Electric Sun Recumbent Trike

KCvale

In memory of KCvale 1959 - 2019
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Apr 18, 2010
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Location
Phoenix, AZ
This should be the coolest trike I have built yet.

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I am fitting it with a SBP electric shift kit and 36V 960W 12ah LI triangle battery pack behind the seat.

All wheel brakes, center cantilever frame shock, cantered inward rear wheels, fat Maxis Hookwork tires...
It's designed for off-road use too and will sure get tested that way ;-}

The motor will go up front, I just don't know where yet.
I am one of those guys that engineers with parts in hand not on paper ;-}

I am not crazy about the vertical hand grips though..

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It's already got 2 twist shifters and 2 brake levers, one is dual pull for the 2 back brakes, and all at a damn awkward position.

The whole front sprocket and shiftier go anyway so no biggie, there will be room for a 1/2 rotary throttle, but I may modify the 'handlebar' ends and make them more horizontal.

And I can always put handlebars on it.

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But that looks lame to me.
It's the customers call though.
For $3600 he can have whatever he wants.

I have never rode one so I'll try it out pedaling it first, see how stable it is, it comes already assembled, they wouldn't sell it to me in boxed parts, damn expensive which explains the overall cost, it's all expensive parts, the battery alone was $1K.

This is couple weeks away to start but the parts are ordered and it should be another fun project, I like fun challenging projects ;-}
 
Just an update on the progress of the 'Rocket Sled' as we have come to call it.
You'd have to ride it to understand why ;-}

48V ~980W battery and 1860W motor and controller.
7-speed derailleur shifter and 20" wheels.

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If you really want to explore this builds progress look here http://kcsbikes.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=949 it's a 5 page topic of details and it's not done yet!

Mechanically done and rideable now, but it's also got a 12V tap for other needs like lights and such, and 'dashboard' with E-bike analyzer left to do.

This is for a customer with COPD that can't do 2 wheels, and needs to carry a breather machine with him, (hence the 12V tap).
Anyway, this is another special build for a customer with special needs with the wallet for something unique and about as cool as you can get. Right up my alley ;-}
 
All wrapped up and picked up.
It turned out pretty cool I think ;-}

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Considering the amount of electrical wiring involved on this machine I think we did a pretty good job of hiding it.

More on the Electrical in the next post...
 
The Electrical part of the build...

The SickBikeParts Keylock throttle displays the present voltage when you turn the trike on.

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I like to charge these batteries to ~57V and the charger has 3 50+V voltages to choose from.

Note the push button at the end of the grip to activate a turn signal.
Had this been done the red light in the dash would blink if either blinker were on.

For now the left dash switch turns on every rear light except the license plate on in the 'Afterburner' tail light and it's bright!

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The dashboard analyzer has 3 modes, one not pictured is a real time analyzer of what is being used for trouble shooting, the main display shows current speed, total miles, and a 'fuel gauge' for a guess at how much power you have left.

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I have the front light switch on so you see that too.
We have 1.3 miles on it since we hooked that up yesterday.

The other useful mode is like a log...

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In the bottom left you can see Joe got to it 39.1 MPH, and next to it that this trike can produce 2,300 Watts on demand.

At those speeds it feels like an amusement park ride.
Running around @~20MPH will feel like 30mph, and with the gears and easy on throttle last you a couple days before recharging.
 
Awesome trike KC. That thing is built like a tank too with the 400lb capacity. That's a long chain, with quite a bit of power going through it, though. And with derailleur gears, you can't really put a beefier one on there, can you? That would be my only worry. In fact, if it were mine, I'd install a 500w hub motor in the front wheel just as a backup to get me home, in case something went wrong.
 
Awesome trike KC. That thing is built like a tank too with the 400lb capacity. That's a long chain, with quite a bit of power going through it, though. And with derailleur gears, you can't really put a beefier one on there, can you? That would be my only worry. In fact, if it were mine, I'd install a 500w hub motor in the front wheel just as a backup to get me home, in case something went wrong.
You could always just pedal if something happens:)
 
Not with a busted chain you couldn't.
Chain length doesnt affect breaking strain. There's no reason to believe it will break just because it is long. It isn't like it's loose and whipping around- it's running through chain tubes.
Even (quality) 10 speed chains have a breaking strain around 10,000N.
The trike has been tested at full throttle already.
He could just carry a spare bit of chain and a chain tool to fix the chain should the opportunity ever come up.
:)
 
Thanks for the Kudos, it was fun to build.

It's got KMC HL710 7-speed chain on it, I have built dozens of shifters with it and no problems so I'm not the least bit worried about it.

What strikes me about it is it holds the road like like a slot car, way different than the adult e-trikes I've build.

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The first time I rode that it poped a wheelie and spun around like a top throwing me on my butt, and you had take corners at <15mph or it would tip over.

No such problems for the rocket sled, it took corners wide open no problem other than maybe checking your shorts, that close to the ground everything feels much faster than it really it is ;-}
 
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