery pack made out of A123 LiFe cells. These cells are harder to come by but are lighter and more powerful. My friend Victor has
put a nice tutorial together on how to make these packs: http://viictorrodriguez.blogspot.com/2012/09/how-to-make-battery-pack.html
http://www.instructables.com/id/Electric-Mini-Motorcycle/
Physics!
My friend Abraham and I have put together a physics model on MATLAB/Simulink that simulates the acceleration profile of an EV. This can show its top speed and their
acceleration. You can download it here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4686960/sims%20EV.zip
In the Matlab script you can fill out the value for your specific EV (wheel size, sprocket gear ratio, voltage, current etc) and when you run the script it will plot for your the
accel. profile of your EV. I suggest you play around with the settings in order to tune your design.
After you have your motor, controller and batteries you are ready to begin modifying your bike!
Image Notes
1. brushless motor Turnigy SK3 245 Kv
Image Notes
1. motor controller
Step 3:Mounting the Motor/Drive Train
Mounting the motor is pretty straighfoward. Most motors have mounting holes where to screw them onto supports. If you are lucky some motors even have their support
built in and you will just have to screw it to the flat part of the frame.
Chiquicycle has a a very simple mounting set up. I grabbed an aluminum L-bracket and mounted the motor on it and then mounted the bracket to the frame. If you play it
smartly you might not even need to drill holes into the frame and reuse the old ones. Be sure you consider the chain tension when choosing how to mount your motor,
you might even consider using slots rather than holes for your motor mount so you can move the motor forward of back to adjust chain tension.
Once the motor is mounted you need to mount the sprocket to the motor. Some motors have a sprocket mounted on them already. Other motors have a sprocket that has
a D hole. You can file/sand down your motor shaft to fit the D and then make a spacer with a set screw to constrain the sprocket axially on the motor shaft. You can also
order shaft collars on mcmaster to constrain the sprocket axially.
After your fit the motor sprocket, try putting the chain around both the rear and front sprocket. Make sure there is appropiate tension. If its not tensioned appropriately you
can shorter then chain, or move the motor mount if you designed for that. Some pocket bikes might even come with a chain tensioner so be sure you know how to use it.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Electric-Mini-Motorcycle/
Step 4:Mounting Motor Controller and Batteries
After your drive train is assembled, it is now time to put in your controller and batteries.
The controller is pretty easy to mount, they normally have mounting holes you can use to mount the frame. Many times you will have to build an interfacing plate
(something that mounts to the controller and the holes in the frame.
Batteries are a little bit more tricky to mount. what I found is best is to put them in a box where they fit snuggly on and the mount the box to the frame. You can the zip tie
it for extra security.
Once you are done with the mounting, you are DONE with the mechanical work on your bike!
Image Notes
1. motor controller
2. Motor and Driving Sprocket
3. rear sprocket wheel
http://www.instructables.com/id/Electric-Mini-Motorcycle/
Image Notes
1. motor controller
Step 5:Electronics!
The electronic wiring is dependent on your specific motor controller. The motor controller normally has two leads for the batteries and then 2 or 3 for the motor (2 motor
leads for brushed motor, 3 leads for a brushless ones).
You will need to connect a throttle to the motor controller (this is what tells the motor to go faster or slower). And the throttle normally has 3 leads (power, ground and
signal) they often have these colors (red-power black-ground green-signal.
For a good schematic you can refer to your motor controller datasheet and they go into the details of how to connect everything.
For the chinese controllers that have no manuals refer to the picture.
Image Notes
1. battery leads (red and yellow are connected together)
2. throttle wires
3. 3 motor leads
Step 6:Testing!
Now that your EV is rideable its time for some testing!
Please be sure you are wearing appropriate safety equipment (helmet, gloves etc).
I use my android phone with its built in GPS to generate GPS plots of my EV rides.
My Tracks (from google) is the app I use. Very intuitive to use and easy to export data. After collecting my data I use the website www.gpsvisualizer.com to visualize the
data. You can use the data from here to see how well your experimental data matches with the design you performed in step 2.
