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Design and Construction of an Electric Motorcycle

Conference Paper · April 2019

DOI: 10.1109/SIEDS.2019.8735634

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 Design and Construction of an Electric Motorcycle
Emma Drummond, Peter Condro, Ben Cotton, Carlos Cox, Adam Pinegar, Kyle Vickery
James Madison University drummoel, condropj, cottonbn, coxcx, pinegaaj, vickerkb@dukes.jmu.edu
Advisor: Dr. Robert Prins, James Madison University, prinsrj@jmu.edu
Abstract - Engineering students at James Madison
University are creating an all-electric motorcycle as part
of a two-year capstone design project. The final product
will be an educational system that promotes access to the
electric powertrain (consisting of tractive battery pack,
battery management system (BMS), motor controller, and
motor). This paper focuses on development of system
performance parameters, design of major components
including chassis and battery pack/BMS enclosure, and
signal interactions between powertrain components.
Previous iterations of electric motorcycle conversions
developed at JMU were constrained by the donor chassis
which were designed for support of internal combustion
engines. Although teams worked to optimize the fitment
of powertrain components within existing frame
members, compromises were necessary. Other limitations
of previous iterations include battery pack discharge rates
and delicate battery management systems. Although
electric motorcycles are commercially available, their
powertrain components are generally proprietary and
inaccessible (not available for hacking or other
educationally appropriate activities). The current
iteration was developed to address these limitations.
Results include benchmarking results, estimation of
performance, and physical iterations of design choices.
The final iteration of the modular battery pack, designed
for student interaction, consists of seven sub-pack
modules with visible and intuitive wire routing. The
completed powertrain is designed to favor accessibility of
components as well as optimize available space within the
frame while closely matching the center of gravity and
suspension as well as steering capabilities of the donor
motorcycle.
Index Terms – Electric Vehicle, Lithium-Polymer,
Motorcycle
INTRODUCTION
The goal of constructing this electric motorcycle is to create a
modular and versatile platform with which engineering
students at James Madison University can learn and practice
safe techniques regarding the use and operation of an electric
978-1-7281-0998-5/19/$31.00©2019 IEEE
powertrain for use in electric vehicles. The construction and
lab adaptation of the electric motorcycle will act as a learning
tool, intended to allow students the opportunity to work with
industry level equipment in order to later pursue careers in
electric vehicles and related fields.
BACKGROUND
In the design phase, the catalytic step was to become familiar
with typical commercial electric vehicle designs and their
capabilities. During research, benchmarking of leading
electric motorcycles on the market was conducted to define
constraints, requirements, and goals of the final design.
Through use of road load model calculations from inputs of
the motor’s horsepower and torque capabilities and the
battery’s voltage and current capabilities, expected values for
top speed, acceleration, and other performance measures were
estimated. Though the frame of the vehicle has been designed
and fabricated to fit the powertrain, the front fork and rear
suspension of a donor motorcycle is incorporated to
streamline the fabrication process as well as produce a design
which closely resembles commercially available motorcycles.
To design for these goals, the location of the center of gravity
as well as coordinates of key points in three-dimensional
space were determined for the donor motorcycle. Feasibility
of the powertrain was verified through prototyping,
specifically fabrication of a bench top powertrain system
integration (consisting of a substitute battery pack, BMS,
motor controller, motor, and necessary circuits for
integration). Upon finalization of both the frame and
powertrain designs, materials were purchased and production
began on the systems. Each area of decision-making is
detailed in subsequent sections of this paper regarding
subsystems and cohesion of systems.
BENCHMARKING
The benchmarking completed by the team provides insight
into defining value propositions for the motorcycle. The
make, model, and year of commercially produced and
available vehicles were recorded, and criteria values for
performance were collected. These values serve as
guidelines in the design as well as the evaluation and testing
of the vehicle. The benchmarked information is shown
below in figure 1.
 Figure 1: Benchmarking against production motorcycles
* = information is not available to the public

