Re: What size motor and battery do you recommend?

[pacrat]

What size motor and battery do you recommend?

I'm ready to take the green route, as I'm tired of repairing my 80cc gas kit, and having to buy new footwear each time the engine fails and spits oil on them!
I'm looking for suggestions from any of the "bigger" riders out there, as I'm around 250 pounds, and want to make sure that the motor and battery are sufficient for what I want.  I won't be doing much hill riding, there is a slight dip and then rise on the way home, nothing major... The ride is only 8kms each way, and I would be happy with speeds of around 30-40km/h.
I'm worried that a 500w won't have enough power to get my girth going to the speeds I want, and I'm unsure if a 36v battery would be enough as well. 
Right now I'm leaning towards 1000w 48v10ah, but if that's too much, I'd appreciate some input from those with more experience than I do.  I'm hoping to pull the trigger by this weekend, as the weather has been AMAZING in Toronto so far, and I'm dying to get back to riding the bike to work.
Thanks in advance.

[Leslie]

That 48v 10ah packs is about all you will need.  You may slow a little on the upside of your dip because youre a big dude..  The Magic Pie is a good choice and has plenty of power and a good hub will out live any ICE. 

Wots the terrain like?  Bumpy, smooth?

[GM Canada]

My weight and ride makes you sound like a "light weight".

An MP3 with a 48 volt battery wil serve you well. My rolling weight with me, the bike and the trailor is close to 500 pounds. My bike is a dual drive MP3 but I recently swapped the MP3 front wheel back to unmotorized for some test rides to work. The bike performed well and I rode 10 miles uphill to work on one 48v10ah battery. Considering the the distance you travel is half that and resonably flat I would think one 48v10ah battery would be sufficient for round trips with power to spare. I have put the MP3 back on the front again as I did miss the extra power.

Gary

[Leslie]

Wow 500 lbs.  Thats crazy. 


I'm 85kgs..  But I stick my wife in the back of a trailer occasionally and she is only 55kgs, with accesories, along with bike motor and pack 45kgs  and trailer 10kgs,  and maybe Ill cary 10kgs on my backpack  and another 10kgs ontop in the trailer with some shopping. =205 kgs * 2.2 = 450lbs

And I only do this a couple of times a month..   I can fully understand how you like the dual MP Gary..

How much do you weigh Gary?  You need your regen, I doubt a normal bike with normal brakes could slow you down on a decent hill safely.

This is something out friend Pacrat may appriciate over the gas engine.  Regenerative braking with standard brakes is much better with the weight.

[pacrat]

I will be mostly sticking to side streets, all paved, with only a slight increase on the ride home. I like the pics (and the kind comments about my weight)!
Gary, I noticed you're a dealer, and it appears that you're in the gta? Do you guys recommend buying local (Toronto) or online? I've got the bug, and some tax money back so I would like to get up and running ASAP...
Please feel free to suggest anything that you think I should add (I like the idea of regen braking, not just for battery power, but also to stop)
Thanks again for taking the time to guide me and share your knowledge.

[GM Canada]

It may seem a little self serving but I would definatly recomend buying from my website. My reputation is rock solid and I am local to you. Feel free to ask anyone their experience dealIng with Golden Motor Canada.

Gary

[Leslie]

It may seem a little self serving but I would definatly recomend buying from my website. My reputation is rock solid and I am local to you. Feel free to ask anyone their experience dealIng with Golden Motor Canada.

Gary

I second that.  And I'm not a hired shill.  And Patcrat will save us a lot of trouble here in the long run doing just that.

[pacrat]

It may seem a little self serving but I would definatly recomend buying from my website. My reputation is rock solid and I am local to you. Feel free to ask anyone their experience dealIng with Golden Motor Canada.

Gary

I've done a bit of creeping, and it appears as though you run a good business Gary!  If you are local to me, can I order online, and pick it up to save on shipping?
If I should direct these questions in PM or by calling you, just let me know...
Also, can you suggest anything to make my riding more safe, and reliable? I've seen some people complaining about twist throttles, and some suggest that the thumb is better?  I don't really want to be repairing the bike often (this gas engine kit had me rebuild almost the entire bike, from MAKING a head gasket, to drilling out snapped motor mounts!) so if you can suggest how to make sure my bike is on the road as much as possible!

I will be riding it as long as I can, if we have another mild winter, I may try to ride in when the roads are clear (unless I shouldn't be doing this due to salt, cold on the battery, etc...)  I'm really excited to make my buy, and get back to riding!

