OFFICIAL Electric Motoped

[magudaman]

Over the last couple months I have been working directly with the creator of the Motoped to start selling electric Motopeds. We have been making slight design changes and also working to get the frame into mass production.

There is a lot planned for this venture in the next couple months so keep an eye out as we get these tires rolling.

I'll be getting spec on here soon, along with other selling points, and some build progress.

Attached is a photo of my prototype frame, unpainted, getting ready for the build:

[AussieJester]

Deecanio will wet himself when hye sees this thread, be prepared for a zillion questions....hes never going to finish that Stinky ...

Best of luck with the venture...theres been alot here talking about how well the Motoped frame would go as an e-bike nobody has
started on one though...

KiM

[jmygann]

Is the rear suspension home made or taken from another bike ?

[magudaman]

Aussiejester - haha, well questions are always welcome and the more interest the marry'er. 

jmygann- the frame is completely custom for this bike, including the rear swing arm.  The prototype pictured was handmade in Santa Cruz, California. 

[AussieJester]

Is the rear suspension home made or taken from another bike ?

He's just told you what make the bike its...

http://www.motopeds.com/

KiM

[EVTodd]

I think the Motoped is incredibly cool. I can't wait to see it electrified. At least tell us what kind of motors you plan on offering.

I would probably get one of these in a second if it had a vin # and was easy to register. I couldn't ride one around here otherwise. You would get busted in a second. Problem is, if you make it a "moped" you're stuck with the lame legal limits and if you make it a full blown motorcycle then the point of it is lost.

But, for trail riding... Very cool indeed.

[johnrobholmes]

Awesome to see some options that aren't just bolt on kits or china ebikes. This is the real moped. Maybe electric will be as cool as the classic 2 stroke mopeds of the 70s one day.

[jmygann]

but in this pic it has pedals ... so it could be classified as a bicycle ??




they write .....

"Why put pedals on a motorcycle?
The motoped is not really meant to be pedaled, the pedals are there for legal purposes. With pedals, and an engine not more than 50cc, it may be able to be ridden on the street as a motorized bicycle without motorcycle registration(The laws on this vary by state so check your local laws). The disadvantage of a motorized bike is you have a 30mph speed limit, but the advantage of a motorized bike is no registration & insurance and you get to ride in the bike lane, which can be a huge advantage over a motorcycle or car in an urban area with a lot of traffic and congestion. Another advantage a motorized bike has is parking, you can park it anywhere you can park a bike - bike rack, sidewalk etc. A motorcycle you could not legally ride up onto and park on the sidewalk. If you live in an area where parking is impossible, this is probably best benefit of all. "



but that changes when you go electric .... 1000 watts in Calif .. its a bicycle

[flyinmonkie]

Awesome work. Would work well if sold like the gasser version, just a frame and let the buyer build it up they way they want, or provide bolt on options that cam be purchased as well. The frame alone could be a good start and a cheap option to offer as it could be the same frame or very nearly the same frame. I look forward to seeing your prototype go together.

Clay

[jmygann]

Awesome work. Would work well if sold like the gasser version, just a frame and let the buyer build it up they way they want, or provide bolt on options that cam be purchased as well. The frame alone could be a good start and a cheap option to offer as it could be the same frame or very nearly the same frame. I look forward to seeing your prototype go together.

Clay

$1295 ...http://www.motopeds.com/buy.html ..... maybe less without the muffler ??

[deecanio]

Kim's right i love this chassis, however i did enquire from the santa cruz guys about shipping me one over, cost is high and they didn't export as things stood at the time.
The chassis has both good and bad points imo, my idea of modding was firstly to remove the brackets for the seat, it's too motocross for me to get away with, but this is an easy fix, obviously just change the brackets to fit a standard mtb seat, much more passable as a bicycle.
The second issue is not so simple to straighten up, its the pedal gearing, single speed and i bet a bastard to pedal - i understand that the pedals are solely there to get round the law, but for general bicycle usage it's just not happening for me.
Upsides are the chain tension is sorted, loads of travel with that awesome rear shock and a frame that can be built up using off the shelf custom bicycle parts, nice, with the frame itself there are plenty of options for drive system and batts which can all be stored in that lovely space.
I have to say that although i do love this chassis, it needs too much ammending for my needs/wants, if it had the stealth bombers sequential gearbox it would be awesome, not that it isn't great for its intended use.
All in all i love this bike, but it isn't quite right for me, it needs to pedal as well as haul ass on throttle alone - can't wait to see the electric version unfold though

D

[flyinmonkie]

jmy...

