I picked up a 24v Lee Iacocca EVG Ebike

1000watt

10 W
Joined
Nov 19, 2009
Messages
89
Location
Azusa, CA
I picked up a nice 24v EVG Ebike for my wife with NO battery case and the thumb throttle lever is also broken...Hmmm, I was thinking of gutting the EVG and installing my Goldenmotor 1000W 48V rear kit with my Lifepo4... that would be cool but my wife really wants to ride the EVG and keep it 24v. Oh well, best solution would be to find a battery case, I see one on ebay but they want $125, WOW!! :shock: . :D Maybe I will just jerry-rig 2 12v batts in there :) I dont even know if the bike runs??? These things are very solid and really built nicely. Any suggestions?

Here it is.
DSCI0247-1.jpg


Battery case that I am missing...
EVG_Battery_Case.gif
 
Go with your origional plan. Modify that bike. The 24 volt set up is way under powered. Not much fun to ride a slug.
Ultra motor builds a similar battery box with a 41 volt saggy lipo pack and bms in the box.
Their charger is not in the battery box, and the power connection is not quite the same. Not a direct plug & play arrangement.
The Heinzmann motors are somewhat niosey with the straight cut metal gears inside.
I`ve added a rear 9c ebkit to my evg and it rocks now. Quiet too.
 
Heh Heh, keep the wife happy even if it means changing your plans. But later get a better motor for the very nice EVG frame. I found the gear noise hard to live with at top speed, which is only about 12 mph, but riding slower it was not so bad. Very noisy gears since it's all metal on metal. But incredible tourqe for a 24v bike! I was going to put an x5 on mine but ended up selling it to a guy who needed a bike, having no drivers licence.

When I had one, It ran wonderfully on a 24v nicad pack from ebikes.ca. Better than sla's by a long shot, and it fit perfect in the space for the battery.

You can test the motor itself by hooking it up to a 12v battery directly. It's a brushed motor, so touch power to the two fat wires and if it turns, the motor is ok. The small wires are a temp sensor. Dont' run the bike without it, these motors get hot real fast, and can be melted.

There are parts like throttles on ebay right now if you want to keep it stock, including controllers. You need the stock stuff to work to keep all the fancy stuff on the handlebars working. If you care about that. The tail light is strictly 24v, but the headlight will go any voltage. I kept mine and love it on my 36v commuting bike. Really nice light.
 
I agree with dogman about getting a nice 24v Nicad pack and charger. You will keep lots of nifty features, like beeps that tell you when the motor is straining, and automatic overtemp protection.

(The old OEM SLA charger was not a smart charger anyway and cooked many a battery pack)

There is a load on the battery even when the ebike is turned off, so many a user took the battery in/out every day. Be aware of this when configuring your Nicad pack, and make it easy to take out, or put in a big 25 amp 24v switch. (Harbor freight has one with a "key" for low $$$)

Another minor problem is with the brake handle cutout switches going out of adjustment and preventing the motor from getting power; the tail/brake light turns on when this happens. Keep the hold down screw tight or just disable the switches if it gets to be a bother.

I used to support these ebikes, and can point you to the manual: (You may have to join the group)
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/power-assist/files/ scroll down to
24V_SM.pdf 24 volt full size EVGlobal manuals

While there were many thousands of these bikes made, parts are becoming harder to come by at reasonable prices. The Chrome-molly frame with the Zooks shocks is very nice as is the Heizmann motor.

Best

d
 
i have the opportunity to pick up an LE for $350 firm. guy says it's been upgraded with a 48V 'lithium ion' battery. not sure the capacity. said he never rode it long enough - thought it would go for two hours. he said it went very fast too. like over 25mph. said it's 'street legal' since it's over the speed for an ebike, which i found interesting. he'll sign over the 'title'...

i pulled up your manual last night, deardancer. answered a lot of my questions.

what do you think? should i buy it?

i will either:
- keep it as a backup bike
- use it for parts (like fill the frame up with lipo....) :twisted:
- resell it if i don't like it

i mean heck, the battery is worth it, right!?

appreciate your feedback!
 
One nice feature of the Iacocca bike was that it can be legaly a moped in any US jurisdiction, even New York. It has a vin number and everything.
That means 25 mph or whatever moped limit is locally.

a 36v model may be able to do 48v, but I'd monitor temp on any model EVG since they are brushed motors that get hot fast. A temp sensor on the axle stub works good, just add 40F to the reading and keep it under 180F.

