The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike

[BarelyAWake]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

...and I think I've finally achieved an acceptable compromise with my handlebar controls - tho it does mean ordering yet more stuff, it also means a reduction of clutter with all controls easy to use w/o looking or releasing my hold on the bars... which I think somewhat important whilst turning & other silly things heh

The moped blinker switch assembly (chrome) that I had previously ordered was in fact a decent lil unit, sturdy & simple & I'd defo recommend it as a solution for anyone lookin' to put blinkers on their bike - but with my vertical bars & space constraints, it wasn't quite ideal... so I gave the alternate a shot, the switch housing & three way toggle & it worked out so well I'm gonna roll with it, even order another to sort out some issues with the other bar's controls as well.

TBH, the switch housing isn't something I'd recommend - for the money, it's a bit underwhelming. Sure, it's only 12 bucks - but it's just a lil chunk of somewhat poorly molded plastic & a coupla fasteners. While I can (and did ofc) trim off the sloppy casting flash, I still think it a touch overpriced & at 24 bucks for the two I'm gonna use... well, suffice to say the only reason I've decided that's OK is a lack of a viable alternative *shrug*



There's a very small & hard to see black button on the side of the red three way switch pictured above (the one for my headlights) & with the addition of another switch housing on the other side w/a horn button - I can use that for the electric hub's cruise control/reverse feature & rid myself completely of the last of the kit supplied electric hub controls, the red & green buttons in this pic;



...which will reduce the amount of room taken up by all the assorted buttons, add a symmetrical feel to the controls & allow me to use whatever switch I choose, hopefully a higher quality than the ones supplied w/the hub. I will hafta drill a hole in the "back" of the housing & plug the old one to reverse it, but that's no big deal, it is after all jus' plastic;


Handlebar Mount Switch Housing

& here's the button I ordered as my new horn button, I can only hope it's better then the one I'm replacing - but even if it isn't, momentary on push buttons are commonplace to say the least lol;


Momentary N.O. Raised Push Button Switch Black

 

[silverbear]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

"Not quite sure what I'm gonna use for straps but I'm sure I'll find something lol "

How about velcro?
Caw fee reminds me of how coffee, newly introduced to the Ojibwa Indians of northern Minnesota a hundred and some years ago was pronounced gaw pii, since they had some trouble with English. In Ojibwa the word they came up with was mukkaday mooshkiikii waaboo which means 'black medicine brew'. Interesting to me, but absolutely useless information, even on Jeopardy. But hey, now you know.
Lotta little wires and buttons which would probably confuse me.
SB

 

[BarelyAWake]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

It's true I'm thinkin' about velcro straps, but I'm not 100% confident they'll hold securely under "normal" use & eventually work free... given the roads around here "normal" may well constitute "extreme"

Silver - I'm admittedly a bit of a word geek, which means that not only are those various translations for coffee fascinating (I particularly like "mukkaday mooshkiikii waaboo" heh), but also they are not useless as I will now score points with other coffee & word fanatics

Thanks for the knowledge man

 

[silverbear]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

It's true I'm thinkin' about velcro straps, but I'm not 100% confident they'll hold securely under "normal" use & eventually work free... given the roads around here "normal" may well constitute "extreme"

Silver - I'm admittedly a bit of a word geek, which means that not only are those various translations for coffee fascinating (I particularly like "mukkaday mooshkiikii waaboo" heh), but also they are not useless as I will now score points with other coffee & word fanatics

Thanks for the knowledge man

Speaking of useless, but interesting bits of information... I particularly liked the description of the white man's gas station in the early years when most Ojibwa did not speak English. I forget the Ojibwa, but the translation comes out to "flashing lard house" in an attempt to describe the volatility of gasoline... like a grease fire, kinda. There are lots of funny ones. Helicopter translated to "sounds like many beaver tails" and blueberry pie came out as a story length description of how the while lady made the pie "... the lady goes over the hill and picks a bunch of blueberries and then she...."
Yes, language is an interesting thing. It is also interesting how the white man screwed up what the Indians were saying, which my Indian friends still laugh about and refer to as "the white man's learning disability". Ha! It's all fun stuff.
SB

 

[BarelyAWake]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Speaking of more useless, but hopefully interesting bits of information lol I've been kinda 1/2 slackin' and 1/2 keepin' an eye out for just the perfect buttons, wiring & connectors for the taddy for a while now...

