I am not actually an IEEE member but I have joined this site because I have an item that I think will be of interest to members here. A couple of years ago I converted a small pickup from gasoline to electric. It runs purely on battery power. I have about a 30 mile commute each direction. I have logged about 15,000 miles. to date. It has been an interesting experience so far. I also have another reason for being here. I am selling the truck and thought someone here might have an interest in buying it. i joined the site on the recommendation of Dave Mosher and Tim Scheonfelder (one of your members). Even if no one is interested in purchasing the vehicle I would enjoy sharing my experience and recommendations for anyone interested in a similar project.

Denny

Hi Denny - thanks, and welcome!

Unfortunately I missed the conversion meeting, but I've often toyed with the idea of converting our 1981 BMW R65 motorcycle to electric -- seems like it could be quite useful and a fun project at the same time. Do you have any particular companies that you used for batteries, electric motors, or other components that you could recommend?

I purchased the electrical components from Electric Vehicles of America. They were not the lowest price for the components but they provided schematics and excellent support both before and after the purchase. I am not sure what they might have available for motorcycle components. The owner Bob Brandt is very knowledgeable and if he cannot help you he will direct you to someone who can help you. As far as batteries go, I chose US Battery for my supplier. While they are available locally I purchased them from a small supplier in Omaha. Since I was buying 24 batteries the lower price more than offset the cost of the trip. I have had to replace some of the batteries and I am replacing them with Trojan batteries which seems to be the top of the line battery. I found a golf cart dealer in Denver, IA that gives me pretty good pricing.

If I were thinking of building a motorcycle I would consider some other type of battery other than a lead acid battery. Lead acid batteries are very heavy for the range they provide. I would look at nickel cadium or lithium iron, or lithium ion as an alternative. They would be high priced but a motorcycle would not require many batteries.

Just a couple of thoughts. It sounds like it would be an interesting project.

Denny

Thanks for the info! I had been considering Li-ion and LiPo batteries -- you're right about both the increased expense but also about the smaller number of batteries.

Guess I'll have to start researching electric motors, too. What voltage did you end up using on yours? I was thinking 96 or 144V would be a good place to start, but I don't really have any research done on that. From the number of batteries you've bought it sounds like you may be running at 72 or 144V.