The Harley Davidson Electraglide Build

[ebike_rocket]

Building the battery/controller boxes is always the hardest, most time-consuming task for me. And the two I made are for regular bikes with "true" triangle. Despite the significant effort, I still don't like the way they look. Just too "add-on" for me.

For you I think the job will be much much harder due to the rounded shape of the bike. BTW, are you planning to make use of the empty space in the "gas tank"?

See, that's the problem when my friend commissioned me to engineer this thing. His prime directive? NO PHYSICAL MODIFICATION OF PRIMARY BIKE COMPONENTS or the overall frame geometry and space. Addons are OK.
So, I can't touch the gas tank, can't weld anything on it, can't paint it, can't modify the frame or the essential components (eg. back wheel and gearing). Fork is alright, adding on more components is alright.

It's a lot of restrictions, BUT it's forcing me to think creatively in how to put this thing together. I do a lot of hashing out of ideas within those confines. So far so good, I'm really REALLY glad the ebike community here impressed on me about the fork. Not saying that I wasn't acknowledging it, I was hoping double torque arms and C-washers would do the trick, but despite that it seemed the overall consensus was even that won't do it, and I'd rather my friend be safe.

But yeah, in someways, it's not an easy project...

Which makes it more fun.

My friend's gonna check out the mock up this Sunday. We'll see what he thinks of it. In the meantime, I'm getting more nutty ideas.

 

[AussieJester]

My friend's gonna check out the mock up this Sunday. We'll see what he thinks of it. In the meantime, I'm getting more nutty ideas.

re: the battery/electronics box...rather than square corners perhaps round them off to match the tank more?
I hav made a fiberglass batery box for my cruiser, might give you some ideas?

http://members.ii.net/~aussiejester/index/pictures/Custom%20RC%20Cruiser/Battery_enclosure_series_pic1d.jpg
http://members.ii.net/~aussiejester/index/pictures/Custom%20RC%20Cruiser/Battery_enclosure_series_pic1e.jpg
http://members.ii.net/~aussiejester/index/pictures/Custom%20RC%20Cruiser/Battery_enclosure_series_pic1g.jpg
http://members.ii.net/~aussiejester/index/pictures/Custom%20RC%20Cruiser/Battery_enclosure_series_pich.jpg
http://members.ii.net/~aussiejester/index/pictures/Custom%20RC%20Cruiser/Battery_enclosure_series_primedd.jpg

And final shot, battery box mounted to completed bike...

http://members.ii.net/~aussiejester/index/pictures/Custom%20RC%20Cruiser/Custom_RC_Motered_Crusier_Finished_Pics.jpg

Best of luck with the build anywayz...

KiM

 

[SamTexas]

...I hav made a fiberglass batery box for my cruiser, ...

That's a work of art. How many hours did you spend building it, from concept to prototype(s) to finished product? 100, 300, 500 hrs?

 

[AussieJester]

...I hav made a fiberglass batery box for my cruiser, ...

That's a work of art. How many hours did you spend building it, from concept to prototype(s) to finished product? 100, 300, 500 hrs?

The battery box took a few days the bike though, about 6 months as i had limited funds to through at it at once...

KiM

 

[ebike_rocket]

My friend's gonna check out the mock up this Sunday. We'll see what he thinks of it. In the meantime, I'm getting more nutty ideas.

re: the battery/electronics box...rather than square corners perhaps round them off to match the tank more?
I hav made a fiberglass batery box for my cruiser, might give you some ideas?

http://members.ii.net/~aussiejester/index/pictures/Custom%20RC%20Cruiser/Battery_enclosure_series_pic1d.jpg
http://members.ii.net/~aussiejester/index/pictures/Custom%20RC%20Cruiser/Battery_enclosure_series_pic1e.jpg
http://members.ii.net/~aussiejester/index/pictures/Custom%20RC%20Cruiser/Battery_enclosure_series_pic1g.jpg
http://members.ii.net/~aussiejester/index/pictures/Custom%20RC%20Cruiser/Battery_enclosure_series_pich.jpg
http://members.ii.net/~aussiejester/index/pictures/Custom%20RC%20Cruiser/Battery_enclosure_series_primedd.jpg

And final shot, battery box mounted to completed bike...

http://members.ii.net/~aussiejester/index/pictures/Custom%20RC%20Cruiser/Custom_RC_Motered_Crusier_Finished_Pics.jpg

Best of luck with the build anywayz...

