With the mass movement toward electrification and renewable technologies, the scope of innovation of electrification has gone beyond the automotive industry into areas such as electric motorcycle applications. This paper provides a discussion of the methodology and complexities of converting an internal combustion motorcycle to an electric motorcycle. In developing this methodology, performance goals including, speed limits, range, weight, charge times, as well as riding styles will be examined and discussed.
Based on the goals of this paper, parts capable of reaching the performance targets are selected accordingly. Documentation of the build process will be presented along with the constraints, pitfalls, and difficulties associated with the process of the project. The step-by-step process that is developed can be used as a guideline for future build and should be used as necessary. During the development and conversion process, the model of the electric motorcycle was developed in Simulink to size the battery pack and the electric motor. This model was also the focus of different design experiments to choose the proper components and subsystems to minimize the development cycle time.
The goal of this paper is also to provide guidelines of the conversion process for the future industry as well as the academic arena.