1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Help FZR250 conversion to electric

Discussion in 'Yamaha 250cc In-Line 4's' started by soyachips, Jan 4, 2019.

  1. soyachips

    soyachips Active Member

    Messages:
    53
    Likes Received:
    31
    Trophy Points:
    188
    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2018
    Location:
    Sydney
    I ran some numbers for different battery options and based range on 60Wh/km. Let me know if anything looks horribly wrong. The cost I’ve used for the Leaf batteries is probably way too low as I can’t even find any in Australia!

    file.php?id=1141.jpg
     
  2. soyachips

    soyachips Active Member

    Messages:
    53
    Likes Received:
    31
    Trophy Points:
    188
    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2018
    Location:
    Sydney
    Also the motor arrived today and nervously checked to make sure the custom axle fits into the swingarm and thankfully it does!

    Next steps are to install the brake and work out an adapter plate to attach the bike’s original brake rotor to the motor. Also need to make up some blocks to hold the axle in the swingarm and some kind of bracket to hold all of this so I can do some bench testing.

    file.php?id=1139.jpg

    file.php?id=1138.jpg
     
    • Like Like x 1
  3. soyachips

    soyachips Active Member

    Messages:
    53
    Likes Received:
    31
    Trophy Points:
    188
    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2018
    Location:
    Sydney
    Received the bike last week and started removing the ICE related bits that I won't be needing. One thing that I didn't expect to find was the coolant runs through the frame of the bike.

    file.php?id=1221.jpg

    file.php?id=1224.jpg

    file.php?id=1223.jpg

    file.php?id=1222.jpg
     
  4. risky

    risky risky

    Messages:
    4,555
    Likes Received:
    1,177
    Trophy Points:
    923
    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2012
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    risky by name AND actions
    Location:
    newcastle,australia
    My Bike:
    honda ca77, megelli x2,fzr yamaha x 5 ,maxim,cb750.cb600 hornet,zxr250,marusho magnum electra.
    if you wish to sell the engine would be interested in buying.
     
  5. risky

    risky risky

    Messages:
    4,555
    Likes Received:
    1,177
    Trophy Points:
    923
    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2012
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    risky by name AND actions
    Location:
    newcastle,australia
    My Bike:
    honda ca77, megelli x2,fzr yamaha x 5 ,maxim,cb750.cb600 hornet,zxr250,marusho magnum electra.
    water anywhere tends to promote rust.imo
     
  6. soyachips

    soyachips Active Member

    Messages:
    53
    Likes Received:
    31
    Trophy Points:
    188
    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2018
    Location:
    Sydney
    I’m definitely interested in selling the engine but I was planning on holding onto it until I finish the project. Do you need one straight away or can wait?
     
  7. risky

    risky risky

    Messages:
    4,555
    Likes Received:
    1,177
    Trophy Points:
    923
    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2012
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    risky by name AND actions
    Location:
    newcastle,australia
    My Bike:
    honda ca77, megelli x2,fzr yamaha x 5 ,maxim,cb750.cb600 hornet,zxr250,marusho magnum electra.
    can wait as many projects on the go, will be out of way for next 5 weeks anyway so no urgency. blew last motor at gunnedah drags in april last year.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  8. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

    Messages:
    6,397
    Likes Received:
    4,785
    Trophy Points:
    1,148
    Joined:
    May 4, 2013
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Tamworth, NSW
    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    Better to put some oil in the frame (after a good flush and drying) than coolant.
     
  9. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

    Messages:
    3,979
    Likes Received:
    2,207
    Trophy Points:
    923
    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2013
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Gardener
    Location:
    Tasmania
    Home Page:
    My Bike:
    Spada, VT250F & ZX2R
    Shame you can't screw the axles into the blocks, counter screw each end to stop the axle turning when the blocks are mounted in the swingarm. Your swingarm position/geometry might also affect ride and handling during acceleration and braking e.g. if the rear of the bike rises during acceleration and drops under braking (I'm assuming you're running a rear shock).
     
  10. soyachips

    soyachips Active Member

    Messages:
    53
    Likes Received:
    31
    Trophy Points:
    188
    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2018
    Location:
    Sydney
    I guess I could have screwed the axles into the blocks but I’m not sure that would be strong enough to resist the amount of torque during acceleration and regenerative braking. Also could the axle get locked in the thread by getting screwed in too tight? At the moment the axle has flat areas that go into slots in the blocks to stop them from spinning.

