I’ve been following the electric vehicle scene for many years and I decided it was time for me build an electric vehicle of some kind. I thought I would start off small, and I had seen very few electric ATV conversions on the web so it seemed like a good first project that I could work on with my sons. I don’t think anyone has built one with the same performance and features. In addition to the electric drive conversion, I also set it up so that I can attach and power electric implements, making it more useful than just something to drive around.
ATV Before Conversion
I bought a used 2004 Polaris Sportsman for this project which was in good running condition. I wanted something in good shape considering all the time that would go into the conversion. The shot below is what the ATV looked like before I started any work.
The main reason I chose this ATV model is that the engine and transmission are separate units, which you will see later made the conversion quite a bit easier. In some ATVs the engine and transmission are contained in the same housing, and this would have made adapting the electric motor drive much more difficult. The specifications of the stock ATV are as follows:
- Engine: single cylinder 4-stroke 500cc, peak HP=38@6600RPM, peak torque=33 ftlbs@5400RPM (at crankshaft)
- On-demand all-wheel drive
- Electric winch
- Transmission: 2 forward speeds and 1 reverse speed, plus continuously variable clutch drive between engine and transmission
- Towing capacity 1200lbs
- Dry weight: 700lbs, GVWR: 1200lbs
- Full specs can be found here
Disassembly
Here is my engineering team for this project, having one last “ride” on the ATV before taking it apart:
From some of the photos below you can see they were gung-ho on taking it apart, but later on when it came time to do the more time consuming design and assembly it took more cajoling to get them to stick around.
The picture below shows the original continuously variable clutch drive between the engine crankshaft and transmission input shaft. This is the same kind of drive commonly used in snowmobiles. The previous picture above shows the clutch pulleys removed from the engine and transmission, and this makes it fairly clear that to convert it to electric, it was “simply” a matter of driving the input shaft of the transmission with the electric motor. The two-speed gearbox used in this ATV was ideal since it would have a low speed for any maneuvering or pulling jobs, and a high speed for getting around on the road. The transmission ratios between the input shaft and axle for Low, High and Reverse are about 26:1, 10.5:1, and 16.5:1.
I found out there is a good market for used parts for these ATVs, so all the parts we removed will be sold and useful to someone else. Basically everything related to the engine including fuel tank, fuel system, exhaust, cooling system, air filter, etc. all came out. The complete dis-assembly took the three of us about 3 hours. We also took out some of the original electric system related to the engine ignition, but left in all wiring necessary for the electronic console that displays gear selector, odometer and also controls the on-demand front wheel drive. The 12V battery was left in, which will be charged from the main traction battery pack as I will describe later below. The total weight of all the removed components was about 100 lbs.
The Electric Drive Components
The main components of any electric conversion are the traction (drive) battery pack, electric motor, and motor controller. There were many smaller components used in the conversion that I will describe later below. The two main choices I considered for the battery were lead-acid and lithium. The main advantage of lead-acid is a lower initial cost. However, the cost of lithium batteries has dropped considerably over the last several years to the point where in the long run the cost of using a lithium battery is lower than lead-acid. Lithium cells can be recycled at the end of their life, but they can also be used for other less demanding electric storage applications when they no longer have sufficient capacity for an electric vehicle. There are other pros/cons to consider when choosing a battery and this issue generates a lot of discussion on the electric vehicle conversion forums. More about the basics of lead-acid vs lithium can be found here and here.
After quite a bit of research I decided to use lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) cells. LiFePO4 is the chemistry of the cathode material used in the lithium ion cell. The main reason I chose LiFePO4 is that they are very safe and do not have any problems with thermal runaway and fire like some other types of lithium chemistry cells. In past years there were some laptop fires caused by lithium cells, but these were a specific type of lithium chemistry (LiCoO2) combined with poorly designed battery management systems.
