Ultra capacitor starter
 

Hi guys just converted from battery to ultra capacitor on my 2011 ec300e, the reason behind the move was expense and durability.
The original battery leaked causing minor damage to the air filer underneath, lithium batteries are expensive and my local bike shop refuses to sell them due to the amount of returns due to charge issues(poor bms).
The lead type batteries are reliable but heavy and the weight is carried high and again quality unit is expensive.

Bought a discontinued mb3765 model jump starter from jaycar for $50, ripped out the capacitors and wired it into where the battery would be.
This system is ideal on this model bike due to not having to charge the capacitor prior to riding, simply kick start the bike and it charges from the stator after its charged you can use the button or alternatively charge the caps before riding.the caps give 250cca and weigh around 600 gramms and should outlast the life of the bike.

Just posted this on a whim if anyone is intersted i wil post pictures and a ride report.

Creative soultion. Post some pictures please.

That's a fantastic idea... :)

I'm sure nobody minds kick starting their bike when they're feeling fresh before a ride...but when you've stalled it in that gnarly bit of terrain you can just hit the button.

Thanks for sharing that, I'd like to see a photo.

Only problem for me is mine's an old (but nice) 2004 model without E start! :(

By the way, what capacity are the capacitors?

Certainly very interesting. It's the technology that is tipped to replace batteries in electric vehicles and reduce charging times to be comparable with filling a car fuel tank with petrol or diesel. There is an experimental bus fleet in China using these. The charge only lasts a few stops but recharge time is about 30 seconds via inductive charge coils in the road.

My only concern would be the compatibility between the bike's charging circuit and the supercapacitor. My guess is that the supercapacitor woild be able to both charge and discharge much quicker than a conventional battery and it could load the electrics in ways that the designers could not have imagined. Dumping the bike in water could short out the supercapacitor and the discharge rate could be spectacular.

In capicitance terms, I would expect figures in the low 1000s of Farads in one of these Jaycar units. The good thing is that you can recharge them almost indefinately without losing capacity. I doubt that they woild hold their charge for long periods on the shelf but who cares if they charge up again in seconds?

Test ride
 

First test was successful, did a 3 hour ride in gnarly terrain stalled 3 times and restarted using button no problem at all in or out of gear.
Starter sounds different but that might be due to me changing to a wet stator set up at the same time as installing the caps.
The individual caps are 2.7v 500f x5 as per the ones on ebay, the beauty of the mb3765 is you can easily mod the housing and add tethers to the poles and use the housing as a charger with charge indicators (led lights showing charge of capacitor) this housing can then be connected to any 14v or lower dc supply , usb , cigarette lighter, another battery etc.
Pics to follow, will try start today cold using the button see how much charge remains.

24hrs
 

24 hrs later fired first time.

Another advantage of using Electrolytic Capacitors is they're not damaged by being left discharged, as opposed to a lead acid battery.

So if your bike's left unused for a long period you don't have to worry about connecting a maintenance charger.

Interesting idea! And good job making it work. Skidoo has a similar concept on their new snowmobile except they use the stator as a brushless motor to start the engine so no extra weight of a starter motor. I can't wait for that tech to show up on dirt bikes!

That's a great idea! :cool:

You are about 40 years late. We had a 200cc twin from the 70?s that had that exact technology, I think it was either a Yamaha or a Suzuki. Was pretty cool!