BATTERY PACK
A modular battery pack was developed in accordance with
previous work intended for the electric motorcycle [1]. The
battery consists of 40 Ah Kokam Lithium-Polymer plate cells.
The battery pack constructed is 155V at 40Ah, and is
separated into seven 22.2V modules. These low voltage
battery segments were incorporated into the design to
encourage student interaction with the modules as well as Figure 2: Redesign of battery box showing inner modules
make maintenance and replacement easier for students. and frame mounting hardware, without removable cover

The original design of the battery pack included a void within

the battery box above the modules intended for the BMS, and
no plan for attachment to the frame of the motorcycle. The
current design and prototype of the battery box houses the
modules and wiring only (not the BMS). This re-design
allows for minimizing dimensions to meet space requirements
while still maintaining safety, and will accommodate a top-
mounted BMS. The expected dimensions of the constructed
battery box are 11.25 by 11.75 by 24 inches, with threaded
holes on the top for attachment of the BMS, charging
circuitry, fuses, and other electronics. The battery box was
redesigned to also have direct mounting points for attachment
to the frame. This new configuration is viewed in figure 2. A
physical prototype of the battery box used for finalizing wire
management is shown in figure 3.

Figure 3: Prototype of battery box designed to fit battery

modules and fit within limits of the frame
POWERTRAIN
The powertrain consists of a Curtis On-Road AC Motor
Controller Model 1239E, and HPEVS AC-23 Motor, an Orion
BMS, and custom battery pack. In order to define preliminary
capabilities of the final motorcycle, specifications for the
motor/controller were used to estimate top speeds,
acceleration, and optimal gear ratios [2]. The motor
specifications used are shown below in figure 4.

Figure 4: Motor specifications sheet
Based on the limiting battery pack discharge current of 400A,
the max horsepower (hp) from the AC-23 motor was
estimated to be 60hp with a peak torque of 78 ft*lbs. Based
off these values and a detailed description of frontal areas and
the weight of the vehicle, the expected speed for the
motorcycle was calculated. In order to coordinate the max
possible speed with the necessary motor RPM, a 3.1:1 gear
ratio is required between the motor and the rear wheel. Given
this gear ratio and the max short term battery current of 400
amps, further estimation resulted in a 0-60 acceleration of
8.76 seconds.
A second configuration was also considered which makes use
of a 4.914:1 gear ratio. This setup results in improved
acceleration (0-60 in 5.53 seconds) at the expense of reduced
top speed (75 MPH).
Figure 5: Top speed specifications
As a proof of concept, the powertrain components, including
the components intended for use in the final design (motor,
motor controller, BMS), and surrogate components
(laboratory battery pack) were combined into a bench top
powertrain detailing system integration and preliminary
circuitry and wiring. This proof of concept allowed for initial
testing, component communication programming, and the
development of circuit diagrams for records. The benchtop
powertrain is viewed in figure 6.
Figure 6: Benchtop powertrain used as proof of concept
PRESERVING GEOMETRY
A 2003 Honda CBR600RR motorcycle was purchased to
salvage components and measure important benchmarking
values including center of mass and swing arm geometry.
This vehicle model was chosen due to the performance
specifications it could achieve stock. The aim of the end
product is not to fit a powertrain into an existing frame, but
rather construct a powertrain and frame that fit the geometric
limitations of a commercially available vehicle in order to
make a useable design for future testing and usage. Using this
model for design purposes, target criteria were developed for
weight, center of mass, dimension, wheelbase, turning radius,
lean angle capabilities, and others.
The donor motorcycle was hung by use of a crane from the
front wheel, and subsequently placed on two scales with no
assistance in order to determine the center of mass in both X
and Y. The process of finding the center of mass of the donor
motorcycle is viewed below in figure 7.
 Figure 7: Hanging of the donor motorcycle to determine
center of mass

