First Impressions

I rode the bike around my neighborhood all evening yesterday. The odometer and speedometer are primarily in kilometers, so I'm still deciding what unit of measurement to work in. I'd like to keep a pretty close log of rides and data to try and track the health of the system for a few months.

Ride 1	Start	Stop	Max
Odometer (km)	12	37
Voltage	76	69
Batt. Amps			100?
Speed (mph)			40

25 km is 15.5 miles, so I'm really happy about the range so far, even if I averaged only 20 or 25 mph. It's certainly no worse than my worst-case scenario. It will interesting to see what range I can get at an average speed of 40 or 50 mph though.

I tried to keep an eye on the PakTrakr:

I could easily accelerate and keep the battery-side amperage at or under 10 amps.

I could maintain 25 mph at about 4 amps.

The PakTrakr seems a bit confused about my battery State of Charge (SoC) at the moment. I followed the instructions and changed the chemistry setting to AGM, which I know to be accurate. Still although it can accurately report the pack voltage, it shows the SoC as being 72% when the pack is at 77 volts. The fuel gauge mode shows a mostly empty tank even though the pack is still around 71 volts. It could be user error - I've reset the display by unplugging the remote several times. As far as I know, everything else is working fine. I love the thing already, but I need to try and correct the issue.

My chargers are not working like I expected either. I'm not sure why, but they don't seem to shut-off, or rather, go into float mode when I think they should. Then again, I'm still a bit unsure what voltage my pack should have when "fully charged". If a fully charged AGM 12 volt battery actually reads 12.8 or 12.9 volts, then my batteries are spot on. The charges just seem to stay on full-blast (and stay hot), even once the pack has reach 77 volts (according to the PakTrakr). It might be that the two, 36 volt chargers are wired in series practically, and so they're interfering with each other's monitoring logic. I guess I could try charging the pack in halves to see if their behavior changes.

The controller only threw one error message while I was actually out riding. This too was probably my fault. After coming to a stop, I went to make a sharp right, which led to a down slope. There was a chug-a-chug feeling that may be mechanical on the bike between the motor, chain, wheel and swing-arm. I felt for a moment that the bike was trying to go sporadically, although not with full-power like a run-away. Somewhere in the chugs and whatever strange throttle inputs I gave it, the controller detected a problem. I only wish I had written the error code down, in case it occurs again or was something I haven't seen yet. A simple re-boot allowed me to keep going. I checked for damage or heat but found nothing. That was mid-way through the ride and it didn't hiccup, so to speak, any more.

In the end, it was super cool cruising around and turning some heads last night. Next thing to do is solve the few remaining mysteries and start people-proofing it so I can leave it in public with confidence.

-Colby

Road Testing

The bike is now in the city and completely legal, so it's time for road testing.

I'm anxious to find out some stats.

Sitting still, the PakTrakr reports a draw of .2 amps.

With the LED Truck-Lite on low-beam, it shows .4 amps.

High-beam makes it .6 amps.

A quick spin around the neighborhood showed 94+ amps on acceleration but only 29 amps for steady cruising.

It's seriously fun to ride.

It is almost like floating down the road. It's pretty quiet of course, but there is a nice electrical whirring created by the motor at 25 mph. I may need a different drive sprocket to achieve 55 mph. The mirrors may need to be relocated or replaced for safety. The license plate may need to be relocated for preference. Overall though, it's a really cool way to get around.

Pictures and stats to come soon!

-Colby

Sevcon DC Converter

A Small Problem:

My bike has a 12 volt electric system for the lights, gauge cluster and horn. I used a 72V to 12V DC converter to supply power to that 12 volts system. I chose the Sevcon 300W converter and ordered it from ElectricMotorsport.com. My only complaint is that I was not provided a connector or a specifications sheet for the device.

The Solution:

Well, the spec sheet .pdf is easy to find at the manufacturer's website:

• Manufacturer Site
• Specification Sheet

The plug was not as easy to find, but I gathered enough clues until I nailed it down. The converter connector is a Mini-Fit, Sr. housing, made by Molex. There are technically three different kinds of housings, but there is only one receptacle that fits all three, so you can place an order with confidence. The only catch is that it may not come with the actual conductive terminals - depends on where you order it from. Luckily, I knew my would not come with terminals, and I was able to find them too.

• Manufacturer's Mini-Fit Sr. Site

Part Numbers:

I ordered my plug and terminals from Allied Electronics in Fort Worth.

The Molex part number for a plug is 42816. (need 1)

The Molex part number for a female terminal is 42815. (need 4)

The Allied Electronics part number for a plug is 863-1427.

The Allied Electronics part number for a female terminal is 863-1464.

Additional Info.:

Be aware, if you order from somewhere else, there is an entire series/family of Mini-Fit connectors which include single-row / dual-row and 2 through 8 circuit variations. Also, there is a clip which is molded onto single-row connectors which serves to stop the terminals from backing out. For the record, the receptacle I needed for the converter was a single row, 4 circuit connector. Since it didn't include terminals, I ordered 4 terminals for size 14 or 16 AWG wire. The whole thing goes together really easily and makes a reliable connection to the converter, which was great to see.

Here's the search string to find all members of the series in Allied Electronics' online interface.

http://www.alliedelec.com/search/searchresults.aspx?N=0&Ntk=Primary&Ntt=Mini-Fit+Sr.

Here's a .pdf which explains the parts with images, in case that helps clear up any confusion.

http://www.molex.com/molex/products/family?key=minifit_sr&channel=products&chanName=family&pageTitle=Introduction&parentKey=minifit_products

-Colby

First Test Drive

The bike was finally at a point we could test drive it this weekend, so that's exactly what we did.
It rode pretty smooth, very quiet, and everything went just great.

Check it out:

Several things remain, but registration and inspection are very near.

-Colby