After taking measurements of the frame and figuring out where all the cells and other components would be installed in the ATV, I chose 100Ah cells made by Calib Power Inc. These cells have a nominal voltage of 3.2V, weigh 3.2kg(~7lbs), and are 142mm x 67mm x 218mm (~5.6″x2.6″x8.6″). The cells have a maximum discharge current rating of 800A for short periods of time, so a single cell can provide about 2.5 kW of peak electric power (~3.3HP). In most electric vehicle applications the general rule-of-thumb is that the battery pack should be designed so that the vehicle is drawing less current than 1 times the Ah capacity of the cell (1C) the majority of the time to maximize battery life. So for my 100Ah cells that would be a current of 100A. Each cell looks like the photo below:
I wanted to have a significant amount of battery capacity to allow the ATV to have a good driving range and also because I would be using the ATV to drive electric implements. So the total number of cells that I ended up installing in the ATV was 32, which gives a nominal battery pack capacity of 10.24 kWh. To maintain good battery life, the cells should not be discharged to less than 20% of their full capacity, which means the battery pack in the ATV has a useable capacity of about 8 kWh. I’ll translate this to what this should mean for driving distance later below. Since each cell weighs 3.2kg, the total weight of the battery pack is about 102kg (225lbs).
The motor I decided to use is made by High Performance Electric Vehicles, model AC-20. This is an AC induction motor specifically designed for electric vehicles, and is shown in the picture below. The motor weighs 50 lbs and is 6.5″ in diameter x 12.5″ long. The motor has a continuous rating of 13HP and peak rpm of 6500, and with the motor controller I am using a peak rating of 37 HP and peak torque of approximately 75 ft-lbs. Unlike the original engine, the peak torque is available at zero rpm and the torque curve is fairly flat over a wide rpm range and then slowly decreases at higher rpms (which makes electric motors actually more suited to power a vehicle than an engine). So in comparison to the stock engine that was in the ATV, the electric motor produces about the same peak HP and a little more than twice the peak torque.
The motor controller that I used is made by Curtis Instruments, model 1238-7501. It has a nominal input voltage range of 72-96V, a 2 minute current rating of 650A, and a 2 minute power rating of 74kVA. The controller is programmable and can be set up to use in many different applications. For electric vehicle applications it has the benefit of allowing regenerative braking, electronic forward and reverse, and has multiple safety fail-safe features.
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I completed the project in 2012 but have not been able to add to the writeup on the conversion here lately. You can find more information about the project at the evalbum. The project was also featured in the February 2013 edition of Current Events, a publication from the Electric Auto Association.
Rondeau Energy Guy 
Cool project…want to convert a mx-5 next!
Did you finish your project? I am looking at converting my Polaris Sportman 400 and would like to know how yours works.
Hi Gordon. Yes I finished the majority of the project last February but have not finished my write up here yet. The only things I have remaining are to attach the air cooling system that I have built, and build a guard around the synchronous belt that runs between the motor and transmission. I also plan to finish the electric snowblower attachment over the next several weeks.
I would be happy to answer any questions you have, and also send you a bunch of pictures I took during the conversion. The performance of the machine exceeded my expectations. I am willing to bet that it would take any ATV in a drag race – it certainly outperforms the original stock machine.
Stuart
Great project and nice intro write-up. I’d love to see the write-up on the completed production (at least what you’ve done so far). Anything you’d do differently, if you we’re to build another? Is there room on the finished build to put the recharger on board, so you can plug it in anywhere you go?
Thanks again for taking the time to share!
Thanks for the comment. Yes, I have an onboard charger so can plug it in anywhere. I have a summary on the evalbum website here: http://www.evalbum.com/4539.
How much did u end up spending?
Excellent project
I am handicapped and am looking for a somewhat inexpensive way to make a single seat golf cart type vehicle that I can get into my garage next to my wife’s car and still have enough power to get up the hill. I have two golf golf carts already but they are two wide to get into the garage.so so I have to park them in my shop which is quite aways away. I also own a Polaris 500 which i really don’t drive anymore became its too hard to get on
Love your project and im going to build an e-atv myself for hunting and work around the farm. The atv im using is a 2001 polaris 500 HO I was able to pick it up for $400 so i don’t have much in the atv it self. im planning on a 48v system becuase i really dont need speed.Range and torq is the main thing im looking for and for it to be quiet to slip in and out of my hunting area. Is there any thing you can tell me about converting this polaris that might make it easier or anything you wish you would of done different. Do you think a 48v system would work good on the polaris using the drivetrain thats already in the atv. what kind of range to you think i could get using a 48v system with a 100 to 200ah battery.Any help would be appreciated.
Hi Chris. Thanks for the interest in my project.
