JMU AFV Lab Blog

Here is an interesting electric vehicle conversion that may be considered for a future AFV Lab project or provide ideas for existing ones. Go to http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/07/07/honda-vfr-conversion-to-electric-power-now-complete/ to see the full article.  Comments?

Honda VFR conversion to electric power

evfr-honda-conversion

…The first question out of everyone’s mouth was “How far does it go”… to which I replied “15-20 miles on crappy used UPS batteries I got for free”. I initially wanted to go with larger lead [acid batteries], but since these were free, I wanted to develop/test the mechanical first, and then upgrade to lithium in the fall. Its all working and now I can shop for alternatives to lead. Most people scoffed a little, I didn’t care, Its quite a feat in a motorcycle, especially keeping it stock looking. I know what the end result will be…. LiFePo and AC will eventually find their way into that bike. It will perform well, and range will be 30-40 miles….

…ABG: Tell us about the process of developing the conversion.

Gintz: I saw the Tesla last year, and decided I wanted to look into building an EV myself. I have an electrical engineering background, and LOVE gadgets, so it came naturally. I looked into cars, but for 10 grand, and lots of work, it might be over my budget. I’m a single guy living alone, so I don’t have 10 grand sitting around, just to get 30-50 miles for commuting. I drive a Dodge Durango, and gas is starting to hurt. I needed a cheap commuter solution. I looked at a popular site called EVAlbum. They had some other vehicles, and the more I looked into motorcycles, the more I was sold on the idea. I started looking for bikes, and found someone on Craigslist that had a roller with bad engine and donated it to me. Then I ran into some guys at a new startup company called Synkromotive, in Portland, OR. They wanted to help the conversion, and in exchange for a controller, I would do testing/assmembly and R&D. Its been a great relationship with Synkromotive. A few weeks later, while looking for parts for the free bike, I found one in Florida that had a bad engine, but was in pristine shape. I bought it, shipped it here, and parted out the engine, electrical and exhaust. I almost broke even. Very shortly after this, I found a guy up near Seattle that had tons of batteries he wasn’t using for his motorcycle, and another rolling chassis, it was well worth $60 in gas to go get it. So I had a good roller and batteries and a controller. Found a motor on a surplus website. Assembly began in February. Another VFR guy wanted to help, and had fabrication background. We welded up a battery tray and made a motor mount. A month ago, we threw everything together and took it out for its first few runs. It was a great feeling. After 8 months of getting parts, designing and building… it all paid off….

…Quick statistics:
1986 Honda VFR700F
Series wound Advanced DC motor
156V 600A Synkromotive controller
12 12V 18Ah batteries running in 2-72V strings. Capable of 144V. Switching to Lifepo soon
4:1 gear ratio, will be moving to ~5:1
Range: 15-20 on used batteries
Top speed: 65mph, one gear, no clutch
Charging system is custom…