Tribrid Bike

I started work on the motor mount today.  I decided to use this Topeak rack for the generator.  It was a bit wider than the other one and it has this slide in quick mount system.  I obtained some flat stock from my local Canadian Tire store and got to work shaping the base of the mount.

If you look closely at the rack you can see that it is made to have a piece of plate with beveled edges slide in.

So I filed the edges and made it fit nicely:

It actually fits quite tight.  The next step was to attach the generators mounting tray.  This required some spacers and a bit of brazing of the front and rear portions of the mount.  Just checking the fit in this picture.  There was a fair bit of grinding and fitting to be done.

The tray is basically backwards from how it was mounted in the original case.  This puts the exhaust where I need it (at the back) and provides a mounting spot for the inverter assembly.  I’m not happy with the location of the inverter but it will do for now.  The tray sticks out a bit and I may need to trim back the sides but for now it adds greater strength so I will leave it.  One of the reasons for putting all this together on an easy slide in rack is that the bike can still be converted back to just electric by removing the generator easily.

Here it is mounted with the inverter in place and the control panel hooked back up.  I still have to find a good method/location to mount the panel.

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I moved the TDI Ignition module to the side.  I wasn’t comfortable having it mounted right behind my back.  It is hard to tell in this picture but the generator is running!

Still not pretty but at least now it is mounted and running.  Next step is figuring out what to use for a charger/transformer and decide where to mount the batteries/controller etc.

Many people are unaware of how far back the history of Hybrid vehicles goes.  The earliest example of a true hybrid vehicle that was actually produced was a car created by Ferdinand Porsche.  In 1898 he created a front wheel drive electric vehicle called the Lohner Electric Chaise.  A few years later he created a hybrid vehicle when he added a gas motor and generator to increase its range.  I believe this is a picture of that very same vehicle.  Please take note of the electric motors built into each wheel.  They remind me of the hub motor on the front wheel of the current project bike.

The worlds first Hybrid vehicle.

I would also like to share with you a YouTube video that got me thinking about working on this project again.  If you have read some of my other posts you know that I first attempted to make a Tribrid bike in 2004 but I abandoned the project due to the size and mass of the required generator.  The systems in this early experiment were not directly coupled together so they were more or less in a parallel configuration.  The current project has the systems in a series configuration

This was my first Tribrid experiment in 2004.

When I first saw this video and I realized that he was using one of the new Honda Inverter generators I knew that I  had to try this out!  After all,  I still had all the parts from before and the GXH50 motor used in the generator is the same motor many enthusiasts are using in Motorized bike projects.  This is also a series configuration.

Hybrid Trike!

I know I have only scratched the surface on my description of my Felt Kingpin build here on my blog but the finished bike won a contest!

Needless to say I felt the need to write about it.

The Contest can be found here: Chinese in frame kit.

The semifinalist thread that everyone voted on can be found here: Vote! Chinese in frame motorized bicycle.

I was pleased to find I had made the semi-finals for the contest but winning was a pleasant surprise!  There were many great entries.  It is wonderful to have the admiration of my peers.

This is the picture that everyone voted on.

Winning entry in the 2009 Motorbicycling.com Chinese In-Frame Kit Category.

Some time had passed after building my first motorized bicycle and work moved me from Alberta to the coast of B.C. in the city of White Rock.  White Rock is a tiny but beautiful place.  It also has a great many very steep hills and I happened to find myself living on one of them.  It wasn’t long before I was wishing for my motorized bike to get me around and I decided to take the opportunity to build a new one.

This time I was starting from scratch and I had all the experience of my first build behind me.  I had spent so much time trying to get the tank integrated into the design of the first bike I knew that I wanted something like that for this bike.  I spent a great deal of time searching the Internet for an appropriate bike.   Then I came across this bike.  I thought it was beautiful and was just crying out for a motor.

