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| New Electric Drag Motorcycle Project |
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| The "Will Be Was" 1966 Harley Sprint |
August 4th, Took the Chevelle and Jawa to a Car show today.
Lots of interest. I have hardly seen the Chevelle in the last year. Its been in Texas and I have been working in Virginia
and lately in Washington and Oregon. But now I am back for a bit and tried something I have been wondering about for a long
time. To see what would happen if I launched the Chevelle at 72 Volts. I was thinking that something would break. Before today,
I have always launched at 48 Volts and then shifted to 72 Volts in all of my Races and tests. But I just had to know. I was
curious what the amps would do as well. There are some who say it would go up. Fact is, it did not. It stayed the same as
a 48 Volt launch, which is 1600 amps with the present gearing and tires. After I got back from the Car Show, I made eight
72 Volt Launches without charging. The first seven were all perfect, with the Chevelle laying a 10 foot patch of rubber with
one wheel. On the eighth one the Powerglide transmission decided that seven was enough and started slipping. I have to pull
it out to put a new pump in anyway, so no big deal. So now I know, the amps will not go up as I increase the voltage with
the same gearing. Now here is another thing I am confused about, gearing. I presently have a 3.36 rear gear. I was convinced
I needed to go higher(numerically lower) to a 2.56 rear gear. But since my test run a while back of 70mph when I
let the Chevelle wind out at 72 Volts, and the field weakening really took effect much greater at the higher rpms, now I am
wondering if I need to go lower to a 3.73 rear gear. I calculated my 70mph 72 volt run at 2500 rpm with my present gearing.
It was at 70mph and still climbing with the field weakening when I shut it down to make my turn back to base. When I had the
powerglide out last time, I ran the motor with no load at 12 Volts and it smoothed out at 2600 rpms. There is a little vibration
through the lower rpms, and then gets perfectly smooth at 2600 rpms. When I first installed the motor in the Chevelle, I tested
it at 24V no load and it went to 4000 rpm with no problems. So, I am not even getting into the old GE's sweet spot at the
lower rpms I am running with my 3.36 rear gear. I now have a 3.73 rear gear in my possession and will install it as soon as
possible. I just have to know for sure by doing, instead of wondering, what the lower gear will do for the times in the 1/8
mile and beyond. I know the rpms will increase into the sweet spot of the GE motor and field weakening will have a much greater
effect, but not sure of the times in the 1/8 mile. I will know for sure one day soon. Might do a posi too while I have it
out so I won't get the one wheel burn. But those 72 Volt launches were awesome
| June 9th, Chevelle & Jawa off to an EAA meeting |
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| Reseated the brushes on the Chevelle, 2600 rpm at 12V no load, Road tested to 70mph at 72V (Uphill) |
Video of Jawa Screaming Past (1.4 M)
Video of Jawa in Motion (1.7 M)
| Gps on Jawa for speed check & clock |
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| Switched Sprockets to bigger on motor |
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June 1st, took several more 1/8 mile
runs and a couple of 1.2 mile tests. Controller, tranny, clutch, meters & everything else worked well. I mounted a GPS
to the top of the head light to see how fast I was going. In the 1/8 mile, it seems to be topping out at 32mph in about 16
seconds. I am pulling 220 amps through all four gears, it drops down to about 150A before I shift to another gear. These little
solenoids are doing a good job. I had a 21 tooth sprocket on the motor and a 24 tooth sprocket on the overhead shaft. I reversed
these to see if I could increase my speed in the 1/8 mile. Amperage went up to a little over 300A (this is on a 120A rating
of this 24V solenoid) through the gears, but the mph remained at 32. I might be battery limited, not sure, but have a couple
of plans to find out. First thing is to take the 24V small solenoid out of the 24V circuit and install a 48V 400 amp contactor
in its place. I will have to add a small battery to put in series with the two 16AH Genesys batteries for the coil of the
48V contactor. I have a 400A shunt and I know the motor can handle the amperage, so I will keep gearing up until I run
400 amps through all four gears. To see if I am battery limited, I might temporary a couple of Orbitals on the Jawa. Also
I need to change my 6 Ga wiring to 2/0. Probably losing a lot of voltage to the motor there as well. Cables are getting hot
to the touch after 1/8 mile runs. Also fabricating chain guards. So lots to do to try to get to a 50mph, 13 second 1/8 mile
at 24 Volts. Field weakening will be added as well. On my last E-bike, the Kawasaki, when I pressed the Field Weakening button,
it was like a whole nother gear.
