Apollo x18 dirt bike

[remyglass]

Bought this x18 new about 9 months ago.. and it ended up overheating and burning my right leg with boiling hot oil. So im converting it to electric..
using a qs 138 v3 with votol em150/2 kit from electro and co
got started on it today, had to lower the cradle so the motor would fit properly and sprocket would line up where Its supposed to. Need to figure out how im going to mount the controller and battery. I also converted the rear brake to a handbrake.
https://youtu.be/9_WCGpKQgsI
https://youtu.be/zIl6-7FtkSI
https://youtu.be/E4qEjEcA-CY

 

[SafeDiscDancing]

Looks like fun. You will start getting more responses as you start posting your progress.

Once people are hooked it becomes like an ongoing adventure watching the build.

 

[SlowCo]

Good luck and enjoy building :thumb:

Maybe ask the mods to move this thread to the more suitable "electric motorcycle" section for more interest.
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=12

 

[remyglass]

thanks I will do that

ill update as I continue to work on it

 

[remyglass]

Started this a couple days ago
Apollo x18 RFZ 125cc frame (new version)
QS 138 v3 motor
Votol EM 150/2 controller
72v 25-40ah battery

Had to lower the cradle and shave down a bit of the motor housing/mounting tabs, then I was able to utilize the stock upper mounts and swingarm mounts. I plan on adding another mount coming off the relocated cradle for the bottom of the motor and add some gussets to the angle I used for the cradle. Those thin steel strips are there for me to know what area the battery can take up without hindering the front suspension..not sure if I will end up using them in the end. I also removed the rear foot brake since it no longer fits with the lowered cradle (could always modify the lever to make it work i suppose) and installed a hydraulic left handbrake and new line to the rear caliper.
I decided on a mounting location for the controller to leave as much room for a larger battery (still figuring out a final battery ...but I have a 72v 25ah brick style that should fit easily for testing). This bike uses the gas tank for the seat to hook into and also for the plastic shroud to screw into. Since i wont need the tank, I made a controller mount with tabs for the shroud to attach as well as a little hook for the front of the seat to slide onto...should allow good airflow to the controller and there is enough room for the wiring while everything is still protected inside the frame.
quick video of the first twist of the throttle
https://youtu.be/E4qEjEcA-CY

 

[SlowCo]

Glad you posted it here now. Will follow your build :thumb:

 

[remyglass]

I tried getting the old thread moved but havent gotten a response..I just sent a request to have it deleted.
Figured it was easiest to start something new here with some updated pics
thanks for following

 

[skeetab5780]

sub'd nice looking bike! I have a few similar builds going on myself so I will follow

a Tao Tao DB17 with a LRHDD XL and a crf230f with a D9000

 

[remyglass]

finished it and took it for a little roll in the pouring rain..cant wait till the weather is nicer so I can actually test it out.
I will say that even doing nothing on it you can feel its got a lot of torque...and im only in map 1 which maxes out around 100A.
Of course I had to do a ceremonial burnout

I love this thing and I cant believe it went together so quickly..3 days


here is a quick video from my security camera..
https://youtu.be/7WfB-PEgIP8

 

[KiefRichards]

Very nice. That was a crazy fast build.
Hopefully I’ll have my RFZ conversion up and running soon too.

 

[remyglass]

Thanks Kief here are some pics of the chain/sprocket location..chain needs some tightening now that im looking at it. I ended up adding a third mounting point off the cradle so the motor is mounted in 3 locations. still havent finalized the battery mount because I am currently switching between two packs which have different dimensions.

 

[skeetab5780]

ya those new QS motors with the reduction built in are pretty sick! I bought all my motors before this existed, the best part is that you dont need a ridiculously large rear sprocket to get your ratio and second, the motor output shaft is actually where it needs to be(closer to the swing)

nice build in only 3 days!

 

[remyglass]

thanks
watched your youtube channel when researching electric conversions


Today I cleaned up the battery mounting situation. I have two different batteries so I had to figure out a way to mount either one. not sure if this is going to work but its what I have for now. I also want to finish some aluminum boxes for the batteries so they have a little protection

Another thing I found out today..the cheap lifepo4 battery from amazon somehow pushes 150a (its rated 50a continuous and 100a peak) because I didnt get any shutdown using my map 2 setting on the controller (150a map). It did shut down on map 3 which is 200a...but the smaller of the two packs I have is actually a 25mah 200a peak battery so we will see how it does with map 3, havent had a chance to test it yet. Map 2 on this setup is already pretty insane. I cant imagine what map 3 is like.
hopefully ill get video of some riding tomorrow

 

[remyglass]

did some more testing today and I can now certify that its bonkers and everything I was hoping it would be
rolling burnouts and wheelies are just too fun on this beast

 

[pwd]

Nice build. Interesting motor too. Looks like a lot of fun

 

[remyglass]

thanks


here are some "finished" pics..

although we shall see if the battery box is going to work out..going to test it with some jumps and rough terrain tomorrow

 

[KiefRichards]

Looks great. How’d the battery mount work out off road?
Are you using sport mode? Stock busbar settings?

 

[remyglass]

So far so good..
its holding together well

I actually made a really low power map becuase all 3 maps were insane and pulling the front tire off the ground. So I made map 1 using like 30% of my 200a max setting. map 2 uses 75% and map 3 is the full 200a . I believe map 3 is sport mode but im not sure.

here is a video of a trail ride I went on with friends yesterday, total ride time was over 2 hours but since I used the lower power map for a lot of the ride the battery really lasted forever..I had it showing 47% left when we were done! (thats using a voltmeter battery guage set with 0% being 60v and full around 84v)

https://youtu.be/EQdEIbtfvlU
I also got new black plastics



so far the only problems with the bike is the suspension being a bit too soft and slow/no rebound in the rear. Currently trying to find a new rear shock that I can make work. I also ordered some handlebar risers.

 

[MDG]

Awesome build! I am using a similar battery from BTR as well. It is a 72v 30AH lithium. Shows 50A continuous and 100A peak discharge current. I am going through my software now and trying to figure what I should set my busbar and phase currents to? Your build looks super fun! THanks for sharing

 

[xormic]

Hey, so what's your battery configuration? I'm planning on doing the same exact setup as yours but different controller and battery. I'm thinking about putting on a 20s 12p so 240 cells. How much do you have on yours?