Usage Update

Usage Stats

I have more stats:

1.01 kW for 9.0 kilometers (estimated average of 35 mph round trip to work, 2013.08.09)
1.6 kW for 20.3 kilometers (estimated average of 30 mph)
.89 kW for 12.5K (estimated average of 15 mph)

This goes a bit beyond me at the moment as nothing is a constant rate. That is to say that I don't charge or discharge the batteries at a constant rate.

What I do know is that I pay $0.108051 per kWh.
I may be simplifying this too much, but at first glance, that means my round trip to work costs me 11 cents.

Meanwhile, assuming 17 mpg over the same round trip (5.6 miles) yields .3294117 gallons consumed. With each gallon of premium at $3.80, that third of a gallon costs me over $1.25.

I could save $1.14 daily. After a week, that's $5.70. That's lunch, man!

Given, this is an small electric motorcycle versus a sports car. But it does encourage me to take the bike as often as possible.

By the way, I think 20 kilometers is my absolute max range. I had doubts I was going to make it home toward the end of that trip. I was moving, but I had no get up and go. Good thing work has a charger!

-Colby

Power Usage

Finally, I'm at a point where I can determine inputs and outputs.

I have a means to measure how much power goes into the bike. That is by way of the Kill-A-Watt.

I'll update this post in the future, but for now, I wish to document that from a 60% depth of discharge, 1.6 KW were used re-charging the bike. That's about the only stat I have.

I guess I should now keep a log of distance traveled and power spent recharging there-after to gather up data. From that I can determine the trend and I have some idea. I'll try to share as I go.

-Colby

Mileage

I think I started last week with around 435 km on the odometer. I did a test ride Saturday afternoon, rode to church on Sunday, rode to work every day except Friday, and rode Saturday morning. I ended the week at 510 km.

I didn't realize I'd ridden it so little in the past three years, to have only accumulated 270 miles. I'm enjoying  putting some real mileage on it now.

75km is about 46.6 miles.
My 350Z averages 17 miles/gallon of premium in the city.
46.6 miles / 17 mpg = 2.7 gallons
2.7 gallons * $3.50 a gallon = $9.59 I would have spent on premium gasoline last week.

How much I spent on electricity because of the bike last week is another question I'd like to answer. Since my employer is giving me fuel for free, it's not much.
-Colby

Overall Status

I wasn't able to get the bike ready and safe to ride on Friday. Here are recent pictures:

Chain isn't installed in these pictures, but that's done now. Rear reflector, a bit more inspecting and then I can start test riding it a bit.
-Colby

Turn Signal Circuits

I finally finished wiring up the turn signals. The rear ones are new, so no big deal. The front ones are not new, but used numerous connectors and different colored wires for just two simple circuits. I cleaned all that up, and in the process, found a really confounding and interesting issue.

After wiring everything up, I found all four turn signals blinked together when I signaled left or right. Furthermore, I have a single turn-signal indicator bulb in the dash. It is supposed to be lit when either the left or right signal is active. The indicator bulb in the dash did not appear to light at all (it was lit but extremely dim). This perplexed me for hours. I diagnosed all I could, but all the while, I knew I'd been careful not to alter any circuits in the harness re-work. Plus, there is a "winker" module involved which makes it difficult to absolutely figure out because it is a black box to me. In the end, my Dad and I worked out that the circuit for the indicator bulb in the dash must have been designed only with incandescent turn signals bulbs in mind. Something about all the turn signals using LEDs changed the behavior of the module or removed a circuit this indicator relied on.

For now, I have removed the indicator. The winker module beeps so loud, the dash-bulb is pointless anyway. The LED turn signals blink correctly and at their normal speed. Perhaps when I diagram the entire wiring harness (should have already done that), I'll figure out what exactly caused it and maybe a way to keep the indicator bulb.

I'm charging the batteries now, so that leaves...

• final coats of paint to tail light panel
• adjust winker module mounting
• Clean sprockets / chain
• Full road-worthiness inspection, test ride

One a day and I can ride on Friday. =)

-Colby

Tail Light Fabrication (5/5)

Lots of mud and lots of sanding produced this:

Several primer coats and more sanding:

Also accomplished a few other things recently.

• tested out wiring harness for the first time since the re-work.
• Added tail lights to wiring harness.
• made plastic washers for new tail light panel.
• Adjusted license plate bracket

I'm on a 3 phase plan now.

1. Get the bike running and start riding it to work
2. Install chargers so I can charge while at work
3. Install retractable extension cord

Todo for phase 1:

• charge batteries
• add final coats of paint to tail light panel
• finish re-wiring front blinkers 
• adjust winker module mounting
• Clean sprockets / chain
• Full road-worthiness inspection, test ride

Tail Light Fabrication (4/5)

Previously, I was able to shape the metal frame a bit and stage a photo. The idea of bridging the gap between the back of seat and this frame with plastic did not work out. I didn't have the right material, tools, or number of hands required and a trial run went very poorly. I realized fiberglass might fit the bill.

I took a stab at fiberglass and learned a few important things.

• You have to have a mold.
• You have to make relief cuts around sharp edges and corners.

Without those things, you get this:

The absence of relief cuts was not obvious - I figured the cheap matting would be very flexible when soaked in resin. It is flexible, but it also still acts like a solid sheet and resists folds and bends. No matter what I tried, it would not stick down in the corners and some edges. As this cured, it resulted in large air bubbles.

I realized how valuable a mold would have been the moment I started. Nothing I did stayed in place. Everything began to droop and slide due to gravity. This resulted in a very inconsistent and ugly shape.