Overall I am very happy with how the ATV turned out. The performance is great with very high torque and it has plenty of capacity for longer rides. I go for offroad rides with some friends that have gas ATVs and they are always amazed at how helpful the extra torque is for slower steep climbs, etc. I can do several hours of snowplowing in my neighborhood and still have capacity left. I would say the only negative is the extra weight, but there is no way around that right now with current battery technology. I would assume that your range would be directly proportional to the battery pack capacity, and I don’t see any reason a 48V system could not work. My pack is 96V and 100ah and I get about 30 miles range driving at lower speeds and starting with a battery pack at room temperature – my garage is warm in the winter. I am also using an AC drive system which is slightly more efficient than a DC system. The belt drive I am using to connect the motor to the transmission works much better than the chain system I used for a few weeks initially. Feel free to ask questions as you work on the project.
Great project! I also just got a 96 Polaris sportsman that had been converted to electric (36V but think I will expand to 48v) with a similar engine/transmission set up. I was wanting to replace the noisy sprocket and chain for a belt drive similar to yours. It looks like I would be a to use the same belt and pulleys and was hoping you might be able to list the size/models of the pulleys and belt so I know I would be getting something that has been proven to work. FYI, the separation between the center of the motor sprocket and transmission sprocket is right around 10″ with wiggle room. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Pat.
The belt drive will definitely be quieter, but it is also somewhat more expensive. At the time I did the conversion, the belt, pulleys and bushings were about $US300. They are made by Gates and I bought them through McMaster-Carr. Here is a list of the components I used:
– 1x polychain 8mm pitch 21mm wide carbon belt (product # 7904k139)
– 2x polychain 4″ OD pulleys (product # 7970K16)
– 1x taper-lock bushing, 7/8″ bore for mounting pulley on electric motor shaft (product # 57095K159)
– 1x taper-lock bushing, 1 – 1/2″ bore for mounting pulley on transmission shaft (product # 57095K167)
The parts you may need could be different than what I listed above. You would need to go on the Gates website to calculate the correct belt length based on the exact distance between the motor shaft and transmission shaft in your setup. You will also need to be able to adjust the distance to correctly tension the belt. Alignment of the pulleys is also more critical than sprockets on a chain drive to prevent wear of the belt.
Since you already have a sprocket on the transmission, I assume you have adapted the shaft with a keyway. When I did my conversion, I removed the inner shaft from the variable speed pulley that was on the transmission and cut a keyway into the shaft. This shaft fits over the splined shaft that comes out of the transmission and is 1 – 1/2″ OD.
Thanks! This is great information. It looks like this should work, but I might have a little work to figuring out the pulley on the transmission shaft. I actually didn’t do this conversion, just bought it converted and I am trying to upgrade it. So, not really sure where the current connector came from. It does go over the splined shaft with a bolt holding it on and can be easily pulled off with the bolt removed. Looks like the sprocket has a 2″ ID and is held on to the connector that goes over the splined shaft by 3 bolts.
This is so cool! I am going to do this for the Honda TRX250X. 😉
Did u ever convert your Honda? And what kind of motor did u use
I have a Suzuki King Quad 500 axi, any ideas on how to convert? What are the pain points? How much of the transmission can I keep? How much money do you estimate the project to cost?
Hi Todd.
The biggest reason I used the Polaris for this conversion project was that the engine and transmission were in separate cases, so it was easier to remove the engine and leave the rest of the drivetrain intact. I am not familiar with the Suzuki so not able to provide any guidance, but even if an ATV does not have a separate engine case it would be possible with more work to convert it. Depending on the motor you choose you may still need some form of transmission to allow for gear reduction prior to connection to the drive axle. I have actually considered an ATV v2 project where I connect two separate motors to front and rear differentials, which would simplify the mechanical drivetrain and allow for efficient all-wheel drive.
The primary challenge (not really a pain point, since I consider challenge something to look forward to) was being able to fit all the components (batteries, motor, charger, motor controller) into the ATV frame without making significant modifications. The biggest cost in any EV conversion project is batteries, and to get the same range as my ATV (~50km) you would need to spend $2000 – $4000.
For now I have moved on to a new EV conversion project – an electric 1968 mustang fastback.
We like hunting but conven atv’s are too loud. Our thoughts are stripping engine, tranny and drive train and going with electric hub motors a battery pack for stealth mode but with a small gas genset to to keep everything charged up while running around to and from. Then switching to electric only when stealth is needed. Do you think this could work?