Here are some plots/videos from my testing with chiquicycle!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Electric-Mini-Motorcycle/
Step 7:Share your experiences!
I am very big fan of sharing what you learned! After you finish your pocket bike, share your work with other people and inspire them to pursue similar projects!
Let's keep the EV/hacker community growing!
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Comments
17 comments Add Comment
henryst says: Sep 3, 2014. 4:55 PM REPLY
Hi there,
I am a beginner in this kind of thing, so this might be a really simple question.
Does the voltage of the battery need to match the voltage of the motor?
For example, could I use 2 12 volt batteries connected in series with a 36 volt 750 watt motor?
Thanks
Trikha9007 says: Aug 10, 2014. 8:16 AM REPLY
Can we use a bicycle frame instead of a mini motorcycle's frame?
njones33 says: Jun 7, 2014. 11:13 PM REPLY
I need help choosing a motor. I have no clue what motor to buy after a good amount of research. I need a motor in the 30-80$ range. Suggestions would be
great.
rshukla4 says: Mar 23, 2014. 1:35 AM REPLY
I live in india..from where do i get all the part and frame for the bike
delokaver says: Jul 29, 2013. 10:13 PM REPLY
soo nice... one question, if you are not using any gear box combination and juts do a straight forward chain connection to the motor and rear gear, if this not
make the motor hard to turn on the wheel at the first time ? I mean not enough torque ?
since from my point of view is the Brushless motor is only great for hi speed and not the torque without the gear box.
robermelendez says: Jul 30, 2013. 8:12 AM REPLY
good question,
I am using a single gear reduction (about 6:1), you can play with the size of your wheel, the kv of the motor and the sprocket ratio to give you more
acceleration if you need. The high gear reduction allows for the motor to spin much faster than the wheel.
because of the nature of electric motors, different voltages give you different Torque-Speed curves ... many EVs use a single gear reduction and then speed
http://www.instructables.com/id/Electric-Mini-Motorcycle/
up/slow down by increasing the voltage/current to the motor. A great example is the Tesla model S, motor are unlike engines in that when you slow them
down they generally put out more torque, and engine will just turn off on you... for example we have an electric porsche, and we kept the different gears on it
the motor has so much torque that it can start on 2nd or even third gear from a standstill
Sovos says: Jul 22, 2013. 10:48 AM REPLY
Lovely project!
Please state the cost and hours range needed to build it for an average maker!
robermelendez says: Jul 22, 2013. 12:30 PM REPLY
Hey! Good questions!
Controller $20-40 from ebay
Frame (i got it for free, but they can run anywhere btw $20-100 on craigslist)
Batteries (i got them for free) if you use lead acids they probably cost <50 bucks
It took me 2 days to make it (about 5-6 hours of work each day).
robermelendez says: Jul 22, 2013. 12:31 PM REPLY
and motor was about 80 bucks with shipping from hobbyking, if you get a brushed motor you can get a $30 motor that is nice
Milz2000 says: Jul 22, 2013. 8:24 AM REPLY
I live in the uk and cannot find a frame anywhere could you please give me some help and a couple of pointers
sdobbie says: Jul 21, 2013. 11:47 AM REPLY
Use a Turnigy Rotomax 50cc motor.
xboxmatthew says: Jul 20, 2013. 12:06 PM REPLY
Nice design how did you get the idea it's pretty cool I'm going to start making it
robermelendez says: Jul 20, 2013. 12:39 PM REPLY
hey! it all started because one of my friends got another pocket bike donated by his cousin who had destroyed its motor and batteries so we rebuilt it!
my friends victor's build is here: http://viictorrodriguez.blogspot.com/2012/09/tinycycle.html
armstk180 says: Jul 19, 2013. 7:18 PM REPLY
Nice project ! excellent !
I vote you
kenbob says: Jul 19, 2013. 12:06 PM REPLY
I like the shirt! and great instructable!
robermelendez says: Jul 19, 2013. 12:26 PM REPLY
thanks so much! what shirt are you talking about?
audreyobscura says: Jul 18, 2013. 1:51 PM REPLY
Sweeet project! Thank you so much for sharing it with Instructables!