How to make a motor mount

[podolefsky]

Lot of people have posted their motor mounts and some description of how to make one. I want to start a thread on how I made the mounts for my KZE in every detail. Every bike is different, but hopefully there will be enough detail here for people to repeat the basic steps with their own bike.

I'll be adding new posts every few days, as I have time. Please add comments and suggestions, but I want to keep this a pretty clean "how to" thread.

Before we get started - take a deep breath. You can do this.

Without further ado...

[podolefsky]

I'm going to assume you've already stripped the frame of your donor bike. Just get all the ICE (internal combustion engine) guts out. It really helps to have a stand of some sort. I'm using a hydraulic motorcycle lift.

Here's the frame from my '82 KZ-550. There are 8 mount points for the original engine, and 2 holes for the swingarm pivot.* I'm going to use the engine mount points toward the back to mount the electric motor. Ultimately I'll use the 3 on the left side of the frame, plus the lower one on the right. The 2 engine mount points toward the front will be used to mount my battery pack.



*There were originally 10 engine mount points. I already took an angle grinder to the front two.

[podolefsky]

Some more introductory info. I'll be installing a Motenergy ME1003 in this bike. It's a hugely popular conversion motor, and for good reason.

It has what's called a NEMA C-face mount. It's a type of bolt pattern that is used on a lot of motors. It corresponds to the 4 outermost bolt holes on the front of the motor. On this motor the bolt holes are 3/8-16 tap, 3/4" (19mm) deep, 5.875" (149.2mm) bolt circle. There is a raised circle in the center that's 4.5" (114.3 mm) diameter, 1/8" (3.2mm) high. Those measurements will all become important later on.

(Those measurements are the same on other Motenergy motors, as well as many 6.7" series and AC motors.)

The ME1003 will have the axle pointing toward the left side of the bike, since the KZ has the chain on the left.




Here's where we're going eventually. (Ignore the rusty frame please...that has since been taken care of.)

[podolefsky]

Notes:

An alternative to some of the methods here are PAD, which Ted does a nice job explaining in this thread.

If you want to do Skethup PAD, that's here.

[gasfreeearth]

I love the Motoenergy motors. My 2012 Zero that has gone 50,000 miles has one.

So it's a great motor to use for starting a build and a great choice for this thread Noah! The Zero uses almost the same motor. The ME0913 with a little better cooling.

Lol most motor pictures don't have such a good photo like the one above, but I remember that one for sure. A guy that used to post on this forum a lot a year or so ago when I last spent a lot of time here took that.

http://evmc2.wordpress.com/2012/01/2...3-photo-shoop/

His name is Ted Dillard. Really active in the Electric motorcycle world, and author of a book on how to build them. If you get a chance, give Ted a shot out, and a big thanks for that photo, he's one of the biggest contributors to the world of electric motorcycling in so many ways. We all owe him a lot of thanks.

I spoke with him not too long ago about a trip I'm taking and this morning there were links in my inbox to an article he wrote about it.

http://evmc2.wordpress.com/2013/11/0...hner-tracking/

Thanks Ted. You da man!

[podolefsky]

Apologies to Ted for using his pic. I got it from here. It looked like a stock photo, so I didn't think anything of it. I picked it because it was nicely shot at just the right angle - figures Ted took it. I replaced it with my own pic, just so I don't step on any toes.

[podolefsky]

The first thing I'm going to do is measure the bolt holes. I'm using a pair of digital calipers. If you have the original engine bolts, you can measure them. A plain old ruler also works, I just find calipers easier for measuring inside diameters. If you do use a ruler, try and get a metal one with clear markings. Wood and plastic ones don't belong in a shop (IMO).

This bike is metric, so I'm doing everything in millimeters (mm). You can see the calipers read 10.93mm. I'm going to call that 11, because it's close enough, and I get to say my bolt holes go to 11.

This is actually over sized to give some wiggle room. The bolts are 10mm. That's why a ruler will work fine. Above 6mm, metric bolts and screws come in 2mm increments.* So, I know that an 11mm hole takes a 10mm bolt.



*Below 6mm, there are 1mm increments. Sometimes you see the term screw, sometimes bolt. There is a technical difference, but it doesn't really matter unless you're talking about self-tapping screws, which I'm not. I'll be using screws as bolts and bolts as screws. If you really care, read this or this.

[podolefsky]

I draw up a diagram of the bolt holes to keep track of everything. The upper two holes are both 9mm, which means an 8mm bolt. I should say here that an 8mm bolt is called "M8", and the standard thread is M8x1.25.*

I'm going to fill in the dimensions later. I've drawn a front view at the bottom. It has the two lower mount points, and the left side of the frame (which is on the right looking from the front). I'm not going to use the right side engine mounts. Since the bottom mount points are offset we'll have to figure out how to measure that. Coming up soon.



*Fine thread is M8x1.0. You won't find those very often. BUT - sometimes you will see fine thread on bikes. Especially M10x1.25 that are used on triple clamps, among other things. I like to use stainless hardware, and I've found 2 places in the world that sell M10x1.25 stainless socket cap screws...for $6 each. Price of fashion.

[Ken Will]

There is a technical difference, . If you really care, read this.

The definition in the link is absolutely wrong!! The difference between a bolt and a screw is the head, not the shaft.
You insert a male tool into the head of a female screw. A female tool wraps around the male head of a bolt.

An Allen wrench is actually a bent screw driver.

[podolefsky]

Ah - then "screw you" makes a lot more sense...

There is so much terminology. An Allen head fastener is often called a socket cap screw, but a socket is the tool you use to drive a bolt. I guess because the allen wrench goes inside the socket cap, and the bolt goes inside the socket wrench? Sigh...

Anyway, motor mounts...