The Money Shot

Finally had a chance to shoot the bikes together.  Thanks to a good friend who volunteered her garden and her time to help. 

Thanks, Alison

Aerodynamic flow simulations (aero nerd heaven)

Dream mod for my Previa is a boat tail.  I prepared a few videos to see if the flow works out.  This is from a free program called Flow Illustrator.

The flow is the most stable on the boat tail version and wake and mixing are the smallest.

 

This view shows a deflector wing and belly pan.  Too much mixing and unstable wake behind the wing.

Here is the stock simulation.  Note the turbulent mixing under the van as well as the wavy, unstable large wake.

My next major project for the Previa will be an under belly pan. 

Don'tcha just love the interwebs?

Our Neighbour

This is our resident barred owl.  Not terribly concerned about humans apparently. She can be seen afternoons and evenings in the spring and summer perched near one of the ponds waiting for salamanders to surface.  Sometimes you can hear her young fuzzy ones hissing hungily, deeper in the woods.  The behbehs are harder to spot and very difficult to photograph.  There are usually two behbehs waiting for their poor overworked mom to feed them.  Often the mother is set upon by chipping birds who dive at her on her perch, sometimes literally colliding with her in a vain attempt to scare her away. Squawking crows then often join in on the harassment. If she swoops down and catches something, the crows will chase her and try to steal her prey. The crows and chipping birds often alert us of the owl's presence.

One evening I heard an awful desperate squawking which abruptly ended after a few seconds. It was disturbing because I was not able to identify what creature was making the sounds. On Katie's walk that evening we discovered the grizzly explanation. Exactly centred between the two large hollow cedar stumps that straddle the driveway, near the bridge, we came across a freshly severed crow's head. Well, the beak and half the head, still wet with scarlet blood droplets.

I guess she had had enough.  We have not heard the crows squawking after her since.

Creeeepy.

The Roadrunner

My honey on a practice run with me following (and filming) on my bike.

What the largest automobile manufacturer in the world can't do on the ground...

Electra Flyer

What's this? No suit, No tie? No multi billion dollar Corporation?

And no flight suit either.

Q: How Many Dolts Does It Take To Screw Up A Volt ?

A: General Motors

The General Motors guide to making an electric car that won't sell.

1: Make it UGLY

2: Make people wait way too long so they get bored of it.

3: Make videos of it driving 2mph in a cul-de-sac and call that promotion.

4: Sell the battery technology that got the EV1-genII a range of 150 miles. Then claim that there is no battery available to use in the Volt.

5: Use negative suggestion in your advertising "Don't forget to recharge the car" 

6: Don't sell it, lease it.

7: Wait for gas prices to drop, then don't make it some more.

Too Much Fun

Riding a lot this summer now that Arturo has the right gearing.  I now have an 8 tooth front sprocket and a 60 tooth rear. The new Scott 2 hp motor runs at a higher rpm now that it's got 24v coursing through it's copper veins. That tiny sprocket sure is noisy though.  It's super torquey and accelerates like mad.  I get stopped at least once every trip by people fascinated by it.  

My honey has been taking Stella to work regularly and loving it. She found it a little terrifying at first but was determined to ride.  Now she's hooked.  When we go out together we turn more heads than a Ferrari on fire.  It takes some getting used to. Being the focus of a car full of screaming, pointing kids is not something I had ever imagined.

The Economist's opinion on electric vehicles: WRONG!

Perhaps The Economist should check it's math.

In the Economist's opinion this electric vehicle:

Is more like this electric vehicle 

and less like this gas powered vehicle

A friend who is also interested in electric cars told me about a special report on the future of energy in the "venerable" Economist magazine.  I scoffed, and told him that I wouldn't trust anything written in that or any mainstream media about electric cars.

I got a chance to peruse that article yesterday and was unpleasantly unsurprised by the opinion piece which acts as an introduction to the special report. "Battery-powered cars, meanwhile, are slightly comic: more like milk-floats than Maseratis."  

