(Help)Checklist for a Goldwing Conversion project

[seranikas]

Howdy, at the start of the pandemic I got my an 86 Honda Goldwing GL1200A, it had served me well for the past year but unfortunately the machine is coming to it's last breath. I Rather than junking the machine completely I would prefer to convert it to an EMotorcycle. This had become my daily commuter for worksites across Los Angeles county. so the range I work in is around 100Miles but and average speeds ranged from 40-70MPH (city and Highway respectively) , with out of city highway speeds being up to almost 80MPH.

I'm looking for parts list for converting the machine to electric. Hoping to keep the maximum range to around 100 miles to keep up with both jobsite ranges and road trips, with possibility of using the California EV charging stations they had installed in the past few years to assist in range. If possible, find a motor that would be able to keep a top speed of 70MPH, to keep up with traffic. As per batteries, It's a large bike so batteries space might not be as much an issue.

My experience with engineering is not very limited. I was a former machine operator and inspector at an autoparts manufacturing plant, plus other repair gigs I did to pay for college, so I know my way around tools and machinery, had rebuilt the engine on this bike upon purchase. Short to the point I'm experienced and up to the challenge.

Summary:
desired range: 100+ miles (city has many EV charging stations)
desired speed: 70 minimum
use: daily commuter/roadtrip with frequent stops

any more information required to assist with this please let me know and I would provide.

 

[amberwolf]

86 Honda Goldwing GL1200A
<snip>
This had become my daily commuter for worksites across Los Angeles county. so the range I work in is around 100Miles but and average speeds ranged from 40-70MPH (city and Highway respectively) , with out of city highway speeds being up to almost 80MPH.

Since that bike has a lot more "stuff" on it that probably makes it less aerodynamic than more plain bikes, and it's pretty big and heavy, it's going to take more power to maintain speed, and to reach a speed.

I'll give you some guesstimates of things to use as a starting point; you'll need to verify actual numbers for what you want the bike to do for you before you go buying anything, though.


You can look around at other builds here in this section where I point out battery needs to get some idea of what might be comparable; I would guess without checking that your normal speeds will take around 100-150Wh/mile, and 200wh/mile (or more) for the faster speeds. If you can find any existing Goldwing conversions on EVAlbum, etc., and they list their wh/mile at various speeds you can use that as a guideline. If not, some builds may have contact info you can try to ask them about that.

Hoping to keep the maximum range to around 100 miles to keep up with both jobsite ranges and road trips, with possibility of using the California EV charging stations they had installed in the past few years to assist in range.
<snip>
As per batteries, It's a large bike so batteries space might not be as much an issue.

Unless you are sure you can use the charging stations (or plug in somewhere) for any particular trip, I recommend planning for having to have battery capacity to cover the full range of your worst-case trip, plus at least 25% to cover detours, headwinds, etc that could come up.

If you end up needing the 200wh/mile for a good portion of a trip, let's go worst case and say you need it for all 100 miles (probalby not, but...worst case scenario ). That's 100miles * 200wh/mile = 20000wh, or 20kwh. That is a pretty big battery, and adds a lot of weight. (I have a 2kwh 52v 40ah pack made of 14s2p EIG NMC cells on my SB Cruiser trike, and that weighs something close to 40lbs, maybe 35 at best. It's about the size of a good stack of a dozen hardcover books. (you can look up the EIG C020 cell size and multiply by 28 if you need more exact)). So if you need one 10 times that size, it could weigh 350-400lbs by itself!

It might take a lot less battery than that, depends on how much power it really takes you to go a certain speed, and your riding style, traffic, wind, terrain (hills or anything other than perfectly flat and level).

Depending on the actual final battery size, you can probably fit it in the bike, quite possibly where the large engine is now, if you use a hubmotor in the rear wheel.

Some types of cells are more energy-dense than others, and so will make a smaller pack for the same Wh. Others are more power-dense, and can provide more oomph to your controller/motor when you need it, using less parallel cells. It's a compromise.

