Custom Built e-Trike

...Update

Not much of an update , i tried soooo hard to get these forks finished today was up at 7am and that IS a rarity...I had MAJOR issues welding the fork tubes and dealing with keeping everything aligned when welding...one of those days when everything i touched turned to ****..anywayz... I do hold two character responsible for the early finish to the days work they are seen in the last pics below along with a couple snaps of the days work-->

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I have been 'playing' with metal more than half my life and today i just couldnt make it happen how i wanted it to, went close to throwing everything out the garage door it REALLY got to me... LoL...finally got it happening though soz i didn't take alot of pics, what got done... i full welded the fork tubes and attached dropouts for the rockers at the bottom of aforementioned fork tubes... Everything is aligned and square...grrrrr..Looking at ~ 4 inch of trail...i would gladly pay 400 bucks to get a set of these forks delivered IF they were available...I WONT be making another set...

THEY WILL BE FINISHED TOMORROW. (minus disk brake mounts) .. i was soooo bloody close then the boyz arrived with my downfall... Jim Beam...work ceased...soz fellas...i did give it a hard crack...off to bed...

Back tomorrow...

Kim

P>S THEY ARENT the bolts that will be used in final construction of the forks they are simply there for mock up...10mm bolts WILL BE USED

Update

Well... they aren't exactly finished, they still require a few tid bitz to be done and of course painted. My mate forgot to leave the 16mm drill bit with me so i could drill the holes on the end caps out so thats 'tomorrow job'...also need to drill one of the rockers holes for the axle and replace all the bolts with 10 and 8mm types... anywayz heres a few quick not so flash pics shall take some better ones in the daylight tomorrow-->



It is a long weekend here in West Australia so will have the lads available for a lift to the Hardware either tomorrow or Monday to pick up the bolts i need (will be using allen key variety)... OH... disk brake mounts need to be added to the rockers also, shall be ordering another front twin disk hub and calipers from choppersUS next week i have decided, shall wait for these to arrive before fabricating some caliper mounts to weld to the rockers, i could have a bash now but i would only be guessing and more than likely have to do it again... I also will be making up some risers at a later date to hold the handle bars...

More tomorrow..

Kim

Top work Aussie, the forks look mint.
Cheers,
Matt.

Thanks Matt, i'm going to be cutting the lower spring to make it nearly half the height it is now though will post pics when its finished :-)

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My E-Trike Worklog

Small Update

I picked up the necessary bolts required to finish off the springer forks today. I decided to keep with the plan and use the 1/2in size bolt for the main pivot instead of the 10mm i was thinking of using..I also picked up some 8mm cap screws for the top of the forks (and the rest of the trike for that matter)



I still want to lengthen the springer tube and cut the springs though, my bro is coming up tomorrow to check out the progress so i didn't want to have it in bitz when he arrived.

Ordered the remaining parts required from ChoppersUS yesterday, this includes :-



This aside from the battery is everything i need to complete the build and get it up and running... I plan to buy the 48v 20ah Lifepo4 battery in ~2 weeks time.

Ciao for now ladies ;-P

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My E-Trike Worklog

I fabricated a completely new springer tube today, cut and welded the two sets of springs before grinding the ends flat, the forks are now how i wanted them I have
put together a few 'before' and 'after' pics to show the difference-->



The suspension is ALOT stiffer now and the rebound springs are doing their job, the rockers i also reduced the angle of they are nearly parallel to the ground now this also makes the front ride ever so slightly higher than before. With these now finished to my satisfaction....(well, aside from the dual disk caliper mounts which will have to wait until the calipers are delivered before being made..) I shall move back toward the rear of the frame tomorrow and finish off the seat mount and weld in the motor mount fully...more soon fellas

Kim

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My E-Trike Worklog

OK.. not much to report in the way of work done, i have completed the seat frame structure thing-a-ma-jig (will add pics later) Aside from that im waiting for some 4mm plate ali to be dropped off by a mate to make a slightly wider seat pan to accommodate my ample bent broken butt/pelvis as the one now is still slightly to skinny and sitting on it more than 10 minutes getz uncomfortable aaaanywayz... my bro went out this weekend scouring the kerbside collections around the burbs and picked up among other things a 350watt Unite motor powered scooter. Has everything BUT the battery, i intend using the complete wiring loom will save me ALOT of time making one from scratch it includes the indicators, brake light, horn. charging jack, lights etc etc i will keep the lot in tact and use all the lighting from the scooter :-) We were sitting there having a beer..and i got the idea whilst sittin back looking at the scoot to lengthen the body work..cut and shut it width wise to 'skinny it up' slightly, cut a position for the seat and plonk it ontop of the trike, i mocked up a photochop to explain-->



Now this is not a set in stone thing and probably wont happen this side of the trikes first test runs, the front fairing (collected also from kerbside is from a pocket bike) this is a definite starter and i will have some fun grafting the 2x24volt lights from the scooter into the fairing (something resembling a mid 90s Suzuki GSXR front fairing im thinking :-) Although i don't intend doing alot of night riding if i do they will be there PLUS the fairing will allow easy mounting of the LCD panel/speedo etc etc...At th end of the day if it is to be passed of as a "mobility scooter" albeit a very fast one LoL i think the body work will go along way to helping this cause the plastic is VERY VERY light so will add little weight to the build and give me more area to get creative with the 'ol airbrush art hehehe :-) I have also thought about using the body work as a mold or plug to make up a fiberglass number will weigh the options up and decide which direction to take at a later date...

My front disk parts are on route from USA delivery time early to mid next week i am expecting, be back with an update then if not before...

Kim

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My E-Trike Worklog

Looks like its a little high in the mock-up picture, but its shape reminds me of a custom m/c body maker that accurately molded a lithe female form. He was installing them on high end Harleys and such.
Will the scooter wiring be heavy enough for the amps you're gonna put through it?

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The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well.

erm...its a photoshop pic its not actually 'sitting' on the bike it was to explain the idea only.

More than heavy enough

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My E-Trike Worklog

Yeah, thats why I said "mock-up picture"
Maybe I missed it, are you going with a 1200 watt motor?
For extra go-go? I once used some cheesy electric scooter parts (charger, jacks. throttle) that came apart under actual use, I had them at their normal amp rating...

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The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well.