Night Shift Bikes a custom electric motorcycle
24/09/2016.
Night Shift Bikes
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
"Night shift electric motorcycles" are built from the ground up using traditional combustion bikes as a base. The brand have two builds to date: the first being ‘Rebel’, a modified 1987 Honda ‘Rebel 250′ powered by the guts of a golf cart drivetrain.
Image courtesy of Night Shift Bikes.
Image courtesy of Night Shift Bikes.
Image courtesy of Night Shift Bikes.
Image courtesy of Night Shift Bikes.
Image courtesy of Night Shift Bikes.
Image courtesy of Night Shift Bikes.
Image courtesy of Night Shift Bikes.
Image courtesy of Night Shift Bikes.
Image courtesy of Night Shift Bikes.
Image courtesy of Night Shift Bikes.
Image courtesy of Night Shift Bikes.
Image courtesy of Night Shift Bikes.
Image courtesy of Night Shift Bikes.
The ‘Leafy savage’, is far more advanced and is the second ground-up Night Shift Bikes custom build. Its battery pack was taken from a Nissan Leaf electric car, wired here in series for a total of 116 volts. There are four flat-pack Lithium Manganese Oxide (LiMn2O4) batteries in each of the 14 cells on the bike.
The frame is donated from a 2003 Suzuki ‘savage’ was used for the frame, and an Enertrac motor provides a maximum power output of 40 hp. It doesn't need a transmission. You can see the wires that connect to the controller under the right side of the swing arm. When you let off the throttle, the motor switches polarity and recharges the battery through regenerative braking.
Under the seat is a silver Kelly controller rated for 250 amps which manages the electricity flowing between the motor and the battery. When you twist the throttle, the controller adjusts the duration and spacing of pulses being sent to the motor (think ABS pulsing). The harder the twist, the longer the pulses, and the smaller the gaps between them. This keeps the bike from ripping out from under you and creates silky smooth power delivery. It is possible connect a laptop to the controller through the blue data port above the license plate and adjust the power curve for better acceleration or more range. Its currently setup for quick but balanced city riding and a range of ~100 miles.
The frame is donated from a 2003 Suzuki ‘savage’ was used for the frame, and an Enertrac motor provides a maximum power output of 40 hp. It doesn't need a transmission. You can see the wires that connect to the controller under the right side of the swing arm. When you let off the throttle, the motor switches polarity and recharges the battery through regenerative braking.
Under the seat is a silver Kelly controller rated for 250 amps which manages the electricity flowing between the motor and the battery. When you twist the throttle, the controller adjusts the duration and spacing of pulses being sent to the motor (think ABS pulsing). The harder the twist, the longer the pulses, and the smaller the gaps between them. This keeps the bike from ripping out from under you and creates silky smooth power delivery. It is possible connect a laptop to the controller through the blue data port above the license plate and adjust the power curve for better acceleration or more range. Its currently setup for quick but balanced city riding and a range of ~100 miles.
Sitting where the gas tank used to be is an Eltek charger that can provide up to 3000 watts at 220 volts. Right now its wired for 110 and can connect to any household outlet with an extension cord through a charge port below and behind the seat. It will charge in under three hours.
Below the seat on the right side you'll see a motogadget m-unit, a crap-ton of wires and two silver dc-dc converters. These two boxes step down the 100-plus volts of battery pack power down to 24 volts to drive the controller, then down to 12 volts to power the motogadget and the rest of the bike.
The radio-shack toggle switches control the dashboard, the controller, the charger, and kill switches.
The radio-shack toggle switches control the dashboard, the controller, the charger, and kill switches.
