The Controller

So now I had a brushless motor and I had to find the controller to match. There were two options from what I could find matching the motor amperage rating (300A). I'll break down the both of them to the best of my knowledge below. But first a mention of over-rating:

When starting out any project I like to keep my options open, and not commit to anything. This gives me flexibility in the project and in a few years when I might decide to modify what I have. For these reason I chose to go a couple levels higher in my controller specs, from 300A to around 400A. I also thought that this might give me longer lifetime on the controller as I am not pushing it to its limit when I accelerate

The Kelly KLS7250H

From what I understand I'll be getting increased efficiency and no periodic maintenance. I went with a Kelly controller, specifically the Kelly KLS7250H. I over spec'ed the controller in hopes it will last longer and that I will have more flexibility for upgrades or future projects. It can handle a up to 400A, while the motor is only build for 300A peak current for one minute.

Buying Parts Used

It honestly took quite a bit of effort to narrow down what kind of parts to use in my build, there are so many options to consider. Donor Bike Frame Type, Brushless or Brushed Motor, Motor Controller, Battery Type, Charger, To BMS or not to BMS, the list goes on an on. It honestly was quite overwhelming in the beginning, I knew nothing! Benjamin Nelson's Videos on how to build an electric motorcycle once again helped quite a bit. While they are now somewhat dated in regards to Lithium vs. Lead-acid, they provide an excellent road map to get a bearing on what questions you need to know to ask Google.

I ended up at a crossroads of cost, how much do I want to spend on this venture? And the answer to that question, as it has always been in my life, as little as possible, please. So I figured I would start to comb the internet for used parts off of other projects. I ruled out Litium batteries as I wanted to have a little more assurances that those would be in working order and the Donor Bike Frame because I could modify it to accommodate whatever choices I make with everything else. 

Honestly, finding the appropriate classifieds to browse was a task, I'll add the links to all the ones i used at the bottom of this paragraph. Some needed accounts to view the ad, but that's not to bad. I found Craigslist was not a great place to find anything. In the last 5 months, only two useful things came up. However, Maybe this would be different in other cities.

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=9

http://elmoto.net/forumdisplay.php?f=17

http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?board=24.0

https://www.thunderstruck-ev.com/garage-sale-items-ev/?sef_rewrite=1

https://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/classifieds-4.html

After browsing for a couple months, I found a Motenergy ME0201014201 Brushless motor for sale for $300 CAD which is a darn good price! It had a broken fan cover but  I figured I could fix this in post. Best part of it, the seller was in Calgary, AB. So I bought it and it was on its way over the mountains to me.

On Reflection of this, I'm pretty sure that it would have been better to buy all new, unless I knew exactly what I was looking for in parts. Buying off the cuff and cheap isn't a good was to make design decisions. Who Knew? Buying the ME0201014201 forced me to look into purchasing a brushless controller, without really considering why I should.

Anyway, it was time to find the matching components and making more decisions 

In the beginning

The desire to convert/build and Electric motorcycle started in the summer of 2018 while I was Backpacking in Mongolia. I saw a few videos by Benjamin Nelson on Youtube talking about converting his Suzuki to lead acid/brushed electric. The idea of of having an environmental friendly transportation solution, that wasn't as cumbersome as a full size vehicle. I imagined having the ability to park it in an alley garage or back yard when I returned to Vancouver; most parking here in the city is street parking, and I wasn't too keen on running an extension cord out to the curb. On top of those benefits, the smaller footprint means I would use less materials, helping with the cost, sustainability and flexibility of the project. All in all, it also felt like a great excuse to get into the motorcycle world, and what a world it is.

My first practical step was to actually get a Class 6 Motorcycle License when I returned to BC, but sitting in a small in Inn in Tsetserleg (Цэцэрлэг), that seemed like an eons in the future and I wanted to get started now! Unfortunately, we had a 5 day long hike into the bush planned plus two days travel back to UlaanBaatar, the capital, were I might be able to look at sourcing parts or tools. I shouldn't say "unfortunately" though, the hike was a blast.

We were joined by a Danish Couple we had met earlier in the trip in UlaanBataar. We followed a river up into a valley, hike past gers and livestock; the occasional angry dog as well. It's a whole other world over there and the concept of Electric Locomotion seemed pretty far away. I still couldn't take my mind off it though, and couldn't wait to return but didn't want to leave. I was lucky, this is my favourite state to be in.

When we returned to UlaanBaatar, my first thought was to jump on Ebay and start trying to source all the odds and ends for the build as they could get pretty expensive if bought from local parts re-sellers. However, my girlfriend at the time had a great idea and told me that we have one of the greatest "Physical Ebays" of all time, right here in the city: The Black Market (Naran Tuul). Boy oh boy, was I a kid in a candy store, I bet I could have built the whole motorcycle from that market. Unfortunately, I was restrained by the weight allowances on my carry on luggage for the plane ride from Beijing to Vancouver. So I chose the most value for pounds items I could think of at the time, whether or not these were the right choice, it's hard to say. They ended up being quite heavy. I got a 24" C-wrench, a Hydraulic Lug Crimper, Loads of taps, a slick Small Parts Vice. It ended up being 2 pounds under the weight limit. I can only imagine what the Airport agents thought when they saw it roll through the CT Scanner.

We were back though and the hunt was on for the parts.