Project: Single Person Electric Vehicle

[PDenbigh]

<nerd>

For my senior thesis at JMU in 2002, I built this:

(click for larger picture)


Hand built box steel frame, drive train built from Mountain bike parts. 48 Volt system, 5hp electric motor. Hand laid carbon fiber body, recumbent seating position. Standard pedals just like a car, etc. Max speed was around 40mph and it was a lot of fun. Problem is, the steering wasn't up to the task and it'd flex or break if I took a high-G turn.

So, I've decided to build version two. Call it project-itus while the XR is gone. I drive a 4.6 V-8 F-150 at 15-18mpg, every day. For 95% of what I do around town, I don't need it. 23 gallon fill-ups get old too. I have always had "a thing for" the environment and I'd love to have an electric vehicle as my daily driver so that's the goal.

This time, however, I'm using real steering parts, real suspension parts, and the rear end from a sport bike. I'd love to hit 60mph and by my calculations it's not too hard. Range is around 10-20 miles depending on driving style (5 miles for me...). It will probably end up looking more like this device made by my heros at MIT last year:


I'm not claiming to be an engineer so a lot of my project is not "built from scratch." I prefer to take preexisting, proven systems and just use them in a different way.

So, when I'm asking for random things, now you know why!

</nerd>