Interim update
Thanks for your interest, sorry things have been a bit quiet lately, but I’ve been waiting to complete a big section before updating. I have been hard at work on the project, but not all about fabricating. I have been doing some more research on similar ideas, and have been looking at the legal aspects of finishing the project. This weekend the rolling frame/chassis should be down on the ground for the first time, and its getting close to the “swap-over” time. This is when take all the bits off the C90 that I need to get it ready for driving. At the moment the C90 is still complete, as I have used “mock-up” components to design and fabricate around.
I’ll probably try to do the “swap-over” during the Christmas holiday period because I can get about 10days without interruptions. But I’ve been looking at the legal position of the modifications, just to be on the safe side, and its not looking good.
One part of the build that I can update is the fabrication of the front section. When I started, I decided to make the frame/chassis in three sections. This was for ease of modification if I found something didn’t work, a lesson I’ve learned the hard way on another project.
The three sections bolt together at two “flanges” which are simple two dimensional faces which allows me to update only those sections which require re-working. In the picture below you can see the front fork assembly and steering head, and it attaches to the lower “drive” section which houses the motor and rear swing arm assembly.
This method adds some time to the fabrication but it also brings some benefits. In order to maintain torsional rigidity, the joint faces are over-engineered, and this makes for a very strong protective structure around the driver’s feet. Being “inside” this machine makes it inherently safe (I crashed my first prototype so I can testify to that) but the extra protection provided by this method is a welcome benefit
A bit more on cooling
Before I disassemble the C90 (before Christmas) I will undertake some cooling tests on the standard motor. I am buying a digital themocouple reader and sensor to try in the C90 in standard form. It seems to me that in order to quantify the effect on cooling by housing the motor in its new location, I should first have information about the running temperature of the original. I’ll post these figures up within a couple of weeks