The 'In Lieu of a Carb Rebuild' - 1985 GL1200 EV Conversion Project

[meico]

Hello All! Have I got a tale for you!

I have been a lurker on this forum for years, ever since I bought my GL1200 back when I was in college.

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I attempted my own cafe build using college student resources in the parking lot of student housing. It went better than I hoped but was still pretty rough.

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Still some fiberglass and rattle-can paint can only go so far. A year post college the old girl no longer ran reliably and I didn't have the emotional fortitude to rebuild the carb again. Then my wife instated a strict *no vehicle parts in the sink or bathtub* policy and that was it for that.

After a few years we moved from one apartment or another until this year when I finally got my own garage. We had a harrowing trip to our new place with the family minivan towing me behind it using a tow strap. However, we made it and left the motorcycle to sit for another year.

It is now finally time to embark on a project I've been dreaming about ever since I got the bike. I am going to swap the ICE with an electric motor!

[meico]

Now, on to some of my current thoughts for the technical details for the Electric Vehicle (EV) Conversions.

The key that finally allowed this project to move forward was when I found the Open Inverter project. Found here https://openinverter.org/ its a project of a bunch of way smarter than I who reverse engineered existing OEM Hybrid and EVs so they can be used in custom EVs. I'm currently debating about making my own version of the boards they use. Its a skillset I am very comfortable with but I'm not sure I need a project on top of my project.

Two weeks ago I went on a road trip three hours away to pick up the motor and inverter that I hope to use. I'm still in the R&D stage with these parts. I will be working on getting them working on a bench and I may discover they are not suitable for this purpose.

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These are our star attractions! The rear transaxel motor from a Toyota Highlander and the inverter from a Gen 2 Prius.

I'm not sure how much detail on the electrical side is warranted on this forum. I will likely be going into significantly more detail on the OpenInverter forum.

Next, I'll be going into some of my GL1200 teardown.

[meico]

Finally able to start doing something resembling actual work.

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Here is where we start on our journey. Oh man, you can even see where I attached the leadlight with zip-ties.

I've been working over the last week tearing down the bike. For a day I was completely stumped with trying to get the gas tank out. Once I realized that the rear tire had to be removed before I could take the tank out I was pretty ticked about it. On reflection though I realized that if you needed to rebuild to the point of replacing the gas tank you probably need to take the rear tire off anyway.

I made my kids day when I let them go to town on the wire harness with wire cutters. I wasn't sure about letting them destroy it but it was clear that someone had been in there before me and re-wrapped it with electrical tape. I didn't want to do it so it was win-win letting the kids do it.

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This is the state of things as of last night. I think I will strip it down completely and get the frame sandblasted and painted something obnoxious like orange or bright blue. Does anyone have an estimate on how much I should expect that to cost? Just ballpark figure. Thanks!

[Fred Camper]

Interesting project for sure. I too have interest in getting an old pickup and converting it to EV in a similar maner.

[meico]

I really want to do a car EV conversion. I want to get some really fun looking car from the '80s and convert it.
Perhaps something like a Fiero or Miata.

However, I'm hoping the GL1200 would be a better place to start. I miss riding it and its on hand.

[Sagebrush]

I would do whatever fabrication you need to do to mount the motor and inverter and whatever else. Then once that's complete then I would consider having the frame powder coated. Not before. This should be an interesting thread to watch good luck!

[meico]

That is a really good point. I don't have any welding gear but this might be the project that finally gives me the excuse to try it.

Thanks for pointing out that I should do that before getting the frame treated. I guess the weekend step is to strip down the frame and build a bench that will allow me to work on it more easily. Perhaps some circuit board design...

[Lucien Harpress]

Welding is actually pretty fun once you get set up for it. While you can spend a lot of good equipment (and you probably should if you're able), I ended up going with a cheap 110/220 multifunction welder from Amazon. Is it cheap? Yes. Is it cheaply made? Also yes.

But here's my rationale- I don't weld that much, and if I do most of it will be on the thin-wall frame tubing anyway. So I don't need a super-powerful setup. I did a bit of work to my CB750 frame and it seems like it's holding up okay.

[dontwantapickle]

This looks like it could be a cool project.

FWIW: my cheap flux core welder does everything that I would ever want to do on my bikes,
and I totally agree with building a bench first.

[meico]

Okay. I'm convinced. Harbor Freight has a good black friday deal on a TITANIUM Easy-Flux 125 Amp Welder, it has good reviews on Youtube and I've been dying for years to pick up welding as a skill.

[pidjones]

Okay. I'm convinced. Harbor Freight has a good black friday deal on a TITANIUM Easy-Flux 125 Amp Welder, it has good reviews on Youtube and I've been dying for years to pick up welding as a skill.

Plan on also picking up: welding gloves, helmet, an upgraded ground electrode, angle grinder and disks&brush.

[wingrider]

+1 from what pidjones said. If you want to splurge a little on the hood, a lense that auto darkens helps those that are learning to weld.

[Lucien Harpress]

Auto darkening helmets are worth it. Trust me- spend the money. Especially if you're learning. It removes so much frustration from the process.

Also, it's a little thing, but always wear sleeves and cover up. The UV coming off a welder will give you the worst sunburn of your life at BEST.