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American Engines Pedal Power Cycle Chair Tricycle Rebuild Kit

Hi I am looking to completely update my fathers 3 wheeled scooter for him but am in sure at what all I would need. I am looking at re wiring, putting a bigger motor, and also replacing the switch box throttle, breaks any help or insight would be appreciative. Thanks

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It looks to be a 24 Volt electrical system because I see two 12 Volt batteries on the scooter. Do you happen to know how many Watts the motor is rated for and if there is a chain between the motor and axle?

It does have a chain and also has a belt. I'm not sure how many watts do you know how I can determine how many watts it is?

If the motor does not have a label on that says what its Watt rating is then the only other way I know of to determine its power rating is by researching the brand and model of the scooter. Do you know or are there any labels on the scooter that say what brand or model it is?


It looks a lot like a Palmer Industries electric trike, however it does not look exactly like any of them that I have ever seen so I am not sure if maybe it is a very old model Palmer trike or if it a knock off brand. If it is a Palmer trike then they have quite powerful motors for their gearing and should be able to climb steep hills, however their speed is limited to around 13 MPH.


The motor looks like a pretty decent size to me so if the motor runs then you might want to try using it with a new battery pack, controller, and throttle to see if it has enough power. We have 24 Volt 1000 Watt controllers that would provide a lot of power to the motor so it might run faster than it did with its original controller.


Also its going to be tough to find a throttle that will fit on that loop steering wheel because they all need to slip over the end of a bar. You might want to consider changing the handlebars over to a regular style handlebar so a throttle could be installed onto them. We sell some handlebars that we call ape hangers that look like they would be a good fit for the trike.


                        Item # HBR-795

Here are some pictures. I did not see anywhere that said what watts it is. The motor runs fine on it and if I could get away with not replacing it that would work but it slips and I would like to re wire it and re do the throttle and switches and new belts and chains. Is there anyway I could replace that switch board with a new one?
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As soon as I saw the photo of the motor I instantly recognized it as an American Engines PedalPower electric motor. We have a couple of PedalPower Electroped electric bicycles that have the exact same motor. I found an old advertisement from PedalPower and recognize the tricycle that you have in it, so that is an American Engines PedalPower brand Cycle Chair electric tricycle. Here is the advertisement showing a couple of the Cycle Chair electric scooter models that you have near the bottom left-hand corner of the image.


These bikes and trikes were made back in the 70s and early 80s which was before inexpensive large MOSFET transistors were available, so they used switches and or relays to turn the motor on and off which means they had single or dual speed motor speed control. We now have infinitely variable speed controllers and throttles which can bring these old bikes into the future and make them a lot more efficient and fun to ride.


Looking the photo of the power transmission area where the chain and belt are I notice that the motor is adjusted all the way in the tighten position and there is a lot of belt dust in the area due to the belt slipping. To fix this slipping problem the belt can be taken to an auto parts store and belt that is just slightly smaller can be purchased so that it will hold and not slip because its tension will be able to be properly adjusted.


Looking at the motor again I notice that it is PedalPower's larger one horsepower version and that the trike has a lot of gear reduction so that motor should provide plenty of power for the trike. The chain looks like #35 size however I would measure the center to center distance between two adjacent pins to verify its size before ordering a new chain. #35 chain has a 3/8" center to center spacing between link pins. We sell #35 chain on this page: 

https://www.electricscooterparts.com/chain35.html


The switch board on the handlebars could be removed and its functions could be replaced with a throttle which has a battery level meter and key switch built into it, along with a handlebar mount switch that could be used as the reverse switch. This way all of the switches could be controlled without taking your hands off of the handlebar. Or if you prefer the switch board could be left in place and a new key switch and reverse switch could be installed into it, and a new throttle without a key switch or battery meter could be used.



We could make a kit out of all the parts needed to update the trike including the throttle, reverse switch and relays, controller, battery charger, and batteries. Or I could post the item numbers for these parts and they could be purchased individually.
I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the info you have given me. I knew nothing about scooters before writing this forum and you have helped me tremendously thank you. If you could just make a kit for me and also include a brake system, head light and break light with it too please.
Hey I was wondering if you had the kit with the parts done yet looking at ordering soon
Sorry for the late reply I was away from work for a couple of days. I just started making the kit but then realized that I did not know the dimensions of the batteries. Could you please let me know what the dimensions of the batteries are so I can include the same size batteries with the kit?
They are 12V and the dimensions are L-7 3/4 W-5 H-5 1/2
The closest battery size we have is item # BAT-12V35AB which is 7-5/8" long x 5-1/8" wide x 6-1/4" high. It is 1/8" wider than the old batteries. Would this size battery fit into the battery boxes?
Yeah that should be fine I'm planing on making new battery boxes anyways

Okay I will start working on the kit then. I will let you know if I have any more questions while I am putting it together.

Ok thank you!!
I just wanted to let you know that I am still working on your kit and have not forgotten about you. I expect to have the kit ready by tomorrow and I will reply back again tomorrow.
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