first motor for rambler trike

[dmould66]

hi
ive been looking to start a motorised bike project for some time and have now taken the plunge with the purchase of a realy clean "indie rambler" trike. its what id call a traditional trike with 5 gears and brakes on both ends, front is a trad sort and the back is a band. ill get some photos up when i can.
what im looking to do is motorise it and would appreciate any advice. i like the idea of a centrifugal clutch as i have the use of only one hand but think i could rig up a clutch lever if i had to. ive seen the chinese kits and realy like the "look" of these motors but am worried about quality. might perhaps use a 4stroke upright lawnmower type engine "hidden" in the basket. i also like the idea of an eletric front hub (to get it up to engine starting speed if i go chinese). what im realy looking to achieve is plenty of power to lug loads and so i dont have to peddle up ANY hills. speed is not important to me (within reason) but the abbility to chug up a steep hill whilst pulling a trailer is.
look forward to picking your brains
dave

 

[SimpleSimon]

Dave, joining up here was a good choice. Lots of experience and a great willingness to share it is what you will find.

That said, post a pic or three of your trike. Modifying controls to accommodate one handed operation is something I'll be glad to discuss with you - I've been finding work-arounds for one-handed accomplishment of tasks for the last 43 years. I had a trike conversion until mid summer, when it got squashed by a hit and run driver in a parking lot while parked. I'm building a tadpole recumbent to be GEBE powered right now - slowly, due to limited mobility at the moment, but it will be on the road (hopefully) in the next 60 days.

 

[dmould66]

heres some pics of the beast.

from what i can make out i need to keep it to 200w to stay legal in nsw. i can get a "chinese" motor here thats certified to this limit, but need advice on how to connect it. would it be a good idea to get a jack shaft and put it through the bikes gear to utilise such a low power output?

 

[dmould66]

after a bit of poking around ive decided to start with eletric. ive ordered a 24v 500w hub motor kit minus the batteries. im thinking two 12v car batteries. ive got a 112 amp-hour battery on my electric boat that im thinking of matching, it weighs a ton so two would be very heavy- is the biggest battery the way to go or will pulling the weight be more of a drain than a gain?im thinking this is the way to get a decent range reasonably cheaply, considering the load space i have to play with, but it wouldnt be the fist time my thinking was flawed! any advice before i make an expensive mistake?

 

[PatrickW]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

after a bit of poking around ive decided to start with eletric. ive ordered a 24v 500w hub motor kit minus the batteries. im thinking two 12v car batteries. ive got a 112 amp-hour battery on my electric boat that im thinking of matching, it weighs a ton so two would be very heavy- is the biggest battery the way to go or will pulling the weight be more of a drain than a gain?im thinking this is the way to get a decent range reasonably cheaply, considering the load space i have to play with, but it wouldnt be the fist time my thinking was flawed! any advice before i make an expensive mistake?

Scratch, scratch, scratch...Go to Staton-inc, and talk to David Staton. He should give you all of the info you need, based on his 18.75 gear box (he will custom mill for you)/ with the dynamic Subaru/custom gear box and engine he will set up for you....It can't be beat. Talk to him, and he won't sell you anything you don't need). He is a straight-shooter, and will only try and sell you what you 'Need'...nothing more...and suggest parts you really should have...tske is work...like I said, he is a straight shooter!

 

[dmould66]

ok thanks for the replies. i recieved my hub motor and fitted it all on. quite happy with it realy. totaly silent, about twenty five kph without pedalling. only problem is the controller packed up after a 30k run out on the highway. if i can get this reliable ill be very happy!