...and decided what I've got is close e'nuff & will hafta do - finally heh

I received the other button & mount in the mail a lil while ago, fortunately the horn button was exactly what I'd hoped, but ofc the mount had to be modded as it'd be upside down/backwards/whatever if I used it "as is" - so some drilling, filling, sanding & painting was involved w/that 'un as well as addin' some grommets to the both of 'em for the heck of it (relocating the wire's exit to the bottom of the housing);

 

[BarelyAWake]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

...as well as adding/replacing all the connectors for my handlebar controls w/the Delphi weatherproof ones. The connectors are just a bit larger than what I wanted but given their quality I can't really complain.

They're supposed to be just crimped fittings, but I figured I'd play it safe & solder 'em all anyway - might as well & it's prolly a good thing as I don't have the extra fancy crimping tool "required" for this type & I hadta fudge 'em, which was both time consuming (32 crimps for this batch alone) as well as a bit untrustworthy heh

*shrug* End result? At long last my handlebar controls are finalized, condensing a full lighting system and all the buttons needed for two different motors into as neat & tidy a setup as I could mange, using the least space possible yet still being easily reached & used - as well as being easy to repair if needed. One of the things I very much didn't like about the kit supplied ebike controls was they didn't come apart in halves, you had to remove everything else off the bar to slide 'em off... which w/the twist shifters & trigger throttles was a touch annoying to put it lightly

 

[Dan]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

BA, tried to find a toggle switch marked "Warp Drive" for you but guess they stopped making em. But could have one of these so you could have warp speed, missiles and the obligatory ejection seat; http://www.wiringproducts.com/contents/en-us/d530_toggle_switch_panels.html

I was truly shocked how well velcro works for MBs. Went for a ride with RusticoRay. He had a GPS velcroed to his tank. When we got some where for coffee or what ever, he would just pop off his GPS and slip it in his pocket. But we ended up on a dirt farm road by the river that was more a series of varying sized pot holes and craters then any thing else and the dang thing didn't budge. Truly amazing stuff.

SB, that was awesome. Really, really enjoy glimpses like that into other cultures and your taking the time to share em.
I do med courier work. The other night was hanging out with some nurses. We got on a thing about nic names. That turned into pornstar names which led to horribly wrong and politically incorrect (which of course are always the funniest) 1950s hollywood style Native American sounding names. Had me rolling. I couldn't repeat any of them here. But briefly, I was called "Drinks in public"

 

[silverbear]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

BA, tried to find a toggle switch marked "Warp Drive" for you but guess they stopped making em. But could have one of these so you could have warp speed, missiles and the obligatory ejection seat; http://www.wiringproducts.com/contents/en-us/d530_toggle_switch_panels.html

I was truly shocked how well velcro works for MBs. Went for a ride with RusticoRay. He had a GPS velcroed to his tank. When we got some where for coffee or what ever, he would just pop off his GPS and slip it in his pocket. But we ended up on a dirt farm road by the river that was more a series of varying sized pot holes and craters then any thing else and the dang thing didn't budge. Truly amazing stuff.

SB, that was awesome. Really, really enjoy glimpses like that into other cultures and your taking the time to share em.
I do med courier work. The other night was hanging out with some nurses. We got on a thing about nic names. That turned into pornstar names which led to horribly wrong and politically incorrect (which of course are always the funniest) 1950s hollywood style Native American sounding names. Had me rolling. I couldn't repeat any of them here. But briefly, I was called "Drinks in public"

Dan,
I hope Barely doesn't mind this pothole in the winding road of his thread. Speaking of Indian sounding names... this one is from a real historical figure, Lakota Sioux I think. He was a warrior and was known as "His Saddle Stinks". Today we hear that and think "what the h...?' It was actually meant as an honor acknowledging that he had been in the saddle and on the warpath for so long that his saddle didn't get a chance to air out.
Talk about worthless information. Ha! Now back to our regular programming...
SB

 

[Dan]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

That is cool. The insight on that. I too, would have missed what was meant by that name and title.



Sorry BA.

 

[Crazy Horse]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Wicked!
C.H.

 

[fasteddy]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Crazy Horse,
I would try http://ebikes.ca/ They are here in Vancouver, British Columbia and a while ago they had hubs that had 144 spoke holes and were made to be supported on one side only.

Perfect for a trike and I don't think they were overly expensive. Forgotten who made them but Justin will only handle the best. If they aren't listed I email him.

Hope this helps.

Steve.

 

[BarelyAWake]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Dan,
I hope Barely doesn't mind this pothole in the winding road of his thread...

