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[trikester]

Peaches requests that you order more Zero products. : )

I may have to - considering that he (yes, Peaches is a neutered "he") is the boss around here.

As soon as I unpacked the latest box he spotted the new paper, which I had tossed on the couch, and jumped up there to get it. Of course, I stopped everything to lay it out on the floor for him. You see his next action (or inaction) in the photo.

Trikester

[NoiseBoy]

I think the electric motorcycle forum has a new mascot!

[BSDThw]

Code: [Select]

I think the electric motorcycle forum has a new mascot!
I agree and "he" tells us how we should spent our time!

[trikester]

Oh, oh. Now he might get an agent and start making demands. However, he makes demands now, without an agent.

Trikester

[Mr. Fisherman]

Somebody is out having too much fun on their new electric trike or the cat has take over and won't release photos or video until Trikester orders a new controller and more batteries. Anything for more packing material for his den... 

[trikester]

Somebody is out having too much fun on their new electric trike or the cat has take over and won't release photos or video until Trikester orders a new controller and more batteries. Anything for more packing material for his den... 

OK, I guess I've been silent too long. I also took a week away from the project to endure desert heat.

I'm still grinding my way through the 12 V bike wiring. Working out the connections to Yamaha's existing lights, switches, etc. Also changing connectors on Zero's harness since I don't have the mates to the connectors that were on the harness, as it came from the factory. I'm having to change them to Molex connector pairs (with crimp-able pins and sockets) which I can purchase in the local electronics store. Of course, I have suggested to Zero that they supply mating connectors with "pigtails" to buyers of their powertrain systems, but that won't help me now.

One thing I have worked out is using the now unneeded "neutral gear" dash indicator light as a right turn flasher indicator. The Yamaha only used a single light to show the turn flasher was on, so it didn't indicate direction. The three indicator lights on the Yamaha are: "Turn" on the left side of the dash, "high beam" in the center, and "neutral" is on the right. So I will connect Zero's left turn indicator wire to the one on the left and the right turn indicator wire to the former neutral indicator on the right side. Center indicator light stays as "high beam". I had been wondering what I was going do with that "neutral" indicator light. Pretty cool - huh?

Trikester

[Mr. Fisherman]

I like it, very creative... but we have come to expect that from you after getting to know your project 

[spelunker]

Since I no longer have a clutch lever assembly to also act as a left mirror mount, I had to machine a mount. In doing that, I also made it a very convenient place to mount the MODE sw where I can reach it with my thumb while still gripping the bar. See photo.
 

What if you incorporated the mode switch into the clutch lever… then it would be like a scooter brake!

[trikester]

What if you incorporated the mode switch into the clutch lever… then it would be like a scooter brake!

I have removed the clutch lever, that's why I needed to machine a mirror mount. On the 2012 & 2013 I used a momentary lever switch instead of a clutch lever (see other posts under: "handlebar switch works great"). I haven't decided yet if I will do the same thing with the trike. I may just set up the front brake lever to put on the brake light before the brake starts to engage.

The reason for this change in my thinking is that with the ability to reprogram the ECO mode, with my iPod on the 2013 FX, I found that what I prefer is to set the regen in ECO mode to minimum (making it the same as SPORT) for the no brake light condition and set it to maximum for brake light condition. Torque is set at max and speed at max. Then I just ride in ECO most of the time and use the brake light on or off to determine my level of light or high regen deceleration. It becomes like SPORT mode with selectable high regen braking.

Using this method on my Klamath dirt rides I was able to descend thousands of feet each day, with tight 180* switchbacks, and never use my mechanical brakes. I just activated the brake light at the appropriate times.

Trikester

[WindRider]

The GREEN Light should, of course, indicate that Mr Fusion is active on the Trike.

 

[trikester]

I finished the trike e-conversion project today!  Yahoooo! It's been a good fun project, but frustrating at times like all such projects are.

I used a power supply (one from my old company) to check all of the 12 V circuits (lights, horn, etc.) and it all worked. Now I just need some batteries from Zero and I can run the drive system. Last word from them is that they are supposed to ship Aug 12. Time will tell.

I'll get some photos showing wiring and the switches I added for MODE and to kill the head light when in the low beam position on the headlight sw. The Yamaha uses a sealed beam headlamp so I'm stuck with it's wattage. Low beam is 50W @ 12V and high beam is 60W. So if I'm trail riding for four hours and I kill the low beam I've saved 0.2 kWh which is good for about two extra miles. The other lights, tail and running, draw a total of 20.4W and they will still be on, which costs me about another mile over four hours, depending on the ride of course. The Yamaha TW200 uses two running lights of low wattage, one in each front turn signal fixture.

Trikester

[trikester]

Here's a couple of photos. I'll have to dribble them onto this thread a couple at a time because of the file size limitation. I have reduced them to under 300 kb.

I had the head tube badges made (my design) a number of years ago when i was building off road recumbent mopeds with very fat tires for desert sand. You can see the date that I finished building the original trike (the badge has gotten a little beat up over seven years). Other photo is instruments except the MX instrument panel which is on the "tank". I caught the right turn indicator flashing.

Trikester

[trikester]

A couple more photos showing wiring harnesses. Orange is powertrain and black is 12 VDC lighting and accessory.

No way to make this look neat without making skins to cover everything. I don't plan to do that now, but may later.

Trikester

[BSDThw]

Nice; sorry your batteries are not ready.

I really understand now your headache with wiring. It looks a bit like the inside of a particle accelerator

You should definitely drive to a Motorcycle Garage and ask them to adjusted your idle mixture.

[trikester]

I was recently one of a lucky few who got to tour the SpaceX factory in Hawthorne CA (an awesome place). As I looked at the electrical cabling on a space capsule under construction I was instantly reminded of my trike, which incidentally I had completed the day before.

Trikester