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What's a Joker, and you're going to do what?!

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The MX5 Cobra is out of the shed, so room for my next project 👍 MX5 Cobra project (see NZ Japanese Cobra blog) is all done bar the painting (soon hopefully). So, it makes way for my next project... Electric Conversion of a Classic Scooter So, I was toying with the idea of getting an electric bicycle to ride to work (on nice weather days 😃), but... wow, aren't they expensive for what you get! I then looked at electric scooters (moped scooters). For not much more than the cost of an electric bicyle you can get an electric scooter, but not a very nice looking one (like a Vespa or similar classic scooter). Then I remembered that before I decided to do the MX5 Cobra I liked the idea of doing an electric car conversion - so, light bulb moment - let's do an electric scooter conversion! A bit of research later to see how feasible it would be, estimating likely costs, etc, and the project was a go. But, what scooter should I convert? Obviously, the name "Vespa&qu
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Electric Scooter Assembly Time

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Honda Joker Replica frame with wheels reinstalled
First stage complete


First stage of the reassembly was to reinstall the stands, swing-arm, wheels and suspension, then reattach the handle-bars and hook up the brakes.

Retro scooter frame with wheels reinstalledRetro moped frame with wheels reinstalled

Then... I noticed the electric throttle off the Electro Scoot was for a 22mm thick handle-bar, where as the Joker replica has 25mm ones. A quick Internet search, an AliExpress order later and a matching 25mm throttle was on it's way from China.

In the meantime, I can get on with installing the wiring loom and hooking up the rest of the electrics.

Electrics installed under seat in retro scooterElectrics and wiring in converted scooter

All fitting well, but look at the mess at the front... 😅

Front view of wiring loom on converted electric moped scooter
Spaghetti junction
Took a couple of hours in the end, but I managed to get all the wires hooked up. Quick double-check before hooking up the battery to test it all, and... no smoke, yay - it works! Well, mostly. The fuel gauge meter, which I'd changed to a 60V power meter using the meter mechanism out of the Electro Scoot scooter, was turning backwards, so needed rewiring.

Converted electric moped instrument gauges
Standard 12V Meter on left & 60V 'Fuel' Meter on right


Next I ordered a second 60V battery pack - which took a couple of weeks to arrive thanks to courier delays. But, the battery and new 25mm throttle turned up the same week. So, I now have everything to complete the assembly.

New 60V lithium battery packs installed in converted electric moped
Batteries packed in and hooked up


New throttle fitted and everything retested. Time to start fitting those panels.


Converted electric Honda Joker Replica scooter minus panels
All ready to start fitting the panels


And, all complete - see next blog post for the final product...







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