AHicks
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Snow Bird - Summer S.E. Michigan, Winter Gulf Coast North Central Fl.
Well, it's done. Maiden voyage was taken, and now just tweaks here and there, tidying cables and wire harnesses, getting rid of minor squeaks and rattles. About 10 hours of time for the conversion, working at a retired old man's pace.
As you can imagine, a night and day difference noted between the original 750 watt electrical/electronic install and the 1500 watt conversion, which replaces all of that other than the battery.
Now, when you hit the throttle to get the bike moving from a stop or while crossing a busy street for instance, 1600 watts is registered on the display immediately, without delay, and the bike moves out without delay. Nothing crazy, but enough to establish some confidence that was missing with the original (for me anyway).
I had to try, prior to setting the 20mph speed limit, and found the bike will be running 30mph in very short order. I ran out of room while the bike was still accelerating. With the rear wheel off the ground it would register 45mph. Yes, that's MPH.
Power is just as smooth as original, and just as quiet. It's like the standard City has been doing steroids. Conversion looks nearly as clean as the original bike. The uneducated eye will not notice it's been totally repowered. The educated eye is going to have to look closely....
I would suggest this install was no more difficult than other bike conversions I've done, or more troublesome. It may have been easier actually as there was no time spent figuring out how or difficulty installing the battery! An accomplished DIY'er will have no trouble - especially if he is already familiar with bikes. RC hobby background certainly a plus. Will save a lot of homework on how the electrical works.
As this project requires messing with a freewheel, either removing it from the original wheel to use on the new wheel, or installing a new one, I thought I'd try the 11 tooth mentioned recently elsewhere and had that sitting here waiting. Man is that nice. I can now stay up with the pedals to something in the range of 20mph. A younger me could likely go much faster! Previosly I could barely make 15mph. On the flat I used to ride around in 7th gear most of the time. Now, that's 5th and 6th with 7th available if I want it. Highly recommended mod, even if you aren't repowering.
Would I do it again? Without a second thought.
Am I condemning the original 750 watt setup? Nope, not even a little. In today's market the fact it's doing as well as it is speaks for itself. It's also legal.
Would I convert a Rover? That's a tougher call, one that will likely depend on the rider. Reason being this setup is capable of pulling some serious power at higher throttle settings, and I'be be concerned for the original battery and associated wiring. When I checked out the battery that came with the city, it was all done with 14awg. For long pulls/wide open blasts, I'm thinking that might be on the light side. The motor will be looking for 35 amps or so. 14g may be OK for a short blast, but anything long term is going to have that wire getting pretty hot. In any case, the battery and it's wiring will be the weak spot in a 1500 watt system. The same can be said for the Rad City. The City user will need to cool it, but I think the mission the city is designed for is a little more conservative.
Does the conversion pull a lot of power compared to the stock motor? The conversion, in PAS 1 at 8-10 mph, is pulling 85 -110 watts. I forgot to note what the original pulls in that scenario. If somebody could share that info I'd be happy to edit this to reflect the difference.
Who would I recommend the mod too? Somebody that wants more, more everything, from their Rad City.
More later if I run into anything significant. -Al
As you can imagine, a night and day difference noted between the original 750 watt electrical/electronic install and the 1500 watt conversion, which replaces all of that other than the battery.
Now, when you hit the throttle to get the bike moving from a stop or while crossing a busy street for instance, 1600 watts is registered on the display immediately, without delay, and the bike moves out without delay. Nothing crazy, but enough to establish some confidence that was missing with the original (for me anyway).
I had to try, prior to setting the 20mph speed limit, and found the bike will be running 30mph in very short order. I ran out of room while the bike was still accelerating. With the rear wheel off the ground it would register 45mph. Yes, that's MPH.
Power is just as smooth as original, and just as quiet. It's like the standard City has been doing steroids. Conversion looks nearly as clean as the original bike. The uneducated eye will not notice it's been totally repowered. The educated eye is going to have to look closely....
I would suggest this install was no more difficult than other bike conversions I've done, or more troublesome. It may have been easier actually as there was no time spent figuring out how or difficulty installing the battery! An accomplished DIY'er will have no trouble - especially if he is already familiar with bikes. RC hobby background certainly a plus. Will save a lot of homework on how the electrical works.
As this project requires messing with a freewheel, either removing it from the original wheel to use on the new wheel, or installing a new one, I thought I'd try the 11 tooth mentioned recently elsewhere and had that sitting here waiting. Man is that nice. I can now stay up with the pedals to something in the range of 20mph. A younger me could likely go much faster! Previosly I could barely make 15mph. On the flat I used to ride around in 7th gear most of the time. Now, that's 5th and 6th with 7th available if I want it. Highly recommended mod, even if you aren't repowering.
Would I do it again? Without a second thought.
Am I condemning the original 750 watt setup? Nope, not even a little. In today's market the fact it's doing as well as it is speaks for itself. It's also legal.
Would I convert a Rover? That's a tougher call, one that will likely depend on the rider. Reason being this setup is capable of pulling some serious power at higher throttle settings, and I'be be concerned for the original battery and associated wiring. When I checked out the battery that came with the city, it was all done with 14awg. For long pulls/wide open blasts, I'm thinking that might be on the light side. The motor will be looking for 35 amps or so. 14g may be OK for a short blast, but anything long term is going to have that wire getting pretty hot. In any case, the battery and it's wiring will be the weak spot in a 1500 watt system. The same can be said for the Rad City. The City user will need to cool it, but I think the mission the city is designed for is a little more conservative.
Does the conversion pull a lot of power compared to the stock motor? The conversion, in PAS 1 at 8-10 mph, is pulling 85 -110 watts. I forgot to note what the original pulls in that scenario. If somebody could share that info I'd be happy to edit this to reflect the difference.
Who would I recommend the mod too? Somebody that wants more, more everything, from their Rad City.
More later if I run into anything significant. -Al
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