1950 Scooter EV-Conversion

M

MDG

100 W
Joined
Feb 10, 2022
Messages
159
Hello, I wanted to share my EV conversion on an old 1950's Parilla scooter. It came to me in very poor condition but luckily no rust. Alot of this has been more of a restoration than a conversion but it'll be sweet getting this baby back on the road. There has been tons of awesome info on here and I am sure I'll continue to ask more questions. Thanks for all the help and love reading about the rad projects! I still have a fair bit but everything powers on and the rear wheel spins nicely. I need to get a windows computer so I can download the programming software still as well. Hoping for around 40-45mph top speed and 20-30 mile range but we shall see....I know a lot of this is dependent on riding condition and tuning factors. There may be a time where a second smaller battery like a "reserve" battery will be set in place.

Some build stats:
Custom swing arm
Converted drum brakes to hydraulic big brakes on front
Still need to do the rear brake setup
3000w V4 hub motor 12x3.5 rim
72v 30ah battery
Votol EM-150 controller
Separate 12v accessory/light system (rechargeable 12v lithium battery by Tusk Racing)
LED bar end signals
LED headlight and tail/brake
CEV handlebar switch converted to work with signals
Lots of 3d printed goodies.
3d printed charge port
3d printed Nylon battery box - still need to finish
3d printed battery meter housings
Custom controller mount
Scooter body and frame powder coated in Vintage mint green.
 

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ZeroEm said:
Nice job! Guessing Charger is onboard.

Keep up the good work. Wanting one!
Click to expand...

Thanks! Yeah so the battery is quite large so it’ll just stay stationary in the scooter frame. The entire back body lifts off with 4 quick turn thumb screws so if you add a second smaller battery you could make that one removable but it’ll probably just stay as is. Can then bring the charger with you if you’re staying somewhere for a while.
 
Quite the handsome scooter
Nice work
 
Very nice build. What motor model is it? QS 260?
 
pwd said:
Very nice build. What motor model is it? QS 260?
Click to expand...

Thanks, yes I do believe so. I was told it’s the 3000w V4 model but pretty sure that’s the same as the 260.
http://www.qs-motor.com/product/12inch-260-e-scooter-hub-motor40h-3000w-v3-type/
 
QS 260 is a nice motor, I'm using one as well. 260 refers to the stator diameter of the motor. There is also 205 and 273 etc... They all come in different magnet heights (motor width) as well.
 
pwd said:
QS 260 is a nice motor, I'm using one as well. 260 refers to the stator diameter of the motor. There is also 205 and 273 etc... They all come in different magnet heights (motor width) as well.
Click to expand...

Awesome, glad to hear it’s decent! My biggest hurdle now is setting up the controller. It’s already spinning and everything but had to go get a new computer to download the software. I’m running a 72v 30AH battery and was told it may be a little small but we will see. It’s got a 50A BMS so I’ll need to adjust this in the software I believe. Thanks
 
72v 32ah (only slightly bigger) gives me 28-30 miles range with my 4kw QS equipped PX125 (Jim Von Baden's build).

Whether the 72v 30AH battery is big enough will depend what cells it is built with, and what current they can deliver.

72V is a 20s, how many cells are you running in parallel (for example my 21700 pack is 20s8p).

50A is small on the BMS. These QS motors have MUCH higher peak power capability than the continuous rating. The 4kw QS motor can do up to 200A in busts, though I have the controller programmed to limit to 125A. Acceleration and hill climbing is quite leisurely at 50A. You'l definitely want 100A capability for decent acceleration and hill climbing.
 
jas67 said:
72v 32ah (only slightly bigger) gives me 28-30 miles range with my 4kw QS equipped PX125 (Jim Von Baden's build).

Whether the 72v 30AH battery is big enough will depend what cells it is built with, and what current they can deliver.

72V is a 20s, how many cells are you running in parallel (for example my 21700 pack is 20s8p).

50A is small on the BMS. These QS motors have MUCH higher peak power capability than the continuous rating. The 4kw QS motor can do up to 200A in busts, though I have the controller programmed to limit to 125A. Acceleration and hill climbing is quite leisurely at 50A. You'l definitely want 100A capability for decent acceleration and hill climbing.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info! So was curious if you could provide me with some basic specs I should I put into the software? Below are my battery specs from the manufacturer. Any insight would be extremely helpful in getting me in the right direction. The scoot already powers up and spins nicely but just don’t want to blow anything 😂 Looking for what I should set Busbar voltage, soft undervoltage, over voltage, etc… I still need to hook up my 3 speed switch as well. I can upload a screen shot tomorrow if what the controller specs are currently when I hook it up to the scoot. It connected fine this morning and I played around with the rate of rise and decline a bit. Thanks so much!
 

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So I got my 3 speed switch setup and working beautifully still just not sure what to set my busbar current and current limiting too. My battery puts out 50A continuous and 100A peak discharge. Maybe someone can shed some light on this. Thanks!
 
Very cool scooter :)

It looks like you have only made cutouts to slide in the motor in the swing arm with no real reinforcement?
That is where it has to be very strong, and grip on the axle so it cant move.
Clamping is a good solution.

