My 48v 500W Cruiser Chopper Project

While its not optimal, I will have my chopper going by the end of this weekend thats a promise lol

I've got the huge batteries coming today, I just need some wire and i'll be ready to go.

Strange question but are SLA batteries normally charged?

I have a GoPro camera now so I should be able to get some nice footage of the maiden voyage
 
Went to go pickup my batteries today and found a great spot to mount them. The only thing i'm working out next is a suitable way to mount the collection of batteries to the frame.

I also scored 3x 12v 7ah sla while I was down at the place and they tested at 12.2v. I will have to run them through the tests but its handy to have a spare set of batteries. I actually bought 12 of them but only 3 checked out ok. Not a bad way to spend $12. All in the spirit of testing.

I'll work on my torque plates tomorrow afternoon and the wiring for the sla batteries. There is no doubt they are heavy but i'd prefer to be riding with a crappy set of batteries than not run at all.
 
Hey all,
A promise is a promise

She is all going, my grin is absolutely HUGEEEE

I am so suprised how much torque the motor gives out, there wasn't one hill I couldn't climb.

I am still using SLA 12ah 48v but it was sooo unreal. I have never had so much fun.

Just wanted to thank everyone for your help.

I made myself some torque plates that seem to be holding up really well.

I am taking it to work tomorrow. So excited. I do like being able to do front wheel burnouts when going up hills haha
I know its not much to look at but its functionl (and heavy lol) for now till I can afford a better battery, I built a decent metal frame round the batteries and it is very strong.
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I am already starting to get the "more" power bug hahaha. But I am quite happy with the top speed too, I am just waiting on a bicycle mount for my gopro, so I should have some footage for you all asap.

WIth the style of bike it definitely brings a lot of attention, i had one ask if it had a motor, the big hub motor on the front definitely stands out a lot. I wish I got a silver one now.

The sound of the hub motor still rings in my head so sweetly.
 
Scruffoid said:
About time !

See you should have got it going sooner. They are such fun to ride :)

Glad your enjoying it.
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Your not wrong mate, its soooo awesome fun. I like taking off by pedalling and then let the motor take on, it looks hilarious and I love playing games with people on the road hahhaa

If only I could get more range, but finances are still a bit low at the moment. I would love to get another 4 SLA at some stage for the trailer to double my range, would be great for riding down my favourite track on the weekend (56km round trip)

I forgot to wire in my cycle analyst so that will definitely go in asap too.
 
CrazyBike2 had 3x 12V 18-20Ah SLA in it's center frame for a while, and it had no problems carrying that weight. Later taht was switched to NiMH a little lighter, then a LiFePO4 around the same as the NiMH. (these days it's in a box on the side under the seat becaues the shape doesn't lend itself to fit in the center witout blocking the chain)

Since I expect CB2's frame is probalby no better built than the one you have, yours should last till you get whatever you will replace it with.


But you might wanna keep an eye on the duct tape--it'd suck to have them spill out on the road from bumps if it tore.
 
amberwolf said:
CrazyBike2 had 3x 12V 18-20Ah SLA in it's center frame for a while, and it had no problems carrying that weight. Later taht was switched to NiMH a little lighter, then a LiFePO4 around the same as the NiMH. (these days it's in a box on the side under the seat becaues the shape doesn't lend itself to fit in the center witout blocking the chain)

Since I expect CB2's frame is probalby no better built than the one you have, yours should last till you get whatever you will replace it with.


But you might wanna keep an eye on the duct tape--it'd suck to have them spill out on the road from bumps if it tore.
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Thanks man much appreciated.

That duct tape/electric tape is so firm haha. I have 40 metres of tape in there. All varying in the direction sorta like carbon fibre. I tried to move the pack and it wouldn't move a mm. I went for another ride and it was sooooo much fun again. Its become a way of life tbh. I am so much happier now, its just that thing I really look forward to waking up knowing i'm going for a spin to work and back.

gm6046 - yeah your not wrong there hahaha. There is a bit much there. I was worried heaps originally but there is more than I need.
 
I'm amazed at the attention i've been getting on the bike tracks LOL Every person just turns and looks back to see it. I guess its not something you see every day and most initially question if it has a motor. The grey duct tape is a pretty good giveaway haha.

Its interesting to note that bumps on the road are amplified at least twice as bad with the extra weight.

I have to admit that although I am slowly starting to dislike the sla batteries, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the electric bike that has given me heaps of enjoyment the last 3 days.

From here on my money is going to go with either a decent 48v nimh or a nice lifepo4 15ah or 12ah lifepo4 battery.