[GM Canada]

There are no pickups, everything ships within 24 hours. Any further questions please contact me directly.

garysalo@goldenmotor.ca

I always prefer the thumb throttle. I have had a few incidents with the twist. Like..

- Drop the bike. Pick it up and twist by mistake and drop it worse then the first time.
- Someone admiring your bike twists it thinking the bike is off and zoom there it goes off the stand.
- other things I can't think of now...

As for winter riding this year was fantastic. I think I rode 2-5 days a week all winter execpt for 2 weeks when it was too cold and wet.

Gary

[Leslie]

Yes the full twist throttle is not safe. 

You can turn the full twist throttle into a half hand twist throttle.  Which I think is safer again than a thumb throttle.  But thumb throttle are just fine.

I use both right half hand twist throttle and a left thumb throttle.  This allows you to use either hand to accelerate.  Gives you the advantage of being able to indicate with either hand.

[pacrat]

I like the sound of your setup Les! Things like these is what I hope you experienced riders can suggest me to do, as I hated the single throttle limiting my signal arm... Gary, is it not recommended to ride in the rain/snow other than the increased danger? Ie : rain/snow/salt will damage my equipment?

[GM Canada]

The kits and batteries do seem to tolerate the bad weather quite well. Most likely the things that will damage you product is the things people don't think about. Like charging your batteries after a cold winter ride rather then waiting for them to warm up inside the house. Then there is the evil condensation inside the motor when you ride in the winter and then bring the bike inside where is warm. With summer riding neither of these things come into play.

But alas, both of these I am guilty of on a daily basis.
Gary
 

[Leslie]

I like the sound of your setup Les! Things like these is what I hope you experienced riders can suggest me to do, as I hated the single throttle limiting my signal arm... Gary, is it not recommended to ride in the rain/snow other than the increased danger? Ie : rain/snow/salt will damage my equipment?

When you get the kit you prolly get a fuil hand throttle.  And of cause you naturally use the thumb throttle.  Then you have a perfectly good throttle laying around that may be not so safe.  Why not convert it and make use of it.  The GM twist throttles are very well made.

The family sat and witched epic failz on Youtube, and we saw so many people walking a running motor bike and get hung up on throttle, and the bike goes insane..  The natural human reaction is to hold on, it is a fear reaction, when you really gotta let go of the damned thing. 

They should employ half hand throttles for motor bikes too.

[Leslie]

The kits and batteries do seem to tolerate the bad weather quite well. Most likely the things that will damage you product is the things people don't think about. Like charging your batteries after a cold winter ride rather then waiting for them to warm up inside the house. Then there is the evil condensation inside the motor when you ride in the winter and then bring the bike inside where is warm. With summer riding neither of these things come into play.

But alas, both of these I am guilty of on a daily basis.
Gary

Maybe leave bike in cold carport, remove pack and charge.  The cold air shouldnt be moist..  My bet it would be the other way.  Warm humid air from inside cooling when you go for the ride and condensing on the hub walls..  Like your car wind screen in winter or isndie a warm camping tent when it freezing outside. It is the moisture in the car or tent from breathing and perspiration from our body in warm clothes escaping into the interior hiting against the cold window that creates condensation. 

The best solution is always cold airconditioner set  to cold to demist the screen and is much better than a heating demister. Though, a heating demister never makes the problem worse..

Try it.  When your car windows are misty, turn on your Aircondioner to cold and watch the all windows demist in the car within a minute..

[Leslie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_M2RT_kYVY

Once youre hung up and your arms are pulling hard on the throttle, Either let go or SUFFER.

People cant seem to manage to escape that instinct to hold on for all life, always until it is too late.


An Interesting thing I saw in a documentary. Our resisdent Magic chimp may love this one.

The african bushmen rely upon this grab reaction in Monkeys to find water. 

The bushman hollows a hole in a tree enough for a Monkey to put it's hand in. Puts some nuts into the hole. Then hides nearby and Waits for an inquisitive Monkey to put it's hand into to get the nuts, the Monkey grabs nuts and the bushman pounces.  The Monkey cant remove its hand because its reaction is to clench its fists round the nuts and it's fist is too large to get out the hole.

The busman then leashes the Monkey and backs off.  The Monkey settles a little and removes its hand, and the Bushman feeds it rock salt, which the Monkey eats like candy and gets really thirsty. Then the bushman waits a while, and releases the Monkey. The Monkey runs for dear life to the nearest water hole, and the bushman follows the Monkey to discover a huge underground water reservoir network in some caves.