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[Spires]

Close to 50lbs lighter, diff rear fender, geared much more appropriate for gnarly hill climbing still retaining a top speed of 54mph.. KNobbie tires and various odds and ends.. Still more work to be done, but very fun, no gas, no oil, no filters, no warming up, no noise, no stalling, no clutch.. Still even climbing hills and mountain sides up and down constantly I get a good solid reliable 30 miles of fun in the sun dirt biking.. Plenty for me!

[gasdive]

Wow, can we get a few more details?

=:)

[Spires]

Sure what would you like to know? I am planning on doing a HD video tomorrow... I am still looking for ways to lower weight.. I am looking into a FOX air shock that only weighs 1.1 lbs.. I imagine the stock one weights at least 3lbs.. The bottom skid area of the bike I am still debating on changing around.. Right now I have left the configuration capable of holding the charger still.. I don't really need it so I will clean it up and maybe save some more weight there..

[electrc109]

have you looked into using a light weight chain?

consider any part of the seat you don't use/need...can it be removed or replaced? 

the brackets and hardware and other aspects of the body pieces replacable with something lighter?

any excess wiring that can be shortened?

how much lighter would carbon fiber wheels be?

although marginal, nitrogen in your tires is lighter than air and has zero humidity.

is there a lighter handlebar you could use?

[gasdive]

Mostly wondering which tyres you chose.  I can see there's a lot more going on but I'm not sure what to ask!

=:)

[Spires]

I settled on some Kenda Millville intermediate.. About 7lbs lighter than the stock DS tires with good knobbies..

[skadamo]

50 pounds, wow. Does this include removing the charger?

[Biff]

I'm interested in the gear ratio you picked.  The rear still looks stock at 61 tooth.  Did you drop the front to a 12 tooth?  did you calculate top speed based on gear ratio change or did you verify it with a GPS or something.

-ryan

[Spires]

50 pounds, wow. Does this include removing the charger?

Yes. The charger, all the lights and mirrors, the tire swap, modded the cooling system, removed the lower front cowl.. A little bit here and there.. They obviously didnt concern themselves with weight when they built the DS.. I mean just the key switch was 1lbs.. The bracket holding the gauge was heavy too.. Stuff really added up fast.. The cooling system, hose, cover, fan and upper fender piece was like 3-4lbs, I trimmed the hose by half, trimmed the fan mount and slapped on a computer tornado fan under the seat.. Not only is it like 3 lbs lighter, but it cools better. the tornado fan pumps out WAY more air than the stock fan.. Tires were front 9lbs and 12lbs rear.. New tires are front 4.5lbs and 8lbs rear.. Quite a bit different. I took the seat off and bored holes all up and down the plastic underside.. Its softened my seat and lowered it by probably half a pound... Still more room for improvement.. Im eyeballing the rear shock, maybe replace it with a FOX air shock which is only 1.1lbs.. Also I may replace the top tank platics.. They are heavy, but not sure what I would put there in replacement.

I'm interested in the gear ratio you picked.  The rear still looks stock at 61 tooth.  Did you drop the front to a 12 tooth?  did you calculate top speed based on gear ratio change or did you verify it with a GPS or something.

My bike came with the belt drive, I removed it for it was WAY too tall geared for the dirt.. So they gave me the option to put on a 71t, 61t or 51t.. I ran with the 61 and it was a pinch too tall, so I lowered the front sprocket to a 12T.. That with the lost weight I can climb any hill and keep a decent 54mph tops.. I also always manage to get a solid 29miles or so.. And the areas im riding are lots O hills and mountain climbing..

[Spires]

The lower part of the bike where the charger used to sit is now under my imagination too.. A little weight and space to be saved there... I just havent decided what exactly I'm going to do.

[Marshm]

I am somewhat concerned that lower frame pointing forward will catch on rocks or a log or something and do some damage.  It looks like it has an angled plate screwed on to the bottom so that will help some.  Since range is a big issue for many people, that lower area could hold more battery.  I would be interested to know what the weight is, can you throw a bathroom scale under each tire?  Doing one wheel at a time is fine if the bike is level.  Actually 30 miles is not too bad, it is a pretty good ride. The problem here is that the trails do not have many ways off of them to head back to camp when time is running out.  You have to follow the trail and you might find yourself comming up short.  Neat project, you got a dirt bike with more range by doing what you did. 

[Spires]

I am going to weigh the bike correctly when I get someone to help me lift it around.. I tried the twin scales, one under each tire, but it only shows around 200 lbs which just couldnt be correct.. I will put my stand on one and have someone help me lift it flat on it..
  The lower part that is exposed will get modified here soon, I know what I am going to do I just havent had the time to do it yet.. And yes, they could have extended the battery to fit down there, that would have been nice for even more range.

[Marshm]

Technically 2 scales should be accurate.  If it isn't, then the scales must be a little on the low cost side. 

[Marshm]

Any update on this? It is a neat project.  What did the charger weigh?  It looks like a pretty big spot for it in the frame.  Did you end up making a skid plate to close out the lower front?

[zap mc]

Despite the good work already done, do you think this will ever handle?
Even after all the mods are done the suspension is still dire and the battery is high wide and heavy and will the chassis cope with shock loads? Also the power is not enough to wheelie over an obstacle so how will it ever be competitive? Sorry but I can't see it happening