Thanks, I already have been all over the website when it was first brought to the attention of the board. That is what I was suggesting doing with the e version. Like Dec says, shipping is a fortune if you are overseas. After what they quoted Dec, I don't want to know what it would cost to get to New Zealand.

Clay

[AussieJester]

The video on Motoped website shows the bike being pedalled along, looks to be doinga mighty fine job considering the weight of the 125cc motor and fuel it carries...

Deec...what exactly has been the hold up with your bike now? you got a 'throttle kit' weeks ago
why aren't you up and running? I gather your waiting on something else now as it wouldn't take you 3 weeks to cut 3-4 wires
and swap out Fechters box ... we is waiting for more video for Deec...BACKFLIP OFF A TREE just like
you taught Danny to do

KiM

[drewjet]

This is awesome!

Can't wait to see where you go with this. Best of luck on your venture!

[Alan B]

Very interesting bike design. Could be really useful, especially if it has both offroad and onroad capability. Two configurations would seem useful, mainly California Moped (2hp/30mph) but also has potential as motorcycle for those who want more speed/power.

How much does the frame weigh?

Is the center main tube alloy or steel??

What motor setups do you recommend???

Good luck with your product!

[LipoEbiker]

Very interesting bike design. Could be really useful, especially if it has both offroad and onroad capability. Two configurations would seem useful, mainly California Moped (2hp/30mph) but also has potential as motorcycle for those who want more speed/power.

How much does the frame weigh?

Is the center main tube alloy or steel??

What motor setups do you recommend???

Good luck with your product!

Having a stelth lightweight ebike with a 5 pound motor and 1200 watts of power would fit the bill for long range street or dirt bike riding with better than E-moped performance.
If you want a High performance E-MX bike it should be dedicated to a 50 cc to a 125cc aluminum frame and a 10Kw alternator/motor weighing 10 lbs of a equivalent motor.
Mixing the two in a Legal Combo E-Moped package you have problems with DOT approval and performance will suffer.
A aluminum frame MX Dirt bike such as this costs $650. Brand New without the motor.

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Otherwise a Light weight E-bike/E-Moped combo would need to look like this if it could be DOT approved and Legally limited to 750 watts and 1500 watts.

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[EVTodd]

A aluminum frame MX Dirt bike such as this costs $650. Brand New without the motor.

That's nice but it looks like something an 8 year old kid would ride. The Motoped is something I wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen on.

I personally think a downhill bike conversion makes more sense for me and I suspect most people on this forum since most are actually into "bikes". But like I said, it is very cool.

[mdd0127]

That main tube design looks very scary to me if it doesn't use the engine as a stressed member. I've seen a few posts about these frames and would love to see some one get one going. I just wanted to point out that the electric motor/reduction housing will have to act as a stressed member to make this frame safe to jump at all.

[LipoEbiker]

A aluminum frame MX Dirt bike such as this costs $650. Brand New without the motor.

That's nice but it looks like something an 8 year old kid would ride. The Motoped is something I wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen on.

I personally think a downhill bike conversion makes more sense for me and I suspect most people on this forum since most are actually into "bikes". But like I said, it is very cool.

KTM already has a E-Motard but what good would pedals do on a 20 Kw bike ?

Here is a light weight 125 pound 125cc down hill or endro bike that would take a electric motor nicely. Add pedal that would be useless and add more weight and limit the power to 1500 watts to get it DOT approved as a E-moped does not make any sense. There are already countless E-mopeds from China that have pedals or not that have DOT approval but what is the benefit over a well made Ebike with better performance ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfRfH9uG ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqLlDns1S5k
http://www.fxbikes.com/index.html

[jmygann]

well magudaman ... being that this is posted in the non - hub bicycle forum , which 1000 watt non hub motor were you thinking of ?

