This is my Stealth Bomber

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

Oh dear, I cannot begin to understand why young ladies do that (sigh)

Otherwise biknut it's nice to see that you're getting out and about enjoying Electronaut.

 

[biknut]

Dang that is Beautiful I mean the bike er yeah

How is the torque and speed/pickup off the line treating you?

You have to sneak up on the throttle from a dead stop, or it pops a little wheelie. You really have to pay close attention which way you're pointed before pulling the trigger, because the power comes on, like right now. I can feel it's going to be a monsta when it's off the governor. But almost as fast as it starts to move, it almost instantly hits the 750 max watt limit, and the governor shuts it down. Very quickly after that it's at the 20 mph limit. A little light pedaling easily gets it to about 23-24 mph, and the watts drop down to about 350 to 400 watts on partial throttle, but twisting the throttle more doesn't do anything, because you're going over 20 mph, which is also a legal limit that the governor recognizes.

Reducing the speed to say 10 mph and whacking the throttle gives you an instant of big power, but then as quickly as it starts it's gone, because you're either hitting 750 watts, or doing over 20 mph again. It's like a bad dream LOL.

 

[fasteddy]

biknut,

I think that the governor and I would have to have a stern talk about what is expected of it.

Sweet looking bike and it's good to hear that working so well.

Steve.

 

[MotorBicycleRacing]

You have to sneak up on the throttle from a dead stop, or it pops a little wheelie. You really have to pay close attention which way you're pointed before pulling the trigger, because the power comes on, like right now. I can feel it's going to be a monsta when it's off the governor.

How do you turn the governor off?

What the h el l are you waiting for?

I rode PaulD's winning ebike after a race. You had to carefully goose the throttle off the line or it would loop you.
The Guy he gave it to came off the back of it twice at the starting line of the next race before it blew up. LOL

 

[biknut]

How do you turn the governor off?

What the h el l are you waiting for?

I rode PaulD's winning ebike after a race. You had to carefully goose the throttle off the line or it would loop you.
The Guy he gave it to came off the back of it twice at the starting line of the next race before it blew up. LOL

I can totally understand how that could happen. I don't think my bike will be quite that touchy. It won't loop itself easily, but it will pop a sudden wheelie off the line without careful attention.

The factory recommends running to battery down all the way 3 times before applying big power to it. They claim this will make the battery last longer, and have a little more capacity.

I installed a switch to easily disable the governor, for off road riding don't you know. It's the red one on the left. The blue one operates the headlight.

 

[16v4nrbrgr]

LOL wheelies, my boss got concerned when I was poppin wheelies on my emotard in between sessions at work, if you thwack the throttle full from a stop it can flip over backwards and leave you chasing after it with a hand on the gas. If it wasn't so dang steep around here I'd gear it out to go 50, but as it stands its barely legal. Torque is loads of fun when you get used to it, you'll be powersliding out of corners like MotoGP in no time.

 

[motortriker]

What is the service manual like ? Is it online ?

Do they still use Headway battery cells ?

 

[biknut]

What is the service manual like ? Is it online ?

Do they still use Headway battery cells ?

At some point they switched to LiFePO4 batteries. Mine is 1.5 kWh, and weighs about 26 lbs.

My 2013 owners manual came on a memory stick included on the key ring. I don't think there's actually a service manual

Here's a 2011 owners manual that's online. It's very similar to the one I have.

http://www.fareinc.com/Stealth/Documents/Stealth_Electric_Bikes_Owners_Manual_2011.pdf

 

[biknut]

This bike is quite the experience to ride. It's really different riding with no sound, and no vibration. I think it's going to be good for my health, because unlike a china girl, you always feel like pedaling, and can. In the back of my mind I'm always thinking about extending my range by assisting. You can look down at the watt meter and see the watts drop when pedaling harder. I don't normally pedal very hard though. I'm starting to realize I only use 7th 8th and 9th gears under power. I'm getting a little better at remembering which way to turn the twist grip. It's backward from my regular bicycles.

