ElectricMotorcycleForum.com

Before the Zero was known to me, I had planned a wheel motor conversion. My only holdup was finding a way to stuff enough KWh into the frame.

A pre-assembled pouch-cell pack with integrated BMS seems to be the highest energy density I can find, but it's overall shape is unmanageable: http://www.electriccarpartscompany.com/-BESTGO_c_20.html

I'd already settled on the enertrac motor.

Going the traditional CALB route is not going to stuff anywhere near enough KWh into it. Not an option.

The plan was to stuff it int he bike you see in my avatar. But, so far, no suitable batteries to get me to the same KWh capacity as a Zero... Zero having QC issues puts me back to DIY + these handy quick chargers = I'll do it DIY if I can find batteries.

Please don't start asking budget questions. We're not there yet. I want to find out if the tech even exists. If it doesn't exist, there is no price, and there is no project; as has been the case for several years now.

I want as close to 15KWh as I can get @ as close to 120v as I can get. Staying compatible with the DC power supply bulk chargers I've seen here would be a requirement as well... Just can't find use-able batteries, everything else is known.

https://www.youtube.com/user/inhdtv/videos <-- The general idea, but with way more range and suspension.

A few things have kept me out of the market.

1) Long charging times with built-in charger. I realize they want to idiot-proof the charger, but this is ridiculous.

2) Lack of faith in built-in BMSes. It's an oddly short warranty on the battery. It's like they have no faith in it or expect it to self-destruct.

3) No dealers anywhere near me. I've seen quite a lot of post-sale troubles... A lot of which I could probably handle myself if Zero answered the phone and did not presume all of it's customers are helpless moron consumers.

#1 is my primary concern

I'm quite handy with electronics so this wouldn't be hard fro me, but I'd prefer moar watts: http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=3949.0 I'm thinking of 2x MeanWell 2000-48s and a MeanWell 1000-24 in series dialed 45v-45v-24v. This should be under 30A. Inputs all parallel, outputs all series. Is 114v the bulk-charge cut-off point? Or is this max battery v? At over-rated numbers, this should get me approx 5500w. Roughly 1.5 hours to max charge from dead on a J1772; 2-wheel Tesla. Doc's hard paniers look like Pelican boxes, or similar. I'd rather carry my charger in something like that than a tank bag. Also, I'd probably get the 2.8kw tank battery to add to the 11.4. 88 miles on the interstate would be nice, but I'd probably stay off of the interstate anyway. There are almost no chargers around here. The closest chargers are J1772s at Nissan dealerships in Lake City, Valdosta, and Tallahassee, only open during business hours. There is nothing else. It's The Bermuda Triangle. If I can't fast-charge at these places, the bike is useless.

How is the bike in rain? I live in North Florida. Weather is exceptionally unpredictable. We get 15 minute afternoon thunderstorms the equivalent of a Category 3 Hurricane on a regular basis, out of nowhere, gone as quick as it came. I've been caught in them on many occasions on my Ninja and/or Rebel. I can handle it because my motorcycle handling skill level is borderline god-like, but how do the electrics cope with so much water coming down on them? Sometimes it feels like there is so much water in the air that it isn't really air anymore, you think you might simply be driving underwater. I read a bit about the regen causing rear-wheel lock. It would be nice if regen could be shut off by a grip switch I don't have to let go of the handles bars to hit.

Not interested in SR, the S is way more accel/torque than I need. Are there any belt-sprocket combos that LOWER the motor RPM? I don't really need to gain more top speed, though that would be the effect. I just don't need the crazy torque; lower RPM == less friction and wear == lasts longer. I run my Rebel on the longest possible sprockets that I can find. People tell me it'll never work, but I've been doing it for 5 years and no worries. I don't care if I have the slowest off-the-line Zero S on Earth. I outgrew that stuff a while ago...

Finding a test ride and a dealership that has a clue are already hard. Seems finding a dealership that can competently stand behind their warranty needs is even harder. It's over 200 miles to the closest... I'd almost prefer to buy a barely-used 2014...

Tell me where my thinking is flawed and/or what is correct. Trying to do my due diligence before buying. May end up taking long enough that the 2015 is announced. I sure hope they put a non-suck charger in it...