Electric Bike Build

[isiahstites]

you cant really see all of the clamps that go on the table to keep it from twisting.. the most important is keeping the steering stem and axle blocks fixtured....
Kent

Thess pictures are for Geo..........these are the clamps that are in various places are the jig table to hold everything in place while building/welding.

[isiahstites]

I finshed bolting all of the batteries together today, what a time consuming job.


Here are some pics of the frame just about finished. Dusty and Kent stayed until 2AM last night working on getting the frame done.









Here is Bill Ross (Fireman Bill) playing with fire............I wonder how much if any of that battery would be left after that big motor got a hold of it???



Kent cutting more tube for the chassis.



11.5" brake rotor for the rear.



Kent and Dusty screwing around.........



Shannon cutting wheel spacers.........Freud he said he is not cutting his hair.........






Kent fish mouthing some tubing.



After I finished with the batteries I made all of these cables (2ott) to connect all of the batteries in series.
The orange ones will go inside of the boxes to tie the eight batteries together and the black ones will go outside of the boxes to tie the boxes together.



Here is one half of a box with batteries in it, the other half will get it's batteries and the two halfs bolted together. There will be two of these boxes in place of the wood box that currently sits inside the frame. The box is made out of several materials, fiberglass, kevlar and a outer shell of carbon fiber.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Scott:

Send my regards to Kent and the rest of the gang -- I'm fascinated by the work you're doing here.  And going down a new road, too -- looks dandy.  Thanks most of all for keeping up with this build diary.

[Geo]

Thanks for the photos showing the clamps.  Do you weld all around one joint or partial and come back later to weld some more and eventually finish after two or three or four partial welds to keep the temp input down?  I'm trying to grasp the idea of welding each joint and keeping the temp input down to prevent warping.  Or does the clamping the frame to the table keep the tubes from moving?  If so I need a really big table to clamp the car to.

Nice to see Kent working    Good thing the camera was ready.  Something about "fishmouthing" seems to fit... hmmm just can't make the connection... 

Fascinating idea and build.  Awaiting to hear how it runs.

Geo

[Stainless1]

Fascinating idea and build.  Awaiting to hear how it runs.

I'm betting almost silently, with a hummmmmmmmm 

Cool build Kent, I like your table. 

[Seldom Seen Slim]

In case you haven't already told us -- what's the projected ready-to-run weight of this bike?  And - in the photos it looks like it's being built with very little ground clearance.  Got a number in mind of how high above ground it'll be?

[Rex Schimmer]

Really no problem if Shannon doesn't cut his hair, once it gets caught in the lathe chuck he will look like Kent, except in place of the nice smooth skin Kent has covering his head Shannon will have a nice piece of scar tissue. If he had ever seen someone "scalped" by a machine tool he might not be so cavalier about it.

Rex

[John Noonan]

In case you haven't already told us -- what's the projected ready-to-run weight of this bike?  And - in the photos it looks like it's being built with very little ground clearance.  Got a number in mind of how high above ground it'll be?

Slim,

Over 400 pounds and over 2 inches of clearance...remember that the bike is sitting on the rims and no tires are installed...yet..I saw the battery boxes today and Kent and the team are "rolling right along"


J

[isiahstites]

In case you haven't already told us -- what's the projected ready-to-run weight of this bike?  And - in the photos it looks like it's being built with very little ground clearance.  Got a number in mind of how high above ground it'll be?

Slim I believe Kent had said early the target weight was 550 lbs and the ground clearnace was going to be around three inches.

Scott

[SPARKY]

My first look this morning. Rex I haven't seen a NEWELY scalped---but I met a guy once who looked like Dr. Frankienstien's first cousin after what was salvagable was reattached after his hair was caught in a rotating shaft on a pice of farm machinery--very similar to a rotating lathe.

Kent and Shannon, you may think us way out of line for expresssing our opinions about SAFTEY. We care not a whitt about how Shannon chooses to wear his hair...BUT we recognise unsafe operating contitions. 

I am in a machining class right now. Our instructor will not let us even wear long sleeve shirts for saftey reasons. Please at least wear a HAIR NET or a cap. We look forward to continue seeing your other great build projects.

[manta22]

Yep, Shannon, you better tie your hair back in a ponytail or wear a hairnet-- sooner or later you're going to be "snatched baldheaded" by a piece of machinery. Even an angle grinder could do it!

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Thanks for reminding me about the weight.  As for clearance -- in this photo I tried to allow for some tire -- and it still looks pretty danged near to the ground.  2-3 inches is fine -- just wondering, that's all.

[isiahstites]

Scott:

Send my regards to Kent and the rest of the gang -- I'm fascinated by the work you're doing here.  And going down a new road, too -- looks dandy.  Thanks most of all for keeping up with this build diary.

Slim, no problem I am just glad to be a part of such a cool project!

Thanks for the photos showing the clamps.  Do you weld all around one joint or partial and come back later to weld some more and eventually finish after two or three or four partial welds to keep the temp input down?  I'm trying to grasp the idea of welding each joint and keeping the temp input down to prevent warping.  Or does the clamping the frame to the table keep the tubes from moving?  If so I need a really big table to clamp the car to.

Geo - Again there are for more experienced people here than me..........I try and weld as much of the joint as I can and then move to the other side of the bike to allow the other side to cool a bit. In the fixture you can not weld 360 degrees of all your welds so you weld as much as you can every where on the chassis until it can be removed and flipped over.

[interested bystander]

Good procedure for welding chassis-not my invention but the great Top Fuel builder Don Long's.

Weld all top (or all bottom).

Weld all bottom (or, conversely, all top).

Weld left outside.

Weld left inside.

Weld right inside.

Weld right outside.

You get the idea.

[isiahstites]

Here is the chassis all welded up.









It is starting to look like a bike!!












Today with help from Kent I was able to get all the remaing holes drilled for the batteries and the rest of the cabling made to connect all of the batteries along with installing the disconnects. This photo shows a complete box with out the cover on it.......



Kent checking to see if the batteries are charged.........tastes just like a 9volt battery only stronger.


Complete box with lid and quick disconnect.........ready to go in the bike.



Tonight before I left just about all of the little things that need to welded to a chassis to make everything work were complete like steering stops, brake brackets, ect, ect. Kent has been working until 2 AM every morning and this evening and tomorrow will be no exception. If everything continues to go as planned we are hoping Kent will make a pass this weekend at El Mirage.

I will post more photos and maybe a video of the bike on Sunday or Monday evening when I get home from El Mirage as I am leaving in the morning.

Scott