Nova Cruz Voloci Scooter/Bike Info

[fechter]

That's a pretty tight space. I can't think of anything with field weakening that would fit in there. But there is plenty of room under the seat or on the seat support tubes. A 12v dc-dc converter would need to be added, but those are pretty inexpensive.

 

[skeetab5780]

Why not just run 12s lipo its prob similar priced to a new fw controller? I dont need to stay 10s, the only benefit is the converter working and battery i had

 

[fechter]

A new dc-dc converter would be cheaper and easier than a new controller I guess. I'm not sure if there would be any reliability issues with running the stock controller at 36v. The LVC wouldn't be at the right level, so you would need to watch the pack voltage but that's easy enough.

Do you know what the max current drain on the 12v system is? A good dc-dc converter in that range should be pretty cheap.

 

[skeetab5780]

Have another friend interested in buying a Voloci!

he wants me to get a 30mile battery, so i will again have to sell one with the SLA cover to fit it all. which means it will be the last SLA model I have left to sell(I'm keeping one), The NIMH versions are going to pose a problem if i cannot find a elegant battery cover solution

the compartment size is 19.5" x 3" wide x 4" tall without the SLA cover. Can anyone recommend a 36v Lithium battery that fits this space?

i cannot seem to find one with a BMS that will easily meet my needs, will likely need to be 25-30ah minimum

 

[skeetab5780]

So after the first four 18650 hover board batteries fit so perfectly into the Voloci frame I figured I would put four more in and double my range....BUYER BEWARE I should have bought them from the same company since the next four I got are larger and do not fit inside the frame. This is what I get for not buying from the same vendor to save $20 hah

either way I was only able to fit three more packs in the bike for a total of 30ah at 10s

Also I decided especially since these new batteries are ugly that I needed to cover them up, so I grabbed the very rare! SLA cover that I have on another bike and decided to do a NIMH to SLA cover conversion. Here are the pics

I had to cut the heat shrink a bit on the batteries and route the wiring so it would not rub and possibly short over time. Now it is much safer

wiring mess from another bike

Then I used some foam to tighten them in place

had to change one connector out to fit all the parallels into them

shot of the SLA cover inside

side shot

Here is where things get tricky, I had to remove the rear seat stay and disconnect the wiring from the controller and snake them under it. was a pain but worth it in the end

allen bolt removal

taped the cover out of the way so I could wire it back up, wires were a bit shorter than I wanted after routing them down but they made it

Finally got the cover on, almost had to remove the seat to get it in place...luckily just made it

putting things back together again

cut the spiral wrap down a bit

Final bolt in place! Now you have to work to take my batteries! Or is your smart and EV savvy you can cut my primary wires and anger me!

Shot of the full bike ready to roll, still so much lighter than the SLA version and has 30ah (10s14p)

 

[whizpup]

Holy Crap! Just found this thread and read it end to end til 2AM....

I own 2 Volocis and 1 of their Xootr electric scooters, and my buddy also has one. I knew some of their history but am thrilled to now know much more.
I had tested one of mine at 48v and even 60v. Needless to say, 60v cooked the stock controller...but, damn, it sure was sweet for those few minutes.
Haven't had time to mess with them lately. My last upgrade was a 48v 40ah LiFePO4 pack, but haven't gotten further with the proper controller, etc.
I kinda semi-bailed yesterday and ordered a new Sur Ron bike, to quickly and easily get the wind in my face for now.

I'm super geeked to read your posts! Thanks much ...and keep em coming!

It's very late now but will post more soon.

 

[skeetab5780]

Holy Crap! Just found this thread and read it end to end til 2AM....

I own 2 Volocis and 1 of their Xootr electric scooters, and my buddy also has one. I knew some of their history but am thrilled to now know much more.
I had tested one of mine at 48v and even 60v. Needless to say, 60v cooked the stock controller...but, damn, it sure was sweet for those few minutes.
Haven't had time to mess with them lately. My last upgrade was a 48v 40ah LiFePO4 pack, but haven't gotten further with the proper controller, etc.
I kinda semi-bailed yesterday and ordered a new Sur Ron bike, to quickly and easily get the wind in my face for now.

