World’s fastest Schwinn cruiser

[badbu68]

Saw a neat way to connect 4 of the pouch batteries together. I'm thinking 72v and 32ah should be good for at least 20-30 miles spirited riding.

I've been looking at this husqvarna render and drawings and think that's look, but with pedals. Really liked the boardtracker old indian or hd stuff but doesn't look right when you have to jam these huge batteries anywhere you can in the frame.

Looks good, keep chuggin along!

 

[MEASURE TWICE]

Solid state energy packs are one day a coming, just not this day. Miniaturization will shrink the physical dimensions of power storage and extend range and all around price/performance of all electrically motorized transport. The tech is already developed. I can't believe the pace of change in just the past three years that's occurred in batteries ,and the future will be the past before we realize it.

As power components get smaller designers will have a field day with cycles; the resulting power to weight ratios will yield performance on two wheels that will astound. Think motocross weight with better than todays superbike performance.

Rick C.

I saw this electric outboard motor, thought it was a troll motor, but equates to 3hp. OK but 26 Big Ones.

https://www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us/products/outboards/travel/travel-1103-c/M-1151-00.html

 

[Tony01]

Saw a neat way to connect 4 of the pouch batteries together. I'm thinking 72v and 32ah should be good for at least 20-30 miles spirited riding.

I've been looking at this husqvarna render and drawings and think that's look, but with pedals. Really liked the boardtracker old indian or hd stuff but doesn't look right when you have to jam these huge batteries anywhere you can in the frame.

Looks good, keep chuggin along!

Yeah that should be enough for 40mi easy depending on your power requirements. Styling is my weak point. I have a few tanks drawn up but can’t pick one. I only learned enough solidworks to modify customer drawings before importing them to cam software. So it goes slowly. Took me a long time to draw my bike.

 

[Tony01]

Printed out shapes, verified size and transferred to cardboard.

Transferred the cardboard shapes to foam. Thirteen sheets. Frame tube cutout at front padded up with cardboard. Should be 1” dead nuts after glassing. No guessing the center with the angle grinder this time.

Made my own hot wire foam cutter from some 26g stainless wire and a vtc6 18650. The wire is about 4.5” long, and runs at about 20 watts. This setup is crucial for rough cutting the foam to very close to the desired size. If I was using the thicker 1.5” foam this would have been almost a requirement as it’s tough to get a straight cut in foam by hand with a hot knife.

Glued the sheets together with spray adhesive. Roughed it out with the orbital sander. Then went to shaping it by hand.

A couple hours later, here it is. There are still a couple spots that need some shaping to be equal to the other side, but it’s pretty much ready for the next step.

 

[indian22]

Tony that is some great work you can be proud of!

Rick C.

 

[PeteMcP]

Tank shaping-up nicely. The only photo missing from that sequence is the one showing you, orbital sander in hand, amongst a blizzard of polystyrene beads...

 

[badbu68]

I like it, you going to make it a clamshell for storage or just purely aesthetic? I'm still trying to figure out if/how I want to mount cell/voltage monitors.

 

[Tony01]

I like it, you going to make it a clamshell for storage or just purely aesthetic? I'm still trying to figure out if/how I want to mount cell/voltage monitors.

Nah it’s just a cover for the electronics and wiring.

Tank shaping-up nicely. The only photo missing from that sequence is the one showing you, orbital sander in hand, amongst a blizzard of polystyrene beads...

Haha yes!!

Thanks Rick, it’s tough to not go full OCD on this. I have to stop myself too often.


It was too cold to glass today. Welp decided I didn’t like the curves on the sides so added in a couple more ribs I made from the remaining foam sheet. Squared it up ready to glass tomorrow. The shape will be correct too. I put too big of a chamfer on the part yesterday and it would have resulted in the laminate being a lot thinner at the back. Plus with less corner curves it will be a whole lot easier to glass, and likely needing some reinforcement on the inside.

Got my 2nd throttle today. Going to use it for regen brake. My thumb regen lever broke while it was in storage. It was just a little piece of plastic holding the thumb pad on. Don’t remember who said it, that using a throttle in reverse on the left felt very natural for regen. Bout to find out. I also plan on programming in some engine braking regen and see if I can ride this bike one handed for the most part.

 

[Tony01]

Covered it with the foil. Made a mount. Laid down the first layer of mat. Gonna wait for it to dry, cut all the extra off and put my final layer down. The sharp corners will definitely need work inside for the strength. Can’t expect glass to go over a quarter inch radius.

Gonna continue working on the kickstand.

 

[Tony01]

Laid the final outside layers of glass. Going to let it cure for a few hours and see about beginning to take out the foam. Batt box needs a few odds and ends glassed in too. A little prep before the final glasswork.

FFS what a huge pain. Just so much little crap to do. Feels like a job at times. Thinking too much about the next build.

 

[Tony01]

Ready for primer and blocking, needs minor filler work.... Took the foam and aluminum foil out, glassed up all the inside corners, tried to fill holes a bit. Filled it up with body filler and smoothed it all down. Needs a little more filler, some block smoothing then with the primer and blocking. That’s cleaner work than running the sander. Whole lot less dust.

Have to cut a few more things but had a problem with my grinder. Blew my first wheel in over five years running the same tool. I’ve had wheels get damaged but not blow. It could have gotten damaged in transit though. Anyway the nut is stuck on there like it’s never been stuck; I’m gonna have to weld something to it to get it off. Got a new locknut on order.

If I use some space under the wide aft portion of my fake tank, and some free space in the battery box.. I could add 37 cells and go from 21s3p, to 20s5p. Lose a bit of top end but gain so much in capacity. 3kwh pack, 70 miles... an onboard 2500w charger would be nice too... I’d never need another bike for around town that’s for sure.

