Our Journey: 1978 Honda cb400 EV Conversion

Our team visited a local scrap/restoration moto shop.

A 1978 Honda cb400 was donated to serve as our frame. We are stoked!

We were fortunate to receive help from Quest Integration. They used a Creaform scanner and created a 3D model of our bike frame.

We got to designing the sub assemblies right away on Solidworks. We decided to use aluminum angle bar for the prototype. We purchased all the components and materials on a $5,500 budget and began CADing their dimensions into the design.

Three sub assemblies total: 48V, 12V and Motor Mount.

An closer example of our 48V assembly. Each of the assemblies had drawing packages associated with them which guided the manufacturing process.
The large awkward button is a kill switch. The port at the top is the charging connector for the J1772, the industry standard charger. (Donated by Avista)

To power our drive train we made a custom lithium phosphate battery. Amp draw is 55 A with 48 V output. We are carefully storing and excited to see it's performance.

After painting the bike frame, we began installing each sub assembly once manufactured.

Our team of four, with guidance from our advisor, have manufactured and installed the kit frame. Pictured here is out team and the most up to date assembly. The COVID outbreak stopped us short of installing the components and wiring.

We are working to complete the prototype! Stay tuned!