72v 35MPH xtreme xb 600!!!!!!!! Video link here.

Wow Zerogas! You are awesome! I loved watching the video! It gives us that don't have an XB yet an idea of how quiet those bikes really are! To go almost 35 mph up a hill is quite a feat! Let us know how it holds up. How many miles do you estimate you'll get before re-charging?

Is there a way to lock this bike? Also, where do you all park it, at the bike rack or a parking stall? Have you ever tried using the pedals? I wonder how well they really work.

Keep up the good work!

Laurie

Sweet Assssssss. Nice job on the mossfets.

I noticed there weren't too many cars around your parts....lucky you. Those roads looked pretty good as well. I hit a pothole going thirty and I thought the bike was gonna fly apart. Its not the motor I am worried about...its everything else. ;)

Nice job Warren. Do you think thats it....the limit on this bike has been reached modding the stock stuff? I think the only thing left is lighter battery pack to get more distance...maybe a little more speed.

Headline: "Zerogas Breaks Sound Barrier!!!!" That's what I am waiting for.

Thanks for the answering my ?'s. I was hoping there was a way to lock the bike. I work in a high school and I hate the thought of someone stealing it...or messing with it.

I have not ordered one yet, just checked into the laws again today to make sure it's legal in my city. We have strange ordinances. But it does fall in the category of a "Moped" because of the pedals, useable or not...probably not. But even for show, will not have to license it, insure it or have a motorcycle license. I absolutely love the fact it's electric so I would be doing my "Green" part. (These are points I'm trying to sell my husband on, LOL) He thinks he can do the mods, just isn't looking forward to it. I've read ALOT about the mods, this wiring, that wiring, can you point us in the right direction for what works best?

Articfox is next on my list...

Thanks again everyone!

Laurie

Hi Laurie,

When you get your bike and are ready to do the mods, we will all be here to help you out however we can. Everyone on this board is pretty helpful and if you can't find the right answer there is always someone there to point you in the right direction.

My 2 cents:

The shunt mod works best using a plain coat hanger. It seems about right. I've done two of them one using a coat hanger and the other using an oversized paper clip. Both worked the same but the concensus is that the coat hanger is the safer bet. Either way I would replace the 30amp fuse and holder that came with the bike. They are not great quality and with the mod you have the chance of blowing a fuse going up a steep hill and keeping the throttle all the way open with the stock fuse and holder.

For the battery wiring if you are going to go to 60 volts: It depends if you want to use one charger or two. I prefere to use only one charger that plugs in the standard socket so I wired the battery after the pack just like MilleyM described. This way I can always remove the battery and go back to 48V or just keep the battery permanently attached and use a 60Volt charger. This mod is defenitely easier than the shunt mod and shouldn't take more than 1 hour to complete.

As for the pedals: They are only a nuissance when you want to back up. They engage and tend to bang your shins. You just have to remember you have them on. I finally took mine off and carry them in the under seat storage in a ziplock bag in case I get stopped.

The lock and park: Yes turn the handlebars to the left and turn the key and the front forks lock. I also use a lock on the front wheel just to be sure. I always park in a car space and no one ever bothers you for doing that. It really doesn't look like a bicycle so its not that strange a sight.

Some of this stuff Zero and others have already answered but just thought I would confirm so you can get a more complete picture.

Cheers.

Thanks Hyperob, that was the info I was looking for. So did you leave on the chain in case you need to put the pedals on? I wonder...if you get stopped by the police, do you think showing them the pedals would be good enough not to get a ticket?

Laurie

Warren,

In stock form, are the mosfets heatsunk to the aluminum chassis of the controller? I'm just wondering if/what they are heatsunk to as that would be a huge component of how much power they can source before causing problems. I'm guessing that they're heatsunk to something as you did mention making sure to replace the thermal grease in your post.

AWESOME, I just purchased my scooter a couple hours ago so this looks absolutely great to see. I think one thing I would change is at the end of the video you should have said "zero gas" instead of "no gas" =)

Hi Laurie,

Yeah, I left the chain on.

The law in California is that the vehicle should have "fully operational pedals for human propulsion". I have them and they can be put on in 10 seconds if I need them. It may or may not get me out of a ticket if I ever do get stopped and the police officer actually knows the law. From what I was told by the local police station is that "most wouldn't know what to make of you if they did stop you".

I figure showing the pedals wouldn't hurt...they are technically on the bike. He or she might be persuaded to just let me install them and be on my way. You can't really use them though since they are actually behind where you sit so they are incredibly akward to make work, not to mention you look ridiculous as you try to use them. When I had them on and people asked me to show how it works with the pedals, I routinely got laughed at.....

Thanks again for the info about the pedals. Sounds like a plan to me, not installing them but having them handy if need be.

