YZF600R Thundercat EV

[Bernel]

Hi, awesome project! I was just wondering if the Mobipus controller is still in the pipeline? I'm debating between their 600A model or a Sevcon gen4 and wondering if you might have experience with both?

Batteries are still a question mark for me too. I'm considering Chevy volt cells, or possibly a 32s2p custom pack of Yinlong LTO 40ah cylindrical cells.

I did not get the Mobipus, in the end I bought a Sevcon Gen4Size6. I fitted this to the bike October 2018 and the results were encouraging. I still need to tune the throttle though. Work will start to pick up now since I have cancelled work on another project. I will be looking to replace the ME0913 with a ME1507 and increasing the pack voltage to 99.9V nominal.

Bernel

I don't know what is your progress so far with your battery, but if you're not decided yet I suggest you to go for A123 pouch cells pack if you can.
A friend of mine and myself are using those cells on our motorcycles, mine is only drawing 16KW with a sabvoton controller on a 72V 40Ah pack, but his bike is drawing more than 42KW from the same pack with a Mobipus controller and it works perfectly fine.
Those packs are probably a little bit heavier than other chemistries, but not by much if you factor in the loss of capacity after a year and the fact that they tolerate high discharge rates so you don't need to go too high on capacity. In our case, the battery weights 25Kg for 72V 40Ah (23S 2P) and we had it reliably push 600A battery / 1000A phase.

They have a very low internal resistance, so they don't sag much under load and they are able to supply gigantic amounts of currents in both peak and continuous reliably so you don't need to invest on crazy capacities just to make your bike run. They are extremely safe and tolerate deep discharges until 2V per cell, they have a quite long life cycle and they almost don't self discharge so you can store them for years without worrying they will die. Basically this battery is a no brainer: install an Ant BMS bluetooth and you're good to go.

We bought those second hand, no idea how many cycles they had, but they are still going very strong. I have mine for more than a year now, doing around 30-40 km every day to go to work with a quite aggressive riding style: no problem at all. They were also very, very cheap when bought second hand (in my case around 370 Usd for a 72V40Ah battery), but that might largely depend on wherever you live.

I'm pretty sure you could fit at least 120V 40Ah in this bike, you have quite a bit of space. That would be a very impressive machine.

Thanks Dui,
I am based in the UK, do you know of a reputable supplier?

Bernel

 

[Dui ni shuo de dui]

Thanks Dui,
I am based in the UK, do you know of a reputable supplier?
Bernel

Sorry Bernel, I' mot sure I'm the best person to help you on that matter, I'm a French guy and I live in China, so I have no connection to the UK whatsoever.
Maybe on ebay?
A quick search on ebay uk gave me this result, you can try to contact them or to find other suppliers who have this :
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/28s2P-A123-AMP20M1HD-A-Prismatic-Pouch-Cell-for-electric-vehicle-3-6-kW-hr/143114951981?hash=item215250dd2d:g:mPEAAOSw5xhcVo7b

The specs they give in the description seems to be way off what those cells are capable to deliver, so either don't trust the description or investigate on what is the exact type of cells they are using.

Some interesting threads about those cells, if you want to get more information:
https://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44494

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=38761

I would recommend you to get a pack already made, just like the one on ebay. Building your own would be a lot of work for several reasons:
-the tabs are very difficult to weld (aluminum)
-you need a compression system to keep the cells in good working condition
The already made packs are just much easier to deal with, and it probably won't be cheaper to build your own anyways.

I don't know about this ebay supplier, but mine was able to customize the pack, he could add or remove cells if I needed to.
You'll also need to purchase a BMS for that. It is not absolutely necessary per se, but it will help you monitor the battery state (knowing how much capacity is left, cutting the circuit if it's too low or too high, doing the balancing charge for you, etc).

