Bits and Pieces

One of the DMS members brought up his impact driver and helped me remove the engine bolts. I haven't wrestled the engine out of the frame yet. He showed up just before the DMS meeting started, so we just had time to remove the bolts.

I was able to get enough measurements to decide that the larger DC motor I was looking at would not be a good fit, but the HPEVS AC-20 kit should work nicely. The AC-20 with a Curtis 1238-7601 650A controller retails for about $4250, but can be found for considerably less at emf-power.com. It has been ordered and should be here soon. The AC-20 has a peak HP of 50 and peak torque of 75 ft/lbs. It weighs 53 lbs.

I've also ordered a Mean Well SD-1000H-12 DC-DC converter and expect it by the end of January. It is $300 from JameCo, 72-144vdc in, 11-15vdc, 60A out. It has a couple of interesting features; remote on/off, and 12V 0.25A auxiliary output. It has a 3 yr warranty, and lists a MTBF of 32k hours (3.65 yrs). The Aux 12v out is always on, which is ideal for running the EV Works ZEVA Fuel Gauge Driver Plus, which requires a constant 12v, 35mA source.

In the mean time I've ordered and received several of the small parts I'll be needing to build the bike. I already had the Stebel Compact Nautilus 115dB air horn, it pulls ~18 amps at 13.8v so you MUST use a relay (included) to power it. It can be found online for $40-$50.

The ZEVA Fuel Gauge Driver Plus from EVWorks.com.au will let me use my stock fuel gauge as a SOC meter and my RPM gauge can double as an ahmeter. It cost $225 shipped from Australia.

The Prius inverter cooling pump (OEM # G9020-47031) moves a little more than 20 lpm while using about 2 amps at 13.8v. It cost me $89 on ebay.

I also have a Chennic Hall Effect PB-6 type throttle. It cost $60 shipped from China.

Bit by bit.

More parts are coming off the bike. It took some work, but the carburetors are off.

The coolant has been drained and the radiator removed.

The next step will be removing the engine. I've got the top motor mounts removed,  but I'll have to find an impact wrench to get the lower mounts to break free.

Skinning and Gutting...

I haven't decided what motor/controller/battery configuration I'll be using yet. A lot of that will depend on measurements that can't really be taken until the old engine, etc. has been removed.

Below are some pictures taken as I've been stripping and gutting the bike. I've got a bit of a handicap, I jammed my right thumb over the holidays so I'm doing most of this left handed... and slowly.

Pre-Op ST1100, a couple of years ago when I was riding it regularly.

In the garage, half naked.

Stripped naked.

Gas tank out.

Exhausted.

And so it began...

I've owned several motorcycles over the years, and a 1996 Honda ST1100 is my most recent. This thing is a monster, it weighs about 700 pounds and has a gas tank that will hold over 7 gallons of fuel. Shaft drive, water cooled. I've owned cars with smaller engines...

I bought it from a friend of a friend who had decided that he was getting too old for that heavy of a bike. I put several thousand miles on it over the course of a couple of years. Life intervened and it ended up in storage for a while.

I'm between jobs and decided that since I have time on my hands, now would be a good time to convert the ST1100 to electric. I don't have a garage where I'm living, so I joined the Dallas Makerspace. DMS has a garage area, and one of the members was already in the midst of converting a Fiero to electric. Just after Christmas 2011 I got the ST1100 moved to the garage. What follows is the steps and missteps as I go thru the conversion.