e-Zündapp: A conversion of a classic moped

SimonKagstrom

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Hi!

I've done (well, are these things ever finished?) an electric conversion of a classic moped. It actually consists of parts from here and there, but most are from Zündapp, so I'm saying it's a Zündapp. It also says so on the gas tank, which by the Swedish saying is what counts ("det är tanken som räknas")! I bought it in a good condition without the original engine, so most of the bike styling is not thanks to me.

The mopeds from the 70s/80s were capped at 30 km/h, which was also my target speed for the conversion. It comfortably does 30 km/h, and I'd say it oomph-wise feels like a 50cc two-stroke moped from the era, although I have little actual experience with them.


It's based on a VESC controller, the Spintend single UBOX 100V / 100A and uses a Vevor 1800W motor for the true lethargic 50cc 1hp feeling. I've coupled it with a 52v em3ev king shark battery, basically an e-bike-style battery mounted between the frame and the front wheel. Lights have been converted to 12V and are driven via the Spintend adapter board.

Now, I'm a software developer, so I've also done a ESP32P4-based display for the VESC controller (link to another thread on this forum) to show the speed, the position on a map and trip data. That's were I've put in most work, and it's also what I'll keep on developing. It sits in a rectangular 3D-printed case on the handlebar, which is sort of crude but I'd also say fits fairly well with how the speedometers looked on these. At least it's as good as I can make it!


Conversion-wise, I got help from a friend who works as a mechanical engineer to design the motor mount adaptors (thanks David Ålind!). I went through many iterations of 3D-printed ones before ordering them in steel, and I think in the end it turned out just fine. There are also a lot of other 3D-printed parts on the moped, and what a revolution it is to be able to do that!

So far, I've done about 100km on the moped. It's slow, but that's also how I intended it to be (and 8 tooth front / 42 rear helps with the slow starts). The motor and chain is slightly noisy, which I think is partially due to VESC configuration and partially due to the small 8 tooth front sprocket. My back don't quite agree with the low position of the handlebars, so it's a bit uncomfortable to ride for longer times. I won't ride it very far and often, so I don't mind too much. I mean, it's mainly an excuse to do a software project after all!



Links to some more information about the project (including to the OnShape CAD work), and the source code and more information about the VESC display

GitHub - SimonKagstrom/e-zundapp: Electric moped stuff
GitHub - SimonKagstrom/radbuzz: Infotainment for a VESC-based electric moped

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Sweet bike. Lots of potential for future upgradability. Lol
 
Sweet bike. Lots of potential for future upgradability. Lol

Haha! Yes, I agree!

I'll focus on the display though, which is what I'll likely do best. But apart from that: more ergonomic handlebars/clip-ons, a more cafe racer style of seat and new and matched tyres.

Indeed, there's lots to do. Knowing myself, I'll just work on the display. :)
 
The motor and chain is slightly noisy, which I think is partially due to VESC configuration and partially due to the small 8 tooth front sprocket.
Excessive noise is to be expected from a 8T sprocket. Also high wear.
 
Excessive noise is to be expected from a 8T sprocket. Also high wear.

I know! I've been looking for sprockets, but found no fits for the bolt pattern it has. Went with 8t to get at least sort of reasonable gear ratio.

I've also designed an adapter to fit another rear sprocket, but a bit too tight fit, and not sure how well it will really work out.

The vevor motor also seems to have a bit limited supply of 415/420 sprockets.


For now I'll go with excessive wear, since I don't ride much or very long anyway.
 
Cool build!

One thing to keep in mind: this style of battery enclosure isn't really well insulated on the connectors. It relies on the shape of the battery to direct the water away from the contacts, when mounted on the bottom tube of a bicycle frame. In this orientation, water can drip from the top, in between the battery and the mounting plate and stay on the connectors - likely won't cause a direct short, but a slow corrosion. Make sure to check this area often and think about some extra water protection if it'll ride in the wet weather.
 
Thanks for the insight!

I'm aware it's not waterproof, but didn't consider the battery specifically. The controller and motor was what worried me most in that respect, and for the battery I've mostly been worried about it falling off. Feels quite robust though.

I've made sure to only ride in nice weather, and it's stored in the garage when not in use.

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Also when a Hailong type pack is mounted upside down the cover will hold any water that manages to infiltrate. Cells can become submerged corroded and discharged that way.
 
It's a reention case, and em3ev is usually very good at siliconing all the screws and seams of their batteries. But as others said, the baseplate contacts are the most likely weak spot. I had my em3ev battery mounted the same way upside down on a bicycle down tube and ended up having an extra cover above the base plate to deflect rain. Also I was strapping mine. This case does have more tabs but I bet if you hit large potholes it might crack still.
 
Yeah, I've considered using a strap to secure it as well. Feels rock-solid though, so I haven't bothered so far. I also started to designed a sleeve to hold it in place better, but the geometry is tricky so I haven't finished that yet.

Anyhow, I'm a software developer and this bike is partially an excuse to get to work on the speedometer/trip meter, so I'm not actually riding it that much. I've so far avoided rain completely, but I understand that the battery placement is less than ideal water-wise (although I think the controller might be even worse off).

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So far, I've done about 100km on the moped. It's slow, but that's also how I intended it to be (and 8 tooth front / 42 rear helps with the slow starts). The motor and chain is slightly noisy, which I think is partially due to VESC configuration and partially due to the small 8 tooth front sprocket. My back don't quite agree with the low position of the handlebars, so it's a bit uncomfortable to ride for longer times. I won't ride it very far and often, so I don't mind too much. I mean, it's mainly an excuse to do a software project after all!
Nice build!

I would say you are woefully under ratio-ed for that motor, hence the slow start, you are geared at 5.63:1, for approximately 80kmh (50mph)

If you can find a #35 chain sprocket for the motor, you can use very common(and cheap!) go-kart sprockets and chains.

Here is a recumbent build I have that uses an 8.5:1 reduction in #35 chain parts: BikeE recumbent full suspension, custom mid-drive
 
Thanks!

Yeah, I know about the gearing. The Zündapp rear wheel has an uncommon bolt pattern, so finding any compatible sprocket above 42 tooth is difficult. I did actually do like you and made an adapter for a split rear sprocket (see the picture), but the metal one I ordered had slightly too tight tolerances for the central hole so it wouldn't fit without grinding.

So for now I'm stuck with lousy hill climbing performance (controller tends to overheat). Should improve with the adaptor, if I get around to finish that. Another thing I hope would improve is noise with a larger front sprocket.
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And while I understand it's not the point you're making, it's RPM limited to not go above a configured speed. My hope early on was that it would be strong enough even at long speeds to get snappy starts, but in retrospect that was in vain!

On the display, I added the possibility to configure the max speed (as a profile). I've tested it up to about 45 km/h, which works fine as expected. More than that is above my pay grade :)

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