Does it make sense to replace motor in 1975 HD electric?

[Slfranci]

Hi. We have a 1975 HD electric 4 wheel. It's speed tops out at a whopping 14 mph. We love our cart, but would like for it to be a little faster. The last time we had some work done, we asked the guy at the golf cart repair shop about replacing the motor, and he basically told us not to bother, to get something newer.

Is it really as much of a waste as he made it out to be, especially given that we have a real fondness for our HD? Are there newer motors that can be easily placed into a cart this old? Or is it so difficult and expensive to do this that the guy is correct and we should just forget about it?

Right now is the time we need to decide if that's a direction we can go in. All the batteries need to be replaced, and before we spend all that money on batteries, we'd like to know if getting a faster motor is even feasible.

If anyone with knowledge about this topic could chime in, we would greatly appreciate any information you have to offer.

Thank you.

[davehc]

I am not an expert on electric carts by any means , but I have spent many hours on my 1980 MG IV Harley . I would recommend getting a service manual , if you don't already have one , and manually check each part of the system , to be sure you don't have any defective parts . Also , if your batteries are too far gone , you wont ever get your full speed , so make sure you have a good charge on all when checking it out . Hope this helps some , these old Harley wireing systems can make you pull your hair out . I once had one of the cart suppliers " guru's " tell me that the Harley electric carts are the most complicated systems out there .

[gravelydude]

I am not an expert, but I had a similar situation with a 1985 Club Car DS. It ran at 12-14 mph on the flat. We live in an area of extreme hills, and the cart slowed to about half speed going uphill. I replaced the battery pack with a lithium pack with an increase in nominal voltage and rewired all cables with 2 gauge. The cart still has a resistor coil and solenoids rather than a controller, but now has a moderate increase in flat maximum speed; and a significant improvement in uphill torque and speed. This cart has sentimental value to me and my wife, as it was given to us by my wife's grandmother upon her death at 101.

My point is, you may just want to increase voltage and make other improvements to achieve the desired speed increase. Just a thought.

Jack

[johnny reb]

check all the terminals including the ones on the motor. i replaced a few terminals on dads 69 and tightened one terminal on the motor and wallah it ran faster almost too fast for 3 wheels. the batteries age will affect the performance i also put Epsom salt in the batteries (yes it seems to help)