KiM

That is GORGEOUS. I wish I had the kind of space you have inside your frame. You can see the limitations I have frame wise. Are you equipped with your own machining tools? Cause your bike's got a lot of items that look precisely machined on it. I'm planning on investing in a lathe and a milling machine down the road.

 

[AussieJester]

Thankyou, but Sadly no, all I have and used on this bike
Was an angle grinder, bench drill
Mig welder and a pipe bender in the
way of machinery, the reduction drive is one made
By ES forum member Recumpence, one
Of the few cnced parts on the bike.

KiM

 

[ebike_rocket]

Well, after following the advice of some members of the forum, I went ahead and bought that cheap steel suspension fork, only to find out that no only does the 1 1/8 pipe not fit the steering tube of the harley, but also that I can't remove the 1 1/8 pipe and replace it with a 1 inch pipe to actually fit the Harley. Also, after extensive searching through the bike shop catalogs with my buddy at the shop, we found out that no one makes a suspension fork that has brake mounts, out of steel, to fit a 1 inch tube. Apparently the Harley was made in the late 1990's, and getting a fresh fork is impossible today.

View attachment 8

So we're stuck with a rigid cromoly fork, as well as the two torque arms that I installed in the original. Oh well, what can you do.

The project is almost complete. Here's some updates.

View attachment 7





The 36 volt, 16AH liMnNi battery and controller fits! Well, almost. Due to the geometry of the Harley, there's VERY LITTLE room to manuever. I ended up having to chop out the back of the compartment, and glue/screw on a set of extra plywood back to form a space to give the battery an extra 1/4 - 1/2 inch room to move around. I almost threw the whole thing out after finishing literally 90% of the project, and started redoing the design again out of frustration with the lack of space for movement inside the compartment. Unfortunately, after blowing a bunch of hours re measuring and cutting cardboard to mock it up, I discovered that it would give me, at most, a half inch extra in terms of space to move around. It didn't justify throwing out all the work I did to build the thing. So I came up with the next best solution, hacking the box up.



View attachment 3



Here it is with the key switch set in place.



Getting ready to fiberglass and waterproof.

 

[AussieJester]

Battery box looks great, the fact you have a table saw leads me to believe this isn't the fit bit of woodwork you have done either lol, nice any anyways

KiM

 

[ebike_rocket]

Battery box looks great, the fact you have a table saw leads me to believe this isn't the fit bit of woodwork you have done either lol, nice any anyways

KiM

I truly, TRULY wish I had taken up that offer to visit my cousins in Sydney years ago to learn some Aussie slang JUST so I can understand what the heck you just said.

Fit bit? :lol:

 

[AussieJester]

Battery box looks great, the fact you have a table saw leads me to believe this isn't the fit bit of woodwork you have done either lol, nice any anyways

KiM

I truly, TRULY wish I had taken up that offer to visit my cousins in Sydney years ago to learn some Aussie slang JUST so I can understand what the heck you just said.

Fit bit? :lol:

Fit=first...tis a typo...im on mobile phone has predictive text
Sometimes i miss when it gets it wrong...soz bout that cobber


KiM

 

[strantor]

how is your fiber glassing coming along?

 

[ebike_rocket]

how is your fiber glassing coming along?

Oh man, the stories I have to tell that will curl your toes... well, more likely curl your nose.





I lost 5 days because I had to redo the paint job 3 times!!!!

I officially HATE enamel paint. I had no idea how finicky it is. I used enamel. let it cure, and then attempted to apply a second coat, only to have it drie up in mud flake style. Poured on the acetone, rubbed/sanded it off, and then started again with enamel. Only thing is this time I mistakenly used enamel primer AND regular primer. Bad mistake. Poured on the acetone yet again, sanded AND swore off the enamel, and went straight with Home depot bought black matte, nonenamel, nonenamel primer, and 3 coats of clear coat. What an ordeal. Next time I do this, I'm outsourcing the paint job to someone who can actually do it.

That said, I'm officially addicted to composites now. I'm currently building a fairing for another electric bike that uses a hightech CSPC... or Cellulose-core, Silicon-matrix, Polyester-filled Composite...

AKA cardboard and fiberglass. And holy crap, I had no idea how strong that method of construction is. I have a fairing partially built, and it's as strong and light as aircraft aluminum. Well, it feels as strong and stiff as AC aluminum... but we'll see. Time to do some beatdown tests!

