Electric powered Honda FL350 (Odyssey)

[Bentley]

Hi, I am new here, and really could use some help, or good ideas for my project. I have a 1985 Honda FL350 (one seater ATV), and would like to do an electric conversion. I have no idea where to start, as far as the right size (DC) motor, how many, and what type of batteries to use (marine, car, Ni-cad, lithium), what size/type of controller to use, etc. My Odyssey weighs 605 pounds (from the factory,with the two stroke engine). Once again, any and all help, and guidance would greatly be appreciated. After reviewing my options, I am going to go with a four stroke engine. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what engine to use, that will fit without too much fabrication? I would need something that would run on pump gas, not be too loud, and have a top speed of around 60 mph. Any help would me much appreciated. Thank you

 

[souperman000]

Welcome to the forum!

Why would you want to make it an electric kart?

Bighead is needed here...

 

[B.M.800]

Oh yeah, bighead can tell you just about everything you need to know about the oddy.
Thats a pretty nice looking one too!

I to would like to know why you would want to convert to electric? I would imagine it would weigh in more with all the batteries... I would guess( as uneducated as it may be) you would be adding a good 200lbs to it. The motor, batteries and charger you would need would probably be alot of $$$$.

 

[Bentley]

The two stroke engine is old, tired, and really loud. I thought about doing a Yamaha phazer four stroke engine conversion, but there is hardly anything available on that swap. Then I see people who have electric go karts, and figured I would look into that also. My Odyssey is actually legally titled for street use too.....I just haven't added the lights, signals, and horn to it yet. That way, I can just ride it to the nearest trails, and dirt roads. It is however, way too loud for any street (not to mention the smoke) with the two stroke engine. Thanks for the compliment on it too.

 

[B.M.800]

Have you tried some sort of muffler in it?

 

[Bentley]

Yes, and where the noise (and power) come from on two strokes is actually the expansion chamber (pipe). If I modified that at all, I would lose all of the high end power the two stroke engine makes. I am an A.S.E. certified mechanic, and I have owned/built many cars and dirt bikes from the ground up. Two strokes make all of their power at high RPMs through needed back pressure in the expansion chamber....hence the noise. I do not, however, have much knowledge on electricvehicle set ups, other than knowing that all of the power, and torque curves are the same from from 0-max RPMs. I figure that I would need at least a 48 volt set up (maybe 72 volts) to achieve a decent watt to HP ratio, and require between 4 to 6 batteries. Luckily, I only weigh 130lbs, and there aren't many hills here in Florida.

 

[B man]

Yes, and where the noise (and power) come from on two strokes is actually the expansion chamber (pipe). If I modified that at all, I would lose all of the high end power the two stroke engine makes. I am an A.S.E. certified mechanic, and I have owned/built many cars and dirt bikes from the ground up. Two strokes make all of their power at high RPMs through needed back pressure in the expansion chamber....hence the noise. I do not, however, have much knowledge on electricvehicle set ups, other than knowing that all of the power, and torque curves are the same from from 0-max RPMs. I figure that I would need at least a 48 volt set up (maybe 72 volts) to achieve a decent watt to HP ratio, and require between 4 to 6 batteries. Luckily, I only weigh 130lbs, and there aren't many hills here in Florida.

four all the money you would put into an electrical setup you could easily adapt a 4-stroke.

 

[Badot]

If you want to keep it streetable and don't want to spend enough that you could buy a beater car instead, I'd go with a gas engine.

Look at other electric vehicles on the market. Look at their specs (max speed, acceleration, runtime/distance, etc) and then at the price. Then realize these vehicles are built on a highly efficient production line with all parts specifically tailored to work well and efficiently together, with any purchased parts and materials priced at bulk.

And in anything but a short range commuter vehicle... especially for something you're taking on the trails, you need to consider what happens if you run out of juice. You can either carry a gas can or push a 500 lb buggy. Which of your friends can bring you a gas can, and which can bring you a 48 volt battery charge? And what happens if you want to get in a little more trail time when you're almost empty?

Just my 2 cents.

Continuing on the design of the vehicle however... Do you understand the relationship between amps, volts, and watts, as well as how batteries are wire in series and parallel, enough to be able to calculate runtime given batteries and motors? If so I would suggest spec'ing out your batteries and motor to see what you'll get as far as performance or range per cost and weight.

 

[Bentley]

After reviewing all of the comments, I probably will just go with a four stroke gas engine. Now, I will just have to figure out what size engine to use, what atv has the best suitable layout for my engine bay area, and what to do for a tranny. My Odyssey only has forward and reverse, and uses a belt/clutch drive system.

 

[landuse]

Here is an important thread to read all about electric engines etc for go karts

http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=9700

 

[Bentley]

Thank you for all of the information.

 

[Jake.B]

Bighead will tell you everything about them. I think you should go with a raptor 700 or yfz 450 but i dont know about your mesurements and fitting. Just a suggestion.

Raptor 700 are fuel injected but they also sell a raptor 660 that is carburated and i have seen the whole quad running and everything go for 2350 so its fairly cheap quad wise, but for just an engine its pricey.

YFZ 450 is the the hi-quality racing quad. They are very pricy though because of how light they are and the consept.

 

[brandongeiger2]

Hey another Floridian! but i would go with a crf450 or really and 4 stroke 450 considering you want the noise down but im sure you know any 350cc two stroke engine will have a 450 four stroke beat i would prefer a 2 stroke. Also to get an engine that will surpass the power the 350 had from the factory i beleive you would probably need a 500cc+ four stroke a sportbike engine cbr600? haha

 

[Bentley]

I actually in ways do prefer two strokes. I love the "hit' they give, however, for my application, I probably need to stick to the four strokes. As you said, I would need at least 500cc or better. I figure, you need twice the cc's on a four stroke to equal the power of the two stroke (although four strokes make more torque, and that is what actually moves the weight). I have been considering a CBR600 engine, although, I am not sure how to set up the drive. Would I leave the 600 engine in top gear (1:1 ratio), and hook it up via the belt/clutch system? Or would I connect it up directly to the Honda tranny using a drive chain, and no Honda belt/clutch? If I did that, I would have to figure out a way to shift the 600cc engine through the gears like a normal motorcycle. I also would still have a reverse (technically six gears worth), with the Honda tranny in the reverse position...LOL

 

[Bentley]

I never even gave the Raptor's a thought. Seems like something like that might work too. I now am just baffled on how to set up the drive, and if I should try to run the Honda tranny. Thanks for the suggestion.