50 State Legal if gas engine is not part of drivetrain right?

[miked826]

This guys alternator outputs no more than 60A, so he can't be using anymore than that to power the motor, or the batteries would eventually die. That would be a maximum of 3600 Watts to the motor in order to hurl that 420 lb. Suzuki Savage bike plus the weight of it's rider to 65 mph??? That's a little less than 5HP to a non-hub motor. LMAO

I'd have to see it to believe it. That's almost impossible for me to wrap my head around, when you're talking about that kind of ultra low HP/Lb ratio that's able to produce that kind of speed.

http://www.evalbum.com/2196

 

[tooljunkie]

i was thinking of a backpack-type fan like the crazy parachute/kite guys.
problem is when i turn around to look behind,it would probably push me over.

but to conceal a generator would be much simpler than trying to conceal a chain drive or friction engine.

 

[miked826]

i was thinking of a backpack-type fan like the crazy parachute/kite guys.
problem is when i turn around to look behind,it would probably push me over.

but to conceal a generator would be much simpler than trying to conceal a chain drive or friction engine.

Why conceal a generator on a bike? There is no law specifically prohibiting it's use. Not even in, Oh Cananda! Let it blow in the breeze for all to see and to keep it cool.

 

[16v4nrbrgr]

The thing is, say a 49cc 4 stroke 2 hp generator makes 1500W peak in an ideal world (neglecting conversion and and other losses), it won't be at 2500 rpm's, generators rev up to meet load conditions (at least if they are an actual generator, not a engine hooked up to a starter or a alternator). You can offset this with batteries and always trickle charge, but then you need about 75% of the battery capacity that you would normally use on a ebike to have enough depth to draw lots of current accelerating or going up hills.

It's gonna be noisy, you can quiet it down a lot but I think it will still sound like a pit bike, which will draw attention if not plated since it technically falls under the ebike category not needing plates.

It's a novel idea, the Chevy volt works fine, to get a solidly working integrated system that handles all the charging properly without overcycling and toasting the batts would be interesting.

 

[miked826]

The thing is, say a 49cc 4 stroke 2 hp generator makes 1500W peak in an ideal world (neglecting conversion and and other losses), it won't be at 2500 rpm's, generators rev up to meet load conditions (at least if they are an actual generator, not a engine hooked up to a starter or a alternator). You can offset this with batteries and always trickle charge, but then you need about 75% of the battery capacity that you would normally use on a ebike to have enough depth to draw lots of current accelerating or going up hills.

It's gonna be noisy, you can quiet it down a lot but I think it will still sound like a pit bike, which will draw attention if not plated since it technically falls under the ebike category not needing plates.

It's a novel idea, the Chevy volt works fine, to get a solidly working integrated system that handles all the charging properly without overcycling and toasting the batts would be interesting.

You're right. My bike has both gas and electric and I had a feeling the 49cc wouldn't cut it other than to extend the normal range of the batteries, which it already does by driving the electric hub.

Noise? You haven't heard noise until you remove the stock exhaust from a HS49 and replaced it with a free flow pipe. All that noise just to gain a few mph.

 

[miked826]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJDNWcnYlFo

There it is, in trike form.

 

[Otero]

Can't speak for every state, but my state & others have restrictions on wattage.
Most of these laws on bikes are about protecting big oil, the auto industry, &
the revenue of insurance companies.

 

[Sidewinder Jerry]

This is all dependant on whether or not a self built electric is legal in the area in question. It a appears the OP is asking can a gas powered generator be used in place of a battery and still be legal. I'd say yes. I've done something similar with my bike as far as legal loopholes go. Most all places say automatic transmission system. This means no manual clutch or manual shifting of engine driven gears. My state Tennessee has a 50 cc limit and an automatic transmission requirement. I'm also a large person 250 lbs. Large people, small engines and steep hills means you need gears. My legal loophole is my bike shifts gears automatically.

The question then becomes building a small enough gas powered generator to be efficient enough to replace a battery.

 

[ultralight01]

Charging normally slower than discharge. Therefore the generator would need to put out a lot of energy