 

[ebike_rocket]

After freaking 4 paint job redos.... She's finally done. And me and mah boys at the shop took her for a spin, and holy get your freak on. We busted out 51 mph?!!!!!

I hope somehow my buddy stays under the radar of the cops...

View attachment 1

 

[AussieJester]

You cant put a second coat on enamel paint after about 15-20 minutes of applying initial coat or it freaks out.. if
you want to do a second coat you need to wait 24hours... Usually states this on the can...

Nice job anywayz, blowed if i would want to be on that at 51mph, sure the speedo wheel size is set correctly?
seems might fast for that setup...your using 36v setup correct?

KiM

 

[ebike_rocket]

You cant put a second coat on enamel paint after about 15-20 minutes of applying initial coat or it freaks out.. if
you want to do a second coat you need to wait 24hours... Usually states this on the can...

Nice job anywayz, blowed if i would want to be on that at 51mph, sure the speedo wheel size is set correctly?
seems might fast for that setup...your using 36v setup correct?

KiM

Good question. Yup, it's 36 volt. The claim it's hitting 50 mph is with pedalling. I bike a lot, and so do my buds at the bike shop. So there was definitely furious pedalling in addition to the electric assist.

As for the wheel size, you know what? I assumed that the computer that came in the kit was already fitted to that wheel size. I'm gonna have to look that up...

 

[Pure]

That is a sweet build.

I'm with Kim on thinking your CA needs adjusting. 50 MPH on any standard crank/gear set would be next to impossible to keep pace pedaling with. IME 30 MPH with the largest "standard" gear set is getting in the realm of ridiculously fast paced pedaling. Almost absurdly fast. Then also your voltage, 36volts, you should be in the mid 30s MPH range.

 

[StudEbiker]

Looks good, but I think 51mph is a bit optimistic.

 

[ebike_rocket]

In the sunlight. My buddy's new ride.

Damn, there's something to be said about builder's attachment. Oh well, until he picks it up, I'm gonna enjoy her all I can...

 

[strantor]

not to detract from your build thread, but I have a question: Theoretically, if the bike did go 51mph, would that speed be safe for a bike of that type of frame?
I would think it would at least need disk brakes, but I'm more intereseted in that type of frame, and going that fast on it. who has done it? is it approaching stupid to go that fast on a bicycle?

 

[ebike_rocket]

OK,

Either I'm actually hitting those speeds, or something's up with the computer. I redid the computer calibration settings to make sure everything was up to spec. eg. 26 inch wheel. It was originally set on a 25 inch.

I'm still hitting close to 50 mph



Either the computer's wrong, or I'm hallucinating as I keep up with cars on a 40 mph road...

not to detract from your build thread, but I have a question: Theoretically, if the bike did go 51mph, would that speed be safe for a bike of that type of frame?
I would think it would at least need disk brakes, but I'm more intereseted in that type of frame, and going that fast on it. who has done it? is it approaching stupid to go that fast on a bicycle?

That's a goooood question...

 

[SamTexas]

Either the computer's wrong, or I'm hallucinating as I keep up with cars on a 40 mph road...

The computer's wrong is my vote.
Why do you think you were hallucinating? You could be doing 35 to 40 and still keeping up with car on a 40mph road, couldn't you? If you were doing 49mph, you would be PASSING cars on that road.

Anyway if you think and believe that you're going 49, 50 or 51mph on that bike then good for you. Who cares what the actual speed is?

 

[Pure]

Do you not know anyone with a GPS you can borrow?

 

[tuxman]

A 24v 250w mini geared hub motor with that front fork; ok. Anything else, forgetaboutit.

 

[DCMotorworks]

Nice looking build. I hope your friend enjoys it.

Anyway if you think and believe that you're going 49, 50 or 51mph on that bike then good for you. Who cares what the actual speed is?

Agreed. My guess is that the comp is showing Kph tho.

DC

 

[liveforphysics]

OK,

Either I'm actually hitting those speeds, or something's up with the computer. I redid the computer calibration settings to make sure everything was up to spec. eg. 26 inch wheel. It was originally set on a 25 inch.

I'm still hitting close to 50 mph

If you were set for a 25" wheel, and now you're set for a 26" wheel, it would read as a HIGHER speed now than before.

At your voltage with that controller and motor, it's impossible to do doing more than low-mid 30's, and your full pedaling contribution at that speed is going to make a couple mph difference at most, assuming you can turn the pedals fast enough to contribute.