I recommend you to use the ANT BMS 300A:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/16S-32S-300A-Lifepo4-li-ion-Lipo-Battery-Protection-Board-BMS-Balance-Bluetooth/283384646120?hash=item41fb0a89e8:g:Ws0AAOSwZ65camJd

That's the one we are both using, it works very well. We already pushed more than 600A through it without any modification and it is still working fine.
The little screen is pretty useful to integrate in a dashboard, you get a power meter, a capacity meter, amp meter, voltmeters, individual cells voltages, battery temperature, speedometer, and many other stuff. It's not 100% precise but it's close enough to be a great help. The only issue is the bluetooth app which sucks a little (some poor translations), but there are some threads here on the forum who explains how to deal with it.

Hope it helps!

 

[c70r]

deleted

 

[Bernel]

Well, I have been pondering how I can get my ME1507 into my YZF600R to replace the ME0913.

Here is a picture of the motor with my newly shot blasted swing arm.


So I started making a template.


Then I happened to stumble across a YZF600R frame and swing arm on ebay. I bought it for silly cheap money. This will enable me to carry out real world measurements and mistakes without messing up my bike.


The ME1507 has a larger diameter than the ME0913, but while I was checking out various permutations of fitment I found that the original engine upper mounting points are in the way of the motor. If I use these existing motor mount positions it will stick out too far
and encroach on the space I have for the battery pack.


But I did find a solution, I will cut these mounts off, rotate them 90 degrees and get them re welded to the correct position. This will also bring the motor sprocket closer to the original engine sprocket position and give me more space for the battery pack. Result I think.

I will have a trial run on this spare frame and swing arm before I start cutting up the bike.

Bernel

 

[Bernel]

New motor mounts welded in, ME1507 and Domino throttle fitted.

Tomorrow I will fit the Gen4 Size6

 

[Bernel]

Controller mounted

Now to sort out the wiring.

 

[jonescg]

Solid progress
Shame you can't get the drive sprocket closer to the swing arm pivot.

 

[Dui ni shuo de dui]

Nice progress!
Just, could you post bigger pictures? We can't really see much

 

[Bernel]

Solid progress
Shame you can't get the drive sprocket closer to the swing arm pivot.

Hi Chris, I would have to modify the frame by cutting out a cross member, I have a spare frame and swing arm for the YZF600R which I can play with but that is another project.

 

[Bernel]

Nice progress!
Just, could you post bigger pictures? We can't really see much

Sorry, got my file sizes wrong. Will do better next time.

 

[Adrianm1972]

Any progress?

 

[Bernel]

Any progress?

Yes, I have been slack with posting updates. I have been working on the battery pack designing my own modules and upgrading the wiring. I have been working with polycarbonate sheets to model the battery modules. There will be three modules stacked vertically, 103.6V and 20Ah each. My brother is printing my first module so hopefully some pictures soon.

Bernel

 

[Bernel]

Finally got round to fitting the chain, so I have a rolling machine now. Just need to sort the battery situation out. Meanwhile I have been tweeking the digital dash, this hyperlink is short video from my youtube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiI8gapGiOs

This hyperlink is a short walkround.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nHowmFHAdM

Regards,

Bernel

 

[Bernel]

Here is the first spin up at 92.5V, sweet!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz-kBpzmim0

 

[Alexanderfoti]

Excellent work. Love the dash.

How hard did you find the Sevcon to program?

 

[Bernel]

Excellent work. Love the dash.

How hard did you find the Sevcon to program?

A lot of trial and error, I a lot of help from people who had used this combination before.

Just seen your post with your Gen4 Leaf modules. I am doing a 20S for my Thundercat and a 28S for a new project.

 

[Alexanderfoti]

Any thoughts on the controller you are going to use for the 28S project? I am currently stuck looking for a controller that can support the power, ideally with field weakening.

 

[Bernel]

Any thoughts on the controller you are going to use for the 28S project? I am currently stuck looking for a controller that can support the power, ideally with field weakening.

Yes, I will use a Sevcon Gen4 Size 6.

 

[samv76]

great build.
I am especially in awe about your homemade dash. I have been looking for a replacement dash for my govecs 3.4 wich uses a sevcon gen 4 size 4.

Would you be willing to share how you did it? i have a arduina and a can shield , but i have no clue what scetches to use, and what pids to look for.

cheers,
sander