I am still worried about those front fork dropouts giving way lol Nah they have held up really well with the torque plates I measured out and installed.

I did manage to get about 30km out of the 48v 12ah batteries which I was overall pretty happy with. That was 1.5 hours of pure riding bliss ;) I loved playing catch up with some really nice people on the bike track up the hills haha Look ma no hands. haha
 
A little bit of an update for everyone. I bought my gopro mount for the handlebars so there should be a few videos coming up of my rides around town :)

I also neatened up all the wiring, removed any excess duct tape that was doing nothing and rewrapped everything in black electric tape. Its a huge difference from before (my cameras charging so i'll have updated photos asap).

I should have no problems making it to the next meet now yay.

I am modifying my kids trailer to allow for a smaller width platform. Once i've done this i'll work on a base for the bottom of it and what sort of enclosure will be used. The Kids trailer alone can cope with

I'm wondering what sort of ways I could make the kids trailer more "chopper style". I'm literally only using the main frame and the 2 small wheels. I had to unbend the actual connection bar to the wheel since I had shortened the trailer by at least 8 inches.

I wonder if a suitable stereo would be suffice at the back of the trailer LOL
 
Just came from a ride, clocked up 25km distance and only used 5 amps of riding. Should should allow me to get 50km or so with my riding. I use the motor with pedal assist to take off (mostly pedalling) and the rest of the time has been pedalling once i'm up to speed which was suprisingly easy when using the motor to bring up speed.

My idea is to eventually shift my sla into the trailer (to give around 40-50km range with my riding) and a 48v 20ah battery to give me around 50-60km range. I wonder if that would be achievable? According to my specs I used 235watts per hour.
 
2 weeks in and i'm loving this thing. Its heavy but its heaps of fun. Closest thing to a Motorbike i'll ever get (too scared to ride with traffic at that speed)

Its interesting to see how wreckless some people are, one guy turned into the slip lane (from the U turn lane on the other side of the road) and didn't stop to give way, he just gave me this blaring look because he nearly ran through a giveway sign and didn't see me.

I'm getting more confident on its durability, seems to be holding up really well
 
Well the bike has been the most awesome thing ever. I've been riding it for the last few weeks. The only frustrating thing so far is having to go into the garage every night to turn off the charger once its finished. It also takes all night so if I charge from 5pm I am out there at 9-10pm by the time its done. doh
 
Hey All,
I have a little update for you all. With just on 1000km so far I am absolutely amazed with how awesome the Electric Chopper is.

My car has been out of action for the last 3 months and have used the bike to get to work (9km each way). I have managed to beat my times that I would normally do when diving so thats even better.

I noticed that the rear tyre was completely flat over the weekend so it was likely that one of the spoke nipples may have tore the tube, I pulled the rear tyre off and noticed that was the cause. The rubber cover over the spokes had moved in one section (or may have not been installed correctly) and as a result one of the edges must have knicked the tube.

I noticed the rear axle was very difficult to spin so I decided to pull it apart and rebuild it (till I can get some new bearings i used the bearings from my other chopper rear rim).

I also went over the bike and made sure everything was all neat and tight.

The stingray seat and the one I originally had on my bike are actually different in their design. The stingray seat allows you to sit further away from the pedals and handlebars. My only problem is that my stingray seat post broke, I noticed that the welds were much smaller around the post than my original bike seat. A quick swap around of the seat base and I was back up and running.

I've met heaps of friends on the bike tracks and get a bit more attention then I thought, especially when I park it at work.

As much as I want to bag the SLA batteries, they have got me to work and have been remarkably reliable. I have to admit thought that they are starting to show their age as mentioned by a number of people on here.

My range at the moment would be around 24km out of the 6ah I draw (after the 6 amp I notice a drop in voltage to around 45-44v).

I don't mind the weight so much from the SLA batteries, and I'm amazed that the 15kg of batteries have not budged. I used some metal which I bent in the jig to "clamp" the batteries in place but there was no welding or screws holding it together. The whole battery pack is all held together with 1 roll of duct tape and 1 roll of electric tape haha. It hasn't moved an inch (and I can't get it to move).

I'm still hoping to get some new bars for it. Would anyone in Melbourne be willing to give me a hand if you had a pipe bender to bend up some tubing to make my own ape handlebars?

Heres the latest shot of the bike

rszimag0014.jpg
 
haha it is too... chevron 'V' meant to face forward doood.. :wink:

Ape hangers are the most useless bar i have seen i have to be honest, your hands are higher than your heart
so they go numb, have to continually ride one handed swapping which hands on the bar... the bars you have a far more practical... jm2cw

KiM
 
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