Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

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AMPrentice
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by AMPrentice »

Im going for my L then P plates for motorcycle license and just wondering what peeps would recommend for a retail or custom bike I could get registered after passing engineers?

I was thinking of a lihgtweight dual suspension, disc braked MTB with 28 inch wheels and 1kw engine and a battery pack that could take me for 60km round journey. Aiming for 40kg and later after passing my Ps Id like to use a dual front wheel setup for more stability as a reverse trike.

Ive been waiting for the Honda Postie e-bike but has not eventuated. I love Postie bikes cause they are so stable, simple and compact.
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Richo
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by Richo »

I would think it would be hard to get a MTB registered.
1kW would limit your top speed.
http://www.stealthelectricbikes.com.au/bomber.html

So the short answer is NO but the long answer is YES.
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Thalass
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by Thalass »

1Kw is far too low for a road bike. I'd like to use the ME1003 motor from Motenergy. Assuming i can find someone to sell one to me. And assuming i can ever find the money to do the conversion.

It can do 23kW for one minute, and 11.5kW continuous. The engine in my GPX250 produces 27kW, iirc. So it's not much less than a regular dinoburner bike.

Of course re-reading your post you'd prefer a mountain bike style vehicle. I'm not sure how you'd go here with that. Pushbikes are limited to 200w motors, but presumably you could build yourself a bike with a larger motor if you could get it registered as a motorcycle. But then you have to have lights, probably hydraulic brakes, etc. I'm not sure it would be worth the extra effort.

Maybe you could start off with a 125cc dirt bike that could be registered for the road - or a postie bike (CT110). Those could be a good start for a low speed conversion.
Last edited by Thalass on Wed, 30 May 2012, 14:06, edited 1 time in total.
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AMPrentice
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by AMPrentice »

Good points for sure, I have a dual suspension MTB with hydraulic disc brakes and it stops on a dime from blasting downhill at about 70kmhr could upgrade to motorbike brakes and discs just trying to keep the weight down as its hard to find a postie bike without running gear.

Didnt know about the stealth!! wow!!! its just perfect, thanks for the link!

If this thing is not affordable or overpriced, I could build one with a good hub motor and around 5-6kw at 50kg I be set.
Last edited by AMPrentice on Fri, 01 Jun 2012, 11:00, edited 1 time in total.
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by Faz »

Are you looking to have this road registered?
If so you will not get a mountain bike approved. For one I don't think there are any "DOT" approved tyres available for MTB's.
Bicycles already fall into a category that was never designed to be road registered. Changing that would be almost impossible.
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Richo
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by Richo »

You could always try hub motors on the front and back.
That would be ~2kW using standard bike hub motors.

Another option is the EnerTrac motor 10kW/30kW.
http://www.enertrac.net/product.php
So the short answer is NO but the long answer is YES.
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AMPrentice
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by AMPrentice »

Anyone running the Enertrac motors? they seem to recommend the Kelly controllers which Im not convinced of yet. Love the dual motor for the back and maybe a single for the front that would be like 90kw peak :)
2WD MTB :)

I cant believe they wouldnt engineer a MTB if the brakes, frame rigidity and stability passes accepted standards, after all they did pass my 1949 BSA deathtrap when I used to own a Mbike Licence.

If only they made those hub motors like bolt on wheels for cars!
The would eliminate the space issues in a car and allow for incredible aerodynamics to be employed.
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by voicecoils »

Hey AMPrentice,

I understand where you're coming from. I've built several electric MTB's capable of basically matching postie bike performance.

Unfortunately it is not remotely practical to get a converted bicycle registered. I don't believe anyone's even come close to doing it. None of the parts pass the standards because they would have never been tested previously.

You need to either use scooter/motorbike components which are already used on road-registered bikes or start with a bike that already has compliance plate on the frame. A postie bike might be the cheapest readily available option and a Sachs Madass is another neat lightweight road registered option.

