Sunday, August 29, 2010

E-transmission part 2 testing begins

We got the bike back on the road and i did the first test ride and the results are interesting.
The goals of this experiment were two fold
  1. The main goal was to better match the C rate of the batteries to the motor, reducing locked rotor amps. Essentially impedance matching the motor to the batteries, without question this goal was achieved. What this means is from a standstill to about 30 MPH half the current is needed when in 604 mode to achieve the same torque as a 602 two turn motor. Then at 30 MPH I drop the throttle flip a switch and continue in 602 mode. The controller has no problems with the switch from four turn to two turn and back again. 
  2. The second goal was more of a hopeful goal being even better performance, this  is yet to be obtained. Electric motors are interesting animals and very different than there ICE counterparts. While a ICE engine build power with RPM electric engines have most of their torque at the low end of the RPM range. I was Reving out the 604 mode before switching to the 602 mode and from 20 MPH to 30 the performance dropped as the motor became voltage starved. To really test performance I should have switch out of the 604 into the 602 much earlier. To do this fast enough to realize a performance benefit shifting really has to be fast and probably automatic. I believe there is performance to be had as long as no time is wasted shifting. With 100 volts of battery the max top speed in four turn mode is 35 MPH
Conclusion:
Actively switching from a four turn motor to a two turn motor works and results in a reduced starting current off the line. An active impedance matched motor reduces the peak current demand on the batteries allowing a peak of 2.5C instead of 5C for the same performance one would get with the standard 602 two turn motor. Also there is less controller switching and less high order harmonics wasting heat in the motor. Performance gains have yet to be measured.

Friday, August 27, 2010

E-transmission part 2 work continues

Working on the relays to switch between two and four turn
Remember this is a test development mule so don't expect to see neat wiring, functional is the best you get here.

Monday, August 23, 2010

E-transmission part 2

Well I spent the weekend recofiguring the winding for a 602 motor and except for a few snags and false starts its finished. Not installed in a bike yet but running in the test stand and I can configure the winding now as a 2 turn or 4 turn winding, on to the electronic side of doing the switch on the fly. We also added more slots in the axle for the additional wires.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

E-transmission

I spent the day yesterday rewiring a 602 motor a two turn motor into a 4 turn motor. I pulled out enough of the winding so I can switch on the fly between a four turn and two turn winding. The thinking is, start off the line with the four turn winding then switch to a 2 turn winding for high speed. I expect the switch point to be around 30 MPH. This should increase the off the line torque and improve the low end efficiency of the motor. This is pure R&D, no product offering is being considered as this time.

On a second note we have three GPR-S EMS rollers in my shop. Are they Demo bikes for the 600 series hub motor, For sale as complete bikes, answer, both mostly I want to show the possibilities the 600 series motor offers. It will increase the battery capacity of the GRP-S by 30% without any performance hit matter of fact I expect a performance increase.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Motorcycle Market

The full thread and feedback can be found at
http://www.elmoto.net/content.php?128-Stalled-motorbike-market-looks-to-eco-models-for-kick-start

By Makoto Fukumori on Aug 17, 2010
Published on Yomiuri

With the domestic motorcycle market languishing at about 10 percent of its peak, due mainly to declining interest among young people, the industry is betting that eco-friendly innovations will rejuvenate sales.

The so-called Big Four domestic motorbike manufacturers--Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki--are introducing electric motorcycles in an effort to reinvigorate the market.

Motorcycle sales overseas have been increasing due to growing demand in Asian and other emerging economies.

Read more HERE

 My response to the article

I want to say I love E-Motorcycles Love that there is no engine heat up my ass love the quite and love the low end torque, it's just a amazing new lsenseof riding. But it is still riding a motorcycle and fact means its still a recreational product in the USA.

The motorcycle market is failing just like the boat market, Problem is people see motorcycles as a recreational item and not transportation in the USA. Electric motorcycle aren't going to change that thinking.
A good economy will help but only as far as people are buying recreational items. Changing the mindset of people to think of motorcycles as transportation, with the way people drive cars around here, well good luck. Plus motorcycles really aren't for most, I ride one 20 to 40 miles every day and I'll be the first to say it's not for most people, at least not riding the bike as everyday transportation. The focus and skills needed to stay alive on a bike on a every day basis just is not part of the skill set of most people no matter how much training you give them. A Sunday joy ride a few times a year, which is what most people use there bikes for, sure. Anyway that's my rant on selling E-Motorcycle in the USA. In Europe the picture is better maybe much better.

I want to add the big four may be getting into electric scooters for a reason us motorcyclist don't see. The growth may be in bikes that keep it slow and safe to get a new market segment riding, the scared and frightened.

Elmoto.net

Those who follow electric motorcycle at one time or another have found the forum Elmoto.net. The other day it crashed and had no useful backup. So if I write something I think is important there, I repeat it here on the blog, So much got lost its beyond sad, its not just the information, its the history of how thing evolved its the flow of information and exchange of ideas that was lost, that forum had character and that is something that happens over time. Now time is starting anew. 

Monday, August 16, 2010

Why Raw feed

This is where those who want to know about EnerTrac, and what the company is thinking can come. Also you can read some unpolished from the hip talk about the EV world.

It's the place to learn what we are working without the marketing fanfare, just plain talk
Who are we anyway start at http://www.enertrac.net%20/

I'll start with what we are working on
here is the scoop A motorcycle hub motor with the RPM/volt of a 602 (10 Rpm/Volt) with the torque of the 603. All this is meaningless if you never rode the EnerTrac Motors but for those who have this is number one on the wish list and early next year the wish will come true.