electrifying a 1977 Honda ATC90

[ATC90]

Hi, I would really appreciate your input on if it makes any sense to transform a Honda ATC90 trike into electric with a BLDC kit. The original motor is dead. The easiest and cheapest option is to fit a gas chinese clone engine, but I consider going electric strongly. Now, this is what I use it for: short trips through woods, mud, sand, all within a small farm, batteries don't need to last all day long, they can be swapped a couple times a day at the house, but I need torque to go uphill sometimes and pull a small wheeled cart with materials, wood, tools, etc, nothing too heavy. A little speed wouldn't hurt, but it isn't that important. Here is a picture of an ATC90 that I've found on the net:

http://www.atvrider.us/Pics2/honda-atc90-78-503278.jpg

It's chain driven and has plenty space for a BLDC, controller and some batteries.
Thanks!

[skylinenitro]

That is a nice ride!  You can think about lead acid batteries and here's my ideas on it:

Cheep!  You can get three sets of lead acid packs for the price of one lithium pack

Easy to charge!  They are much more forgiving to use and abuse, especially when they are used off road, with all the bumps and rabbit holes.  You also don't need special chargers or expensive battery management systems.

Weight!  Normally, we try to get rid of weight as much as possible.  Lighter load means further travel.  But if you are using it around the yard, you'll never be too far from home.  So if the batts die, it's only a short walk     Also, that broken gas engine is a heavy beast.  Once that is removed from the frame, 2/3 of the rides total weight is gone.  That spells trouble when steep hills, the trailer, or mud comes around.  You will need some of that weight back to stabilize the ride, mostly you will need weight on your front wheel to help turn and get out of mud slicks without flipping yourself.

If you wanted to go crazy, instead of one BLDC motor, you should get three Magic Pies.  The only issue there is attaching the pie to that tire.  But that would be baddass to have three independently motored wheels, you'll never get stuck in mud again!  Also that then frees up the entire space where your engine/trans was; now you have even more space for batteries!

What do you think?

[ATC90]

Thanks for your good ideas, Skylinenitro! I gave up waiting for answers many months ago and now I just bumped into yours by googling! Never received an email notification from the forum about your answer...

Now, supposing I could manage to fit the Magic Pies in each wheel somehow, they would have to be syncronized by one controller, right?