We're supposed to have good riding weather for the next 3 days so hopefully I can get through the battery break in and finally try this baby out for real.

 

[GearNut]

The more I read about Electronaut, the more I am itching to build an electric....or maby a hybrid? Slowly ease into the electric scene? I dunnow.
Thank you for sharing the teething stages, biknut.
For some reason you and this bike are more of an inspiration to me than others. Maby it's the way Electronaut looks?

 

[biknut]

It took me 2 days to do it, but I finally ran the battery down all the way at 42.3 miles. My butt was almost flatter than the battery when it finally shut off. What a torture rack.

I didn't know what would happen if I ran the battery completely dead, but now I know. It triggers the BMS into a lockout.

Since I knew it was about to die, I was only about a hundred yards from my house when it shut down. I dropped down into the part of the gearbox you don't normally ever use under power, but you're really glad it's there. Pedaling in second and third is do able and will get you home. First gear is really low. About like my moped, good for about 3 or 4 mph.

So back in my garage I put it on the charger. After a few minutes I turned on the key switch, and the CA initially lit up but then went blank. I though maybe let it charge up a little. 20 minutes later I tried it again, and the same thing. So wait longer. Then after 45 minutes, same thing. Then I knew something is wrong, time to look at the owner manual.

What happened is BMS shutdown. This happens when the battery gets dangerously low on power. The BMS turns all systems off to protect the battery. Trying to charge it wont work until you reset it.

The procedure to reset is easy. Inside the frame there's 2 cables connected to the battery. One is the main battery cable, the other is the charging cable. With the key switch turned off, all you have to do is disconnect the main cable, then start charging, and you can then connect the main cable back up, and you're good to go.

I think from now on I'll try to avoid a complete shut down, but I wanted to see how far it would run down to. Right before it went into shut down the last voltage reading I remember seeing was 71.5v, and I think about 18 ah or very close. The battery is supposed to be 18 ah so I guess that's all you get. The owners manual says you better be on your way home when you hit 17 ah.

Now it's been charging about 20 minutes after wasting 45 minutes trying to charge it while in BMS lockout. I'm learning. It's nice to have automatic safeguards.

 

[biknut]

I was kind of hoping to see about 7 more total miles before the battery went flat, but there's several possible reasons it didn't last that long.

I don't know any of this from experience, but this is what I've read about it.

Number one, I've read that these batteries don't like cold, and their capacity is slightly reduced when it's cold.

Number two, this is a new battery that hasn't been cycled enough yet to be considered broken in. Supposedly after break in the capacity increases slightly.

Number three, it ran mostly at low power output the whole charge. I read that these motors are inefficient at low speeds, and in fact have a sweet spot at certain speeds that I assume is probably a little higher rpm than I was running.

Number four, I weigh 215 lbs, and I don't yet have much skill using the gearbox to the best advantage. Also I can't ever remember to use the regen very often. This gives me added incentive to press on even harder with my weight loss program.

But at least now I have a baseline mileage to try to improve on, and I'll be able to tell if any of these things I've mentioned reading are true. I think the biggest factor will be the temperature. Everyone seems to agree these batteries like heat. If that turns out to be true I'm in luck because Texas has plenty of that.

I think the record mileage I've gotten out of Stunner with it's 1/2 gl tank is about 44 miles, and one time maybe 46, so I'm really not that far off now. I have a feeling Electronaut will eventually beat Stunners record.

 

[biknut]

This was my first full charge from total dead. It took 3 1/2 hours in a 52 degree garage. I'm going for another ride I the dark.

 

[GearNut]

I am hoping for an inaugural night video.

 

[Mike B]

Not bad. That kind of range would be good for going to work 20-30 miles out. Charger at work, no problem.

