Finnish bike enthusiast Jarkko Santala took fate in his own hands and decided it was high time he and his old Kawasaki GPX 750R went electric. And without much ado off went the classic combustion engine, making room for batteries and the new fixed-ratio power unit.
With barn builds usually involving old traditional bikes now being complemented by electric projects, we can hope the e-bike customization business will eventually take off properly and we'll get to hear different questions as we enter a custom workshop: “You want that old CB350 turned into a classic cafe-racer or an electric one?”
Jarkko loaded no less than 25 CalB SE40AHA batteries on his GPX, reaching a nifty 3.3 kWh capacity, and subsequently leading to re-baptizing the bike kWsaki,a truly nice name, by the way. The Mars Electric ME1003 11.5 kW engine replacing the old 78 kW petrol one works at 83.5 V , with an Alltrax AXE7245 controller set at 300 amps.
The fixed ratio gives a top speed of 110 km/h (68 mph) which is absolutely great for commuting. Jarkko says that the minimum range is 40 km (25 miles) with the current setup. The Kawasaki weighed 230 kg (507 lbs), and the kWsaki is now down to 170 kg (375 lbs), leaving even room for doubling the battery count and capacity for an even better range.
Jarkko Santala's electric Kawasaki is street legal, and with a 2-hour charging time, the bike is tremendously fun, while adding in the ridiculously low cent-per-mile prices makes us smile happily, too. Nice job, Jarkko! Waiting for the electric car, now.
Jarkko loaded no less than 25 CalB SE40AHA batteries on his GPX, reaching a nifty 3.3 kWh capacity, and subsequently leading to re-baptizing the bike kWsaki,a truly nice name, by the way. The Mars Electric ME1003 11.5 kW engine replacing the old 78 kW petrol one works at 83.5 V , with an Alltrax AXE7245 controller set at 300 amps.
The fixed ratio gives a top speed of 110 km/h (68 mph) which is absolutely great for commuting. Jarkko says that the minimum range is 40 km (25 miles) with the current setup. The Kawasaki weighed 230 kg (507 lbs), and the kWsaki is now down to 170 kg (375 lbs), leaving even room for doubling the battery count and capacity for an even better range.
Jarkko Santala's electric Kawasaki is street legal, and with a 2-hour charging time, the bike is tremendously fun, while adding in the ridiculously low cent-per-mile prices makes us smile happily, too. Nice job, Jarkko! Waiting for the electric car, now.
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