# Regen Motorcycle?



## BenNelson (Jul 27, 2007)

Has anyone done regenerative braking on their motorcycle?

My motorcycle was technically my second electric vehicle (after my electric hub bicycle kit)

I used an Alltrax 300 amp 48V AXE controller. I was looking at Kelly controllers that support regenerative braking. They aren't that expensive and support a higher voltage.

How would regenerative braking work on a motorcycle? Would there be issues on chain wear and tension?

Obviously, the regenerative brakes would apply to the BACK brake as that's the one connected to the motor.

I would think that it would work OK for long slow braking like in the time coming up to stop sign, when no one is behind you.

The front brake is still available for primary hard braking. I can't imagine that doing hard regen braking would be good for your sprocket or chain.

Any thoughts on this?


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## houseoffubar (Nov 18, 2007)

There should be no problem mechanically with regen on a motorcycle. Everything in the drivetrain is designed to take the same torque, and loads in either direction. Sounds great by me! Eric


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## elevatorguy (Jul 26, 2007)

Ben, 
It would be fine on the driveline, probably less stress than hard downshifting.
I think the trick would be control so you never put the rear wheel in a slide. You could add a circuit from the regen to turn on the brake light as well.
I will watch with interest, as I may be doing a MC soon.
Jerry


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## BenNelson (Jul 27, 2007)

I was thinking that I would hook up regen controls to the right brake handle. That would activate the brake light, and make sense because the rear wheel is the one running power back through the motor to the batteries.

I am only really thinking about this because I have been reading more lately about motors - in the early stages of making a "Forkenswift"-style electric car.

The motor I have for that wouldn't do regenerative braking, but the PM motor in the cycle should be great for it.

It's not on my top priority list, but would be fun to experiment with.


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## emoto (May 5, 2008)

I use regen on my electric motorcycle. I typically get about 5 to 8% of my total trip energy back.

As of now I'm using my old starter switch (right thumb) to activate
regen. I put a throttle on the left grip, and twist forward for regen variation. I might also use the front/back brake switch (which is currently being used for the lights) as the regen activation. The regen works VERY well.

For more info:

www.electricmotion.org

Best,

Lennon


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## BenNelson (Jul 27, 2007)

Hey,

Thanks Lennon, nice cycle you put together ( and web page) but what else would we expect from a Nasa guy.

I made it to last month's Fox Valley Electric Auto Association meeting (Chicago area). Lots of interesting people there, well worth the trip for me.

You should take your cycle there to show off sometime!
http://www.fveaa.org/


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