A person by the name of Traviz Gintz in Portland, Oregon has converted a 1986 Honda VFR motorcycle from gas to electric power, AutoblogGreen reports. He used a DC motor from Advanced DC, twelve used 12-volt lead-acid batteries, and a 600 amp motor controller to do the job, along with some other assorted parts.

It's not going to blow anyone away on paper; the bike only gets about 15 to 20 miles on a charge with the used batteries, and will eventually get 30 to 40 miles on a charge with new ones. But it reaches 70 mph, and it looks totally stock, which is a huge accomplishment.

As Gintz wrote on his blog: "The first question out of everyone's mouth was 'How far does it go'... to which I replied '15-20 miles on crappy used UPS batteries I got for free'. I initially wanted to go with larger lead [acid batteries], but since these were free, I wanted to develop/test the mechanical first, and then upgrade to lithium in the fall. Its all working and now I can shop for alternatives to lead."