No worries & I've gotten a lol outa 'em in any case - I've jus' been tinkerin' on, attending to the boring, but needful things the taddy demands *shrug*

...like hacking up a 'puter's mobo to make one of the connectors I so need, but naturally didn't have - namely a 20 pin that's not too large to fit through the pedal boom's receiver... so I can easily unplug & remove the pedal boom & all it's doodads ofc.

Desoldering the connector half out of the mobo proved way too tedious, so I jus' hacked it out with the trusty dremel & cleaned it up w/a thin cutoff wheel - not the most professional approach granted but it worked, not like I wanted to save the outdated 'puter anyway heh

Then came the fun part, soldering twenty, color matched wires to alla those tiny, close packed pins w/o melting it or driving myself insane... I succeeded in the former anyway & sealed it all up with some liquid electrical tape, which I may be becoming downright addicted to *shrug* Little bit of shrink wrap to keep things tidy & it's now ready to splice into the taddy's harness, taking up it's new duties powering everything on the boom save the high power halogen light which gets it's own, heavier gauge wiring & 2 pin connector;

 

[The_Aleman]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Wow, nice work on that! Never would have thought about using old PC components in the pedal boom!

 

[BarelyAWake]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

lol Ale, I bet ya woulda ifn ya needed to, there's jus' not much call for a 20 pin on most MBs... desperation is the mother of invention & all that and as there's a couple few dead puters settin' about my shop - it was jus' a matter of time before some bits were abomaneered into the taddy


Well... I was gonna splice in that pedal boom harness & connector this mornin' but as it turns out I'm runnin' outa solder & shrink wrap surprise, surprise. I prolly have just enough to finish that particular job... prolly, but I'd hate like heck to get most of the way through it and hafta call it quits. So, I copped out & decided to jus' fix a mistake instead.

When I was makin' up the harness connectors for all of the assorted handlebar controls, I kinda got into a groove & wasn't paying enough attention - I'd measured out all the wiring & knew one set needed to be 6" longer than it was, and promptly forgot to add that 6" before I soldered up the connector. I s'pose it'd been better to take the connector apart & redo all the crimps & soldering so there'd be only one splice... but t'heck w/it, w/o the proper crimping tool I really didn't feel it worth the effort lol

Beware the groove o.o

 

[BarelyAWake]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

...more solder, wires & shrink wrap - and a chunk of expandable wiring loom thingie whateveryacall it stuff this time, which was also salvaged out of a dead puter. I'm using it as it's really flexible yet keeps the harness neat & tidy, w/it the pedal boom is a piece of cake to adjust (length), install & remove.

With the pedal boom & control harnesses completed it's now jus' a matter of connecting 'em all together to the relay & breaker panel behind the seat... which naturally means yet more solder, connectors & shrink wrap >.< Guess ifn ya want all the groovy flashy lights & buttons there's a price to pay heh, still it's going far better than expected *shrug*

Ah well, jus' keep soldering on right? lol

 

[fasteddy]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Isn't it strange when you mention wiring a silence goes out over the land and your the only one posting. For myself when I see that much wire in one place at one time I tend to break out in a very cold sweat and a pronounced tremor takes over.

Probably caused by my friends older brother who introduced me to electrical trouble shooting by saying, hold on to the spark plug wire while I kick the motorcyle over.

Like every thing else I guess after a while it becomes in it's own way, fun. Of course my idea of fun is sitting there drinking a favorite beverage and watching you enjoy yourself sorting out all those wires and offering advice at various times. The advice would be heatfelt if not packed with electrical knowledge.

Thank you for showing us how a properly wired motor bike should be. I'm sure I'm not the only one living the dream while watching you do the work.

Steve.

 

[killercanuck]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Well said Steve, heh heh. Got to love vicariously enjoying a build.

Looking awesome Barely! All the extra tediousness now will pay off down the road when you're not worrying about faulty connections, eh?

 

[Mac]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

Barely,
I've worked on lot's of things, I applaud you on your attention to detail! What a fantastic job. I can't wait to see it in action, PLEASE give me a call if you need a hand and when ya give it a test run. I will have a thousand questions though, I'll bring a good digital camera with movie mode too, WOW just wow!! Keep up the great work!

R/Mac

 

[Goat Herder]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

I second that! Great attention to detail!

On the subject of Liquid Tape. I worked in a R.V. shop once where a older used coach went the the shop and got sold. I thought it odd at the time and would have much preferred to just replace the vacuum lines on the engine in it. The darned shop foremen brushed that liquid tape everywhere they were compromised. It did seal it right up rather well tho..

 

[2door]

Re: The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike (build phase)

But where's the white wire go?

Tom