If possible, find a motor that would be able to keep a top speed of 70MPH, to keep up with traffic.

You can get a motor that would do whatever speed you want, if the battery is capable of providing the power to do it, and you can spare the power (battery capacity) to use it, and get a big enough controller to run it.

Dependign on how fast you want to accelerate, and how much hill climbing power you may need, and the actual top speed you need under worst-case conditions (worst-case headwinds plus worst case hills while trying to maintain top speed), your required power level could vary significantly.

Just as a guesstimate, I used Grin's motor simulator to create a system that would go almost 80mph using motor taht already exists in there (it's not actually suitable for this, and would overheat in a minute, but it let me get some numbers), and got this result
https://ebikes.ca/tools/simulator.html?motor=MCRO5004&mass=454&grade=0&hp=0&batt=cust_200_0.2_100&axis=mph&autothrot=false&throt=100&cont=cust_300_900_0.03_V
Note that all of these numbers are "guesstimates" since the simulation I setup isn't using "real" parts. I didn't look up the actual wheel/tire size on the back of your GW model/year, so I left that at 26".
Mtr Power 17129W
Load 17232W
RPM 1010.6 rpm
Mtr Amps 164.2A
Batt Power 21601W
Batt Amps 123.2A
Batt Volts 175.4V
Consumption 274.7 Wh/mi
Range 63 mi
The Wh/mile and range above are based on a bicycle (MTB upright) aero number, so yours will be different depending on the actual CdA and Cr, etc. of your bike. If you know those numbers you can plug them in there for more accurate results.


But it gives a guesstimate to start from, of a battery that can provide about 20kw+ continuously, and a motor that can handle 17kw continously. How many volts and amps that turns out to really be depends on the motor you use (and gearing you use if not a hubmotor), wheelsize, etc., and what actual max speed you really need. The more volts, the less amps the battery has to supply to give the same power to the motor, but it makes your available controller selection smaller the higher you go.

QSmotor makes motors that will do what you want, in both middrive and hubmotor.

Motors are generally rated for a particular RPM at a particular voltage, so with a hubmotor if you put it in a larger wheel, the same motor at the same battery voltage goes a faster speed than if it was in a smaller wheel (but all other conditions the same, will have less torque than the smaller wheel). So if you a motor that doesn't go as fast as you want, you can use a bigger wheel, or you can raise the system voltage.

With a middrive, just change the gearing ratio to change the wheel speed vs motor speed.

A hubmotor will give you more space for batteries.

A middrive motor, mounted somewhere in teh frame (probably not room on the swingarm), could drive the wheel via chain (or belt), but could potentially use a little less power for accelerations, if the gearing is right to let it reach it's efficient RPM faster than the hubmotor would. (but will probably be about the same, and adds more complications with the drivetrain than a hubmotor, and takes up frame space you could use for batteries, etc).

If you use a middrive you'll be fabricating mounts and chain/belt tensioners and whatnot. If you use a hubmotor you'll only need to fabricate torque plates for the swingarm's dropouts.

(and of course, whatever battery case/etc you use, plus mounts for controller and charger, etc).

 

[seranikas]

Thanks for the advice, I looked into the hub motor and it looks quite decent. Plus the possibility of dropping some weight with removing the end-shaft. Will start getting some possible schematics drawn for that. I like the idea of more battery space, which could assist in range and power with a mix of series and parallel batteries.

I'll most likely start collecting the batteries to fit with my budget and and over the year put some aside to get the hub motor. Any specific retailers that sell them, or just aliexpress, hadn't has good experience with that site in the past, just skeptical on it.

Might also see what it's to Remove in order to drop some unnecessary weight. Had already removed around 40lbs but replacing the original pneumatic rear shocks with progressive spring suspension kit.

One small detail on the ev charging hubs, some adapters had been in the market that were used for golf carts that have the same head as the EVs that we see often, so an adapter for the converted bike might be feasible If the controller could allow it.

