The Bent Zombie Tribrid Tadpole Trike

[BarelyAWake]

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

lol thanks everyone! TBH the "attention to detail" is sorta unavoidable when there's so many details demanding that attention - or else they jus' won't work. I'd hate like heck to zot that spiffy lil Vapor dash or even worse yet, hafta take alla this crap back apart again jus' cause one lil wire was hatin' on me... blarg, I'm cringing jus' thinkin' about it *shudders*

Speakin' of the various uses for liquid electrical tape (& shrink wrap ofc) - while you're defo right Goat, vacuum lines are so easily replaced it doesn't make much sense to cob 'em w/this stuff (unless a roadside emergency), I did use it to help make a headset I didn't hate so much as the one I had (converting broken mono boom to stereo earbuds w/micro boom) - not jus' to seal the tiny lil connections, but to join the full length of the wires together sos I only have the "one" cord coming off of 'em (last pic)... A lil gobby as it was the first time I tried such, it came out so well it's a good lil trick to remember & with a lil practice (and a proper brush lol) I suspect a nice clean job could be done... the "micro boom" is made out ofa chunk of bicycle brake cable BTW heh



As for "where's the white wire go" well, that's both a good joke & a good question lol... with that in mind I avoided all wiring projects completely yesterday to give myself a lil break, then spent this morning double checking all the connections, wire colors & continuity, making pin charts & labeling wires. Not very exciting stuff I'll admit, nor particularly photogenic... but it hadta be done;



Purely coincidentally I swear - the heavy white wire(s) just happen to be for my headlights & the smaller one is also for lighting... an indicator light to be exact heh

 

[Dan]

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

But where's the white wire go?

Tom

Har, lol.

 

[BarelyAWake]

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

The taillight... yea... well, this was one of those lil issues that seems so simple - in retrospect lol

Initially I was planning on using a much smaller taillight/brake light w/separate blinkers on stalks, typical of many a moped etc. Thing is, I couldn't figure out where to put the rear blinker stalks where they'd be safe & still visible... then I found this "all in one" tail, brake & blinker unit: 2007-2008 Kawasaki ZX6R Clear LED Tail Light

For the taddy's scale I thought it a bit large for a taillight & protruding farther out than I'd like, but it's smaller & simpler than a separate taillight & blinkers would be and it's really bright... the brake light is really, really bright actually & I figured safety trumps style so I'd make it work. Thing was - where to put it & how to mount it there? I'd gotten the thing quite a while ago & I'd been tryin' various locations to see where they got me, I'd even tried seein' how it looked if I built a custom cargo rack for it to mount into, which ended up being an aesthetic disaster. With the clearance needed for the rear suspension & the fuel tank location the rack was so far back & high up it looked... well... suffice to say it didn't work out. No matter how handy they may be, this build ain't gettin' one heh

So I figured I'd stick it to the back of the seat (upside down so it matches), as high as possible for visibility & access to the fuel cap - which sounds easy enough, but the thing isn't made for that ofc with the fasteners at the wrong angle & an awkward location (hitting the seat's ribs), I'll be honest, tryin' to figure out how to mount it there kinda broke my brain so I jus' moved on to other things for awhile. Then, the day before yesterday for no apparent reason it jus' came to me - I grabbed a chunk of aluminum plate, threw it in a vice, made a coupla quick bends, drilled a few holes & it was done I didn't even need to alter the seat at all, the only problem I have with it is how long it took me to figure such an simple thing out lol *shrug*

After that it was just a matter of fiddlin' around makin' a paper (card stock) template as a trace pattern for the taillight's cover, to hide the gap between the seat & light and to tidy things up a bit. After some cuttin' & bending the aluminum to fit it looked like this;

 

[BarelyAWake]

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

...then I hit the cover with a squirt or two of paint & promptly dropped it in the dirt. So after cleaning it up I painted it again & it looks like this;

I'm still not comfortable with how it looks on the taddy TBH, but everythin's a compromise in the end I s'pose & while it may be a lil gommy, short of cutting the taillight itself apart and makin' my own from scratch it's the best I can manage. It is after all for safety, makin' me as visible as possible to other traffic and that it does with a vengeance heh

Here's a coupla shots of the lights in action, first off ofc, then blinker & taillight, and just the brake light. I couldn't even take pics lined up in the direct light as it screws up the digital cam lol;

 

[2door]

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

Hats off to ya, Geoff. That was a brilliant little piece of engineering. Funny how things just seem to come to you after dwelling on them for a while. Then you sit back and say, "Why didn't I think of that earlier?" That's the beauty of doing a project when you're not pushed for time or get over anxious to finish. Those hours spent 'engineering' can be beneficial, me thinks. Carry on.
Tom

 

[killercanuck]

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

niice, actually it looks pretty slick up there(higher the better right) matches the contours of the seat, no worries. That's bright as bleep too

That'll do the trick, unless you want a safety flag sticking up with flashing LED's on the end of it, but then that'll bobble and wobble, ppl won't know which way your going... heh heh.