 

[badbu68]

Looks good! I would really like the ability to plug in around town at some of our universal chargers around here, haven't looked into it yet but I assume that would be a big PITA also probably very expensive.

 

[Tony01]

Looks good! I would really like the ability to plug in around town at some of our universal chargers around here, haven't looked into it yet but I assume that would be a big PITA also probably very expensive.

Level 2 charging. I’ve figured it out. It’s really simple actually. You need a 240vac onboard charger, j2772 receptacle and a small switch with some resistors wired in for communication. And of course the battery has to be rated for the charge, but for us with the spim08hp’s 5c charge it’s never going to be stressed. I’m looking at these chargers on aliexpress. The 72v20a is $200, I’d like the 72v30a at $260ish. So it would cost around $350 max with plug and accessories.

https://h5.aliexpress.com/item/4000...g0n.seo-amp-search.searchResult.4000093510124

I did some minor cost analysis on it. Not counting tires or wheel bearings. My stock 212er cost me about 18 cents per mile for gas and maintenance (11, 7c), or $1800 per 10000 miles. Ebike is around 9 cents for electricity and battery replacement @10k (3, 6 cents), half price. Ebike or a Built 212/big bore, are both 3-4K builds. Yeah I’m glad to have my ebike and its expensive components. I’ll see the savings if I put the miles in.

Edit: j1772 communication circuit. I have seen a photo of a setup with a flip up cap on the receptacle that would move and lock a nearby switch in off/state B when the cap closed.

 

[Tony01]

Getting close. Blocking begins today. Big mess outdoors. Can finally begin to clean things up and throw out all the parts I’ll never use. Really just want to have my tools and my bike with *some* building materials stashed away. And move on, mentally and physically. All parts still have minor imperfections and I’m f’in done with this. I spray the filler primer hard till it runs and fills all the pinholes. My layups were all pretty bad with lots of air pockets. I did the best I could and it turned out okay for a first timer. Don’t think I’ll do this again, but never say never. Big job!!

Finished all the wiring. Modified my wiring harness with a plug for a voltmeter, which turns on with the ignition. This is my fuel gauge. 21 volts drop or about 2 miles per volt at full power. Tested my 84w headlight at half power to see if it would still work with my 36w 12v dc converter. Works fine though it’s not as bright. I’ll run it for now.

Still need to glass in some mounts on the inside. Haven’t figured out the mounting yet. But I will soon. I want there to not be any mounting hardware visible on the tank. But I might just say fck it and finish the damn thing.

Also need to figure out a mount for lights and more switches.

Figured out the bottom bracket yesterday. Stole the BB conversion off another old schwinn.

I’ve picked up a follower in the animal kingdom as well. Probably because I feed her when she comes by...

New goal: 1 week...

 

[badbu68]

Looks great! All that hard work will pay off when you get it painted.

 

[indian22]

Tony I really like the bike.

Rick C.

 

[Tony01]

Thanks for the kind words. Rick, I have you to thank (Blame?) for convincing me to finish the project.

This last 1% feels like a lot more. Finished the box side cover mounts. Bonding nuts glassed in for tiny 8-32 flathead screws. Painted the box. But it looks like crap.

Couldn’t figure out a way to go hardware free on the tank exterior. Just got tired of thinking about it. Gonna have two or three screws holding it on. No trick stuff for theft prevention. When I used to drink and Uber home I would leave my bikes under a security camera. Never got stolen, likely because they are too custom to flip.

Quarantine cabin fever setting in bad. Been on the forum all day. Need to ride.

How do I make the side panels look good and scratch resistant too? I’m thinking carbon fiber vinyl wrap or roll-on bedliner. I’ve done a bike in spray bedliner before. It looked good the first day but the finish would chip easier than paint. What do you guys think?

 

[Ralph hop]

Hey Tony, the bike looks sick! Whether or not it has to the final finish you're after You can always change that later on. Personally, I like the black, just needs more paint. Looking forward to see some good rides!

 

[indian22]

I'll take the blame, but not the credit, Tony that's all on you!

Starting a marathon is relatively easy compared to preparing for one then finishing the run to the tape. Each step becomes more labored along the way & the finish more distant.

I sometimes get lost in the process of a long (difficult) build and all I can see and focus on are the problems. That's when I step back, & sometimes slow down, then really observe where the build's at in that moment. Realizing how far I've reached from where it all started. I'm just searching for perspective from my work and sometimes from others, not the haters and whiners; critics abound in todays world, while creators are few.

What I see from your last two sets of photos posted is quite awesome. My take on your bike is that it's one serious MF'er & the 100% completed project should reflect that the bike's purpose is to be ridden not photographed. A serious bike it is.

Completion isn't something I do, bikes seven & eight years old, are still being fabricated and refined. In the meantime I ride the heck out of them year round.

Rick C.

 

[PeteMcP]

Tony, running out of steam 90-95% the way through EVERY project and itching to move on to the next is all part of every man's DNA. Show me a household that isn't backed-up with a bunch of 'honey do' jobs. I suffer the same symptoms. Don't think any of my builds are actually 100% completed...
I know you're desperate to just get it done, and a single colour spray job is the quick way out, but my take on paint finish for your latest build would be to break up the large expanse of the side covers (and tank) with a simple but effective 2 or 3 tone livery. Easily masked and executed. Half an hour spent doodling should be enough to come up with a plan.
I'd be wary of going down the vinyl wrap route. Done that - and it's hard to get a top notch finish on anything other than perfectly prepped, glass-like surfaces.
Another take - and probably the quick and easy route to the finish line - would be to go down the military route with a matt paint/graphics scheme. Just for a change, how about navy grey/white rather than army olive drab?