Again, thanks for the advice kind stranger.

 

[amberwolf]

Thanks for the advice, I looked into the hub motor and it looks quite decent.

Which specific motor are you looking at?

Plus the possibility of dropping some weight with removing the end-shaft

.
End-shaft of what?

Will start getting some possible schematics drawn for that.

If you look at various builds here (and elsewhere) there are some that have schematics they used, or at least what they started with. These may help you see some of what you'll need to have, and give you options for what you might want to add, if anything.

BTW, since the original bike's "12v" power for lighting and accessories came from the engine, you'll need to replace that with a DC-DC that uses your main battery for the same thing. Get one that has an input range that includes your battery's minimum (empty) and maximum (full) voltages, and that outputs 13.6-14.4vDC (as that's the typical range for "automotive 12v"), that can handle all the current from all the things that could possibly be on at the same time, plus your horn (which may take quite a lot of current, 20-30A+, just for a moment when you activate it). If using incandescent, Halogen or HID headlights, plan for a surge of startup current on those, too, that is up to several times the running current. These only last a moment, but if it exceeds the DC-DC's ratings by enough, then a good one will shutdown and a bad one will fail.

I like the idea of more battery space, which could assist in range and power with a mix of series and parallel batteries.

Almost any battery you build will have a certain number of series cells, and a certain number of parallel cells, normally written as XsYp. Like my battery is 14s2p, meaning 14 cells in series (52v nominal, ~58v full, ~48v empty).

The number of series cells determines the voltage, based on the per-cell nominal voltage. Number of parallel determines both the capacity in Ah (amp-hours), *and* the current-delivery capability in A (amps), based on individual cell capabilities multiplied by number in parallel.

What cells you use, and how many S and P, will be determined by what motor and controller you use and what you want the bike to do for you, and any physical limitations of what you can fit where on the bike, and your budget.

I'll most likely start collecting the batteries to fit with my budget and and over the year put some aside to get the hub motor.

Get the batteries last.

They do degrade with age, and since everything the bike can do is determined by what hte batteries can output, you need to choose all the other stuff first, and then build a battery that can support all that, anyway.

So build the bike first, planning the battery build along the way, finalizing that only once the rest of it is complete, in case there are any "gotchas" along the way you didn't plan for. It's the most expensive part, too, so gives you more time to save up for it.

Any specific retailers that sell them, or just aliexpress, hadn't has good experience with that site in the past, just skeptical on it.

The motor and controller I would get, if possible, as a matched set from a reliable seller. If the seller can't answer at least basic technical questions from you, and/or doesn't support what they sell, don't buy from them.

If you are getting a QSmotor, get it *from* QSmotor. They have a sale thread here on ES with links to their sites to be sure you go to the right place.

For the controller...if it's possible to get it matched to the motor, do that. If you need something other than what the motor seller has, because of some feature you want the controller to have, etc., then

A controller doesn't have to just run the motor blindly, it can respond to what you demand of it and/or how you want it to operate. More versatile ones are programmable, meaning you can set them up the way you want them to be...but they also *require* you to set them up right before you can use them. The more versatile, the more stuff you have to setup. There are "plug and play" controllers that "just work" but they don't typically have any settings you can change, so they just drive the motor based on the throttle setting, or turn it off when braking (perhaps also providing motor braking at some preset level).

Some have a display for the handlebars that lets you change certain things (while you ride or at least while sitting there on the bike), more versatile ones typically require a connection to a computer/etc to run a setup program before using them.

There are several ways controllers are designed; typical old square-wave, simulated sinewave, and FOC. The last is the "best" (smoothest, quietest, most efficient) at controlling the motor, but typically requires some user-setup for the specific motor you use on it, to operate correctly and reliably. The first two usually "just work" with whatever motor, but not as well/efficiently/quietly as the last.




For the battery...first determine what you need for the controller, motor, etc., and then we can figure out a battery that will do what you want, with enough extra capability to account for aging, detours, etc. Then a seller of the right stuff can be found, either a complete battery, or the cells and parts you need to build it yourself.