It does look good there, srsly.

 

[BarelyAWake]

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

Thankee killer, it's good to have a different set of eyes for a fresh perspective... I think it's mostly just not what I'd pictured for it in my brain, but ya can't have everythin' I s'pose heh - I have decided I'm gonna trim the lower edges of the taillight cover back a touch & round them, that's prolly one of the lil things that's buggin' me a bit. If nothin' else they're sharp & I'm gonna catch stuff on 'em *shrug* details I will still be gettin' a safety flag for the thing BTW, lights - no matter how bright, don't do much forya during the daytime & they sure as heck don't make the taddy any taller - as the taillight is still lower than a Ford F150's hood, heck a Subaru Outback's for that matter... well... ya see my concern lol

But where's the white wire go?

Good question Tom, this week's lil project was the lighting & accessories schematic. It doesn't include the wiring for the motors & it's pending any number of additions, corrections & revisions... but what isn't? When it's "finaled" so to speak, I'll be printing it on sticker stock & spackin' it up under the seat, sos I don't loose it ofc;

 

[Cogswelln]

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

good spot for it. are us sure that no moisture will get up in the lil area and ruin the schematic? just a thought that popped and i figured i would ask. too much wiring for me tho

 

[BarelyAWake]

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

Yea, the wiring is a bit of a nest lol - which is what drove me to make a schematic as I was startin' to loose my place w/all the scribbled notes & whatnot

As for the sticker stock & moisture, I've found the inkjet adhesive waterproof vinyl from these guys is pretty dang good http://www.papilio.com/ - they've a clear spray for it as well that I'll use, but that's mostly to prevent UV fade as it's waterproof w/o it.

 

[BarelyAWake]

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

Well, this is a step I'd been puttin' off for a good long while, for a dang silly reason I'll freely admit lol

Awhile ago I'd found the only viable location for the relay panel/fuse box was up under the seat, I'd even gone ahead and started making the mount plate & it all looked like it was gonna work out fine, if a bit of a tight fit. After taping it in place & fiddling around some, experimenting with thoughts of clips or velcro... I came to the realization that like it or not, I was gonna hafta drill more holes in my now apparently irreplaceable seat as 'ActionBent' - the only reasonably priced recumbent & parts supplier I've ever found & (as far as I know) the makers of this seat, seem to have gone outa business *doffs hat*

Yea, laugh at me ifn ya want, it's cool & I deserve it - after all it's jus' six lil countersunk holes and even if it went wrong, fiberglass is easy to fix. Knowing that didn't seem to help the reservations tho heh

So, I figured I'd get into the swing o'things & start finishing up the mount plate, cutting it to length, rounding the corners, drilling mount holes & jus' for the heck of it - covering the back (front? top? the other side dangit) with the same black nylon as the battery tray covers & my panniers. Ya kno, the easy-to-redo-if-everything-goes-horribly-wrong stuff ofc.

aaand everything went better than expected, tho I did hafta use 'Seal-All' as a contact adhesive as I can't seem to find the spray on trim glue I thought I had... but using the four SLAs to apply pressure squashed out the cover nicely - who says SLAs are too heavy? Their 32lbs was perfect for this heh

After grabbin' the ol' exacto knife & doing some trimmin' & mountin' the whatsits & dodads, it looked like this;

 

[BarelyAWake]

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

...then came the spooky bit, lining it up centered & drilling the mount holes in the seat itself, counter sinking them & painting the raw edges of the 'glass as I hadta pull out the edge trim to fit the mount in there. While it all went smoothly, what was tricky about this is it's blind (can't see both sides), hasta be centered perfect as ya can see the silly thing through the seat cover and ofc, clearance issues - the bane of this entire project lol

As ya can see in the third pic, the relays just clear the frame rails w/a lil bit of wiggle room to spare... but not much as there hasta still be room for the seat to flex w/o chafing them & for the heat shield I haven't made yet. Still, it came out jus' as I wanted it & other'n the front fenders & blinkers, the last of the main electrical components needed to complete the wiring harness... I think... unless I've forgotten somethin' again lol

 

[killercanuck]

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

Is that ever slick! You'll thank yourself down the road for being so attentive to your wiring. Have you thought of running the front of the shield inbound of the frame rails?(pic 3) Might save a couple mm's if needed

 

[BarelyAWake]

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

Thanks Killer, I hope so lol as TBH I really don't much like dealing with electricals, let alone the gremlins they seem to attract... so w/this project I decided I'd jus' bite the bullet & get everythin' all sorted as best I'm able - prayin' I'll never even hafta think about 'em again heh

"Have you thought of running the front of the shield inbound of the frame rails?"

