New Guy thinking about converting Honda Ruckus

8Rilla's picture
Submitted by 8Rilla on Tue, 05/03/2011 - 14:54

Hi all,

So I have a Honda Ruckus that I ride around campus but lately it's been giving me problems. I'm thinking about converting it to electric. This means I need 3 things: time, money and resources. I believe I have these three things to an extent. I have all summer, about $2000 and experience and also friends who are very good with an MIG welder. I was thinking about getting a kit of some sort. Is there any out there that you would recommend? Also 48v and 20ah is what I'm thinking for LiFePO4 batteries. Will that get me 10-15 miles for range and get me up to 40mph?

Thanks all,
8Rilla

Topics: 
Converting a Moped to Electric
before comments

Comments

Submitted by jthmi on Tue, 05/03/2011 - 19:07.

If your project is going to be inspected, it will come through as a motorcycle, NOT a moped, with a 40 mph top speed. So before you spend your money, if you're not prepared to go the M/C route with insurance and licensing and the like, you might do a rethink. BTW, what is your OLND (over locknut dimension: the width between the rear fork ends) and what is the diameter of the rear wheel (not the tire size) and the dropout slot dimension? And the brake type? This questions are only pertinent if you are doing a hub motor, not a mid drive.

JTH/Amp Brothers Electric Cycles/MI

8Rilla's picture

Submitted by 8Rilla on Tue, 05/03/2011 - 21:42.

I usually ride around 30mph and I've gotten it up to 35... Does 40 make a difference? The diameter of the rear wheel is 10 in and the brakes are drum. Not sure what the over locknut dimension is.. Any way I could find that out?

8Rilla

Submitted by mf70 on Thu, 05/05/2011 - 15:22.

Not to rain on your parade, but...

While the Ruckus is about the coolest 50cc's you can ride (you saw the travels of Wan, didn't you?), it is not the most efficient package. You'll be changing a lot of your electricity into heat with those cute 10" tires.

I went from a 10" wheel mock-Vespa to the 12" wheel XB600, and was shocked at the extra power I got out of almost the same wattage.

You would be ahead of the game to get a "glider" Honda 90 (large wheels) to convert. Your budget would probably be adequate.

PS: It isn't considered a motorcycle now is it?

Mark

Submitted by jthmi on Fri, 05/06/2011 - 19:21.

Mark:
If the end product exceeds 30 mph then, yup, it's a motorsickle (at least in the great state of MI.)

JTH/Amp Brothers Electric Cycles/MI

Submitted by jthmi on Fri, 05/06/2011 - 19:30.

8Rilla: 30 mph is the typical cutoff for the Moped class. If it's currently registered as a Moped, you should be OK as the end result will probably not go any faster. You measure the distance between the inside fork ends (dropouts) to get your OLND. As stated, this is only needed for a hub drive. You might want to investigate a mid-drive as it would keep your rear wheel and let you play with ratios to adjust your torque and top speed,. Or find someone who has done a Ruckus and buy em a beer and pick their brain. I don't know of a source for a 10" wheel with a hub motor. Anyone else help with a source?

JTH/Amp Brothers Electric Cycles/MI

8Rilla's picture

Submitted by 8Rilla on Sat, 05/07/2011 - 09:55.

This is where I actually got the idea from...

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=17576

And I also found this blog about the same idea..

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8931

Video of converted ruckus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdwYGfHRaLs&feature=player_embedded

Its definitely been done and I pretty sure all these builds use non-hub motor drives


Who's online

There are currently 0 users online.

Who's new

  • janet
  • Bengun
  • Skyhawk 57
  • wild4
  • justinsmith07

Support V is for Voltage

Support V is for Voltage