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.I looked around for one but they were a bit pricey.  Also another thing happened.  Ghost0 and Pablo of SickBikeParts announced that they would be selling a new product.  A Shift-Kit for the Chinese 2 stroke motors!  I was very excited about this.  I had explored the possibility of building a jackshaft for the first bike but I had determined that it would be too much work for the benefit.  The terrain I rode the first bike in was pretty forgiving.  Now, my new home was surrounded by hills and some gearing was going to be absolutely neccessary!  Needless to say I was very excited by this development and I think Jim and Paul of Sick Bike Parts were probably a little tired of my attempts to secure one of the first Shift-Kits.

Early pictures of the kit indicated that some space would be required behind the seat post to make it fit.  As a result I was no longer certain that the Electra Indy would be a good choice as the seatpost comes very close to the rear wheel.  Then I came across this bike:

Modeled after the first Harley Davidson of 1903!

As you can see it also has a nice integrated tank and more importantly it has more space behind the seat post.  I had worked on many bikes and I knew that it was unlikely that the tank portion of the frame would be sealed from the factory.  There are always holes so that gasses can escape during the welding process.  I had planned to seal up these holes and use a tank sealant product to finish it.   With a little bit of searching I found a post by HBLocal on Motoredbikes.com that described how he had sealed the tank.  His technique was the same as what I had planned to do so I was pretty confident that it would work!  I was also happy to see that he had done many of these tanks already and had had great success.  Many people are not aware of how strong an epoxy bond can be.  If properly done epoxy is incredibly strong and resiliant.

I started looking for a Felt 1903.  I couldn’t find one in Canada so I looked at stores close by in the U.S.  I found a Felt dealer in Bellingham called Fanatik bikes.  They had a great website but they didn’t have a 1903 in stock   They did however have a Kingpin model on sale!  I immediately drove down and purchased the bike:

My new bike! At home in the garage. In one piece still...

First thing I did was take it apart, cut a hole in the tank and void the warranty!

My Kingpin with a sealed tank

This is the bike I am going to use for this project.  It is nothing fancy.  It is an older style double triangle frame with newer style front suspension forks.  It has cantilever brakes in the front and an Avid BB7 Disc in the back.  Stopping is important

The hub motor is a 406/409 Crystalyte and a 36-48V 20a controller. (hanging from the yellow tape.)

Ignore the ugly yellow tape please!

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I spent some time moving parts around and trying things out for fit.  I stared at this picture for some time.

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As you can see the generator will fit not too badly on that rear carrier.  The rack is made of aluminum but it seems pretty strong and it is a bit wider than some others I have seen.  I still hope to use saddlebags on the back.

The battery cage was something I brazed up myself.  I think it will work well and be strong.   Still trying to figure out where to place the 4th battery.  I don’t think on its side like that will work.  Not convinced that is a good spot for the inverter assembly either. (the part stuck infront of the rear wheel).

Also,  the frame mount for the kickstand is just bending under the load.  I will have to find a better solution for that.  This bike will be a bit on the heavy side so I need something strong to hold it up.

Lots left to do!

After all was said and done this is what my first motorized bike ended up looking like.

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I had fun imagining it with all kinds of different options!

Flames!

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I think these ones look decent.

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.As you can see the plug I was building worked out.    I had never done this before and I think it worked out pretty good for a first attempt.  Learning how to make a fiberglass mold was a worthwhile experience.  I now know how to do this much better and much faster.

This is the plug, the mold and the finished parts.

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After building the tank parts this is what it looked like:

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The bike just didn’t look right to me with only the tank made.  It looked unbalanced.  So I made the rear fender as well.  The need to cover the rear brake assembly gave it a bit of the “Bat Cycle” look

Nice day to go for a ride!

So I

I really enjoyed this ride

Winter is coming! Enjoy it while it lasts!

I had always wished for a generator to power my hub motor much like a locomotive does but 5 years ago the generators available to me were clunky, bulky and heavy.  In the interim a new generation of inverter generators has been made available to the market and I realized that they now are of a size and weight that are manageable.  Therefore I purchased one and began its dis-assembly.

As I expected the motor portion of these new mini generators are about the same size and format as the four-stroke motor kits that enthusiasts use on the powered bikes.

The Generator I would really like to use is this one:

Nice generator

This generator uses the Honda GHX50 motor which has a reputation for being super tough and extremely reliable.