I'm super geeked to read your posts! Thanks much ...and keep em coming!

It's very late now but will post more soon.

That's awesome that you and your friend have Voloci's!! They are really fun bikes for ripping around town. They are a tiny bit slow on 10s lithium, just not so fun unless your at full speed. and if a heavy person gets on the bike its awfully slow and useless up hills

I really enjoy riding my Voloci but I still tend to gravitate towards the ebike with pedals so I do not have to ride with traffic as much and I feel more like a cyclist than a nuisance(which is how motorists look at scooters here unfortunately)

If you bought a sur-ron you are never going to use the Voloci again! You can always change out the controller and get rolling pretty easy.

Post some pics of your bikes if you have some available

 

[whizpup]

They're kinda buried in the garage, along with a fairly cool etech powered homebrew I whipped up many years ago. I'll dig them out and snap a few pix once my Sur Ron fever breaks...

 

[skeetab5780]

They're kinda buried in the garage, along with a fairly cool etech powered homebrew I whipped up many years ago. I'll dig them out and snap a few pix once my Sur Ron fever breaks...

This will be never! haha Sur-ron is the big craze this year

If I didn't already have 10k invested in ebikes I would have bought a Sur-ron I would certainly put it on the road, then there would be no need for the Voloci unfortunately

 

[fechter]

I picked up a Sur-ron too. It's what we wished the Voloci was.

 

[skeetab5780]

I picked up a Sur-ron too. It's what we wished the Voloci was.

Damn...everyone is jumping on the band wagon! I agree it is a great product especially with the new X controller

But the Voloci is smaller and handles better in tighter areas and you can pick it up with ease and swing it around when you need to 59lbs with no batt 75lbs with my batt I think it has sur ron beat there

 

[fechter]

But the Voloci is smaller and handles better in tighter areas and you can pick it up with ease and swing it around when you need to 59lbs with no batt 75lbs with my batt I think it has sur ron beat there

Yes. The Sur-ron is 110lbs. And it has too much power to qualify as a bicycle.

 

[skeetab5780]

But the Voloci is smaller and handles better in tighter areas and you can pick it up with ease and swing it around when you need to 59lbs with no batt 75lbs with my batt I think it has sur ron beat there

Yes. The Sur-ron is 110lbs. And it has too much power to qualify as a bicycle.

Which makes Sur-ron awesome! Ya i think in MA you would need to register the Sur-ron as a motorcycle unlike the voloci which is a moped

 

[whizpup]

Here are my burried and spiderwebbed Volocis...plus an eTech powered build I created back in the day...
Hmmm... getting errors when attaching pix from my tablet... is 3MB each too big??

 

[skeetab5780]

Here are my burried and spiderwebbed Volocis...plus an eTech powered build I created back in the day...
Hmmm... getting errors when attaching pix from my tablet... is 3MB each too big??

Ya you can reduce the image size in paint, or go to imageoptimizer.com and reduce the file size. I upload to google pics and then post html link on site

 

[whizpup]

Had to resize on my PC...grr...

 

[skeetab5780]

Sweet bikes! Thanks for the pics.

How do you like the Sur-ron? Also that bike with the Etek is badass!

What LED head light is that on the Voloci's?

Where do you live? doesn't say in your profile! I like how you have a Voloci NIMH battery case I need those!

 

[whizpup]

I have a Voloci saved search always running on eBay and just saw one of ur ads pop up there...

Those lights are just el-cheapo ebay LED floods...that actually kick ass and are bright as hell

I'm in both MI and CA..these are in MI

Yeah, the eTech rig is my land speed machine. I've hit 56mph on her at 48v..so 60mph or more is easily in reach at 60v. Mostly just used it as a motor test platform many years ago. It was my SurRon of 15 years ago...but way to light duty to be traveling at those speeds. I always wore full leathers when testing that puppy. I have full GSXR race plastics for her that aren't on her now.

