Want to Build and Electric Bike?
I’ve often wondered how hard it would be to convert an internal combustion engine motorcycle over to an electric bike. Yamaha wants to make it easier and has now showcased some electric crate motors.
The video went up on the company’s YouTube channel and shows some killer looking electric engines. It’s obvious that the intended use is in bikes because they’re featured heavily in the video and the engineers say so. The electric motors come in various sizes and that seems to indicate that Yamaha wants me to build multiple machines, which I would absolutely love to do.
There are two different sizes. There’s a 35 kW motor designed for small mobility applications and motorcycles. Then there’s a 150 kW motor, which was designed for electric cars and other car-sized projects (I’m thinking it would make for a killer off-road Go-Kart motor).
Yamaha talks about the process and design specifics, noting the attention that was paid to making sure the motors were compact. The sound and power delivery are also discussed. The idea is to create a motor with distinct characteristics. Yamaha calls these emotional EV motors. You can check out the video below.
