sbr150
1 mW
Just finished putting together my first build. Its a 1993 Honda XR600R. I always wanted a gritty looking dual sport bike and also super interested in electric bikes. The current commercial offerings for dualsport EVs are pretty weak though, and way too pricey and clean looking. I was much more interested in riding something that doesn't look like it minds going off the street.
I bought the bike in Lancaster PA for $750 from a super nice seller. It ran but had a pretty serious rod knock and was weeping a lot of oil from the head gasket. I thought about just fixing it to run as a gas bike but the internals for the head were pretty hard to find, so I just decided I'd give it a shot to put in an all electric drivetrain.
I had several design changes over the months of working on it but I choose a 60v system, with at least 40ah from the beginning. I am pretty price restricted and I wanted a reasonably cheap motor that I didn't have to worry too much about being out in the elements. So I went with a Motenergy ME0709 72v max motor. I started out wanting to put LiFePO4 prismatics in custom boxes bolted to the main frame. Doing that would have been very tough and resulted in a really ugly profile since the front tube of the frame is just a single post. It also would have required putting the motor very low to try and fit in the batts, meaning that the line from the drive sprocket to the rear axle would have been really tough to make without two extra free cogs, which I did not want to have to fabricate mountings for.
After tearing out all the internal combustion parts, I decided the only good way to fit the batteries onto the bike was by giving it an adventure bike look and putting the lithium into panniers on the back. I looked into getting those aluminum panniers you see on BMWs but the prices were absolutely insane. So I read some forum posts on adventure bike sites and learned how to make a locking system for some pelican cases.
The prismatics I had in mind would have required comically large cases, which I was not down with, so I looked into wiring up LiPoly pouches. This build was my absolute first experience with any kind of electrical wiring of anything. In previous moto or car work, I had always paid someone else to do the wiring, so the thought of having to wire up a BMS for that many pouches in parallel and series was pretty daunting, and also very expensive. Through the electric bike part of this forum, I learned about Ping Battery out of China, and the reviews were very good, so I wrote to him and asked if I could get two 60v 20ah packs of LiPoly with his integral BMS, and then tie them in parallel. He was super helpful and hooked me up with the lithium in no time. Each one of his 60v 20ah batteries could easily fit in Pelican 1450 cases, and could even accommodate the chargers too if I felt like rigging up a way to exhaust the hot air from those boxes. I attached the lock mechanism from u-bolt bike locks to both of them and then used bolts to secure to the u-portion of the locks onto the rear of the moto frame. The result is that I can take the batteries and carry them like two(very heavy) suitcases when I park the bike, and then reattach them and lock them to the frame in under 30secs.
After getting the batteries figured out, I decided to put on a new 72 tooth rear sprocket since the stock one was very worn, and I wanted to add some gearing to be able to put that electric torque down to the dirt/pavement. While I had the rear wheel off, I looked at the rear brake, which had a lot of oxidation on the piston, so I pulled it apart and rebuilt it. As all that came apart I got worried about the placement of the rear brake pedal and the master cylinder since I thought that they were also going to interfere with where I wanted to put the motor. I took the brake out and went ahead and bought a 72" stainless brake line and hooked it to a left hand hydraulic clutch I bought on ebay. That way now the rear brake is plumbed to a left hand brake on the handlebars which makes braking feel more similar to a mountain bike and also improves the appearance of the bike since it doesn't look like its missing the clutch anymore.
I had a machinist make up a motor mount to attach to the face of the ME0709, and then to two of the bolt points on the frame. I bought a piece of 1/2" 6061 to make the mount and it is strong and stiff enough that I thought doing anything but that one face mount would be overkill. It is holding up very well as is, so I think that was the right decision. I did have to add a couple roller guides and a custom made kind of chain tensioner to try and keep the chain away from the swingarm as much as possible. The difference in diameter between the 14t drive sprocket and 72 rear was just too much, no matter how close to linear I got the chain to pull with my motor mount.
The motor controller is a AXE 7234 which I painted Honda red. I don't have any machine tools in my basement or even a bandsaw so I ended up cutting the parts for the controller mount from 1/8" aluminum using a hacksaw and finishing with a hand file. The mount bolts to the top tube of the frame and hangs the controller out in the air very well.
I replaced all the 12v electrics with new wiring and low load LED lights. I bought a cheap 60-12v converter on Amazon and it was only rated to a 10amp output so I didn't want it to flicker on me if all the lights were on.
The throttle is a Domino 0-5k, which I highly recommend. It feels like a really nice gas throttle, and the housing and mounting points are super solid. I had read here about some bad experiences with the Magura one so I got spendy with that part.
I wired up a SW180 contact to the key switch and the output from the 12v converter to a panel mounted switch. I also got a locking 400a 100v rated emergency disconnect switch. It has a couple little loops so you can padlock it closed, which is a nice touch. I had nothing in the gas tank so far since I crammed the contact and converter into the old airbox, so I cut out the gas filler neck on the tank and bolted in my disconnect there. That way it sits right in front of me while I ride and I can break it one handed. I have it connected to 3/0 welding cable and running the ground from the battery packs. If it disconnects it cuts the ground for everything, including 12v. It looks pretty cool too... The rest of the power and ground are connected to the controller and back to the battery packs using fine strand 3/0 cable. The batteries output into 8awg cable which I put Anderson disconnects on, before both (-) and (+) leads are joined at 250amp fuses which are joined into 3/0 cable.
Thats pretty much the whole build... Let me know if you have any questions, and thanks for all the help I got from people who post here. Its an awesome resource!
