Electric Ninja 250 Cafe

Wish I had the electrical knowledge to pull something like this off. Might need to start snooping around that electric motorcycle forum.


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Updates:

- Somebody is buying my CB360 tonight, so I'll finally have the rest of the money I need to finish this project.
- Early next week I will be ordering the electric motor, controller, and all of the high voltage stuff
- The engineering for the motor mount and battery brackets is fully realized, I have to finish drafting it up so I can get it made by some local metal workers.

Sorry for the lack of updates. Between family obligations and the busiest time of year for my work, I've been really slacking.
 
You wouldnt happen to be the same kid I met last spring running around U of I campus on this Electric Ninja 250?

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trek97 said:
You wouldnt happen to be the same kid I met last spring running around U of I campus on this Electric Ninja 250?

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Nope, not me, but an interesting bike nonetheless. He has an enertrac hub motor on the back, looks like he made some custom battery boxes to house either cylindrical or pouch lithium cells. Also looks to be a ninja 500, the 250 uses the motor as a stressed member.
 
very interested in this, my commute is only about 3 miles. but most of it is 55mph 4 lane. your battery capacity would be overkill for my application. but would be nice to have to Zip up to speed, get to the office and plug in to charge. Keep us posted!
 
JPanichella said:
Nope, not me, but an interesting bike nonetheless. He has an enertrac hub motor on the back, looks like he made some custom battery boxes to house either cylindrical or pouch lithium cells. Also looks to be a ninja 500, the 250 uses the motor as a stressed member.

It is a neat machine. I chased him halfway across campus. He was in a hurry to get to his class so I didnt get but just a minute to talk w him.
If I remember correctly he "may" have said... Top speed of 45 w 60mile range. Something like that. So, perfect for zipping around, dorm to classes and such.
He still passes me every now and again. Its always fun to see it go.
 
Hey everybody,

Sorry, it's been a long time since I've updated. Here's where we're at:

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The underside of the tank has been cut out, I mocked up a tray for the battery chargers and some other components using foamcore.

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I also mocked up an initial motor mount design using foamcore. You'll have to wait and see how this all fits together, but these mounts also bolt in to the battery trays I'm getting fabricated.

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Also received my battery management system and chargers.

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I have 5 of the boards on the right, each board monitors the voltage of 4 battery cells. I have 20 cells total. When the cells are fully charged, the slave boards tell the master board (one on the left) to use this relay to switch off the charger.

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When the batteries are low, the same system also cuts throttle input to keep the batteries from being overdrawn. It's a good insurance policy.

I have all the components I need to get this thing going. I'm currently waiting on some parts that are getting welded up by a friend, and I'm going to cut some plywood test motor mounts on the CNC machine. Hopefully I'll have some more meaningful updates soon. Right now the plan is to get everything together and running and tidy up all the wiring. After I get it fully operational I want to tear it down for paint and some slight frame modifications.

Thanks again for checking it out.
 
Your project is exactly one of the reasons I keep coming back to DTT - something new and different and shit, didn't think of that myself LOL.
I am a total electrical neophyte, but your reasoning, commentary and fabrication for your project seem to right on the mark, as far as I'm concerned.
Keep up the great work.
Pat
 
Could i bother you for the name of the place that sells the battery cells? Google isn't turning up much.
 
Hey guys, thanks for the kind words. The source for the batteries is:

http://hybridautocenter.com/HAC4/index.php?option=com_hikashop&ctrl=category&task=listing&cid=14&name=lithium-batteries-and-packs&Itemid=605

Don't pay a lot of attention to the stock numbers, and email them. They're known to change the stock to 0 if they're on vacation or out of the office.
 
Made some real good progress yesterday.

Had my buddy weld up some trays using steel flat bar. The trays are structural, so I needed them to be nice and sturdy. The threaded posts welded to the trays are for the corner guards, which will be made from aluminum angle. The perforated metal is to help protect the cells and still allow some airflow. The design is simple and expandable.

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The through bolts also hold a tray, which is going to house all of the high voltage stuff. The tabs attach to the motor mounts (mocked up in plywood, I'm still adjusting them to fit the bike properly). This whole assembly bolts into the frame and replaces the motor.

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Oh yeah, and we had some Bell's Two Hearted Ale.

We're going to cut the angle for the corners and some new motor mounts on Monday. I'll take the battery cage apart so that it's significantly lighter and easier to get everything lined up to the frame. Once I finalize those mounts, they'll get water jet and I can begin the wiring process. When everything looks good I'll send all the pieces off to get painted or powdercoated. Everything is coming along really well though, knock on wood.
 
I made some spacers to represent the batteries, to make it easier to mock the pack up in the frame. Without the spacers, the battery trays bow a little due to the heat deflection. Pretty happy with how everything is lining up, I'll need to trim the tank a bit, so I am going to flatten the bottom for more of a vintage look. I also am going to hoop the back of the frame and get the seat upholstered solo cafe style.

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Next step is to make the corner guards (got my special angle in today), make top frame brackets, and trim up the tank. Once get everything in place I'll get the final motor mounts water jet, and start detabbing the frame and prepping it for powder.
 
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