My husband has a question:

In regards to changing the 48 Volt system to 60 or 72...does this affect all circuits on the bike? I assume the lights are 12 volt, are these on a separate circuit run from just one battery?

Thanks,

Laurie's husband

Craftkiller, can I ask where you got your scooter? Keep us informed when you receive it and when and if you do the mods.

Laurie

I got the scooter from HXC Motors for $769 with free residential delivery http://hxcmotors.com/x-treme_xb600.php

The purchase was through paypal and their site LOOKS legit (they have a phone number) so hopefully it will be a speedy delivery... The price on their site is significantly lower than others I found (I went through 10 pages of google search to find it) so I am hoping this all works out ok... you might want to wait for my report on the delivery before purchasing yours from there

As for the mods, I am gonna keep it stock for a while (hopefully at most a month) to make sure everything is working before I start voiding warrentys ;)

no doubt Ill keep you guys updated on my mods, but I doubt ill try anything new like zerogas is doing constantly, more likely Ill be following his mods and just reporting that they worked for me too =)

My husband has a question:

In regards to changing the 48 Volt system to 60 or 72...does this affect all circuits on the bike? I assume the lights are 12 volt, are these on a separate circuit run from just one battery?

Thanks,

Laurie's husband

Yes, that is exactly the right question to ask. There is a box on the bike that is a little smaller than the controller, called a DC-DC converter, that converts the 48 volts from the batteries to 12 volts for the lights. I have seen these converters burn out when connected to 5 batteries (60v), but at 72v, the converter probably won't last long. In the original XB-600 60v mod thread, I posted a schematic for connecting the DC-DC converter to 48v and the controller/motor at 60v. This mod is even more important at 72v. It involved using a small relay. But the bigger issue is that you will either have to recharge the original 48v batteries seperately - since they will drain faster because they also power the lights, or you will have to install some sort of battery balancing device.

Hey Warren,

Why don't you get a 36-72 Volt to 12V DC/DC converter and slap it in there? That should ease your worries.

Power Converter

Doesn't the XB have something similar? I do believe it is rated higher than 60Volts. Anyone?

Hi Laurie,

As bocaguy pointed out there is a DC-DC converter on the bike. It takes the power from all the batteries and steps it down to 12V. It is rated to at least 60V so you should be okay at 60....72 on the other hand that is Zerogas territory... plus you will then have to have two or three seperate chargers unless you can find a 72Volt charger. I like to keep it simple and clean and its fairly easy to find a 60volt charger that is compatible. I have the XM-2000 which is $100 but is quite sturdy and I also have a $50 from e-crazyman on ebay. That one lasted two days but he did send me a new pcb board to replace....more soddering ;( I bought the extra battery from X-Treme so it is the same as the originals on the bike and they all appear to be taking the same charge so far without a battery balancer.

60V appears so far(2 weeks of daily use) to be pretty safe on these bikes and for the type of commute you are using it for 30mph should do fine. The bike has enough get up and go to get you out of trouble quickly enough.

Zero, you added two extra batteries. The negative terminal of one battery is the 48v tap and the positive terminal of the other battery is the 72v tap.

Thanks hyperob and bocabikeguy, I'll pass that info along to my husband. Sorry Zerogas for hi-jacking your thread.

Hey Warren,

Do you have an extra controller? I think you might have something else burnt out on the 72V. This would be the way to check the motor. Check your fuses as well. Mine kind of did a funny sound when I blew the fuses as well.

My feeling is capacitors. I would get a new controller and swap the fuses and see where that leaves you. Its cheaper then a new motor and you would need another one anyway just to get back to where you were.

Its a real shame bro.

Zero, if you saw and smelled fried capacitors, why would you expect the motor is damaged? Your problem is almost certainly in the controller, but it is possible that the damage is not limited to only the capacitors. Were the eCrazyman capacitors different capacitance that the ones that were blown?

I'd have to check some of my books concerning power circuits, but my guess is that the capacitance differences are probably what are causing your shuddering. My guess is that the 47uF cap provides just enough power reserve to move the motor, but not enough to get it to full torque. I'm thinking that a larger cap would hold more charge and would allow a greater instantaneous torque in the motor thus reducing the shudder.

The only thing that I'm not convinced on is whether the blown cap is actually a charge holding cap for the motor. Usually those are the largest (in capacitance and physically) and I believe that you swapped those initially and did not have any problems with them.

Yes. For sure if the circuit needs a 470 uF cap, using 1/10th of that capacitance would either end up with a lot of ripple or change the circuit frequency by a large amount, depending on what the capacitor is used for. Most likely, it is a filter capacitor, and you have so much ripple that it is surprising your motor turns at all.