Latest photos of Piaggio Boxer EV

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This is the post-flameout, rebuilt Piaggio Boxer EV. I changed the battery carrier from a top-mount system to saddle bags. This lowers the center of gravity and makes it easier to handle. I'm going to replace the seat with something more classic looking.

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I welded the saddlebag carriers myself from steel tubing with my MIG welder.

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The Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) is sitting on top. It's the replacement HV-110 that I received from Castle Creations with additional capacitors soldered in parallel on the input lines.

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It's sitting in a Lexan enclosure that I bodged together. Unlike the old metal enclosure with a single temperature controlled fan, the new enclosure uses two fixed speed fans that pull the air across the ESC and the voltage converters (sitting below). They also are assisted by draft air when the vehicle is at speed.

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This photo was taken a few minutes after a short run, the temp of the caps is 34 centigrade which is nominal. Anything less than 60 centigrade I think will be ok. The caps are rated at 85C.

Although the angle of the photo above makes it look like the ESC could short out on the voltage converters, it's actually held a centimeter or so above and everything is well insulated.

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The rear fan actually has red LEDs embedded in it, so at night it serves as a eye-level brake light.


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This is my Cycle-Analyst. Although now that I know what PICs can do, I realize it's just a simple PIC + display and I could most probably bodge together my own....

With my three fans going (two for ESC; one for motor) and the headlight on, my power usage at rest is 21 watts. It's the motor cooling fan that takes up the most, trying to keep the motor at a reasonable temperature.

Top speed is still around 30 kph (20 mph) which is fine for this type of vehicle. The old Italian drum brakes are definitely not designed for highway speeds.

Mileage is around 30 watt-hours per kilometer. Power draw is around 600-800 watts at cruising speed (full throttle; 30 kph). Peak power is around 2000-2500 watts when accelerating, especially from zero.

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This page contains a single entry by Karen Nakamura published on August 24, 2009 8:36 AM.

PICAXE programming was the previous entry in this blog.

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