It 'tisnt "cross talk" Dan, it's defo on topic for this thread lol
As for the subject, the T3 is indeed a parallel hybrid (dual drive) woaiyumi - & yes, initially one would think a series hybrid (gen edrive) "would be simpler mechanically" & it may be... but for our scale, our application, all else becomes somewhat more complicated & because of that the fabrication & thus the mechanical follows suit.
In the initial "daydream stage" I very much wanted to build a diesel electric series hybrid, as I pursued the thought I found "the key would be finding the least heavy and noisy" was very much a large part of the problem, or rather small enough as the case may be. Quickly finding diesels were out of the equation as there's none currently made nearly small enough, surprisingly the same can be said of most of the gasoline generators, except the particularly noisy two stroke ones - which also aren't known for efficiency, defeating the point of the T3's hybrid concept were I to use one.
More difficult still the search were one interested in maintaining the "50cc or less" displacement limitation I self-imposed, just in case I should later wish to register as a moped (ease of interstate travel)... it may be a "gray area" as the generator would be an indirect drive, but I felt I was splitting enough hairs already lol
Then there's the interesting aspect that such a series hybrid would in essence be running
three power plants in a manner of speaking - the generator's internal combustion engine, the generator itself (basically a brushless motor) as well as the edrive, be it hub or mid-drive. Add in the battery packs for peak & reserve, and it's starting to become somewhat crowded, heavy & complicated indeed, suddenly the parallel drive started seeming "simpler mechanically" if only where to fit all these doodads & widgets.
Which was the final overall consideration with the T3's design & effected everything else to a large degree as I didn't just want to build a hybrid, I wanted to build one that was comfortable yet agile. Weight, ergonomics & handling characteristics were just as important as it's efficiency. Wheelbase length was a problem indeed even as a parallel, most of this build thread is silly ol' me obsessing over fractions of an inch, trying to cram way too much into not enough lol - a trailered genset for a series hybrid wasn't any kind of an option with the above in mind, far too cumbersome for daily use & negating the ability to haul a cargo trailer laden w/camping gear, another aspect of the T3's design.
I'm not saying a series hybrid can't be done or shouldn't be attempted - but every build is a compromise, what can be had & what can be made considerations themselves. In the end with what resources I had available & for what I wanted to achieve overall, the T3 was the best I could manage. I gave quite a bit of thought to potential alternatives both before & during the construction, I still even mull it over in me tired ol' brains to this day... but my best guesstamate was in order for me to build a series hybrid that met the T3's design specifications it would have taken at least twice the time & money, if I managed it at all. It would have entailed so much more fabrication, not least of which disassembling & redesigning so many more factory components to reconfigure them into what I wanted, due to the lack of availability of anything even close to what I needed.
The CRF50 clone & ehub already designed to do what I wanted in about the right size & shape as I needed left me the time & resources to attend to all the other aspects I wanted to incorporate as well, the "moments" for handling characteristics (overall size, ride height, wheelbase width & length) & ergonomics - not just seating position, but all the controls & the full suspension too.
It's not that a series isn't feasible, rather it's all about the compromise - what you're willing to accept as secondary for your more important primary. For me, the overall design took precedence over any individual aspect, unfortunately including my desire for a series rather then a parallel. Not to say a parallel hasn't it's advantages (ease of parts/repair, redundancy) or that I'm disappointed in the T3 (I luvs it lol), only that were I have insisted on having
everything I initially desired, I'd still likely have little to show but a pile of parts to be
There are some technical difficulties with a series in our scale more detailed then I thought should be addressed in this already lengthy post as they're dependent on particular choices, those choices seemingly infinite addressing the specific complications of each preemptively pretty much impossible - suffice to say the primary I encountered other then the size of "a portable generator" would be the voltage & current conversions, ideally the generator would produce the voltage & amperage you need directly - but unless you're willing to wind your own, you'll need inverters & converters to step down the common 110/220v AC gennys, all of which waste energy in the conversions, none of which I researched any further then that... again, not "impossible" jus' food fer thought
ful effect lol 