I noticed in a previous post viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3365&p=227864#p227864 you had a Tim Obrien Powerpack motor





are you considering that motor for the bicycle model ? 24" wheel ??

are those motors still available ? do you know what the Kv of it is ??

[AussieJester]

LipoEbiker...your avatar pic looks veeeeery similar to Randy Drapers bike...welcome back to the forum, be staying long this time?

KiM

[TylerDurden]

LipoEbiker = Draper = the same old ish. :yawn:


As for the e-motoped, a trials-bike perhaps? (Gwhy?)

[magudaman]

This is sort of a flow of thoughts answering a lot of questions brought up:

Well a lot of people are asking about the motor options and really that is still being sorted out. I will tell you I am going to be offering several brushless and brushed options that will cover the range of ebike (1000w), moped (2hp,30mph), and of course the "offroad only" version (10-15kw). There will be quite a range in price and performance avaliable.

This frame is very structurally sound and truly is over built. The main tube is not going to bend or move, it is very thick 4130 Chromoly. The engine mounts and engine provided very little structural re-enforcement and is not required as a structural member, though it all adds to the rigidity. The metal that the sub-frame mounts to, provides additional support to keep the tube from flexing, if it could. With a rear shock and no exhaust it weighs in at around 26lbs. The stand over height and general length of this bike makes it extremely comfortable, it feel like riding a normal bike. All the pit bike frames on the market are usually built for extremely small/young riders and provide very little comfort and rideability for the normal adult. You also have no jack shaft on those so there will be some changing chain length through the travel. They still utilize oversize shocks based from their full size brethren and have the weight penalty to show it. My end weight goal is around 100lbs complete bike for 30mph max, 30 mile range.



The pedals are surprisingly functional at low speed due to little drag and but are limited since you are a fixed gear. But heck the fixed gear guys do some pretty amazing stuff here in San Francisco, so its all in how you gear it up. There are two parts to the Moped electric bike law in California, and I don't believe there is a VIN required for either. It would be fairly easy to offer a light and mirror package if other states required them. Other state law have not yet been researched.

* There are two types of motorized bicycles, defined in the California Vehicle Code (VC) Sections 406(a) and 406(b).
* Section 406(a) VC refers to a moped or motorized bicycle as any two or three wheeled device having fully operative pedals for propulsion by human power, or having no pedals if powered solely by electrical energy, has an automatic transmission, and a motor which produces less than 2 gross brake horespower and is capable of propelling the device at a maximum speed of not more than 30 miles per hour on level ground.
* Section 406(b) VC refers to a motorized bicycle as a device that has fully operative pedals for propulsion by human power and has an electric motor that:
o Has a power output of not more than 1,000 watts;
o Is incapable of propelling the device at a speed of more than 20 miles per hour on level ground; and
o Is incapable of further increasing the speed of the device when human power is used to propel the motorized bicycle faster than 20 miles per hour.

As this product gets rolled out and hopefully has a good response, our next step of course would be to work out how to offer them at a reasonably price to folks outside of the USA.

This product dream got started because I made my own downhill conversion. I received an amazing amount of interest and a great response every time I brought it out to ride. That bike had plenty of problems that would make it completely unmarketable and could not be owned by the average Joe. The Motoped is the next step in that evolution. It is a very solid frame that still retains many of the advantages of a downhill type bike without many of the limitations. Providing pedals give you options. If you need it to be legal, then this will be an option to you. If your willing to risk it, then you can have the power and ride where you please.

A trials bike would be absolutely awesome. Maybe just change out the sub frame for a lower or no seat. Run lipo, 1500w brushless, and gear it down to 10mph, you would have a 75 lbs trials bike!

[Alan B]

Looks really excellent. Lots of options, very interesting! Keep up the good work!!

[jmygann]

I will tell you I am going to be offering several brushless and brushed options that will cover the range of ebike (1000w)

interested in the 1000 watt

are the Powerpack 1500 W motors still available ?