Old car exchange Electric power is becoming almost universal. There are companies and kits that can electrify everything from old Land Rovers to Rolls-Royces. Ford is entering the game, offering the Mustang Mach E GT as the ‘barrel’ engine. And if you have the money, Jaguar’s restoration department will even drop an I-Pace engine into your classic E-Type.
However, motorbikes are another proposition. With less space to hide an ugly battery, the technology favors four-wheelers and motorcyclists as a group less accepting of electric power than the average car driver.
That’s what makes Luuc Muis unusual, because he’s just developed and released a kit that can turn BMW air intakes into electric motorcycle. You may have heard of Luuc: he is a Dutch product designer, founder of LM Creations and best known for Bobber the Indian Scout called Hasty Flaming Buffalo.
Using the R-series chassis as a basis, Luuc created a bolt-on electric powertrain that replaces the existing motor — but keeps the transmission and the rest of the transmission. And it looks pretty awesome, too.
The prototype shown here uses a sponsor BMW R80 bike. But Luuc believes the system can be fitted to all R-series bikes built between 1969 and 1995 — with only minor modifications to the upper tube in some cases.
The biggest attraction of this converter is how Luuc has integrated the electric motor. He reverse engineered and molded the new motor housing using 3D scanning, with racks inside to house the motor, controller, and wiring.
“For the battery pack, we took a similar approach,” he said. “We 3D scanned the frame and the original R80 fuel tank, and designed a suitable battery pack without welding the frame.” (For the R100 frame, you can simply remove some of the brackets.)
“It is actually possible to attach all the original engine components to the new housing to return the airhead to its original shape. But that would add a lot of useless weight! ”
Power supplies are commonly available ‘QS138’, rated at 72V and 11kW. Along with the clutch adapter, it’s housed in a new aluminum body that’s fastened to the transmission — just like the original internal combustion engine. The unit includes an integrated controller and a DC converter that plugs into 12V electrical wiring.
“The electric motor has a capacity of 7,500 rpm, so the speed is the same as the original motor – switch to 8,000 rpm,” says Luuc. “The torque curve is of course different. But the driving experience is very similar, with the transmission still active. ”
The 4.3kW battery pack mounts on the same frame as the original gas tank. “The battery is capable of operating within a calculated urban range of 80 km. “It weighs about 24 kg, a little more than the weight of a full 22-litre R80 tank.” It is rated for 2,000 charge cycles, for a total of 160,000 km (about 100,000 miles).
There are two options for the 230V charger: a 1.8 kW or 3.3 kW system. The system charges up to 80% faster in about an hour and 100% in an hour. The 1.8 kW system takes twice as long, but since that charger is so much smaller, you can fit it into your bike instead of keeping it in the garage.
The battery case is fine fiberglass, ready for primer and paint finishes. Luuc notes: “The original fuel tank can be modified and fitted to the battery pack, but it is advisable to line the fuel tank with a non-conductive material.”
Why don’t we wonder why there’s no battery in the famous boxer’s ‘cylinders’? “We’ve thought of that, but it’s not going to be an easy and secure system,” says Luuc. “In the event of a collision with the cylinders hitting the ground, we don’t think this is a great idea – as 72V would be injured!”
Other modifications are as simple as possible. “We want to emphasize the EV part,” says Luuc. “So we removed the cylinder, the cabin, the intake manifold and the front engine cover. But we attached a low profile engine cover to give it some ‘body’. “
The R80 frame has been converted to a monoshock rear suspension, using parts from the broken R100 RT frame and new YSS shock absorbers. All unnecessary brackets have been removed from the frame.
There’s a minimalistic subframe with a slight lift, to support a simple custom perch from MJ Seats, and a single Kellermann Atto rear/brake array. All frame components are powder coated in new gloss black.
The front suspension is from the KTM 390, which is connected to the front axle of the BMW F650. Wheels are sized F19 / R18 and have stainless spokes combined with aluminum rims. “We installed the widest possible tire at the rear without having to make any modifications to the swingarm or offset the rim,” Luuc reports. Michelin Roadmaster Classics Tires: “A great basic tire for urban use, as well as the bike itself!”
Despite the complexity of the toolkit, installation is relatively easy, and Luc delivers videos to customers. And the next step is for the converter to be certified to the EU’s R100 EV safety standard — this will allow owners to change the registration process and officially include it on the electric motorcycle list.
You can buy the kit elements individually, but LM Creations will sell them to you complete package for €9,450 (US$9,945) with a 3.3 kW charger (or a little less for 1.8 kW with a built-in charger). And for an extra €1,450, Luuc’s crew can install the kit onto an R-series aircraft head of your choice.
For those who love the idea (and acceleration) of an electric motorcycle but can’t be satisfied with the styling of the commercially available products, Luuc’s creation should mark a lot of things.
If you are within driving distance from Berlin, go to Recharge the land next weekend — this is the first festival dedicated to electric motorcycles and the BMW R00 will be on display.
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