It will be interesting to see how many miles you get with "spirited" riding -

 

[biknut]

I just rode 11.1 miles, and used 5.1 ah. That works out to about 39 miles per charge.

About 1 mile of the 11.1 miles was me riding like an ass showing off from my friends, so I'm pretty sure that dropped the range some.

I should be able to ride 30 more miles tomorrow, and get through another charge. Then I want to charge it 2 more times after that. So say another 120 miles.

If I figure out how to get the range above 45 miles I'll be very happy. I think that's possible, because I'm really lousy at riding this bike efficiently so far. It's actually very easy to ride, but not that easy to ride efficiently.

Tonight I was concentrating so intensely on riding smoothly, and efficiently by being in the right gear at the right speed, I found that after a while I would start slowing down slower and slower. It happened a couple times, and each time I thought what the heck is wrong. Turned out I was forgetting to turn the throttle. I'm a very experienced motorcycle rider. This bike is just so busy. My moped that shifts automatically, and has an auto clutch has made me very lazy. On the Bomber you need to think., especially when you're not used to it.

 

[GearNut]

Oh no! You gotta think when ya ride one of those things!
That's it, I'm outta here!


I am happy to hear that you got another great ride out of it.
Can you keep an eye on the CA gauge as you ride to help you stay in the best motor RPM's?
( I am assuming here that the gauge is mounted on the bike)

 

[biknut]

I am hoping for an inaugural night video.

I am going to make some video, but I got to get in the right mood.

I have a couple of ideas already for some videos but it takes time and right now I want to ride. I think it will be after Christmas, but soon.

 

[BarelyAWake]

...If I figure out how to get the range above 45 miles I'll be very happy. I think that's possible, because I'm really lousy at riding this bike efficiently so far. It's actually very easy to ride, but not that easy to ride efficiently.

Tonight I was concentrating so intensely on riding smoothly, and efficiently by being in the right gear at the right speed, I found that after a while I would start slowing down slower and slower. It happened a couple times, and each time I thought what the heck is wrong. Turned out I was forgetting to turn the throttle. I'm a very experienced motorcycle rider. This bike is just so busy. My moped that shifts automatically, and has an auto clutch has made me very lazy. On the Bomber you need to think., especially when you're not used to it.

I'm no ebike expert & this is pretty basic stuff so you're prolly familiar, but I've both a basic commuter & a "busy" 21sp hybrid & it seems to me the most effective method of extending maximum range is twofold, being never exceed about 3/4 throttle & consistency - pick a speed & stick to it w/as little throttle movement as possible.

It's admittedly a safety issue so I can't actually recommend it, but I've found that setting the digital cruise control to 75-80% of my max potential speed (flat ground) on my ebike commuter and just leaving it alone works wonders, you'll not have this issue but when my speed drops to my available pedal speed range I just begin assisting to maintain - thereby reducing the maximum amp draw from my packs. I'm not as good without the CC but I'm learning to fake it pretty well w/the hybrid, I can sympathize with the busy gear thing on that'un... on the other hand it's great for maximizing efficiency in assorted conditions (hills, textured terrain, headwind, etc).

It's the "spikes" in usage that seem to hurt reserve the most, not just off the line or hills but even just for a sec to to regain from deviated cruise speed after a shift or w/e, add all those little over-corrections up over the duration of the trip and they could be a couple few miles of easy cruisin'... pretty much any time you can take the edge off throttle application & it's amp spike helps a ton, soft easy shifting & smooth cruising seems to be the way to get the farthest, not dissimilar to trying to get mileage out of a V8 w/a four barrel, don't let those secondaries open lol

Only real problem is not geeking out the ebike stuff so much I end up in the ditch

 

[biknut]

Can you keep an eye on the CA gauge as you ride to help you stay in the best motor RPM's?

Yes in time you can do that, but you do realize right now it's just 1 big fat stinkin hp ? Basically you just ride along humping the governor. It's best speed is probably a lot higher than it goes now.