Transforming the Voy

This morning I received my hub motor and accesories from Golden moter.
It was a big day for the little Voy.
Today my new motor came in.

I ordered the 48V 1000W 16" brushless hub motor with a smart controller, throttle grip, and a button attachment.

Before ordering I did a lot of research. I was concerned about the new motor fitting in the scooter and being able to attach my existing chain sprocket and rear drum break. I looked at the detailed drawings on the web site and called the distributor in Arizona. The distributor said that if I want the one on the web site, then I would need to order from the site to make sure I got the right one...well, I did, and my fears were realized when I opened the box and found the motor dis not have accomodations for a chain or rear break.
Also, the axel was too short.

I had to make a decision to use the motor I got, or to try and get the one that was advertised. I decided to use the one I got even though I was dissipointed. The whole purpose of this project is to learn how these systems work, and so I could still do that with the motor that was provided even though I would loose the chain for pedals which makes this no longer a bike in the state of California.
First issue was trying to fit the wheel on the bike. The swing arm was too wide for the new motor.
After thinking about all the clever things that could be done, I decided to try and just bend it.
If you ever want to feel strong, try to bend cheap steel. I was able to bend it mostly by hand. My modified swing arm came out pretty good and the suspension still worked.

Next, I decided to put a tire on it and instantly saw a problem....there is not enough clearance to fill the valve stem with air.

I used a 7/16" end mill in a cordless drill and elongated the hole.

After that the valve stem could come off at and angle and be filled.

Finally, the wheel was mounted.

Shortly after that, I just plugged the motor into the new controller. The plugs were all ready matched to the motor, so it was easy. Since my new LiFePo4 battery is not delivered yet, I just used some lead acid ones for now. With in 10 min, I was ready to take my first ride.

Nothing on the head set works, and I dont want to try the lights since I switched from a 36V to a 48V system, its likely that many of those bulbes will burn out.
I decided to just remove the head cluster and eventually replace it with my own lights and gauges.

Even though I was using half charged used 7ah SLA batteries...that little scooter really woke up.
The spedometer is not working, so I do not know how fast it goes, but it must be close to 20MPH. With fresh batteries, Im pretty certain it will be better. The motor has good torque as well. Once I get the battery situation improved, I will bring a GPS with me and report on its preformance.
For now...though I had to loose some features, I am really impressed with how powerful and quiet the motor is.
There are some features that I will be experimenting with:
Regen breaking, which will effectively give my a rear break again.
Cruise control (a feature built into the controller) which I tested, on the center stand, but not on the road.
Reverse, built into the controller. NOt sure what value it has, but I will try it out.
Security system and Alarm. The controller has a vibration alarm wich will lock up the motor. I want to see if I can get that working.

It was a big day today. I will update when I have more info.
-Mark