When I came to this realisation about a year ago I started on the path to get my motorbike licence. I went through L's and passed P's and am now waiting for P's to end and become a full licence. Costs excluding the bike were just over $1000 for licensing and registration for 1 year. I bought an inexpensive Honda 250 which hold their resale value exceptionally well.

Within the next 6 months I'd like to be on an electric motorbike, it's just a matter of building one and getting it engineered Image otherwise an easy but expensive option is to get a Zero or buy a dorky scooter.
Last edited by voicecoils on Sat, 02 Jun 2012, 19:20, edited 1 time in total.
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Simon
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by Simon »

A Postie bike (Honda CT110) can be a cheap option. At an auction I went to they were selling for $600 and were licensed too!
But then you still need a motor, controller, batteries etc. So at least another $4000 to have a Lithium EV motorcycle conversion.

I have been looking at these Erider electric scooters.
The Erider LightningBolt TD4 for $4750 rideaway (in Victoria) is very tempting.. especially considering my E-max would cost about $1300-1400 to upgrade to a Lithium pack.
AMPrentice
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by AMPrentice »

Thank you for the info fellas initially I was thinking of just going through the process for buying a postie bike then selling it when the ebike is ready. Yet these Postie bikes are so sought after they are hard to secure. Id love to know where they auction them!

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AMPrentice
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by AMPrentice »

Went ahead and followed the good advive
and got a cheap 76 model Honda Postie CT110 :)

Enertrac Hub motor mentioned is a must!

but how about battery combo for 60-70km round trip up to 90kmh
but mainly 50-60kmh for local roads?

Thinking of 72v Zeva controller cause I love local effort.

Original bike weight with ICE is 89kg.
Last edited by AMPrentice on Wed, 13 Jun 2012, 08:58, edited 1 time in total.
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Simon
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by Simon »

The Enertrac Hub motor looks like a good way to go, leaves more room for batteries too. You will need to run a higher voltage than 72V for 90kph though and the Zeva controller is for Series DC motors. The Enertrac needs a brushless DC motor controller.
AMPrentice
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by AMPrentice »

Darn it really wanted to run the Zeva controller will have to for something else then and it seems I need 72 volts for now as I dont
think Ill be going over 60knh anyway which is safe from speeding fines.
http://www.enertrac.net/product.php#a

MHM602:
At 72 volts and 45 MPH < 50 amps
At 96 volts and 60 MPH < 95 amps

Seems the Kelly controller is the only one I can run besides this one?
http://kellycontroller.com/kbl7210124-7 ... -p-56.html
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by gttool »

would suggest you try and use a kelly 6 kw hub motor and controller ( unsure of your wheel diameter) wheel weighs approx 15kg
You need to speak to an engineer before you start as they probably wont like it if the bike ends up over its standard weight by much 90 kg is not a lot
You should be able to do it probably with 3 kw of batteries and come close to your target range
approx 60kg of ev gear?
weight the motor and other not required parts and see what you end up with

manlytom
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by manlytom »

OK, u got a donour bike. was about to offer you my Zero 2011 S at a bargain. guess you really want to build it as well.
the 2011S and for that the 2010 models all meet your specs with lots of fun riding it. off/onroad whatever.

not sure about the cost but Zero offers as well offers drive traines. might be an option to get the new 3kW battery pack / motor and add your controller etc...

more on:
http://www.facebook.com/ZeroElectricMoto
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by Faz »

manlytom wrote: OK, u got a donour bike. was about to offer you my Zero 2011 S at a bargain.

Offer me your Zero at a bargain. Image
manlytom
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by manlytom »

yes, lets talk. how do we define "a bargain" for an EV bike that delivers ? overall investment into a complete package, yet not the fun building it all -- a build of similar specs might be costly - guess even more than the orginal purchase price of the Zero...

I am in Sydney Northern beaches / or North Sydney and can meetup for a test ride if that helps.

cheers
Faz
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Best electric motorbike for L and P plater?

Post by Faz »

Unfortunately I'm in Perth Image
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