I'll go for a 36v heinzmann motor anytime. In my climate, I'd ride in only in winter, but it would make a great dirt bike motor for the season. Mondo tourqey, and the way it's made is suitable for aluminum dropouts on nice bikes. The axle is round, and it has a great built in tourque arm. So it won't ruin a nice DH bike frame.
 
Interesting. I keep forgetting it's brushed. I remember trying to decide between brushed and brushless way long ago (because of price, pre-addiction -- now look at me :lol: ). Anyway, i recall the brushes needing to be replaced -- Would that be true of the heinzman too?

Surprised to hear it's torquey! I'm psyched.

VIN number, huh? I won't need to register and insure it, will I? Can't remember the laws w/ mopeds.
 
what do you think? should i buy it? Yes !
The 36 volt evg has the 5oo watt motor and is very good at hill climbing.
Brush wear is not much of a concern.
Off line acceleration is snappy at 36 volts. 48 would be wild.... Hang on. :shock:
 
As long as it LOOKs stock to the casual observer, you are under 25mph and you are rotating the pedals, your odds of getting a ticket are pretty small.

the Vin number is important if you want to go the moped (over 20mph) legal route.

If it is was a 36v unit, take it.

24v? better have a nice battery.

d
 
UPDATE:

i bought the bike - it's a 24V LE w/o a battery. (seller dropped & ruined it prior to sale and price was reduced to $100).

anyway, in a haze of optimism(?), i attached my 48V 12Ah ping via alligator clips. a couple sparks, and once connected i heard a brief and faint, highpitched cat-meow, followed by a phfft sound. i turned the on switch and nothing. no juice. i reconnected alligator clips but no sparks...

- anybody know what i fried? can i hope it was just a fuse.... :mrgreen:

PS. bike was advertised as a 48V ebike, but the seller ruined & discarded the '48V lithion ion' battery. (put it on the top of his truck while moving the bike, it slipped off, and a 'gel' oozed out. he took the battery to a battery store and they recycled it. now, i don't know of lithium batteries that ooze. sounds like an SLA gel type, doesn't it? anyway, point is that i don't know what to believe. so questions:

- if it's the 24V version what max voltage can it handle? (obviously not 48V...)
- what watt motor is it?
- are a lot of the electrical components the same on the 36V model and 24 LE?

i'll have to decide whether to get it operational: fix what i broke and new 24V or 36V battery.
OR, part it out.

thanks!
 
You just fried the controller. gone. kaput.

But, you would be replacing it anyway, since it was rather wimpy.

the motor does good at 36v as long as you use its over temp protection circuit.

so go shopping for a nice 36v brushed controller. and battery sytem.

No big deal.

d
 
deardancer3 said:
so go shopping for a nice 36v brushed controller. and battery sytem.

so the motors are the same on the 36V & 24V versions? anyway to test if it's good before buying a controller?

so, i have to find not just A 36V brushed controller, but one just for this bike, right? because all the electrical connectors plug into that controller, no?

i did get the old/original battery (dead) w/ the built in charger... nice design!
 
so the motors are the same on the 36V & 24V versions? no they are not, but the 24v will do OK at 36 v/

anyway to test if it's good before buying a controller? just put a 12v battery across the heavy leads on the motor to be sure it spins with no noise.

so, i have to find not just A 36V brushed controller, but one just for this bike, right? no just a good 36v controller, and there will be some connectors to be changed of course.

because all the electrical connectors plug into that controller, no?

i did get the old/original battery (dead) w/ the built in charger... nice design mechanically yes, electrically bad. just use the enclosure.
 
The 24v version will do ok on 36v -15 amps. One of mine lasted 30 minuites at 36v 35 amps before the stinking smoke poured out. The other I ran at 24v 35 amps and it's still running.

In my opinion, the 24v version is a dog, but still very tourqey. Just slow at 24v, On the upside, you should have a really great frame to put a rear 9c motor on. Hope you didn't put too much money on it. Too bad your seller was a lying bastard. No way that lithium battery was 48v, most likely it was actually 24v.
Replacement stock controllers are very expensive, so just get a new cheapie 24v controller and throttle from ebay. At 24v, you won't have to sweat the amperage of the controller, and can use a 30 amp or so safely. At 36v you will have to really watch the temp of the motor. It should have a temp switch in the hub, the two skinny wires, that go into the on off switch circuit on the controller. So the motor gets hot, it cuts off the switch on the controller.
Heat was a big issue for me, since I live in a hot desert, but in moister, cooler climates it should serve well.

