im choosing series so that the voltage stays the same instead of wiring in "parallel" which will double the voltage and fry the motors.
I think you meant parallel instead of series.
The following diagram should help to clarify the difference between series and parallel configurations:
Wiring two
identical batteries in
series will double the voltage but will still have the same capacity
(Ah).
Wiring two
identical batteries in
parallel will double the capacity
(Ah) but will still have the same voltage.
You can connect identical voltage packs of different capacity in parallel, but only if they are the exact same voltage and chemistry. So it's not a good idea to put a 36V LiFePO
4 pack in parallel with a 36V Li
4Mn
2 pack because their actual voltages will be slightly different.
Before you connect battery packs in parallel, you must make sure that they are both charged to the same voltage.
As your bike has different motors and separate throttles, it might be better to simply connect one battery to each motor. This way, if one battery goes flat, the other one can still be used to get you home.
Alan