[namenerb]

Hey Wayne,
What is your current status on the project? I have been getting closer to starting a fwd tr project, but life is busy. You can see my current electric bike at FunEcars.com I have it in final teardown and hope to market it this coming Spring, then use the proceeds on the next rt project. There are some guys in my area doing replicas of the T-Rex, and I may have them do framework, etc, but I want front wheel drive, push the passenger compartment back some, separate passenger pod, etc. I would love to do electric, but plan a gasser for the first mule chassis. Once I know I have that done to my satisfaction, then just switch to the electric drive which is the expensive part. Actually, satisfactory batteries are the expensive part; the motor and controller are pretty reasonable. A new lithium pouch type may be out in a year or so; their prototype is more than twice the power of the best A123 cells and they say 10% cheaper. That's worth waiting for. Freedom Motors has a very small, efficient rotary engine prototype that would be a good range extender, but last time I talked to them it was still not close to production. My main concerns are: Safety- front wheel drive reduces the chance of losing traction on water or loose gravel, etc. Having the drive train mass in front reduces the crash damage to the passengers. Most crashed bikes I see have been frontal crashes... I would like good crush zones, especially on the sides. Next, efficiency... I am looking at a prototype F1 aerodesign which looks fantastic for the front half, then would like the rear to have the Aptera whaletail design... come to a flat horizontal tail vs. the vertical tail that I see way too much. I'm good with open-source and independent shops each making a component available. I have a cnc vertical mill that is my living, so I can build any xyz type machined parts needed. I also have a friend with a cnc lathe that I can have access to between his production runs. I also favor using as many oem components as possible in the drivetrain. My biggest stumbling block now is to find a small lightweight transmission that is centered. If I can convert to electric at some point, my hope would be that the electric motor could set inline either front or rear of the differential/transmission. If anyone knows of any components that would be good to consider, I would appreciate the input. NuVinci, in my area, makes bicycle variable speed transmissions and last year were working on a larger version to power engine blowers. Those might possibly handle enough horsepower to go straight into a differential but I have not spoken to them recently. They did sound like they would be willing to let me adapt the mounts, etc so that I could try it on a project like my electric bike. I like the input I've seen so far and need to go back and re-read the thread for details, but I like where y'all are going and would like to be a part. Does anyone here have Solidworks? I have access to an older version, but am only mediocre on it and have not learned enough about 3D sketches to draw the framework, etc.