I considered hub motors for this project and also for a car project I am working on right now. Unfortunately, hub motor technology is still developing and it would be more difficult to build up a system with hub motors. Using the existing differentials and half-shafts also makes it easier to keep the motor up and away from most of the water, dirt, etc.
If you have a charger mounted on the ATV, then yes you could potentially extend your range using a small generator, perhaps mounted to your back rack. My ATV gets about 30 miles of off road range with ~8kWh of battery pack capacity, so roughly 3.5 miles per kwh. So a 1kW generator would need to run for about 1 hour to give you 3.5 miles of range (without accounting for charger losses).
HI i am interested in talking further with you about this project
could you please email on mars1965@bigpond.net.au
thank you for your time
Mario
Hi Mario. Thanks for your interest in the project. I emailed you at the address you gave a few days ago. Let me know if you did not receive it.
Stuart
Hi Stuart spoke to u a few months back,looks like i have found a polaris 400 can u please send me all information i need to do the conversion like yours thanks.please send to my email if posible.
Can you please send me the info too. Pictures and how you have it hooked up
I bought a Honda foreman. I am going to extend quite a bit as to accomodate the batterys . I do not need 4×4.
Would it be best to use . The rear or front axle.
Sorry for the delayed reply. I think powering the rear axle would be best, both in terms of mechanical complexity and also stability of your machine.
Hi Mario. Happy to help out with your conversion. I don’t have my conversion documented in one “package”, but can help out with pictures of specific components, and feel free to email with questions.
Stuart
Superb! Absolutely perfect. I read through your EValbum entry and it’s just a fantastic conversion you pulled off here. I’ve done a couple smaller vehicle conversions for use here on our farm and it gets to be quite a puzzle at various points. I could understand and agree with every single design choice you made and you came up with several clever little details I might not have thought of. The dash pot for the Aux controller for the snowblower motor is great and the thermodisk cooling fan sequence for the motor enclosure is another great solution in its elegant simplicity.
I have no intentions to convert an ATV presently but I’m thrilled to know that the DIY bar has been set so high and others can be inspired and guided by your work. Well done Stuart!
Thank you for the very generous comments!!
The ATV still works great, although I use it mainly in the winter. I used the snow blower for a little while, but now I just use a plow on the front to push snow. The aux controller and blower worked fine, but it made the front end of the ATV very heavy and harder to maneuver. I bought a 6 foot plow and the ATV easily pushes a lot of snow with the blade due to extra weight of the conversion. So now I need to come up with other implements to power with the aux controller 🙂
I also completed a 3-year restoration and conversion of a 68 Mustang this past summer. It won Ford Canada’s #sweeteststang contest (see their Facebook page) and my Instagram account @stufriedrich for some photos of that project.
What an amazing project! Reid Allaway is right on… the standards are high and after 45-60 minutes of reading on your project and the Mustang project I just entered a new world which I was not aware was this advanced. I was simply reading up on how to convert a small 110cc atv I have for my kid that is always broken (carb, starter, battery, etc.) and for which I spent more time fixing then my son driving it. It’s a chinese model atv and since he’s only 5 yr old and the atv is pretty light I was not sure what motor and voltage to use since I don’t want to overdo it. Any advice would be really appreciated 🙂
Thank you very much for the comments, and sorry for the late reply. Also see Ford Canada’s post on my Mustang, which won their #sweeteststang contest last year.
For a small ATV like that you would not need much power. If they are just going to drive it around on grass or pavement, a 2-3000W motor/controller would likely be fine. Look for packages on ebay made for using in scooters or small ATVs, like these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Complete-Kit-Electric-Brushless-DC-Motor-48V-2000W-High-Speed-Motor-4300RPM/293406563962?_trkparms=aid%3D333200%26algo%3DCOMP.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20171012094517%26meid%3Df09c89404c004bdb83470de4f33e9dc1%26pid%3D100008%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D11%26sd%3D264262805655%26itm%3D293406563962%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100008.m2219
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Electric-Scooter-Motor-72v-3000w-Electric-With-Bldc-Controller-3-speed-Throttle/312919187587?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3Df122640ac25447e895a05b078760b48e%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dpf%26sd%3D264262805655%26itm%3D312919187587%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851
A less expensive way to go would be to find a used forklift DC motor at a scrapyard and a controller, but this would require more DIY fabrication.