    Regarding swingarm position/geometry, I’m using the original swingarm and suspension, and the axle will be in the same position as it was before. Can you see any issues doing this given it will now be a hub motor?
     
  11. soyachips

    soyachips Active Member

    Messages:
    53
    Likes Received:
    31
    Trophy Points:
    188
    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2018
    Location:
    Sydney
    In my excitement to get started, I completely forgot to weigh the front and back to get the weight distribution of the original bike before taking it apart redface.png

    So after putting everything except the seat and fairings back on and picking up a couple of bathroom scales from Bunnings, I now have the numbers.

    Front: 69.0 kg
    Rear: 71.4 kg

    file.php?id=1227.jpg
     
    • Dirty Wheel Candidate Dirty Wheel Candidate x 1
  12. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

    Messages:
    6,397
    Likes Received:
    4,785
    Trophy Points:
    1,148
    Joined:
    May 4, 2013
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Tamworth, NSW
    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    No. The hub motor may be a bit heavier than the FZR wheel, but you would have to be a very good rider to notice much difference.
     
  13. soyachips

    soyachips Active Member

    Messages:
    53
    Likes Received:
    31
    Trophy Points:
    188
    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2018
    Location:
    Sydney
    Hahahaha well there no chance of that at this stage ... maybe one day when I’ve got a few more kms under my belt :thumb_ups:

    I’ll weigh the rear wheel when I take it off to see what the difference is as the hub motor is quite heavy at 20kgs
     
  14. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

    Messages:
    4,289
    Likes Received:
    2,504
    Trophy Points:
    918
    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2016
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Albury 2641
    My Bike:
    1987 Yamaha SRX250, Honda 1974 SL125 K1, 2022 Triumph Tiger Sport 660
    At 20kgs it will have an effect on the rear suspension as it is all unsprung weight... and generally people are trying to remove unsprung weight.
    You may find you need to change the rear shock to enable better control of bump and rebound settings but... see how it all goes first.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  15. soyachips

    soyachips Active Member

    Messages:
    53
    Likes Received:
    31
    Trophy Points:
    188
    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2018
    Location:
    Sydney
    Yup agreed. In deciding whether to use a motor mounted in the frame and using a chain vs a hub motor I knew that was one of the downsides. Like you said I’ll get it all going first then see if I need to adjust/change anything.

    Is there a well known rear shock conversion for this bike?
     
  16. GreyImport

    GreyImport Administrator Staff Member The Chief Contributing Member

    Messages:
    10,913
    Likes Received:
    6,708
    Trophy Points:
    1,168
    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2012
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Between a Rock and a Hard Place
    Location:
    North by NW NSW Oztralia - Tamworth
    My Bike:
    *Kawasaki ZXR250C *Yamaha FZR250R 3LN1 *Yamaha FZR400 *Triumph Bonneville 750 T140V *Triumph Daytona 675 *Triumph Tiger 800XC
  17. soyachips

    soyachips Active Member

    Messages:
    53
    Likes Received:
    31
    Trophy Points:
    188
    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2018
    Location:
    Sydney
    • Like Like x 1
  18. soyachips

    soyachips Active Member

    Messages:
    53
    Likes Received:
    31
    Trophy Points:
    188
    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2018
    Location:
    Sydney
    Made some more progress removing the engine from the frame. The engine weighs 40kg.

    file.php?id=1259.jpg
    file.php?id=1261.jpg
    file.php?id=1262.jpg
     
  19. soyachips

    soyachips Active Member

    Messages:
    53
    Likes Received:
    31
    Trophy Points:
    188
    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2018
    Location:
    Sydney
    Also put together a test battery pack using 24 x 15ah Headway cells to do some bench testing.

    file.php?id=1267.jpg
    file.php?id=1264.jpg
    file.php?id=1265.jpg
     
  20. soyachips

    soyachips Active Member

    Messages:
    53
    Likes Received:
    31
    Trophy Points:
    188
    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2018
    Location:
    Sydney
    I struggled trying to get the controller to do the angle identification setup and control the motor but got there in the end. I did swap the positions of the hall sensor A and C wires in the connector so they matched the controller connector side. That didn't seem to fix it straight away but after running the setup step and few more times it eventually worked. Whenever the angle identification setup finishes it puts out a buzzer alarm code 3,2 which is for internal reset which isn't very intuitive. It might have been working a bit earlier as I didn't test the throttle every time it finished, thinking it hadn't worked because of the alarm!

     

Share This Page