Another one hour ride and Crow's back on the charger, a small 2 amp charger, to see how long it takes to charge after a 1 hour ride. Yesterday
the charge rate was impressive. I attempted the same varied riding and no pedal assit today and a precise 1 hour long duration. I'll let you know how long.
The controller remains my only complaint yet it works and actually can motivate pretty well. It will get replaced though.
Turning to the Schwinn build I'm within a week of having it to the same completion level as the Ol' Crow & fully functional for extended test rides. Old Guy still having fun and making progress at a snail's pace. Reduction gear and bottom bracket jack shaft complete and mounted as are two of the three chains. Line up really well and have chain lengths as close as I can get them at this point. No problems with them. I replaced the 56 tooth with a 36 t sprocket. Looks better at least though I may have gone a little overboard with this small sprocket. I modified the motor case height to allow adjustment of the primary chain and now I can remount the V-twin case with motor installed in it on the frame. So that plus seat post and saddle pan alteration to allow space for a rear rack to be installed are small jobs to keep me busy till battery, rack and saddlebags arrive. The thumb throttle actually shipped from a state side distributors stock so it's also in route. The leather saddlebags from India ship really fast and Fed Ex has them already in country to deliver Friday. Several small items coming as well but nothing which would hold up progress on the Schwinn.
I'm more excited about the Schwinn at this point as I've had the Crow on the road for a couple of years with different drive trains and power configurations. It's a known quantity except for the reduction gear setup and the funky controller. The Schwinn is quite a different project. Factory style frame with 60% scale V-twin electric motor case. Outrunner style sensored brushless with Flipsky Vesc controller and only a 10s 36 v. 20 amp hr (7P) battery. Pretty lightweight for a motorized cruiser frame, about 70 pounds with one battery is my guess so almost 100 pounds lighter than the Ol' Crow and with similar wattage outputs at least for now.
I can't wait to ride her. She was fun with a 66cc China Girl mounted and really felt sporty to ride rapidly. Good handling bike all around so I know what she was before the e reduction drive train was added. Bottom end torque should be off the rails compared to the 66cc setup.
Guys enjoy your week if you want to.
Rick C.