One small detail on the ev charging hubs, some adapters had been in the market that were used for golf carts that have the same head as the EVs that we see often, so an adapter for the converted bike might be feasible If the controller could allow it.

As long as the EV station provides regular 220-230VAC or 110-115VAC, and are not specialized DC voltages, then all you need to connect to them is whichever kind of plug that station uses, attached to your onboard charger, or an adapter from that charger's plug to the station type.

J1772 is probably the most common one, and there are places that sell adapters with junction boxes that you can setup (or at least come pre-set-up) for specific charging levels (how many amps your charger will need to draw, at what voltage).

Tesla has their own, can't recall if it has a specific name.

If it's a DC-station, CHAdeMO is used for some vehicles; that would mean you don't carry an onboard charger, but you'd need to be able to "talk" to the station to tell it what charge voltage and current to deliver. Easier to use plain AC with your own onboard charger.

The charger itself you won't worry about until you are working on the battery, because it has to be sized for the battery itself (whatever it's max charging rate is, and full voltage).

Again, thanks for the advice kind stranger.

Sure; that's why we're here.

 

[seranikas]

Which specific motor are you looking at?

this one to was a one I noticed but I would probably need to be guided on the exact model required. https://www.qsmotor.com/product/16inch-8000w-scooter-motor/

The wheel I have on there now are the stock 15 inch rims but since it's shaft driven Had already notices that I could possibly use the old shaft housing to mount the motor with minor modification and welding for support since the left side rear axel connection point is a bolt tightened clamp, and the shaft housing is removable with four nuts which by theory could make the rear tire hub removing process to be loosen bolts/nuts and slide to the side rather than back. and the removing the original shaft may create a decent housing for the motor cables.

only question on these as unlike many other bikes the brake disk is on the left and the driveshaft is on the right, reverse to other bikes I see on the road, these motors can be easily hooked to run reverse by swapping the Positive and negative lines to the controller? or perhaps add a reverse switch to make for backing up from parking spots or awkward turns? or are these questions better suited to ask the Motor manufacturer.

apologies for the minor monologues my autistic ass tends to just ramble and I leave notes where ever they seem on topic to find later.

End-shaft of what?

The goldwing is Shaft driven not chain so here are a lot of parts that would be removed. the engine weighs around 230LBS on it's own, the shaft that drives the rear tire on it is a solid piece of metal so might be heavy as heck as well. so possibly would drop the weight of the bike a good 300lbs or more after removing all the old engine and system parts. Currently had it weighting around ~700lbs after removing and replacing some parts and taking it to my dad's factory to weigh out of curiosity. Apologies if the I used the wrong terminology.

BTW, since the original bike's "12v" power for lighting and accessories came from the engine, you'll need to replace that with a DC-DC that uses your main battery for the same thing. Get one that has an input range that includes your battery's minimum (empty) and maximum (full) voltages, and that outputs 13.6-14.4vDC (as that's the typical range for "automotive 12v"),

on this topic, since stripping the Original Airshocks pump from the top fairings They left an empty cavity, possibility of having a dedicated AUX battery with an Isolator mounted in the fairings to isolate power for the lights/stereo/gauges/Auxilary-items from the fairings itself was a throught, that may or may not be as feasible. connecting the AUX battery straight to the charger to keep it powered and not drawing power from the Motor batteries. Thoughts?


also had removed all candecent bulbs long ago, replaced them all with LED because of preference.

J1772 is probably the most common one, and there are places that sell adapters with junction boxes that you can setup (or at least come pre-set-up) for specific charging levels (how many amps your charger will need to draw, at what voltage).

Tesla has their own, can't recall if it has a specific name.

I am not sure where you live, but California had started adding these chargers in major areas first and started spreading them out to smaller communities later, they tend to be around malls, industrial parks, recreation areas, and major shopping centers. But I'll verify the charge rate of these. Also they do have hard readers that charge per watt so that may be a burden.

