MIE.44 – Electric Motorcycle

• Jonathan Arango
• Gabe Griffin
• Alyssa Maldonado
• Shantanu Patil
• Joshua Ting
• Samantha Wojtowicz

For the past century, fossil fuels have been the primary resource used to power almost every method of transportation. Over time, the detrimental effects of fossil fuels on the environment have created a need to develop alternative clean energy sources to power motor vehicles. Many countries, namely Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and the Netherlands, have begun targeting bans on the sale of gas powered vehicles by as early as 2030 and many US states have followed suit with a target date 2035. In wake of these vehicle bans, a substantial number of people will look to affordable alternatives to their gas vehicles. While electric cars have been the main industry focus, many nations in southeast Asia rely heavily on the use of single person motor vehicles, such as motorcycles, for daily transportation. An alternative to solving the problem is using the abundance of preexisting motorcycle frames, to convert a gas motorcycle to be fully electric. An electric powertrain conversion could effectively reduce the cost of an electric motorcycle by a factor of ten when compared to current models offered on the market , all while nearly eliminating the carbon footprint of a popular form of transportation. Therefore, the main objective of this project is to show proof of concept for a modular electric motorcycle conversion kit capable of highway speeds with a range suitable for daily travel. A conversion kit was designed with an 18kW motor (23hp), 3600Wh battery accompanied by a 72V, 200A motor controller and battery management system. A prototype of the battery was fabricated to show feasibility of the design by powering a benchtop test where we were able to control and adjust various parameters throughout the system.