Lithium batteries are more cost effective if you are planning to hold on to the ATV for a long time, otherwise you can find some deep cycle lead-acid batteries. The motor and controller you choose will determine the voltage you need, but likely will be 36-48V.
Hope this helps.
Thank you for your reply, very generous of you! I finally took a motor from an old threadmill and now am looking for a controller and throttle to control speed. I am actually looking to do more DIY fabrication 🙂 I actually found something that I am really passionate about and want to do a small project but eventually do some bigger ones as well. I have the space, the will and the desire to learn & build some amazing projects that have to do with conversions! Thanks for sharing your passion which was simply contagious and impacted my life and eventually the ones of my children 🙂
Hi I’m fourteen and want to do the conversion for a school project, if you can guide me on the components to be used for an adult ATV .
Regards,
Alawadhi
Great write up – just bought a 1986 YFM 200DXW, looking to convert to electric and came by your site. This is my first ATV and am using it to plow snow for my parents driveway. It keeps dying and i change something and it lives for not much longer, so I figured electric is the way to go. Having difficulty finding resources or guidance on the parts I need to do a complete change, so this post helped significantly. Any further ideas on where to acquire the parts would be much appreciated and/or install documentation online, maybe?
Thanks for your interest in my ATV. I also have a little bit of information about the project on EValbum (http://www.evalbum.com/4539), and you may get ideas from other projects on that site as well.
The main cost for any EV conversion is the batteries, and there are more options since I built this project. Lithium batteries are the most cost-effective in the long run, and the least expensive batteries are from salvage (wrecked) electric cars, like the Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt, Tesla, etc.
Unfortunately there are no plug-and-play conversion kits, so you have to do quite a bit of custom fabrication. My suggestion is to make sure you do a lot of research and planning before starting the project so that you end up with components that are compatible and something that works well. Here are some websites that may be helpful:
elmoto.net
diyelectriccar.com
electricmotorsport.com
evwest.com
Happy to answer specific questions once you have done some research and figured out a high-level plan.
I am helping another EV enthusiast convert his ATV; he wanted to buy the AC20 to operate at 96V. After my review, I lean toward the AC35 at 72V. More continuous hp; lower cost. Is there a reason you selected the AC20 at 96V? Thanks! Bob@EVAmerica.com
Hi. Is it just a regular sized ATV like mine? I can tell you that the AC20 provides more than enough power for my ATV, so the AC35 would be overkill. With regard to system voltage, generally speaking a higher system voltage translates to a higher rpm where full torque is available (i.e. more horsepower). Have a look at the power graphs for the AC20 for various system voltages (https://www.hpevs.com/hpevs-ac-electric-motors-power-graphs-ac-20.htm). Also, assuming you use the same AH size cells, a higher system voltage means a higher total battery pack capacity. My recommendation is to focus on making sure you have enough battery capacity, rather than how much power the motor and controller will produce.
Thank you so much for doing all of this, then putting the information online. Between you and a few creators on youtube, you have me inspired to convert my tired 2007 Polaris X2 500. I use it on my property only to plow, tow a brush cutter, and clear trees (so almost always under 20 mph in low). My goal would be 3-5 hours of drive time, and maybe a 110v/20amp outlet to run tools off of. Did you leave the ECM in place? or was that completely removed in the conversion? I think I can pretty much copy your work here, so I really appreciate you putting all the information online. If you were doing this today, would you change anything with more modern components?
Hi Scott. Thanks for the comments on my project! Sounds like converting your ATV would suit the type of work you want to do with it. The only electronics that I left in place on my ATV were the ones to run the digital display in the handlebar pod and to control the head/tail lights and engagement of 4WD. Everything else was removed. I think the main change I would make if converting one now is to use a sealed and water cooled motor. Using an air cooled motor made it more challenging because I needed to enclose it to make it reasonably water proof, and then use a supplemental fan to circulate air in the enclosure. In terms of batteries, there are now many more sources for salvage electric car batteries that can be used on conversion projects, whereas I bought new LiFePO4 batteries back when I did my project. That will save you some money. Make sure you use a BMS on your batteries, regardless of what you read from some people saying a BMS is not needed. Happy to provide any input if you need any other suggestions.
Thank you so much for the reply. Liquid cooled was what I thinking as well. Did you use an exchanger for the batteries as well? I know some electric cars use them for cooling the batteries in addition to the motors. I will for sure engage you when I start the project, likely this winter/spring (after plow season is done and before brush cutting is needed).