Tesla is like Apple, their chargers will only work if it reads the car's serial number, the chargers for theirs have a data cable that would block all other cars from using their chargers, even with an adapter. I'm an IT worker but not a hacker to create a bypass for that system. I had to assist in running maintenance on these once. Real asshat move Tesla.

Only other item I can think of, though slow as molasses, is making a motorcycle cover have a foldable solar panel canopy to store on the bike. I like to venture to the mountains and just leave my bike or car in the lot all day while I enjoy myself, so possibly not gonna charge 100% or even 50% in 8 hours of sun (5 direct sun a day) but it would be enough to possibly ride back from my campsite or trail to a local charger or pluggable area and get some dinner. even have a solar canopy over my carport facing south at home to not rely on the grid and run up the power bill but again, designs and experiments for future testing.

thanks again, and apologies for the minor monologues, my autistic ass tends to just ramble and I leave notes where possible for me to find and remember ideas wherever they seem to fit.

 

[amberwolf]

Which specific motor are you looking at?

this one to was a one I noticed but I would probably need to be guided on the exact model required. https://www.qsmotor.com/product/16inch-8000w-scooter-motor/

Once yo'ure sure how much power you need the motor to handle, tell QSmotor what your tire/wheel size will need to be, and what maximum speed it has to go at the battery voltage you decide on, and they can get you the right rim built onto it and the right winding for that speed at that voltage.

Before you can tell them anything, though, you need to decide the actual max speed you want, and then determine the actual power it will take to to maintain that speed under the worst case conditions you will ever come across.

You'll also need to figure out what battery voltage you want to do it at; higher voltages make faster speeds easier, and decrease current needed for any particular wattage (power), but narrow controller selection and increase personal shock hazard.

For controller options to run the motor, you can talk to QSmotor to find out what will match your needs.

The wheel I have on there now are the stock 15 inch rims but since it's shaft driven Had already notices that I could possibly use the old shaft housing to mount the motor with minor modification and welding for support since the left side rear axel connection point is a bolt tightened clamp, and the shaft housing is removable with four nuts which by theory could make the rear tire hub removing process to be loosen bolts/nuts and slide to the side rather than back. and the removing the original shaft may create a decent housing for the motor cables.

That makes sense.

only question on these as unlike many other bikes the brake disk is on the left and the driveshaft is on the right, reverse to other bikes I see on the road, these motors can be easily hooked to run reverse by swapping the Positive and negative lines to the controller? or perhaps add a reverse switch to make for backing up from parking spots or awkward turns?

Many controllers have a reverse function, either as a wire pair (for a switch) or a function in the setup software. If not, it is relatively simple to just wire the phases and halls so that the motor spins whichever direction you need it to, (if the controller has no auto-learn/etc functions).

There arent' any positive and negative motor wires for brushless motors (the type you will almost certainly use), and you can't swap the battery to controller positive/negative wires or you just turn the controller into smoke.

apologies for the minor monologues my autistic ass tends to just ramble and I leave notes where ever they seem on topic to find later.

I spend quite a while on each post, typically, writing things as they come to mind and then editing them until I think they will make sense to someone else. If I don't, it doesn't usually get across what I intended. Either way, I tend to be fairly wordy to ensure all the information that is needed is present...what people do with that, or whether they even read it, I can't control.

The goldwing is Shaft driven not chain so here are a lot of parts that would be removed. the engine weighs around 230LBS on it's own, the shaft that drives the rear tire on it is a solid piece of metal so might be heavy as heck as well. so possibly would drop the weight of the bike a good 300lbs or more after removing all the old engine and system parts. Currently had it weighting around ~700lbs after removing and replacing some parts and taking it to my dad's factory to weigh out of curiosity. Apologies if the I used the wrong terminology.

I don't know most of the ICE motorcycle terminology.