If ya mean the heat shield I'm planning on makin' - yea, it pretty much hasta go in between the frame rails as under 'em would be too close to the engine & there's no clearance on top... and it hasta be easily removable to facilitate tinkering ofc. As it stands & even as tight as things are, thankfully I don't hafta do anythin' silly like pull the motor for tune ups/maintenance & as the valve cover is right there... yep, not much choice - as usual it seems the taddy is makin' the decisions for me heh




Well... aside from the mirrors I've not figured out yet, I thought I was done buying stuff for this project, silly me - there's always "jus' one more shiny thing" to get & this time, it was the so-called "clipless" pedals I'd forgotten. I'd been warned about "leg suck" & w/that in mind, fully planned on gettin' the things... but it wasn't till yesterday morning when a buddy was talkin' about taddys & I suggested them for him - which reminded me I hadn't gotten them for myself yet lol

So, after a lil hunting around I found a set of pedals I liked... and ran into an interesting problem. Apparently, I'm a mutant. While there's a vast, almost dizzying selection of clipless shoes available with even a couple I liked, the trend is both garish colors (minor problem) made only in sizes for folks with lil girlie feet (major problem). There's a couple few available in my size, but of those few they're not only stupid expensive for freakin' shoes - but the "fashion" would end up lookin' like I'm wearin' boxes of Lucky Charms on my feet >.<

Conspiracy? Discrimination? *shrug* Who knows? I'll be swingin' by my local bike shop jus' to see if they can't order me a pair like these Shimano SH-MT22 Mountain Bike Shoes in good ol' size 13, but TBH I suspect I'm outa luck. Given that & the difficulties in trying the fit o'er the interwebs, I'll prolly just buy a pair of comfy shoes I actually like and makin' my own "clipless" bicycle shoes outa them *sigh* slave to fashion much?

Anyway, here's the pedal set I jus' ordered - double sided for if & when I forget to wear the shoes I don't have heh;


Dual Sided Clipless Shimano SPD/Platform Pedals

 

[The_Aleman]

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

That "slave to fashion" question always comes up for us semi-sasquatches...

The pickings get slim when you got feet over size 12. I wear 14s, myself

 

[RicksRides]

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

That is going to be one heck of a trike! really well built. any idea when it will be finished and on the road?

 

[Ibedayank]

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

better question might be when will it be rideable because self built custom stuff is never truly ever "DONE" always find things to improve

 

[BarelyAWake]

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

Well Ale stylish or not, bigger contact patch = greater stability right?

Thanks Ricks, glad ya like it & welcome to the forum BTW I'm figurin' it'll prolly be up & runnin' sometime this spring... but I dunno when for sure as so much depends on the as yet unknowable. Right now I'm beset by the evil equation of a work schedule, a chilly shop & the slacker variable - or more accurately, my idiosyncrasies lol

Yank does have a valid point - yet even "rideable" is a matter of degree, I could go out to the shop, put a coupla keys in the jackshaft to lock in the sprockets & be pedaling it around in a matter of moments, heck the electric drive would prolly only take a half hour or so to hook up & I s'pose if I wanted to I could get the four stroke runnin' within a coupla hours at most...

Thing is, the devilish details - I've been figurin' this build out as I go along, there's a buncha stuff that while serviceable, could be improved... or I'm just not completely satisfied w/it ...but haven't quite figured out how to do it better. So I redirect my attention to something else whilst my brain mulls over options, or simply wander away till inspiration strikes.

I'm not in any particular hurry to get the thing finished (yet), much as I'd love to ride it - it's still winter & this is Maine, so lil projects like this are all I've got to keep me sane(ish). There is one thing I know for sure though, as soon as the weather breaks & spring is here for real, "inspiration" will drive me into frenzied fits, an almost fanatical flurry of frantic activity, so bad I'll prolly hafta call in "sick" so I can get "just one more thing" finished lol

Fortunately, my employer is used to such "idiosyncrasies" & no doubt expects exactly that

 

[2door]

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

"frenzied fits, an almost fanatical flurry of frantic activity,"

If you were a puppy we'd call that 'Frapping" FRAP= Frantic, Rapid, Activity Period. Puppies are known for doing it, then they fall down and sleep.

Tom

 

[Goat Herder]

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

"frenzied fits, an almost fanatical flurry of frantic activity,"

If you were a puppy we'd call that 'Frapping" FRAP= Frantic, Rapid, Activity Period. Puppies are known for doing it, then they fall down and sleep.

Tom

I dunno Getting older in my years I think I could fall down and sleep in the middle of a work day lol.

That "slave to fashion" question always comes up for us semi-sasquatches...