After hanging the donor bike, the inner components of the

motorcycle were removed leaving only the frame, fairings,
swing arm, front fork, and front and rear wheels. With these
remaining components, the team hung the motorcycle again
Figure 9: Coordinates collected for preliminary CAD
to find the difference in center of gravity once the engine and
modeling
similar internal combustion subsystem parts were removed.
Crucial points measured from the donor motorcycle and
A motorcycle stand and associated gantry were built to mount
recorded as coordinates were later converted into a 3D model
the donor motorcycle and allow for the measuring and
such that powertrain components and the frame could be
plotting of key points in 3D space. The key points measured
modeled to fit within these designated limitations. The CAD
allow for the preservation of bike functionality (e.g.
model, shown in figures 10 and 11, was developed to better
clearance, wheelbase, etc.) [3, 4]. Some of the values
visualize component orientation and placement, allow for the
collected are shown in figures 8 and 9.
design of the frame, and allow for future finite element
analysis.

SYSTEM INTEGRATION
In finalization of the motorcycle frame design, the powertrain
component placement was decided in parallel with the
propulsion system in order to optimize space while
maintaining important geometry and key points gathered from
research and testing of commercially available motorcycles.
The aim is to make an electric vehicle that closely fits
Figure 8: Summarized values measured
commercial dimensions and capabilities, while also being
modular and accessible. To achieve this, placement of
components is valued equally along with vehicle dimensions
and geometry.
The donor motorcycle frame underwent torsion testing both
with and without the engine block in order to determine
torsional stiffness values, thus providing target values for the
final frame, and ultimately leading to the decision to make the
battery box directly mount the frame for both simplicity of
design and size, as well as structural integrity and stiffness of
the final frame.
A 3D CAD model of the final vehicle was created in order to
manage wiring, preserve key performance characteristics
from the donor motorcycle, and combine subsystems and
according components into a cohesive model. The most recent
iteration is shown in figures 10 and 11.
the motorcycle to determine if the analytical road load model
values match the measured real world values. It will also be
possible to verify that the center of mass location, weight,
wheelbase, clearance, and other bike geometry values remain
similar to those of the commercially available motorcycle in
stock condition.

Figure 10: 3D CAD model of the electric motorcycle

isometric view without BMS, charging circuit, fairings, or
wiring

Figure 11: 3D CAD model of the electric motorcycle side

view without BMS, charging circuit, fairings, or wiring

FUTURE WORK
In finalization of the frame design and powertrain component
placement decisions, the next steps are to finish construction
of the battery pack and frame, and applying the battery pack,
BMS, motor controller, motor, fairings, and propulsion
system to the constructed frame.

Once construction of the frame and battery pack are

completed, torsion analysis will be done on the frame to verify
the stiffness of the designed frame is within range of the stock
frame of the donor motorcycle. Upon inclusion of the
powertrain and chassis onto the frame, testing can be done on
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The team would like to give special thanks to Mark Starnes,
John Wild, MG Motorsports, and the Department of
Engineering at James Madison University for their continued
support and expert advice during the design and build process.

REFERENCES
[1] Condro, Peter J. Prins, Robert. Hendrick, Curtis. “Design and
Construction of a Modular 155V 40Ah Lithium Polymer Tractive
Battery Pack.” June 2018. 2018 Systems and Information Engineering
Design Symposium (SIEDS). IEEE, pp. 36-41.
[2] Gillespie, T.D. Fundamentals of Vehicle Dynamics. 1992. Warrendale,
PA: Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
[3] Riezenman, M. J. “Engineering the EV future.” 1998. IEEE Spectrum,
35(11), 18-20.
[4] Foale, T. “Motorcycle handling and chassis design: the art and
science.” 2006.

AUTHOR INFORMATION
Peter Condro, Undergraduate Student, Department of
Engineering, James Madison University.

Ben Cotton, Undergraduate Student, Department of

Engineering, James Madison University.

Carlos Cox, Undergraduate Student, Department of

Engineering, James Madison University.

Emma Drummond, Undergraduate Student, Department of

Engineering, James Madison University.

Adam Pinegar, Undergraduate Student, Department of

Engineering, James Madison University.

Kyle Vickery, Undergraduate Student, Department of

Engineering, James Madison University.

Dr. Robert Prins, Associate Professor, Department of

Engineering, James Madison University.

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