Why do so many people want to be hatin' on home electric vehicle conversions? When we featured Andrew Angellotti and his DIY Mazda pick-up truck conversion, a lot of people felt the need to criticize what this boy had done. Granted, there were some who defended him as well, but the very fact that people took the time to denegrate what he'd done was strange to me. Guess I shouldn't be surprised that something similar happened to Travis Gintz, the guy behind the eVFR (above).

It's taken quite a while to get to this stage, but Gintz wrote in to let us know that his electron-powered Honda VFR is finished. The other day, he took it to EV Awareness Day in Portland, Oregon. As Travis writes on his blog:

The first question out of everyone's mouth was "How far does it go"... to which I replied "15-20 miles on crappy used UPS batteries I got for free". I initially wanted to go with larger lead [acid batteries], but since these were free, I wanted to develop/test the mechanical first, and then upgrade to lithium in the fall. Its all working and now I can shop for alternatives to lead. Most people scoffed a little, I didn't care, Its quite a feat in a motorcycle, especially keeping it stock looking. I know what the end result will be.... LiFePo and AC will eventually find their way into that bike. It will perform well, and range will be 30-40 miles.

Compare this positivity to the negative comments some people feel the need to leave. Gintz said that the bike is now completely assembled, except for the turn signals and will be registered to be street-legal soon. We talked a bit with Travis about his project and you can read our interview after the jump.

UPDATE: picture updated at Travis' request.

Three months and $3,000 is what it took Instructable's poster Stryker (aka Ben) to build this great electric motorcycle. Unhappy with rising gas prices and ready to learn, Ben took a 1984 Honda Interceptor 700, gutted the gasoline components and added a 72V Advanced DC motor and 6 Yellow Top Optima batteries. He's explained the process here and here.

If a company offered this bike for sale, it wouldn't sell in great numbers. The 70 mph top speed is fine but it can only go 10-15 miles on a charge. Considering that Stryker lives just three miles from work, though, that "limit" is nonexistent for what he wants the bike to do. Of course, three miles is well within bicycle distance for some people, but the fun of creating a zero-emission motorcycle should not be dismissed. Don't believe me? Stryker is selling this bike so that he can build another.

[Source: Instructables via The Kneeslider]

Travis Gintz from Portland, Oregon is currently working on converting a 1986 Honda VFR from gas to electric power. He's using a DC motor from Advanced DC, twelve 12-volt lead-acid batteries and other assorted electronic pieces, including a 600 amp motor controller. With this setup, he's planning on being able to get up to 70 miles per hour or so but the range is undetermined thus far. He managed to get lots of free stuff and managed to find good deals on the rest, so his conversion is moving along quite nicely. His VFR is currently stripped down and awaiting the installation of the motor and batteries, so this would be a good time to start following his progress. We'll keep you updated when his project is completed, so stay tuned for more.

[Source: eVFR]