ZEV (Zero Emissions Vehicle)
Electric Bike
Daikon EV-Samurai
On it's maiden voyage
It was hauling butt, about 200 lbs worth
This project was a joint venture between Jim Rudholm and George Horiuchi, two mildy eccentric tinkerersThis project was started because:
1. Energy and fuel prices continue to rise
2. An ECONOMICAL and environmentally friendly method of transportation must surely be available.
3. It's just not cost effective to start up the gas guzzler to go get a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream
4. It looked like it would be fun.What we found out was:
1. The available electric cars are really expensive.
2. There are quite a few people, that have built or are building, homebuilt electric vehicles.
3. There are a lot of parts out there waiting for someone to find them and put them to use.
4. Basic transporation is pretty inexpensive and easy to build.
5. A power assisted bike requires no registration, no smog certification, no special drivers license
5. This thing is a kick to ride!!!Motors: A pair of motors from the now defunct EV Warrior. They're a pretty slick setup with a built-in over-running clutch so you can pedal without having the drag of the motors. I think they're some kind of motor from a Ford Motor Company product. They have the Ford emblem molded into the cable connectors.
The bike is a Columbia 26" ten speed of uncertain vintage. No extra holes were drilled in the frame and no parts were welded onto it
SpecsController: 1505 Curtis rated for 20 amp continuous draw and 80 amp draw for one minute. It also came from the EV Warrior. Most of the terrain around here is really flat so it should be more than adequate.
Hand Throttle Assembly: It came from EV Warrior too. Mr Bricklin must have bought a lot of parts before he went under. These items are everywhere on the internet.
Batteries: 2 series connected group U1 AGM from Interstate Batteries. 33 amp hour rating ea.. weight, 27 pounds ea. They're not light but they have a lot of capacity.
Battery Charger: Soneil 24volt 4 amp "constant current" very light, about 1 1/2 pounds. I looked around a lot for a charger that would be suitable and I think this is the neatest unit out there. It should charge the batteries in about 5 hours and it will be light enough to carry along with the bike.
Battery Hold Downs: Duct tape. We can fix anything with duct tape. I suppose we'll have to come up with something a little more elegant eventually.
Motor Mount / Battery Box: Welded aluminum construction. The main motor mount tube is 1" x 1" square tube 1/8 wall. The battery boxes are .100 aluminum sheet. The assembly is pretty rigid and weighs about 2 pounds. It's clamped to the seat stays and is attached at the bottom to the rear dropouts.
Bike Weight: Heavy, about 90 pounds, mostly because of the batteries, but storage capacity equals weight
Brakes: Almost insufficient. Stopping 300 pounds of rider and bike strains it. "A body in motion tends to stay in motion" yada, yada, yada.....
Performance: According to the speedometer I've installed, it's maximum speed is 16 miles per hour. I'll check it with a gps and see what it says.
Range: I ran the bike without pedalling for 21 miles.
Cost: The major costs were the batteries and the charger. The charger was 110.00 from Evdeals (the best price I could find) The batteries list for about 100.00 ea. (you'll have to talk to your distributor or dealer price might vary) The rest, motors, controller, throttle, aluminum for the mounts, and the bike itself was only 130.00
1. I might choose smaller batteries and sacrifice range for weight. I think we'll assemble a little trailer to houl the big batteries and install smaller batteries on the bike. We could put in a quick disconnect and use the trailer batteries for extended range use. Jim has already built a trailer for his bike. We could probably use it for test purposes. Click here to see his trailer
Looking at it from the rear, we tried to keep the batteries tucked in close. The space between the 2 battery boxes is 3". The weight is a little high but not bad once it's rolling. It will sit on the kick stand but its a little squirmy.Retrospect
(Like Rod Stewart sings "I wish that I knew what I know now")2. I would start this project a long time ago. It's just too much fun to ride!!
Sources:
1. Base Bike: Swap meet 20.00
2. Motors: MECI.com
3. Controller and Throttle: Diverse Electronic Services Carl Kollar @ Diverse electronics was very helpful and told me everything I needed to know about PWM controllers.
4. Battery Charger: EVDEALS Scott MacGregor @ Evdeals was also very helpful in selecting a battery charger.
5. Batteries: Interstate Batteries.com I talked to my local distributor, Tom Burke and he told me all about the care and feeding of AGM batteries. I hope you'll have an equally helpful distributor in your area.
6. We got a lot of ideas and information from looking at the vehicles on this website http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/Revisions have been made to the bike
Click here to see Version 1.1If you are interested in discussing various aspects of power assisted vehicles,
try the link below. You do have to join the list to have access to the postings
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Contact:
George, The Renegade Mutant Ninja Sushi Master geo@psnw.com
George's Home page click hereJim, The Eccentric Corn Poppin' Boat Builder jmrudholm@psnw.com
Check out Jim's electric bike click here
Jim's Home page click hereYou are visitor number 19474