Edit. Bactracking, $100 is a fine price for just the frame. If the motor is still ok, you might get $150 -200 just for it on Ebay. BTW, the "gel" in the batteries was just sla's leaking. Mabye the seller is just ignorant, and was told by his seller it was a lithium bike.
 
I got another one yesterday :lol:
DSCI0246-1.jpg


The black one is the wifes and the red one is mine :) I might convert the red one to 48v 1000w Goldenmotor someday :p
DSCI0245-1.jpg
 
There are deals out there on these bikes! The red one also is just missing the battery case. But thats no big deal since from what I have read that the orig charger in the case was not a smart charger and would over charge your batteries. I am gonna go with one of these 24v smart chargers http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350293914366 and mount a female XLR jack on the bike.
 
Nice, I thought I was doing good getting one for $60 with no controller in it. 24v nicad packs fit nicely in the frame.
 
Good evening, I do not know if someone still monitors this thread - I also picked up a 24V EVG with dead batteries today.
Could easily get it home by simply pedaling - one of the benefits of an eBike!
I have a few questions - what is the max voltage that the stock controller can handle?
How to increase the gear ratio as the pedals turn ridiculously fast when going down an overpass - I can't believe how low gear was installed, this would never allow you to add pedal power while using the electric motor! I am thinking about upgrading the front chain ring from the tiny 33 tooth ring to higher than 40 so there is a decent speed of the pedals. I doubt that more than 40 tooth chainring will fit inside the chain cover, so either I need to stick to that or remove the cover to allow a larger chain ring. Maybe it is even possible to install a front derailleur to allow selecting between small and large chainring.
Has anybody tried to use larger chain rings in the front to keep up with the speed of the bike?
If you upgrade the voltage then I guess you will also need to install a smaller sprocket in the back - probably a 10 tooth, since the current 14 tooth gives you about 33/14 = 2.4 gear which requires you to pedal very fast if you reach 15 MPH, so going to a 40/10 = 4 gear will allow you to keep up until you reach about 25 MPH.
For now, I will first try to give the old batteries a long slow recharge to see if they come back and verify everything works before making next steps, such as adding (more/new) batteries and going to higher voltage controller (and modifying the tail light as I read that it can only use 24V)
By the way - I am located in Silicon Valley in California.
 
Unfortunately, you are pretty much stuck with the tiny front sprocket. A larger one will rub the frame at the chainstay. It's one of the reasons I sold off my EVG, instead of just replacing the motor with something stronger and faster. Otherwise a great frame! Wonderfully strong, and all the electonic parts except the throttle are nice and dry inside the covers.

My EVG came with no controller present, so I ran it on a generic brushless controller that ran at 24-48v. The best way to guess whay your stock controllers max may be is to look at the capacitors inside it, if the case is openeable. The caps look like tiny cans, and have a voltage marking. If it's sealed, my guess is that it has at least 30v caps inside, So an 8 cell (8s) lifepo4 battery would work fine with it. Might look at this site, for a really good one, http://www.emissions-free.com/ Or another good option would be a 15 ah lifepo4 from pingbattery.com Ditch the lead unless you are really on a tight budget, or need only a few miles range.

The EVG's 24v heinsmann motor does a great job of doing what it is designed for. 12 mph travel, but with excellent hill climbing ability. But it's permanently geared for that, so if you upvolt it to a faster 36v, you end up with a bike you don't pedal. You just sit and ride.

One very viable option though, is to basicly scrap the whole bike, ( which can eventually be sold as parts on ebay for decent money) and then take just the motor and build a faster bike from scratch. New 36v 15 amp controller, new 36v 20 ah lifepo4 battery, and an MTB or comfort bike frame. Then you get 20 mph or so, and gearing to pedal that fast.

A lot depends on what you actually need in an ebike. As is, the bike makes a great tool for rides in the 6 mile roundtrip ballpark. Less speed is needed for a short range bike. you can replace the battery easy. 12v 12 ah batteries for kids toy electric cars fit perfect. Get em at wallmart, or from an on line battery retailer.
 
I have the 36V model and run 12s4p 18650 batteries in it. It pulls a trailer with my two small kids without a sweat throughout the neighborhood.
 
40 tooth is the max size chainring that will fit in the chaingaurd.
A 42 tooth ring is the max that will fit without the chaingaurd.
The bikes are slow on 24 volts, not sure about max volts to that controller.
Check the rating of the capacitor in the bottom of the battery box.
I kept the frame and replaced the running gear with a less noisey dd motor,
controller and 36 volt lifepo4 battery. To each his own.
The lights horn and cruise are all controlled by the factory controller.
A few lipo packs will fit in the battry box and weigh less.
 
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