Furthermore, fighting these problems cost me valuable time because the clock was ticking on getting it set up while it was still workable. Other small lessons include having a timer count minutes since I added hardener, using a disposable cup to hold resin, having paper down to protect my workbench, and having breathing and eye protection.

So, I stared at that for a couple of days before realizing it was simply no good. I decided I could do better and ripped it off to start anew. I made a mold by cutting styro-foam to fit on the inside of the frame and shaped it as desired. I test-fit the piece several times in the process. I happened to have avoided a pitfall here: Not all resins and foams are compatible. Research what you have before using it. Alternatively, create a barrier between the foam and the resign with packing tape. 

I cut many strips of mat and added relief cuts around the ones I knew were going in tight spots. The result was a much better, stronger shape with far fewer bubbles - a much more enjoyable process. After lots of sanding and some additional fiberglass work, it's starting to look acceptable.

This guy's only real job is to hug the back of the seat. It definitely does the trick at this point, so it's just a matter of smoothing it a bit more and painting it white.

-Colby

Overall Status

Since I didn't have any interesting or recent pictures in the last post, I figured I should capture some of the whole bike to share.

The tail-light assembly is coming along alright - It's ready for some bondo I think. Wiring harness is looking good. Tank may need some minor adjustments to fit like it once did.

-Colby

Wiring Harness (2/2)

In the last two weeks:
I made a spreadsheet to document all plugs on the harness, their purpose, wire colors/styles and locations.
I removed a couple wires altogether once I double-checked they weren't in use.
I re-routed front instrument, light, and handle-bar harness plugs into the tank.
I routed the wiring harness into the tank area (was just exterior of the tank previously).
I added plug (male) for front blinkers.
I replaced one five-way and one six-way splice each with a home-made distribution blocks.
I tightened and dipped the distribution blocks in rubber.
I replaced almost all cheap and dirty splices in the harness with insulated butt-connectors.
I replaced the fuse holder on the positive wire of the 12v side of the DC-to-DC converter.

There is still a portion of the wiring harness that seems destined to be what I can only call a "bird's nest". I've had instincts to sort it out further, but the cost/benefit analysis tells me I shouldn't bother. The benefit of having organized wiring is countered by time, cost, added inefficiency.

To wrap this up, I need to:

• Add plug (female) for the front blinkers to plug into harness
• Mount "winker" module in a new location.
• Additionally, what started this whole wiring harness tangent was the tail-light wiring, which still remains.
• Attach and protect wiring harness under the tank.
• Inspect for any bad, missing connections.
• Clean up wires with convoluted hose and nylon holders.

Wiring Harness (1/2)

I tend to nit-pick things until I absolutely dive into them. Take the wiring harness on the bike, for example. I noticed a few wires near the tail wouldn't tuck away neatly, so I began to look at how they were routed. Then I found colors that didn't make sense, a fuse holder I didn't like, and wire that change color one or more times en-route. Next thing you know, the whole harness is off the bike - I'm pulling pins, testing connections, and removing unused wires.

I found some nylon wire organizers at ABC Auto which came in handy for laying it all out:

Before it's all over, I will probably have each wire cataloged in a spreadsheet with it's purpose. Hopefully I'll sort out a few things, fix any glaring issues, and put it back better than it was without taking forever.

Also, I've attempted to fiberglass the new tail piece. It was interesting...even the second time around. If it will cure alright, I can start cleaning it up with sand paper and lots of bondo putty. =)
-Colby

Tail Light Fabrication (3/5)

I've made pretty good progress on the rear in the past week. While discussing my tail light with a friend, I realized my aesthetic goals could not be reached as planned. Thus, I did some research about the law and formulated a new plan.

The rear panel will hold only the tail light, turn signals and red reflector. The license plate and registration sticker will go back from whence they came.... hanging on for dear life on the right-hand side somewhere. I'll just tuck them in closer to keep them out of the way.

I procured some turn signals online and a red reflector from O'Reilly.

My friend, Jeffrey, helped me evaluate options and double-check my measurements. =)

I made a jig for rounding the top of the panel.

Here's the current state with a rounded top, turn signals, tail light and (taped) red reflector.

It's still very boxy looking, but I may do some additional shaping on the corners. I'll be covering some gaps with plastic and re-wiring the plug so that everything starts working next.

-Colby

Tail Light Fabrication (2/5)

I've got the tail-light fitting in the panel now.

Thought I'd share some pictures:

Plenty of work to do, but it's getting there. =)

I still need to order some rear turn signals, finalize my game-plan for this component, and paint it.

-Colby

Tail Light Fabrication (1/5)

I was able to do some metal work recently for mounting the tail light. My goal is to make it compact and clean looking, yet strong and easy to assemble.

Using 16 gauge weld steel, I've made a bracket and a body panel, so to speak. The bracket will give me a reasonably easy place to attach the body panel, which in turn, should hold all of the lights, license plate, red reflector, and a plastic tab for the inspection sticker.

Strength shouldn't be an issue, there's neither a lot of weight nor leverage to worry about. I've thought, measured, mocked-up, and stared at it a great deal and this is the most compact and clean solution I could devise. I've got some plastic for concealing or cleaning up anything once I've got the metal bits mounted and shaped.

Here's the body panel at the moment. I'll have to finish cutting out a whole for the tail light (stenciled), bend the sides in to match the width of the seat back, and shave down the corners quite a bit.

I've been planning on painting it black, but it occurred to me today that white might be appropriate and look amazing.
-Colby