E-Jawa Controller, is a simple two
stage controller. First stage is 12 Volts applied to motor, second stage is 24 Volts applied to motor. First stage is activated
(using original throttle cable) by releasing a brake light switch(AirTex # 1S5238) which closes a contactor (BWP # M3098,
these contactors/solenoids are off the shelf, rated at 120A make, 85A continuous, & 65A break. I will probably have to
go with something bigger, but for now they are holding up at much larger amperages.) and applies 12V to motor. The path from
the brake light switch to the contactor goes through the closed contacts of a Radio Shack 12V relay. Then a little more throttle,
closes a Radio Shack Momentary push button that pulls the 12V relay and opens the path to the 12V contactor and closes the
path to the 24V contactor. I use this same controller on the Chevelle (modified) and other E-bikes and have never had a failure
as of yet. Still testing. I have to fuse/breaker the 24V battery, if both contactors were to close at same time without fuse/breaker,
this would not be good. This basic two stage controller would be good for ANY SIZE controller. Just use bigger contactors
for more amperage. The Chevelle uses this same 12V relay and pulls 2000 amps on launch. This two-stage controller is far from
perfect but it gets me on the road with my EV's. Maybe one day I will have to try one of those Electronic Controllers.
Video of E-Jawa Two Stage Controller, with motor online (2.2 M)
Video of E-Jawa Two Stage Controller (1 M)
| May 28th, E-Jawa runs several 1/8 miles @ 24 Volts |
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| Transmission shifts well, up & down. Field Weakening (5th Gear) is up next. |
| E-Jawa ran well on first tests at 24 Volts |
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| Shifts really nice up and down, through all four gears. Batteries are in Jawa tool boxes on sides |
May 28th, took 1st 24V test ride. Blew
100A breaker that is between 24V contactor and motor. Added another 100A breaker in parallel. Next test ride went very well.
E-Jawa pulls 220 amps through all four gears and accelerates well at 24 Volts. Ran a couple of 1/8 mile runs out on the highway
at my measured 1/8 mile. Shifts really nice. Contactors are holding up even though they are only rated for 120A make, 85A
continuous and 65A break. May have to install bigger ones in the future. I really wanted to make the entire controller from
local parts without ordering from all over the country. About $100 for two stage controller with parts from Radio Shack, Auto
Parts and Hardware Store.
May 26th, got the first stage of my
two stage contactor controller hooked up the original throttle and took another test run at 12 Volts. I can use the clutch
to take off slowly or no clutch with a small jerk, but is very controllable at 12 Volts. The second stage of my controller
will kick in 24 Volts to the motor with a little deeper twist of the original throttle grip.
Video of Jawa Existing Transmission to Electric motor with tranny in nuetral (1.4 meg)
From this day foward, the method of using the existing
transmission of a motorcycle by using chains to a new crankshaft shall be know as the PMETM1. (PoorMans Existing Tranny Method
#1)
| Chains to existing Transmission worked flawlessly |
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| Could not believe it did so good on one small 12V battery. It would be fine as an around town bike |
| Jawa tested at 12V, tranny worked very well |
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| One small 12V Genesis battery powered the Jawa to 30mph around a field with flat front tire |
May 21st, first road test complete! On one small
Genesis battery the E-Jawa worked flawless! At 12V and just a 100A circuit breaker for control, I went through all four gears
and up to 30mph in a field with the front tire flat. No problem with the chains. I left the Circuit Breaker on while I used
the existing clutch and let the motor speed up while I shifted through the gears. Just have to work out my throttle to contactor
controller and add another battery for 24V Test.
Video of Crankshaft to Overhead Shaft (1.3meg)
May 13, Crankshaft Installed and Chains set.
Tests went well.
| Crankshat connected to Primary |
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| Crankshaft to Overhead shaft to tranny |
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