Too bad you got a battery that is not even close to the capabilities of the motor and controller :(
You probably dont have much other choice than to limit the battery amp settings in the controller to fit, I dont really understand what you are asking.
You can of course change the bms, but the cells probably isnt capable of 200A if they use a 50A bms..
 
j bjork said:
Very cool scooter :)

It looks like you have only made cutouts to slide in the motor in the swing arm with no real reinforcement?
That is where it has to be very strong, and grip on the axle so it cant move.
Clamping is a good solution.

Too bad you got a battery that is not even close to the capabilities of the motor and controller :(
You probably dont have much other choice than to limit the battery amp settings in the controller to fit, I dont really understand what you are asking.
You can of course change the bms, but the cells probably isnt capable of 200A if they use a 50A bms..
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info! I plan to do a pinch bolt on the back of the swing arm to hug the axle. Gotta drill a hole still for that.

Yeah seems my battery will be the weak point for sure.

So on the software in the busbar current figure I didn’t know if I should set that value to 50A as that is what my battery continuous discharge is rated at. It pushes 100a peak discharge as well. Looking for tips on the two values I circled.

Lastly, what battery size or type would you recommend for future install? I’m doing another conversion soon with a 138 mid drive reduction motor too. Thanks
 

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On the 2.33 firmware on the votol the settings often isn't what they seem, so you better check the votol thread to see how to set it up. I think I have read that it is the setting in sport that sets the battery current even if you dont use sport throttle :?
I would probably start at 50A, then set maybe 80 or 100A and see how hot things get and how much voltage sag I would get.
If it is not too bad maybe raise a little more..

What size depends of what you can fit, how much capacity you need etc.
But if you want performance I think you need a battery that can deliver about 400A.
 
Ok, good deal. I've been making my way through the em-150 thread slowly. I'll set it a bit higher first and check heat, etc... and go from there.

Yeah not sure if I could squeeze in a bit bigger battery. It's a vintage scoot so not looking for something too wild really. My next build will be more supermoto mini bike so that will need all the fun :)
 
Well today I went to do a bit more programming after a successful day yesterday and now getting this weird error message and I can’t connect. I’ll exit out of the weird error code and click connect but then it says the message about the port.
 

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Really impressed with the fabrication work on the rear swingarm and front shocks! Did you build those yourself? If so, did you use a jig to keep everything straight or do you have access to a machining shop tools?
 
kzam said:
Really impressed with the fabrication work on the rear swingarm and front shocks! Did you build those yourself? If so, did you use a jig to keep everything straight or do you have access to a machining shop tools?
Click to expand...

Thanks! The front forks are the originals. I took them apart to rebuild. I have a plasma CNC machine so designed and cut out the front caliper mount.

The rear I took my needed measurements and drew out a layout on a large piece of cardboard. I then cut my square tubing to match with that and used a big straight edge to line up and tack everything in place. Then went back and fully welded it. Yes, I have a large shop and build bikes and cars 👌
 
Pics of the scoot charging up
 

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Did a little 5 mile ride today. Holy crap! So much fun. Having the 3 different modes is sweet. High gear is awesome! Damn thing can do a wheelie. Rode it hard in all gears and the battery wires barley got warm. It all felt good so think I’ll leave it for now.
 

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j bjork said:
On the 2.33 firmware on the votol the settings often isn't what they seem, so you better check the votol thread to see how to set it up. I think I have read that it is the setting in sport that sets the battery current even if you dont use sport throttle :?
I would probably start at 50A, then set maybe 80 or 100A and see how hot things get and how much voltage sag I would get.
If it is not too bad maybe raise a little more..

What size depends of what you can fit, how much capacity you need etc.
But if you want performance I think you need a battery that can deliver about 400A.
Click to expand...

400A is definitely excessive. I have the 4KW QS motor on my E-Vespa conversion. 200A is might quick. 200A at 72V is just over 14KW. That is a LOT of power. The 4KW motor can take it in bursts, but, the battery pack I have heats up quickly with too much of that. This pack is a 20s8p 21700 pack built with high-current cells.

I have my current limit set at 125A right now. Acceleration is still plenty quick, and hill-climbing capability is good. I have a different controller (Kelly), so, I don't know what settings you'd use on the Votol. For that matter, the setting on the Kelly that I'm using to limit current isn't a 1:1 ratio with the actual amps the drive is pulling, but, I just adjust it, then see what the max is I see on my current meter. If you don't have a current meter (permanently mounted or temporary) you'll want to get one so that you can monitor the current your motor is drawing.

I would think that the 3KW motor can handle 100A in bursts just fine, maybe even 140A or so, based on what I've been doing with the 4KW version.

Definitely keep an eye on voltage sag. If you are seeing 10V of sag at 100A, that is 1000W of waste heat in your battery and wiring.

Does your battery have a temperature probe? That is something else you should have. You'll want that temperature probe to be somewhere in the middle of the battery.

Temps much over 60C for extended periods of running time will shorten battery life.
 
MDG said:
Did a little 5 mile ride today. Holt crap! So much fun. Having the 3 different modes is sweet. High gear is awesome! Damn thing can do a wheelie. Rode it hard in all gears and the battery wires barley got warm. It all felt good so think I’ll leave it for now.
Click to expand...

Awesome!

Your scoot looks great too!
 
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