Ok, here's my situation. Through my work, I was able to get get a bunch of free 1-2 HP AC electric motors. They are 1750 RPM, AC, 120V/1ph electric motors to be more specific. Now the situation is we don't need them, so they were either going to go in the trash, or sold on eBay unless someone picked them up. Now they are in my garage collecting dust.
One idea I had for them was to mount them on a Honda Ruckus and convert it to all electric and have myself a cool little electric scooter. Since I have the motor already, I know where I can pick up an older used Ruckus for about $800. All I need next is some batteries, DC to AC converter, a speed controller and some mounts and I figure I can do this for about $1,500 total or less. The swap shouldn't be too hard. The electric motor can go right were the motor fits, the batteries under the seat and the electronics tucked in somewhere, perhaps where the old fuel tank was.
Honda Ruckus:
First question: Is this a cool or stupid idea?
Second question: I see that the Ruckus has a continuous variable transmission (CVT) which this video demonstrates well:
<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Xii1YiJxHFk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
You can see where the shaft of the electric motor could easily just be swapped into the motor drive shaft. However, the 49cc Ruckus motor is 5,000 RPM and since the motor is only a 1750 RPM motor, will the CVT work? I'm assuming it will work but due to the limited RPM of the electric motor, my top speed will be severely reduced. So the question is, what is the best way around this?
Some thoughts:
1) Get a higher RPM motor. This is the easy solution but I'm not sure I want to do this because I don't want to spend more money than I have to. I already have the motor so I'd like to utilize it.
2) Get rid of the CVT and just used a fixed pinion. Since my RPM's is much lower than the Ruckus engine, I'll need to make my motor shaft pinion larger than my wheel drive axle and/or make my drive axle smaller. What would be the best size ratio between motor shaft pinion and wheel drive axle? Will the AC electric motor be able to handle the torque requirements of being directly coupled without a transmission.
3) Is there anyway to get this configuration to work utilizing the CVT? Probably not without the limited top speed. I know you can overspeed electric motors, anybody know by how much?
I think I already have the answers to all of this in my head, but I was hoping for as much input, ideas, alternate views etc. because I want to make sure this is a project worth doing before I spend any money and time doing it.
One idea I had for them was to mount them on a Honda Ruckus and convert it to all electric and have myself a cool little electric scooter. Since I have the motor already, I know where I can pick up an older used Ruckus for about $800. All I need next is some batteries, DC to AC converter, a speed controller and some mounts and I figure I can do this for about $1,500 total or less. The swap shouldn't be too hard. The electric motor can go right were the motor fits, the batteries under the seat and the electronics tucked in somewhere, perhaps where the old fuel tank was.
Honda Ruckus:
First question: Is this a cool or stupid idea?
Second question: I see that the Ruckus has a continuous variable transmission (CVT) which this video demonstrates well:
<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Xii1YiJxHFk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
You can see where the shaft of the electric motor could easily just be swapped into the motor drive shaft. However, the 49cc Ruckus motor is 5,000 RPM and since the motor is only a 1750 RPM motor, will the CVT work? I'm assuming it will work but due to the limited RPM of the electric motor, my top speed will be severely reduced. So the question is, what is the best way around this?
Some thoughts:
1) Get a higher RPM motor. This is the easy solution but I'm not sure I want to do this because I don't want to spend more money than I have to. I already have the motor so I'd like to utilize it.
2) Get rid of the CVT and just used a fixed pinion. Since my RPM's is much lower than the Ruckus engine, I'll need to make my motor shaft pinion larger than my wheel drive axle and/or make my drive axle smaller. What would be the best size ratio between motor shaft pinion and wheel drive axle? Will the AC electric motor be able to handle the torque requirements of being directly coupled without a transmission.
3) Is there anyway to get this configuration to work utilizing the CVT? Probably not without the limited top speed. I know you can overspeed electric motors, anybody know by how much?
I think I already have the answers to all of this in my head, but I was hoping for as much input, ideas, alternate views etc. because I want to make sure this is a project worth doing before I spend any money and time doing it.