The section of the article on electric vehicles was actually quite accurate but it seems from this quote that the anonymous author-bot did not actually read It's own article or any thing about current electric vehicles. Hilarious because the Tesla (which is mentioned in the report) runs circles around any Maserati you might care to bring on. Apparently The Economist does not have a high opinion of itself.

By the way,

Maserati: 19.2mpg  0-60: 5.6 seconds

Tesla:     200mpg*  0-60: 3.2 seconds

Milk float: 300qpm** 0-60: never

*calculated from kwh

**quarts per mile

Baby's Got a Brand New Electric Motor Cooling Fan and Cover.

Ain't the web grand? I did a little googling for info on running PMDC motors on higher voltages (since the motor I found was made for 12V and the bike is 24) and found some excellent advice from a motor rebuilder at Hi-torque Electric. He recommended advancing the brushes and adding a cooling fan. I had already thought of making a new cap for the brush end of the motor because the original is not vented and I've been itching to do some custom metal fabrication.  

Before:

After:

Since fabbing the new cover, I've installed a 12V fan which I salvaged from my old Mac G3 power supply.  There are two fans in that supply, a 3", 200ma and a 4.5" .44a.  I installed the smaller fan first but I am planning a bigger diameter cover for the bigger fan that will extend past the brush holder and over the motor for even more "sensflow" cooling action.

As the kids say: "Sweeeeet" 

 

The Children of The rEVolution

Finally found a new motor for #12.  I was going to try to rewind the original KDB if I couldn't find a replacement but I just picked one up today. 

A Scott 12v 1 hp exactly the same motor style as a KDB.  They are almost identical in appearance with no extra flanges/fins to deal with. I have been waiting for one to come up on EBAY as I don't have the budget for a $535 unit from one of the EV suppliers.  I googled the 2 hp Scott part number and got a hit in Vancouver for 75$.  There was a web page specials list with a few Scott motors all for cheap.  When I phoned they had sold the last 2hp model 4BC2850 but still had a 12v 1hp model 4BC01368 in stock.  It seemed too good to be true, though, and sure enough when it came to the details they said they could only sell to a distributor. DANG!  I then dropped in to Drake Electric who were very helpful earlier in supplying me with rewinding supplies and advice and thankfully they agreed to order it for me plus $10 markup for a total of $85!  I was so happy, I gave them $100 and still got a smoking deal. Thanks Greg!  

Greg was furiously rebuilding a motor on his day off for a BC ferry contractor.  If the ferry does not run they get fined $40,000 so I guess paying through the nose for a rush job just ain't no thang. 

I realize the voltage is wrong but the motor should still work at 24v as long as I don't push it too hard.  Or since I don't have batteries yet I could get a couple of T-105 6Vs and practically double my range battery life (with a little judicious rewiring) 

Very soon we should be cruising side by side Auranthetic style!

Max Head Room

Top hat optional.

The ghost of Gerry Garcia approves.

Matching leather required.

Just as a car interior should look.

Just got back from the VEVA REV show. My only regret is that I did not drive there on electric power. I brought the Charger in the back of the van. Next year electric all the way for sure.

The highlight for me would have to be driving the 1912 Detroit electric car which cost about $2000 new in 1912. Roughly $350 000 in today's dollars. It's still in original condition and runs perfectly. The original batteries were nickel-iron, very expensive, very heavy but durable and still hold a charge today but not enough for any distance so newer batteries now run it. The steering is by tiller! Push to go right pull for left. Charming to drive and the only noise it makes is the squeaking rubber of the wheels.  Who could resist those leather seats?

Global and the CBC were there as well as some news papers so we will have to wait and see how much air time they give it.

It was great to see all the rides there and the e-bike guys were busy all day showing off their wares and giving demo rides.

Please go and sign the petition to mandate ZEVs in Canada. It's 100 years late!

On The Road

# 926 is licenced!

I've been in the middle of a pile of red tape trying to get my two bikes registered here in BC. As seems to be the case in all dealings with the govmint, (as with life) everyone tells you something different and the printed material has conflicting information in it.