I would remove any part that was part of the ICE engine and drive system that you don't physically require to hold the bike together or make it operate normally as an EV. It will simplify the bike and build, and make it lighter.

Note that quite a few bikes use the engine as a "stressed member" of the frame, so once that is removed, you may need to add framework around the battery once designed and built, to give the bike the same frame strength it was built with originally (or better).

on this topic, since stripping the Original Airshocks pump from the top fairings They left an empty cavity, possibility of having a dedicated AUX battery with an Isolator mounted in the fairings to isolate power for the lights/stereo/gauges/Auxilary-items from the fairings itself was a throught, that may or may not be as feasible. connecting the AUX battery straight to the charger to keep it powered and not drawing power from the Motor batteries. Thoughts?

You can certainly do this. I use a separate battery on my SB Cruiser trike for the "12v" stuff, partly because a DC-DC that will do what I want cost more than I had avaiable, but I already had batteries that would do it. Partly because then even if somethign goes completely wrong with the motor (traction) battery system, I still have lights, etc.

The disadvantage is that it means you must have a battery that can completely supply all the power the lights/etc need, for as long as you need them, *and* you must have a separate charger just for this battery.

If you want a drop-in solution, you can use a lithium-based automotive / motorcycle "12v" battery, and just get a charger for that that will run off the same voltage the traction battery charger is going to use from the charging stations and wherever else you will plug in.

If you build a battery for lighting/etc., you will probably use a different kind of cell than that used for the traction pack, that has the right voltage range for the "12v" system. We'll get to that later, when you are doing battery stuff.

also had removed all candecent bulbs long ago, replaced them all with LED because of preference.

Are you including the headlight? If not, you can change that, but I would use a completely new LED headlight unit; I have never found an LED replacement for standard headlight bulbs that actually works inside the incandescent housings to give the correct light distribution and "horizon cutoff" lines, etc.

I am not sure where you live,

It's in my profile (but that particular info should show on your screen next to each post, like my signature does below each one).

but California had started adding these chargers in major areas first and started spreading them out to smaller communities later, they tend to be around malls, industrial parks, recreation areas, and major shopping centers. But I'll verify the charge rate of these. Also they do have hard readers that charge per watt so that may be a burden.

Well, everything has a cost.

If you simply look at the website that should be listed on each charge station "brand", it should show you what is required to use it, and what features it supports. Once you know that, then you can get the appropriate connector or adapter for your charging system (once you know what charging system you will have on the bike, which comes after figuring out the power needs (motor, controller) and battery.

Tesla is like Apple, their chargers will only work if it reads the car's serial number, the chargers for theirs have a data cable that would block all other cars from using their chargers, I'm an IT worker but not a hacker to create a bypass for that system. I had to assist in running maintenance on these once. Real asshat move Tesla.

SOme of the websites that discuss charging stations say that only the Supercharger stations are Tesla-car-only, but that the regular Tesla stations will work as long as you have a Tesla-to-J1772 adapter. I don't know enough about that to know how it works (or if it does), but perhaps that's something you can verify.

Only other item I can think of, though slow as molasses, is making a motorcycle cover have a foldable solar panel canopy to store on the bike. I like to venture to the mountains and just leave my bike or car in the lot all day while I enjoy myself, so possibly not gonna charge 100% or even 50% in 8 hours of sun (5 direct sun a day) but it would be enough to possibly ride back from my campsite or trail to a local charger or pluggable area and get some dinner.

You wont' get very much power a day, nowhere near a significant charge, from a canopy you could carry on the bike.

1 square meter of 100% efficient panel (which doesn't exist) would get you about 750-1000w per hour at noon on a perfectly sunny day with no dust, clouds, pollution, etc. blocking any sun, near the equator. It's less (much less) in realworld conditions, and unless you have sun-tracking panels, or manually keep tilting htem to keep them facing the sun, you'll get even less when they're not perpendicular to the sun.

