Electric Ninja 250 Cafe

Mydlyfkryzis said:
Loud chains save lives?
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You bet. Right now the chain is really loud because I'm using 530 on the stock 520 sprocket. Once I get a better feel for gear ratios I'll get a real back sprocket custom made.
 
It's almost weird how on an ICE bike you hardly ever hear the chain, but on an electric it really dominates. Keep up the good work! Looking forward to hear how well it rides.
 
Last night was a big step. We debugged the whole battery management system (BMS) and charged up the batteries. Here's the process:

- When the keyswitch is off, the battery management system knows to expect charging. It monitors each and every battery voltage and uses shunts to wick away the extra voltage from cells that are higher than the rest. As soon as a battery cell reaches it's fully charged voltage (4.2V for these batteries), the BMS triggers a relay that shuts off the chargers.

- When you turn the keyswitch on, the BMS knows that you're now ready to ride, so it looks for low voltage (empty batteries). When a cell reaches this low voltage cutoff (I believe 2.4 V) the BMS then wires a resistor into the throttle, cutting the throttle input in half to help protect your batteries.

Pretty simple little system, makes it pretty foolproof when everything is working properly. Here's a photo of the first charge, we took apart the BMS project box and double checked the wiring, so it's a mess in this photo. Tonight we are going to tidy everything up, give the bike a once over and hopefully go for the first test drive.

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Wow. You may have already posted this, but what is your expected range on this bad boy?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Took it out for the first time last night. What a blast, it pulls harder than my CB360 even with the low gearing and it's so smooth and so quiet. Got it up to about 50, but couldn't go far without plates, a headlight, etc.

You guys really need to build one of these, it feels like flying.
 
This is some exciting shit right here J. Can't wait to see the end result, and, of course, riding video!
 
coyote13 said:
This is some exciting shit right here J. Can't wait to see the end result, and, of course, riding video!
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Thanks man, I've been into this hobby for going on 5 years, and last night was the first time ever getting a chance to ride one. Felt pretty damn great.

I'll be able to get a ride video this weekend and hopefully lots of outdoor shots for you guys. After this weekend I'll begin the teardown to finish the welding, detab the frame, and prep everything for powdercoat.
 
Charged the batteries up and went for a nice little ride around Silver Lake (no big roads, still don't have working lights). It works beautifully, I want to play a bit with the throttle curves but it's really easy to deliver power predictably. The hardest thing to get used to is the lack of engine braking, so I just sort of glide around until the wind or rolling resistance slows me down. It also seems to be a little taxing on the brakes, definitely going to get new rotors, pads and some stainless steel brake lines. My favorite part was coming to a stop, and it being perfectly quiet. It's really nice. A few videos coming soon.

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That's absolutely awesome. Can't wait to see the final product. Out of curiosity, what would it take to adapt something like regenerative braking? Would that have a big benefit? I know nothing about this stuff so forgive my question if I'm out of my mind.
 
JPanichella said:
Charged the batteries up and went for a nice little ride around Silver Lake (no big roads, still don't have working lights). It works beautifully, I want to play a bit with the throttle curves but it's really easy to deliver power predictably. The hardest thing to get used to is the lack of engine braking, so I just sort of glide around until the wind or rolling resistance slows me down. It also seems to be a little taxing on the brakes, definitely going to get new rotors, pads and some stainless steel brake lines. My favorite part was coming to a stop, and it being perfectly quiet. It's really nice. A few videos coming soon.

35jC-er_4B-bxI4zh98IYQlnV08EEdiJiAT1s2MvSUE=w1680-h945-no


ceW5VPlLi__ElmDBOVqyWneodavzopAj_HIFYEOMoeY=w1680-h945-no
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Fantastic!! Working very quickly as well!! The bike is LOOKING great too, a place where many EV's fall short in my opinion. Bravo, I can't wait to see it finished.

So when do they go into production? :) How much will we have to pay you to build one? :) I'll take mine at right about that stage there, "how much for a stage 1" project? :)
 
My friend Jason giving the bike a spin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PBGQp5hs9U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roxCLPoseQ8
 
DohcBikes said:
Fantastic!! Working very quickly as well!! The bike is LOOKING great too, a place where many EV's fall short in my opinion. Bravo, I can't wait to see it finished.

So when do they go into production? :) How much will we have to pay you to build one? :) I'll take mine at right about that stage there, "how much for a stage 1" project? :)
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Thanks! It's funny, once you get past the fabrication the wiring goes pretty quickly (but I've studied the diagram pretty meticulously, I was almost able to wire the whole thing without it). We've been toying with the idea of starting a shop to build EV's, our next project is a dual motored car or truck with an electronic transmission (series/parallel switching on the motors for a low and high gear). Maybe we can put together a kit for you guys.
 
jag767 said:
That's absolutely awesome. Can't wait to see the final product. Out of curiosity, what would it take to adapt something like regenerative braking? Would that have a big benefit? I know nothing about this stuff so forgive my question if I'm out of my mind.
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Regenerative braking is much better with an AC motor. Most decent brushed DC motor controllers don't offer a regen option, but there are some questionable Chinese controllers that do. AC motors are great, they're brushless and virtually maintenance free, but require more expensive controllers and in general cost more. It would have doubled the cost of my drivetrain.

Edit: I also forgot to mention that regenerative braking on an electric motorcycle is more for the braking aspect of it than regaining any real range. You'd only notice any real gains in really long downhil stretches
 
maxDTM said:
Pretty damn cool, man. I hope electric conversion builds catch on in the coming years.
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Although it isn't quite as active as this forum, there are lots of cool conversions on:

www.elmoto.net

www.diyelectriccar.com

www.endless-sphere.com

That's where the EV nerds hang out. These are the kind of guys who build their own motors, controllers, and chargers.

Thanks for the kind words.
 
My uncle is an EV nerd. He's done a few VW Bug and Porsche 914 conversions... I imagine it's going to get more and more popular as the tech gets better and gas prices get higher!
 
So awesome. I rode a buddies Zero bike around a bit last year. Really enjoyable. The silence while sitting, and the lack of noise, except for the wind while riding are super hard to get use to. The only thing I had a hard time with was lack of shifting... but the constant power made up for it :D
 
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