Price is an issue however and there are many other choices available to me.  I finally chose to go with this one:

This Hyundai Generator was less than half the price of the Honda.  Therefore I wasn’t expecting the same level of quality service etc.  It is a little heavier, a little louder than the Honda product but the price makes up for it.  As a proof of concept prototype this first bike will be a bit heavier and a bit uglier than anything that comes after it.  First you make it work reasonably well.  Then you make it pretty.

First thing I did of course was run it and make sure I was happy with it’s performance.  The next thing was void the warranty and tear it apart!

Taking pictures is a good idea.  I have found that having some form of a scale (the ruler) comes in handy later if you are trying to figure out if something is going to fit.

In this picture above we see the motor, inverter and control panel assemblies.  The motor and inverter are mounted in a metal tray.  I was very pleased to see that the altenator portion of the generator was built into the motor.  This makes for a more compact package.  The black shrouding was nice to see as well.  This motor is cooled by a fan on the crankshaft and the shrouding is necessary to direct the airflow where it is needed.

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This is the pull start side.  Note the round black plastic object on the inverter assembly bottom right.  This is a vacuum powered fuel pump!  I have a feeling that it will come in handy.   The hose with the bolt coming out of it was my addition to prevent the gas from leaking.   Also the blue wires from the altenator on the motor are plugged into a rectifier mounted on the inverter assembly.  These are the only wires that I felt it necessary to color code with a marker (red line on the wire and on the spot it plugs into)  All other connectors were unique so it isn’t possible to plug anything into the wrong place.

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Hmm. Will it fit?

So close!  It may even work like this but the oiling system in these little motors is not conducive to  being run at an angle like this all the time.  I am sure an in frame installation is possible but it will probably take a custom frame.  Sounds like a goal for prototype 3!  For now I think a rear rack mount will be the way to go.

After removing the electric hub motor and batteries I enjoyed riding the bike in a rather stripped down version.  I removed everything I could that was extra weight.  Here you see it in its slimmest version.   Apparently the silver paint on the tank lasted awhile.  I don’t think I had discovered the secret of clear coat yet tho. so it is bound to change at least one more time.

Motorized bike and Alberta countryside

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(more…)

This is my first build. 49cc Chinese Bicycle motor from an unknown factory.

This is my first build.  A 49CC Chinese Bicycle motor on a  Jeep Commemorative beach cruiser.  This picture was taken before she even had a mile on her.  I love this bike.  I have had a blast with it and I still own and ride it.  She has a few miles on her now tho…

From the very start I worked to improve on her.  One of the first things I tried was painting the tank.  I quickly found out that gasoline and paint don’t co-exist very well in the same space.  The tank changed color a few times as a result.

My first Tribrid experiment in 2004

In this picture the tank is green.  This is also one of the first pictures of my early Tribrid experiments.  I did’nt like how the tank sat on the frame so I decided to build a mold for body panels that would improve it’s appearance and flow.  The pink colored material is the bondo plug I was forming for the mold.

Hybrid bike with chrome tank.

Here it is a while later.  Same bondo plug but now painted with chrome paint!  Looks like I was a bit zealous and painted the tank too!  I had ridden it as a tribrid for awhile at this point and decided that this particular tribrid configuration didn’t work as well as just the gasoline engine solo.  There wasn’t enough benefit from having the two systems on the same bike.  They simply didn’t compliment each other enough.  Regenerative braking would have helped some but I decided to focus on the parts that were working so I removed the electric hub motor and batteries.  I placed the electric parts in storage and continued working on the rest of it.

I have photo albums full of cars boats and bikes I have owned.   Still,  I seem driven to find that most perfect and personal mode of transportation.

I think I am finally close.

The picture above is of my first motorized bicycle some 5 years ago.  No it isn’t a Tribrid.  I will be getting to that.  First I want to share with you a bit of the path I have travelled.

One of my favorite taglines on one of the bulletin boards I frequent says.  “You have found the fountain of youth. Ride and forever stay young”

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All pictures and content on this website (c) 2009 Tribridbike.com.  All rights reserved.