Yes Pete the dual electric is pretty cool but the reality is a small gas motor is a more economical way to go, given I have the engine and only need a $100. cvt to go hybrid. & end up  with a 3hp gain & an extra 100 miles of range on a bit more than a gallon of gas. Refuel on the road in minutes with gas compared to hours on each battery recharge. I can buy 4 engines for the price of 1 quality lipo pack replacement as well. I got a heck of a close out deal on 20 amp hour 12v. batteries @ .60 per amp hour, so $48. per 48 volt pack...these are new sealed lead cells & I bought enough to build three battery packs. They aren't light at 44 lbs. per pack, but a no brainer compared to typical lead packs at $160. per 48 v. pack & triple that price for lipo 20 amp/48 v. packs with crap for guarantees.

Rick C.

I'm testing my fat tire e bike constructed of spare parts & a discarded bare frame. Hub motor kit is new. Thought it an introduction to electrics along with the side car motor I bought. This is an all steel build and heavy, but the 1,200 watt 48 volt brushless motor powers it well, quick but not fast. It is fun.

I'm confident the sidecar rig will reverse well, though I'm doubtful of any real utility powering forward other than short maneuvering & parking.

Rick C.

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Rick I'm discussing doing just that with a friend who's an interest in hauling a few bikes up and staying several days in that general area. We'll see how it goes.  Rick C.

Merry Christmas to all you guys may each enjoy great health and much happiness!

Rick C.

I'd add to an earlier post that forward rig speed (20mph) isn't important because once the rig frames geometry is properly tuned in for road use & powered forward solely under bike engine power, this correct alignment will fight any attempt of the electric drive on the side wheel to move the bike at anything more than a fast walk which is better than pushing by hand in an emergency or to get it out of the way without starting the bike at home etc. Reverse is the primary function and slow forward positioning as well...I'd suppose that an extremely slow ride won't be too strenuous for the operator, but I'll not expect much use of the electric drive in forward. I'd also think tire wear would be extreme.

Rick C.

Well guys I've flip flipped yet again after receiving some expert advice on utilizing electrics properly for wheeled vehicles from a professional with many years experience designing and building dc transports commercially. He actually liked my proposed solution but thought it too complex considering both time and cash expense weighed against the much simpler solution of going to an 1800 watt dc brushless with a 3 way controller with forward, neutral and reverse settings. Frame layout/design is much simplified and all my original goals satisfied for less money. I was able to change and cancel my parts orders before they shipped out and replaced with the 3 way controller and upgraded 48 volt battery pack all of which will provide not only a powerful reverse (with appropriate 54 t final sprocket and 12 t motor sprocket) & the 23" diameter sidecar wheel. and the ability to propel both rig & load at up to 20 mph in forward utilizing just the electric drive. Fully charged the single battery pack should provide travel distance of 15 miles at  the stately speed of 10mph.
The more powerful setup, I've been assured, will provide more reverse grunt than that of the go cart reduction setup I'd originally planned. I'm hopeful!

I'm a complete novice when it comes to utilizing electric power on bikes and I'm opting to follow the advice of someone who has designed and built more commercial electric vehicles than I've ever seen. I'm grateful for his assistence

Rick C.

Bob that sounds a treat, let's pursue a visit.

Now on to trikes and such. I checked Ebay for listings and that particular listing has been taken down. The 250 Lifan and other manufacturers of the Honda CG engines are pretty common on eBay with reverse equipped engines found under atv rather than motorcycle.

The 125 CC with reverse I mentioned was a local salvage atv. 250 cc engines are more commonly used in atv builds..

Have you considered using a go cart reverse gearbox? These can be mated to most 3/4" output shaft motors and 30 series torque converters up to 13 hp & cost about $120. without converter. Forward, neutral and reverse lever and cable type control. Just thinking out loud here. The setups I've encountered seem to function very well and were quite sturdy. 13 hp with torque converter on a trike would be some fun!  Lots of engine options as well. I also think the CG 250 w/reverse a nice selection depending on how you want to use the trike. They make about 12 hp in ATV form...so a couple less than the 5 speed 250 moto version. I don't see that as a problem. Total engine weight is about 80 lbs. and like all trikes that much weight needs to be mounted really low.

I've had such great success with my 125 CC on two different builds that I'm reluctant to switch out what I have for a salvage engine of unknown condition. So I've ordered a 48 volt 1000 watt motor and controller with chain drive to power my sidecar in reverse only mode. The motor could be used for forward power as well, but I can't see a great utility in this, as I'll be reducing by 6 to one with the sprockets I've ordered.


I looked at the powered hub setups, but the wheels didn't inspire much confidence, extremely light weight. I'll just stick with my 18" d.o.t. wheel and speed rated rubber for the extra load carry advantage.

I've been wanting to use an electric motor on one of my builds for awhile now & the sidecar seems an easy entry level electric project and 4 lead cell 12 v. batteries will add some needed ballast to the empty car. I'd like the unloaded weight of both bike and car to equal out at 175 each and I'll probably need an extra 50 lbs. of ballast in addition to the batteries to achieve this balance.


Rick C.