Bike: 1993 Honda XR600R
Motor: Motenergy ME0709
Controller: ALLTRAX AXE-7234
Battery: 2 x Ping Battery 60v 20ah in parallel
Drive: 14t drive sprocket, 72t rear, #40 chain
I bought the bike in Lancaster PA for $750 from a super nice seller. It ran but had a pretty serious rod knock and was weeping a lot of oil from the head gasket. I thought about just fixing it to run as a gas bike but the internals for the head were pretty hard to find, so I just decided I'd give it a shot to put in an all electric drivetrain.
I had several design changes over the months of working on it but I choose a 60v system, with at least 40ah from the beginning. I am pretty price restricted and I wanted a reasonably cheap motor that I didn't have to worry too much about being out in the elements. So I went with a Motenergy ME0709 72v max motor. I started out wanting to put LiFePO4 prismatics in custom boxes bolted to the main frame. Doing that would have been very tough and resulted in a really ugly profile since the front tube of the frame is just a single post. It also would have required putting the motor very low to try and fit in the batts, meaning that the line from the drive sprocket to the rear axle would have been really tough to make without two extra free cogs, which I did not want to have to fabricate mountings for.
After tearing out all the internal combustion parts, I decided the only good way to fit the batteries onto the bike was by giving it an adventure bike look and putting the lithium into panniers on the back. I looked into getting those aluminum panniers you see on BMWs but the prices were absolutely insane. So I read some forum posts on adventure bike sites and learned how to make a locking system for some pelican cases.
The prismatics I had in mind would have required comically large cases, which I was not down with, so I looked into wiring up LiPoly pouches. This build was my absolute first experience with any kind of electrical wiring of anything. In previous moto or car work, I had always paid someone else to do the wiring, so the thought of having to wire up a BMS for that many pouches in parallel and series was pretty daunting, and also very expensive. Through the electric bike part of this forum, I learned about Ping Battery out of China, and the reviews were very good, so I wrote to him and asked if I could get two 60v 20ah packs of LiPoly with his integral BMS, and then tie them in parallel. He was super helpful and hooked me up with the lithium in no time. Each one of his 60v 20ah batteries could easily fit in Pelican 1450 cases, and could even accommodate the chargers too if I felt like rigging up a way to exhaust the hot air from those boxes. I attached the lock mechanism from u-bolt bike locks to both of them and then used bolts to secure to the u-portion of the locks onto the rear of the moto frame. The result is that I can take the batteries and carry them like two(very heavy) suitcases when I park the bike, and then reattach them and lock them to the frame in under 30secs.
After getting the batteries figured out, I decided to put on a new 72 tooth rear sprocket since the stock one was very worn, and I wanted to add some gearing to be able to put that electric torque down to the dirt/pavement. While I had the rear wheel off, I looked at the rear brake, which had a lot of oxidation on the piston, so I pulled it apart and rebuilt it. As all that came apart I got worried about the placement of the rear brake pedal and the master cylinder since I thought that they were also going to interfere with where I wanted to put the motor. I took the brake out and went ahead and bought a 72" stainless brake line and hooked it to a left hand hydraulic clutch I bought on ebay. That way now the rear brake is plumbed to a left hand brake on the handlebars which makes braking feel more similar to a mountain bike and also improves the appearance of the bike since it doesn't look like its missing the clutch anymore.
I had a machinist make up a motor mount to attach to the face of the ME0709, and then to two of the bolt points on the frame. I bought a piece of 1/2" 6061 to make the mount and it is strong and stiff enough that I thought doing anything but that one face mount would be overkill. It is holding up very well as is, so I think that was the right decision. I did have to add a couple roller guides and a custom made kind of chain tensioner to try and keep the chain away from the swingarm as much as possible. The difference in diameter between the 14t drive sprocket and 72 rear was just too much, no matter how close to linear I got the chain to pull with my motor mount.
The motor controller is a AXE 7234 which I painted Honda red. I don't have any machine tools in my basement or even a bandsaw so I ended up cutting the parts for the controller mount from 1/8" aluminum using a hacksaw and finishing with a hand file. The mount bolts to the top tube of the frame and hangs the controller out in the air very well.
I replaced all the 12v electrics with new wiring and low load LED lights. I bought a cheap 60-12v converter on Amazon and it was only rated to a 10amp output so I didn't want it to flicker on me if all the lights were on.
The throttle is a Domino 0-5k, which I highly recommend. It feels like a really nice gas throttle, and the housing and mounting points are super solid. I had read here about some bad experiences with the Magura one so I got spendy with that part.
I wired up a SW180 contact to the key switch and the output from the 12v converter to a panel mounted switch. I also got a locking 400a 100v rated emergency disconnect switch. It has a couple little loops so you can padlock it closed, which is a nice touch. I had nothing in the gas tank so far since I crammed the contact and converter into the old airbox, so I cut out the gas filler neck on the tank and bolted in my disconnect there. That way it sits right in front of me while I ride and I can break it one handed. I have it connected to 3/0 welding cable and running the ground from the battery packs. If it disconnects it cuts the ground for everything, including 12v. It looks pretty cool too... The rest of the power and ground are connected to the controller and back to the battery packs using fine strand 3/0 cable. The batteries output into 8awg cable which I put Anderson disconnects on, before both (-) and (+) leads are joined at 250amp fuses which are joined into 3/0 cable.
Thats pretty much the whole build... Let me know if you have any questions, and thanks for all the help I got from people who post here. Its an awesome resource!
Bike: 1993 Honda XR600R
Motor: Motenergy ME0709
Controller: ALLTRAX AXE-7234
Battery: 2 x Ping Battery 60v 20ah in parallel
Drive: 14t drive sprocket, 72t rear, #40 chain