As has been said.. the Surron is what the Voloci should have been. It is what I'd hoped the Voloci could have become.
I still like the Volocis...just not that much at 36v. At 48v they are much improved..and at 60v, they are really a delight. You can see a test controller I slobbered on to one of them where I ran 48v and 60v tests from.

 

[skeetab5780]

I have a Voloci saved search always running on eBay and just saw one of ur ads pop up there...

Those lights are just el-cheapo ebay LED floods...that actually kick ass and are bright as hell

I'm in both MI and CA..these are in MI

Yeah, the eTech rig is my land speed machine. I've hit 56mph on her at 48v..so 60mph or more is easily in reach at 60v. Mostly just used it as a motor test platform many years ago. It was my SurRon of 15 years ago...but way to light duty to be traveling at those speeds. I always wore full leathers when testing that puppy. I have full GSXR race plastics for her that aren't on her now.

As has been said.. the Surron is what the Voloci should have been. It is what I'd hoped the Voloci could have become.
I still like the Volocis...just not that much at 36v. At 48v they are much improved..and at 60v, they are really a delight. You can see a test controller I slobbered on to one of them where I ran 48v and 60v tests from.

That bike is just insane it must be a heavy pig, good for the ebike museum some day!

Ya Voloci are fun on high voltage until you lose a magnet, ive had it happen just testing a bike on 72v 20s lithium in a parking lot. Still haven't replaced the motor yet since its not that fun of a task and I have other bikes. I think 52v may be the sweet spot

What type of riding do you do with the Sur-ron? are you getting it put on the road?

 

[whizpup]

Only had the Surron for a week...Been mostly local trail riding, plus local roads.Got rejected for Mich moped license last week, but reconfigured my papers and got it issued yesterday.
With my new legal status, I took her out for a modest road trip of about 10 miles roundtrip. Burned 40% of my pack, but was mostly running flat out the whole way. Might only get 25-30 range at full blast. At Eco setting I can see getting 40+ range.
I'm actually considering a radar detector to help keep me from getting my moped status yanked from exceeding the 30mph moped cap. She's fine at 30mph...but it seems I'm always pushing 45 and looking over my shoulder...

All in all, she's a pretty nice girl...

 

[skeetab5780]

Only had the Surron for a week...Been mostly local trail riding, plus local roads.Got rejected for Mich moped license last week, but reconfigured my papers and got it issued yesterday.
With my new legal status, I took her out for a modest road trip of about 10 miles roundtrip. Burned 40% of my pack, but was mostly running flat out the whole way. Might only get 25-30 range at full blast. At Eco setting I can see getting 40+ range.
I'm actually considering a radar detector to help keep me from getting my moped status yanked from exceeding the 30mph moped cap. She's fine at 30mph...but it seems I'm always pushing 45 and looking over my shoulder...

All in all, she's a pretty nice girl...

I love the loop holes in many states, technically I think the law states the vehicle cannot be able to drive faster than 30mph. But there is no inspection necessary for mopeds so they go by the honor system. Just be careful going fast! I feel like if I got a Sur-ron I would want a motorcycle plate and insurance just so I could hot rod it out of the moped category

This makes me want to try and get my Kuberg street worthy its certainly more powerful than a stock Sur-ron

 

[whizpup]

I considered Cycle vs Moped, but moped is $15...and good for 3 years. Insurance is not required. I see some Surron owners getting Comprehensive and Theft insurance...for about $150/yr. I might do that.
Not sure how far I can push it before the cops will make trouble...if at all.
I'm looking at 3d printing a custom snap on cover for over the Eco/ Sport (30mph/45mph) switch..to hide its function. If set to Eco, and hide the switch, it seems a bit more stealth

 

[skeetab5780]

Voloci Motor swap take 1...

