# Ural conversion planning



## Yoggie (Nov 4, 2017)

Hi all,

I am researching a possible Ural conversion. For those that are unfamiliar with Urals, they are a motorcycle with a factory attached sidecar, and even have an option for 2 wheel drive. My plan would be to keep the transmission, drive shaft, final gear, and 2wd connections intact and replace the stock engine with an electric motor.

Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any detailed Ural conversions to use as a template so I am reaching out to you all for help.

Details on Urals
Stock weight: ~725 lbs
Engine weight: ~125 lbs
Estimated max weight: 1500 lbs
Final gear ratio 14.3:1

Desired sustainable speed: 60 mph 
Desired range for initial build: 35 miles

My estimated max weight is with a motor, batteries, driver, an adult passenger, youth passenger, and enough gear to go camping for 2-3 nights. I have no doubt that it will be less than this but I am going to estimate on the heavy side just to be safe.

I plan to do this built in a few main stages that will probably be changed as the build goes on!
Stage 1: Get it running with the easiest solution possible, so probably some sort of kit
Stage 2: Add batteries from a Leaf, Volt, or other wrecked EV
Stage 3: Add a gas generator to increase range some but really to recharge away from an outlet
Stage 4: Add solar and/or micro wind generator to top off the batteries while I am at work.

So, here are my questions.
I am considering the following motor kit. I realize it is very expensive but I like the idea of plug and play for my very first EV build. So would this motor with the 96V setup be strong enough to maintain 60mph on a hilly road?

PMAC 15kW Cont. / 38kW Pk. Liquid-Cooled Motor Drive System 72/84V 550A
http://www.electricmotorsport.com/ev-parts/motor-drive-kits/pmac-15kw-cont-38kw-pk-liquid-cooled-motor-drive-system-72-84v-550a.html

The next piece would be the battery kit. Here are my questions:
Would the kit provide enough amps to maintain 55 mph?
Would it be possible to add additional non-standard batteries or would all of the batteries have to be exactly the same model number? Would home brewing battery packs from a used Leaf battery pack work?
Also, is it possible to change the amperage draw of the charger? For example, I would like it to be able to run off of a standard 110v 15A wall socket and also a 110v 30A RV outlet from a generator.

http://www.electricmotorsport.com/ev-parts/batteries/battery-packages/96v/gbs-96v-100ah-li-ion-battery-pack-with-emus-bms-and-charger.html

TLDR: will a PMAC 15kW Continous motor sustain 1500 lbs at 60 mph?

Thank you all for your help!


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## dedlast (Aug 17, 2013)

If you haven't seen it already, check this thread.
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/uralectric-177801.html

B


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## Yoggie (Nov 4, 2017)

dedlast said:


> If you haven't seen it already, check this thread.
> http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/uralectric-177801.html
> 
> B


Yes, I have seen that thread, but thank you. Unfortunately he took the sidecar off so I am looking at double the weight. He didnt add details like range and cruising speed so it is hard to judge if what he did would work for me.


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## zapyourrideguy (Oct 25, 2012)

I have a dnepnr that has been converted with a motoenergy 1003 motor direct to the 4.3:1 final drive. its a MT-16 with 2wd.
I am running 96 volts 60ah using 2) I3 battery modules. by rough calculations and some testing my range seems to be around 20 -25 miles. I have managed 18 miles but I am burning up the motor. One problem is it was timed for reverse direction. I have also been advised that the drive ratio is way to low for this little motor.
When I have more hard data I will try to share it here.


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## Yoggie (Nov 4, 2017)

Very cool, that sounds like a great project!

Not sure if you have seen, but it looks like Ural is testing an electric prototype. I hope they end up building it because it would be perfect for my needs!


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## timbillyosu (Apr 9, 2018)

Yoggie, have you had any luck moving forward with this project? I'm thinking about doing the same thing. Maybe we can help each other.


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## SL_CZ (Mar 11, 2020)

Hi guys, anybody interested or working on this? Or maybe even successful in it? I sure would like to know!

Thanks, regards, Stephan.


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## zapyourrideguy (Oct 25, 2012)

I now have an older AC-30/1236 Curtis setup in my Dnepr MT-16 (2wd)
no transmission, direct drive so equivalent to 4th gear 1:1 + final drive 4.63
drivability on the flat is really good. Next is to put in a 2:1 gear reduction.

Keep the transmission and you'll have no problem. Pick the gear that suits the driving situation. you will probably be able to just leave it in 2nd or 3rd gear.
The thing I really like about the AC motor is the regen braking. The older Dnepr brakes aren't great but I have regen set to where I barely need them.


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