The pickings get slim when you got feet over size 12. I wear 14s, myself

Size 15 4 E. Forget about Wallmart. Apparently folks n china are wll ...smaller? lol

Thanks Killer, I hope so lol as TBH I really don't much like dealing with electricals, let alone the gremlins they seem to attract... so w/this project I decided I'd jus' bite the bullet & get everythin' all sorted as best I'm able - prayin' I'll never even hafta think about 'em again heh

Gremlins you say? http://www.gremlinbells.com/ I more a Jesus on the dash board kinda guy.

 

[BarelyAWake]

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

K - sos it's been almost exactly two months w/o an update on the taddy and ya may be wonderin' what the heck I'm doing lol

Well... here's the thing, while I do love building stuff, I kinda hate havin' to fix stuff & as I'm inclined to ride a lot in all weather conditions, with the el'cheapo Chinese kits no less - the maintenance & repair can take it's toll.

With the unseasonably early break in the weather, I "switched gears" so to speak and gave my comfy cruiser ('43 Rollfast) an overhaul & new motor - and promptly got sucked back into the shiftkit issues I was havin' with the thing. With over 4000 miles on it, it's not really a surprise that there's cumulative problems with it, but sorting them out took a little longer & more than I expected.

Ofc while the Rollfast was down for modifications & repair, I hadta continue riding the poor beater Schwinn... and TBH with well over 10,000 miles of outright abuse combined with the devil's brew of rock salt & calcium chloride they use on the roads around here in the winter - the Schwinn has just about had it. While the frame itself is fine (aluminum), just about everything else is spent - worn, warped & wasted. With the engine tired, low on compression and the majority of the bike's components needing replacement I decided it made no sense to spend more than the cost of the bike & motor combined to repair it...

The Schwinn had served me unbelievably well, beyond all expectations. No matter that it'd been crashed, pounded, rode hard and put away wet - it always got me where I needed to be. Still, the time has come to get another winter beater/commuter, I simply can't bring myself to abuse the almost 70 year old Rollfast like that.

So with the lessons learned from the Schwinn in mind I ordered a new bike, A Mongoose 'Snarl' which is another aluminum bike as I prefer the lighter weight & general corrosion resistance - but most importantly it has front and rear disk brakes, far better (if still generic) shocks and it's frame is large enough for another Chinese kit (tho it's got an oversize down tube ofc): http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mongoose-Snarl-26-Men-s-All-Terrain-Bike/15711161 ...for $250 it's not a bad deal I figure.

...but the catch is I haven't another kit to bolt in there yet. The Rollfast is up and running with a fresh motor and the Mongoose is just supposed to be a winter beater/backup bike anyway - so I decided to take the opportunity to test some taddy components I already have, namely the electric drive. While I'd intended the taddy to be a hybrid/tribrid - the fact is I never had any idea if it'd be "worth it" or not with the added complexity & weight.

So, after getting the Rollfast sorted I converted the Mongoose to an ebike with the taddy's 48v 1000w hub motor: http://www.goldenmotor.ca/categories/Magic-Pie-2/Rear/26-Inch/ and the 48V 15AH LiFePO4 battery packs: http://www.pingbattery.com/servlet/the-12/48V-15AH-V2.5-LiFePO4/Detail to get some experience with the ebike stuff & to make sure I've a functional backup ride for my daily commuting.

I just finished it yesterday and naturally it's pouring rain out and looks like it's going to be like that for a week - while it's supposed to be able to cope with that, I figured it's not the best idea to do test runs on a 1000w ebike in that sorta weather, let alone the fact I've no fenders or anything on it yet. Still, I managed to get about 45 minutes of solid ride time in during a break in the downpour - while it's still way too early to make any decisions regarding the taddy's application... I will admit to some mixed feelings.

The 'Pie preformed as advertised, no complaint there & I've still not delved into the controller's settings yet so there may be more to it - but it's somehow underwhelming overall. I don't have to pedal to start, it gets me to a nice sustained 20-25mph... but what's a real disappointment are it's connectors & switches, not only is there a bunch of them but (and I don't say this lightly) they're all crap. All the various plugins for the throttle, level gauge, horn, lights & whatnot are tiny, flimsy and loose - even the main power supply to hub plug while larger wasn't beefy enough & not up to the task of normal operation as it shorted inside (prolly a poor wire to pin connection).

*shrug* I've just replaced the main connector & I'm hoping this rain will go away so I can get some real time in on the thing so I can't really say what I'm gonna do w/it yet or even if I like/dislike it... I'm not really complaining about the general quality as it is a low-cost entry level ebike kit and so far the only problems are the connectors/switches - which are easily replaced/upgraded... I just dunno yet if it's worth the taddy.

I also figured I'd mention I'm still around & tinkerin' lol