The batteries are CALB LiFePO4 cells, and do not have any built in cooling. I thought about adding a heating pad to the battery box, but decided not to. I store my ATV in my heated garage, so the battery stays at a fairly constant temp. When driving the ATV or charging, there is not enough current flow through the cells to cause them to heat up significantly.
I am starting to build my materials list out for my conversion, to figure out my prices and such. I was thinking a 48V liquid cooled PMAC for the motor. Wondering if this one is a little over-sized for the application included in this kit: https://www.electricmotorsport.com/me1803-liquid-cooled-motor-drive-system-1536.html
Admittedly, I am dropping the need to run tools from it, or even need for a second DC to DC system like you did. (I only need to run the winch for plowing and stuff and lights)
The battery sizing math is escaping me at the moment. I like the idea of getting a good BMS, then cheaping out on salvaged batteries. The only issue with that, is BMS’s don’t seem to be universal and can be battery system specific.
The next debate is about heating. This winter was cold in my garage. The debate I have is, do I heat the batteries for charging? or do I just insulate and heat the garage as a whole?
I appreciate your feedback and thoughts.
Hi Scott.
I have seen those motenergy liquid cooled systems before, and they look good. I suspect that it would provide you with plenty of power for what you plan to do with the ATV.
My battery capacity is about 9.5kWh, and this is enough for me to plow snow for ~3 hrs (all my neighbors driveways). So that may give you an idea about your needed battery capacity.
If you plan to use your winch to raise and lower the plow, you will be using a lot of capacity from your 12V battery, so you will either need to have a large deep cycle battery that you charge after each use, or include a DC/DC converter that charges the typical small 12V ATV battery from your larger lithium pack. I have a DC/DC in my system.
I would highly recommend a BMS, especially if you use a lithium chemistry other than LiFePO4. There are many out there that are fully customizable/programmable. In my current project, I am using the one made by Thunderstruck Motors (https://www.thunderstruck-ev.com/bms/).
Lithium batteries can be discharged at very low temperatures, but they must only be charged at above freezing temperatures (>0 deg C), otherwise you can damage them. As I am sure you know, low temperatures also significantly reduce the capacity of lithium batteries. The effect is only temporary, and you regain the capacity when the batteries are warmer.
Hope this helps.
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I’m looking into converting my 2009 Yamaha rhino 700 cc. Thanks for all the good info I see posted here.
Excellent write up!
I am looking to convert a Chins 700 4×4 UTV to electric. The issue I am facing is trying to connect both drive shafts up to one motor. Any ideas? Worse case I can just use the reach driveshaft and connect the motor directly to that using a coupler, however not sure a AC-20 motor will power the 1200 lb side bu side UTV. We will mainly use it to low speed (under 10mph) high torque (pull seed spreader) Where did you find the foot pedal and controller, etc.
Hi Terry. Since you are mainly interested in low speeds, you will definitely need some form of gear reduction between the motor and the driveshafts. Is there no way to use the existing transmission, and connect the electric motor to where the engine powers the transmission? That way you have the required gear reduction and power to each of the driveshafts.
An AC-20 motor will likely provide you with plenty of power. My ATV is way overpowered and I rarely use the full power.
I used the existing thumb throttle, and connected the end of the cable to a potentiometer box (e.g. https://www.amazon.ca/Friday-Part-Throttle-Micro-Potentiometer/dp/B07VTKJNPQ) which is connected to the motor controller. So you could use your existing foot throttle and connect something similar. The motor controller is usually paired with the motor when you buy it. See https://www.electricmotorsport.com/ for examples.
Thank you so much for your generous sharing of you project. I am in Australia and have a Hawkeye 4wd and love it so hoped to source another with a stuffed engine cheap. Trouble is Polaris have stopped importing quads to Australia so second hand Hawkeyes or Sportsmans are in high demand for parts. But I will persevere and hope to do a conversion soon. Electric is ideal for on the farm as quiet operation is great for when sheep are lambing so they are not scared.
Awesome to come across this information, thank you! I am currently converting a “snowdog” style of tracksled for trail gro0ming, and have already had to learn more than expected. One concern is finding batteries that can adequate provide enough discharge current (100A continuous, 300A max). Using basically a golf cart/forklift 36 volt system with programmable Curtis controller.