I rode the bike (with the 30v battery supply) to the mall. It did better than before with 24v. The six volt nimh battery didn't over heat and showed just a little drain. The 12v batteries came in at 13.25 which is considered full. Most likely they drained less than a volt for two miles which is pretty good. Without a controller I can get help from them all the way down to 11.5 or so without any significant damage to them. The nimh won't be a problem since they can drain lower than the sla without damage.

I have all those nimh batteries laying about. I might just make up some more of the six volt packs to keep one charged at all times. I have set the packs up so that i can pull them out of the loop and have 24 volt packs with the same batteries. The no controller bike is a lot more versatile. The nimh addition somehow eliminates the jerk when starting. I think it keeps the output of the batteries consistant. That would help with the power drain of the sla if it is true. We shall see after some more time passes.