Ural 650 custom EV

[bob_piper]

This project is only in the dream phase right now. I'm new to EV conversions and while enthusiastic, quite down in the pocket. I ride a 1995 Ural 650 tourist (one-wheel drive) and I'm waiting for the ICE or transmission to crap out which could happen soon or never with these bikes. For my ideal project I'd create a new sidecar frame out of aluminum with a more streamlined, fiberglass body. The aluminum frame would act as a battery tray so that the weight is evenly distributed and provides a low center of gravity. The 12V acc. battery could stay under the seat where it is and the tank could be cut open to serve as a home for the controller and/or charger. (Would this cause over-heating problems? Is it better to have the controller out in the airflow?) One of the issues with older Urals is that it has mechanical drum brakes which don't work well to begin with. I'd want to convert the front brake to disc at the very least, but if I have an AC motor and regeneration, are the brakes a problem?

As I said, I'm new to this, so I need to figure out what size motor and battery pack I need for decent performance and work from there.

[T Rush]

how about a water cooled controller?

the charger doesnt have to be permanently mounted in the bike, and with a sidecar you would always have room to stow it in there if you knew you were riding somewhere you could charge besides home

but the thought I had: for elmotos batteries usually end in the space where the old ICE was, but if you can put those in the sidecar floor, that would leave this space vacant....so what if you could design a 'hybrid' system? with a small ICE genset for longer rides or larger loads...crazy idea for a bike I know, but had to toss it out there

[Richard230]

Speaking of cooling EV components: I was visiting my BMW dealer last weekend and was talking with the salesman about the various features of the Energica models that they sell. We discovered, via research that he hadn't done before, that they have a water cooled controller, an oil cooled motor and air cooled batteries.