ICBC, our provincial insurance corporation has done a search but found neither bike registered although one clerk told me that other Chargers were registered in BC in 1974.

I had to prepare a "statutory declaration" stating where I got the bike, how much I paid etc. and have it notarized. I did this for both bikes and got a package deal of $25. Nice. Shopping around paid off here because everywhere else was charging around $40 each.

The VIN on the bike is shorter than the normal VIN here but vintage motorcycles are exempt from getting a new 17 digit VIN.

The literature states that all motorcycles with no history of registration need to be inspected. The inspector at the independent designated inspection facility, told me that motorcycles older than 15 years do not require inspection. He said that this happened to one of his customers who paid to have his vintage bike inspected and then found out later it wasn't required. I called registration support who confirmed, "inspection required". I decided to try to register without the inspection and after the agent did some computer fiddling with the cc category, bingo! PLATES!!!1!

Going on my first spin today!

If anyone in BC wants advice on registering one of these bikes in BC feel free to contact me here.

Toasted KDB

Could be a good anchor for my sailboat.  

I'm going to try to re-wind this.  I'm getting 8 lbs of 17ga wire rated at 200 degrees C.  the winding pattern looks kind of crazy so I hope I can figure it out.

Wish me luck.

Wax on... wax off. Wax on... wax off.

This is my favourite part.  Making the old look new again with just a little elbow grease.  The rims are a little wobbly so I'm going to attempt to straighten them.  I have spoken.

I have solved the mystery of the red button on the tank.  No, It's not the warp drive, not the smoke screen, not the "laser".  It's the horn.  Doing  it's best to alert the batteries of impending danger.  This seems to be a stock mounting as the connections, condition and look of all the components match the original.  I'm quite happy with the arrangement because it gives the front of the bike a cleaner look, never mind the audibility issues.

I found the brake drums a bit warped and one of the shoes cracked, but again, almost no wear.

Soon It'll be time to reassemble.  

KDB Extraction

When I first got #12 Orange home, I hooked up the burnt smelling motor to a 12v battery. Dead as Stephen Harper's black little heart. I removed the armature to see the damage. The windings are black and toasty, but the bearings, brushes and commutator show almost no wear, feeding my theory that the owner cooked the motor very soon after buying the bike.

Motor removal was harder than I had hoped.  I tried gently tapping with a hammer and a wood block but it was stuck good so I quickly fabricated a puller which worked perfectly.  I cut up my thumb and forefinger on the metal bandsaw in a moment of unusual carelessness.  I think the thumb cut went right to the bone.  (shiver)  But I soldiered on and got the beast pulled out. Some of the black paint came off revealing a blue "hammerite" finish which must have been the colour of the motors as they came from the KDB factory. 

I then took the motor to Armature Electric who gave me a quote for $700 to rewind it but I have since decided to try to rewind it myself.  I Don't think it's really that difficult to do but I am looking for someone who can walk me through it. Any takers?

Orange-A-Peel

Until I have time to shoot my own, here's a video of an Auranthetic in action.

Charger II: "The Grinning"

In case you don't know, the "EV grin" is the perma smile one achieves when driving an electric vehicle.  There is something about the power, silence and smoothness of an electric motor that just seems right. You can't help but grin.  The top three countdown of things you don't miss from a gas motorcycle  #3: the clutch,  #2: shifting gears #1:  kick starting.  The only thing you kick on this little baby is ASS!

I already have another "electric auranage" with thanks to Don.  Since buying my first one (#12 Orange) I did a bunch of research on the brand and found a small but dedicated community of enthusiasts on the "interweb".  On an Auranthetic enthusiasts forum I met Don who was an owner in Vancouver.  A few days later he offered me his bike for a very reasonable price.  I couldn't resist because I am a while away from getting #12 on the road. 

No gas stations, no smell, no noise, no stalling, no kick starting, no jerry cans, no oil changes, spark plugs, etc, etc, etc. 

Fun, power, and the open road!

The New Toy

It was love at first sight.