You heard me. I said "Build your own eletric motorcycle."
OVERVIEW
The finished project is a 1981 Kawasaki KZ440, converted to electric. It is powered by four Optima Yellow Top sealed (AGM) lead-acid batteries, that drive a Briggs & Stratton Etek electric motor. The speed of the motor is controlled by an Alltrax brand "AXE" programmable controller that can run at up to 48 volts and 300 amps. Contrary to popular belief, and electric motorcycle is NOT silent, but is CONSIDERABLY quieter than a typical gas cycle.
The cycle is GEARED to 45 mph, has fairly good acceleration, no clutch or transmission. There's no oil to change, to mufflers to rust off, no air filter, no carbs to tweak, and no gasoline. I designed it for primarily city riding. The top speed and acceleration could be easily changed by swapping out a $20 stock sprocket.
The cycle recharges from the wall, through a renewable energy program, and if there is a blackout, I can actually run my house off my electric motorcycle! In the future, I hope to expand my system to include charging the cycle with photovoltaic solar panels.
In this Instructable, I'll walk you through the work required with the motor, batteries, controller, and mounting all components, including showing you some low-tech paper and cardboard "CAD" tricks.
