I ordered the 650 watt kit direct from Cyclone Taiwan. It only took about 6 days to get here.
The motor and controller are marked as 24 volt, but Cyclone says that they can handle 36 volts. I assume that the motor is 500 watts at 24 volts and 650 watts at 36 volt.
I like it. Being able to use the rear cluster gears is great. I use the middle gears most of the time.
It'll go 35 kph but feels best below 30 kph. I purchased the speed limiter so that I could comply with the EU standard max speed of 25 kph [about 16 mph]. It looks pretty jerry rigged to me. I haven't been able to make it work yet, but I haven't' tried very hard either.
The 10 AH battery 24 volt battery gives me a range of 15 kilometers, on flat ground with a lot of peddling. It starts to loose torque around 10 kilometers and it shuts down pretty quickly after the throttle light stays on half charge.
I wouldn't ride in the rain with this thing without doing some major water proofing.
INSTALLATION RAMBLINGS:
The instructions on their web site are minimal and don't have examples for the 650 motor. I waited until the kit arrived before selecting a bike to put it on. I got a used 21 speed basic steel bike. That appears to be what the mounting bracket was designed for.
This kit is for tinkerers. Mounting the controller is going to require some fabrication. It is 150x135x55 mm and has 7 single conductor wires and 2 multi conductor cables that terminate in 7 pin connectors plus [2] 2 pin connectors coming out of it. What all those wires do, I haven't a clue and Cyclone isn't going to tell me. I have it zip tied on for now. It looks shabby, that is why I'm not including pictures.
Getting the old cartridge type bottom bracket removed was difficult. The tool provided was inadequate. The man at Cahill did it for me and installed the new axle for 10 euro. Well worth it. A special tool is required to install the right hand bearing race tight enough.
The short black M6 socket head screw goes thru the motor bracket into the threaded hole on one of the spacer bars. You can't see that on the online instructions.
The chain required 3 extra links.
I aligned the motor free wheel with the chain wheel by snugging up the bolts and tapping the bracket with a light hammer then tightened it up. If they are not aligned the chain will come off. You don't want that to happen. I stacked nuts onto the idler wheel bolt to give it extra strength.
I am happy with the motor so far. It's fast enough for me.
The battery doesn't give the range I expected.
The P.A.S. Speed Limiter was probably a waste of money.
Sounds interesting. I have considered that route, but am currently using a hub motor. I have a internally geared "nexus" shifter that would probably be perfect...From what it sounds, the internal control 500W or 360W options may be better, but I guess if the controller goes there, the whole thing is shot. What are your feelings? Do you have any pics? How do you compare this against a hub motor (if you've had experience with that...)?
Thanks for sharing!
I wish I had a nexus hub, but I am spending all of my discretionary funds on batteries.
I have ridden a bike with a 500 watt hub motor. It was nice but the cyclone suits me better. Being able to keep the motor at it's optimal torque range allows quicker starts at intersections and also allows me to crawl along on stony and muddy roads.
I probably would have been happy with the 500 watt, all the wires from the external controller will be a hassle to neaterize.
I am buying a set of batteries from a different outfit and will post a review of them in a couple of weeks.
NO PICS until I am able to make this install look better. Look at Cyclones site.
Hi New_Guy,
Thanks for the post. Great information.
I'm seriously thinking of investing in the 500W or 650W motor kit from Cyclone and just wanted to know how things were going with you 650W motor since your last post. Would you still recommend it? What other battery did you try and is it better than the Cyclone battery?
Thanks,
tcman
Maybe you can try this one.
After several months, our new scooter has been made.
It’s really nice. It’s 650W, 48v, 45km/h, 60kms per charge, and the grade ability is 15 degrees. Further more, the most unique is that we have overcome the conflicts that normally exist in other high-power scooters between the torque and speed. Batteries, controllers, and motor have formed a harmonious whole one, rather than oppose each other. Speed does not affect torque, torque no longer affects speed. They are very stable, which in large measure to extend the battery life. It’s worth mentioning that at the speed of 45km/h, the electric current is only 13-14 ampere. All these must be owed to our team, especially to Mr. Charlie, who was WUXI ANGELL and USA ANGELL’S boss. Mr. Charlie is that he has the sophisticated technology and the spirit of studying hard, so that we have achieved today's success.
In addition, the look is very elegant, beautiful, the weight of the scooter is only 78KG. ......
I really like this electric scooter, and do not know what kind of name should be taken to match it.
I hope we have given points. Thanks
aima,high-tech,high-quality eletric vehicles designer&maker.
Luckily I checked in today. Yupper, I'm still using the Cyclone 650. Haven't had any trouble with it or with any of the other parts that came with the kit. I like it. I ride it on some really rough roads and gravel foot paths sometimes and like the fact that it drives the chain. This allows me to shift to the big gear on the rear dérailleur and creep along with lots of controllable torque available.
I'm running BMI LiFePo4 batteries that I got from http://lithbattoz.com.au/ . I like them better than the Cyclone ones. See my comment on http://visforvoltage.org/forum/6764-modern-lifepo4-packs-bicycles.
That's my non-expert opinion.