I have four fairly crappy old "12v-15v" panels (three like the ones they sell at harbor freight in the 150w kits, one smaller and differently shaped but close to the same area), and they are large and heavy and fragile, and don't make much power even here in the desert in summer at noon. They cover about half of the top of my SB Cruiser trike; some pics over here:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=106119&p=1556809#p1556809


To carry something useful that would make an actual canopy that you can setup over /around your bike, you would probably need at least two of the size panels they mount on house roofs. Let's say you use two "300w" panels (which you'll probably get 250w or less out of), with a lightweight aluminum frame (like some old army cots use; this is what I made the SB Cruiser's non-solar trike-mounted canopy from). They're probably going to be around 5' x 3' or so, so if you go with long-way mounting, that's 10' x 3' for a canopy. I don't know how thick, but let's go with 3" to leave space for any padding between panels you may need to protect them, so two will be 6" thick that way. They'll probably weigh about 40lbs each, so about 80lbs for panels, and let's say 5-10lbs more for the frame. You'll probably get about 500w out of these two, perhaps less.

If you need faster charging, and/or a bigger canopy, you'll need more panels, which will weigh more and be physically larger to carry on the bike. At 500w charging per hour, if you use 100wh/mile to ride you could get up to 5 miles range per hour of charge. I suspect you'll get less charge than that; depend on whole system efficiency (MPPT, etc).

Imagine carrying two or more large heavy fragile folding tables on your bike.... My guess is you would want a trailer for them instead. A friend of mine used to use a Kawasaki Voyager (dunno what year) which is similar size to a Goldwing to pull one of those harbor freight trailers that have a clamshell cargo carrier on them, for long interstate trips. HF has carried a number of other trailers that would work even better; you could certainly make something yourself, or modify one of those, to carry the panels and even make a frame that unfolds from the trailer itself to deploy it all in one easy setup, without having to assemble a frame, mount panels, etc.


You'll also need an MPPT to get the best efficiency from them; if this goes directly to your traction battery's charge port for best efficiency, the MPPT will need to output the correct voltage and current to charge it. I don't know what voltages MPPTs are available in, but you can look them up when you get that far. If you instead use the MPPT to run an inverter to run your charger, you then lose a whole lot of power in the inverter and charger.




There are quite a few solar discussions here on ES if you would like to read around, including some ebikes that are powered by this (like in the SunTrip threads) to give you some real world data. THis site
https://us.sunpower.com/how-many-solar-panels-do-you-need-panel-size-and-output-factors
is also useful.

 

[LenaIronwolf]

I actually joined this forum a few minutes ago specifically for my own Goldwing project. I have a nonrunning Goldwing that I want to turn electric, but I'm very, very new to the world of electric vehicles. The gist of what I've gotten is that I need to clean out the engine that doesn't work, install a battery with enough voltage for my motor and the capacity I need to last, a motor with a high enough voltage to move me at the right speed, a controller compatible with both, and from there it's just wiring it into the display and throttle. Is all of that correct? I don't even know where to begin finding numbers on how to find what's right for me, it seems like this forum's distributor of choice is qsmotors, do I need to build my battery myself? Sorry for all of the nooby questions! Have a wonderful day!

 

[SlowCo]

[youtube]O1FV_K-tQ3M[/youtube]

 

[Jordan325ic]

I really don’t think there is any hub motor that is going to get a gold wing to cruise at 70mph. Even a 12kw QS motor is not going to cut it… The only thing I could think of would be Enertrac’s ‘double’ hub-motor they mention on their website, no price or details.

To make a 100 mile goldwing you’re going to need a massive battery pack… 20kwh or so. Just look at the real-world range of the top-of-the-line Zero motorcycles for an example. And a goldwing is going to be much heavier and less efficient than that by a lot.

For converting a goldwing, I would take inspiration from lightweight car conversions more than motorcycle conversions. Maybe an AC-9 motor mated to a custom driveshaft. The video posted above is a very good example of a heavyweight motorcycle, and as I recall his components list sounds more like how you would convert a VW beetle than a dirt bike.