So after putting this task off for well over a year I decided to try and tackle a motor swap today. Voloci's are super fun to look at but they are a nightmare to work on! Every single little piece has a specific order it has to be taken off and put back on in or else! Took plenty of photo's just incase anyone I sold a Voloci to has to also do this.

The motor I was replacing had a magnet come off, it was a old voloci That Nathan Ulrich used as a dirt bike per say, custom huge sprocket on it for hill climbing and also it has Magura Julie hydro brakes and a downhill fork of its era. The bike overall was is fairly beat up and is down to bare bones has no accessories of any kind. I also took this time to rip out the entire stock wiring harness to clean things up while I was "under the hood". But back to the motor magnet coming off, I tried running the bike on 72v 50a and threw a magnet. I again want to run this bike on a higher voltage with the new motor because the rear sprocket is so large 36v will do about 17mph top speed...

One thing I noticed about the new motors that I never really paid any attention to until now is that the replacement Kollmorgan motors have built in hall sensors unlike the stock Voloci's and the external hall sensor board is no longer needed. So no trouble with missed timing anymore which could have had a partial hand in throwing the magnet in the first place. Also the new motors magnet glue looks to be in good condition still. If I throw a magnet on the newer motors I may seek alt motors for a franken voloci bike!

Anyway on to the pictures...and the extreme mess

Getting the bike into position

first you need to remove the foot pegs



Then remove the sprocket cover

Here is one hint that this was a off road warrior bike! yummy

Then you have to remove the upper seat stay from the bike, most Voloci's have a huge wiring harness zip tied to the stay causing issues, this bike I was able to just cut the wiring since it is not needed. I wont even be using the stock controller.

Here you can see the stock wiring I was just talking about

Then take the sprocket off the shaft

This is why the foot pegs had to go, so you can pound the rear linkage rod out of the frame, 14mm socket fit perfect

Just until it clears the right side frame portion then stop

Then remove the top suspension pivot pin from the frame the same way

tapping that pin out also

removing the right swing arm


Now tapping the third pin from the swingarm out

Again a 14mm socket fit perfect

At this point i took the front bolts holding the right frame panel to the headset

With a rubber mallet i was able to tap the motor Shaft off the bearing pressed into the cover

 

[skeetab5780]

just like i thought! Magnet had fallen off, i likely could have reused half the motor but i figured why not replace it all...


At this point i took advantage of the side cover being off and removed the entire wiring harness, i accidentally cut the throttle wire too but then put it back in!


Got rid of everything

much cleaner!

Kept the throttle line after cutting it

motor shot from another angle


Took the motor shaft out of the old rotor

Didnt notice until now but it looks like the new motors have hall sensors built into the stator! Much nicer, weird though each one has three home runs, maybe safer for high temps? Cool though


Shot of the stock Voloci hall sensor board

Got the motor wiring setup for easy installation thru the frame


Installing the shaft into the new rotor

Tons of C-clips need to be removed and re-installed, i do not have a tool i really should it sucks to do with two flat heads...

After everything was done i took the plastic protector out

Finally the new motor sits into place, than the fun of tapping the shaft back into the side cover bearings, not fun

Tons of pics missed but then reverse it all and put it back together, got the cover back on, then tap it into place and bolt the motor together with the two side plates

Tap all pins back together C-clips back in place, bolt rear swingarm back on

Getting the sprocket back on was not so fun because i hammered on the shaft too much and slightly distorted the keyway, took a dremmel to it after fighting with it for a bit

Put the giant rear sprocket and wheel back in place to make it a rolling chassis sooner than later, chain needs a few links added to bring the wheel back a bit more for 1/2" of height on the swivel pinch nuts

Got the seat stay sub frame back in place

Side cover and footpegs back on, and chain guide

Front wheel on and hydro brakes bolted on and adjusted

 

[fechter]

Wow, that really looks like a lot of work. Losing magnets was a common failure mode, especially if run at higher than 48v.