nasukaren's blog

The ELF 100 ESC (electronic speed controller) arrived today and I installed it in my Piaggio Boxer. The install was a cinch and everything seemed to be going very smoothly.

I did some test runs with the rear wheel elevated using my 24V SLA batteries. Here is my data table:

I spent a few hours this afternoon installing the HXT outrunner motor. It was a bit larger than the MY1016 that I had previously had as a prototype. And as it is an outrunner, this necessitated a different type of engine mounting.

Here you can see the base end of the outrunner motor with the power leads on the left. The X shaped bracket came with the outrunner and is what I used to attach it firmly to my Boxer's left engine support bracket.

The servo tester that I ordered last week arrived by mail today. Still no sign of the ESC from Hong Kong so I can't wire everything up, but it's a start.

I go the E-Sky EK2-0907 servo tester from Hobby Lobby. With shipping, it was $13.69 although you can get it for a few less dollars if you shop around. I just wanted a basic model and it fit the bill. Most of the units that I see on ebay are identical to this.

Well, the postal carrier came and left without leaving me an ESC + servo tester, so I still can't install the HXT outrunner. But, she did leave me a little package from Hong Kong that contained the laser photo tachomoter that I ordered from ebay. I'm still amazed at just how cheap Chinese manufacturers are pumping things out. A laser tach would have cost me over a $100 just a few years ago, now I can buy one for $23 w/ shipping from Hong Kong. Incredible.

I'm still waiting for the ESC and servo to arrive (maybe early next week) for the outrunner motor, so I took the Boxer out for a test run with its temporary Razor motor and SLA batteries installed.

Piaggio Boxer
Motor: 250 watt MY1016 (from Razor Pocket Rocket)
Controller: 30A (from Razor)
Batteries: 2 x 12V 7Ah SLA (from Razor)
Front sprocket: 1.5" pulley (motor to wheel 39:1 ratio)

While I'm waiting for the ESC and servo tester (aka throttle) to arrive, I'm trying to figure out what gearing I'll need with my new motor.

My Piaggio Boxer wheels are 14" in radius, so if my high-school geometry is right, that's 2 x pi x r = 88" in circumference.

If go 5 mph, that's 316800 inches per hour, that's 3600 rotations per hour or 60 rotations per minute.

Well, the motor from United Hobbies arrived! Very fast shipping, I ordered on Friday and it got to me on Wednesday from Hong Kong. The packaging was secure and everything seemed in place:

At the current moment, I have the ICE engine out and the Razor motor in and wired up. Using a small hub on the 500 watt motor, I'm getting about 5-8mph and not nearly enough power to make it up hills. Fortunately, this was designed as a moped and I can pedal assist whenever I need to. Also, the centrifigual clutch means I can't stall out the motor.

This is where I'm going to write down some of my motor considerations.

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1. HXT 80-100-B 130Kv Brushless Outrunner (eq: 70-55) and its big brother, the 180kv model

I finally got around to downloading the photos of the first half of my scooter's EV conversion from my digital camera. Here we go:

This is the Piaggio Boxer mo-ped that I'm converting:

This is the donor Razor for the motor, batteries, and controller: