Tronbike Meter (TBM) 4.0.0 Test Ride

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Riding 48 Volts - Yippee!

I installed a switch on my pre-charge resistor on the advice of ElectricMotorSport's Todd Kollin. I did this using a chunk of lexan which also acts as a safety cover over the main switch and fuse lugs. I now have 4 switches to activate to go from dead to a motor armed position. I also finished installing the charger wiring to the batteries and cleaned up the AC side wiring with a lightweight powerstrip.

The extra power has transformed Tronbike 1 into something a bit interesting. The acceleration is awesome, I didn't ride long enough or on a "real" enough road to get top speed, but I was going north of 30, which felt really fast - actually the fastest I have been on a motorcycle. It feels quick enough to make my own inspirational You Tube video.

The effect of going from dead silent stop to zipping up to speed reminds me of joyriding snowmobiles as a teenager - just aim, hit the throttle and hold on. Unfortunately, this isn't on a frozen lake, Berkeley is full of busi-body traffic, pedestrians and speed bumps/humps. I need to find a better weekend test track.

The side effect of power and my jackrabbit starts is heat - the motor was really hot to the touch, and didn't cool for a long time.

TODO
  • Get headlight working, daylight here is short. Hacking the H4 bulb with LEDs from the CREE is my latest thought.
  • Get a temperature probe, on or around the motor. Plan for a fan/duct work/liquid cooling system.
  • Get the iPAQ working, we need a fuel gauge. Travis of evfr.net says the Alltrax needs serial isolation even during runtime (rather than just under charging), need to confirm.
  • Get some battery terminal covers for goodness sake.
  • Get 1 foot cables for the chargers.
  • Re-mount the motor 1 inch higher to get the chain off the driveline protector. This will be tedious, perhaps requiring a new mount if there is not space to re-drill.
  • Consider adding a 5th and final battery.

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