An Electric Moped for David

Hi, my name is Chris Hoffman I'm a single dad of 2 boys. I work as an IT systems analyst at our local hospital in Augusta, ME and I also volunteer as a FIRST robotics mentor at Erskine Academy First Team 4042. My 17 year old son David wants to build an electric Moped. David has ASD (Autism Spectrum disorder) but it doesn’t hold him back. David is a brilliant Kid with some distractibility which is holding him back from getting his driver’s license, but he does really well with his mountain bike and has made many trips of 12 - 18 miles, both in town and in the rural area we live without issue. He is working with his vocational rehab workers to get ready for the workforce and hopefully college. He is studying for his Moped permit which is much easier than the full drivers test. His hope is to be able to commute on his own to work/school. We picked up a well-used Moped for $75 but the engine is seized. Being robotics and Radio control enthusiasts we want to convert it to electric and have been doing research on Moped conversions. We are seeking $1000 for converting his Moped to electric almost all of it is for Batteries, Motor and controller. We have done some calculations and we think that the list of equipment we have researched will give him a top speed of 30 to 35 mph and a range of about 30 miles. We are predicting that the actual stats will be slightly less. David is going into his senior in High school this would be an awesome graduation present form the internet.

Please help us make this a reality.   Any of the funding that we do not use on this project will be donated to the Autism Society of Maine. 

Thak you