Arcimoto, the real thing? ($12k tandem EV trike, 70/130 mi. range)

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by JSH

Yes, you could knock out a fabric covered steel tube door with little tooling but that is not what customers want nor what they promised.

Honestly, those half-doors look quite as half-assed as a canvas door.

[freebeard]

They're the same material and construction as the nose and tail pieces. But they don't offer proction in the rain.


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[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by freebeard

But they don't offer proction in the rain.

That's why they look quite half-assed to me.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

That's why they look quite half-assed to me.

Half doors aren't designed to keep out rain though they do help with spray coming off the front wheels. Their purpose is to keep passengers' legs inside the vehicle in the case of a crash.

This is well documented in the UTV market. When the vehicle starts to roll the natural instinct is to stick out a leg to catch it. Of course a human can't save a roll-over with a leg so the vehicle continues to roll but now rolls over the outstretched leg and mangles it. It happens enough that UTVs come with door nets or doors from the factory now as standard equipment.

That is one scenario - there are plenty more but the idea is the same - in the event of a crash limbs should remain inside the vehicle.

[redpoint5]

In my high school electric car racing series, there was one driver that crashed nearly every race. One time she clipped the rear end of our car and managed to roll hers, and she took her hands off the steering wheel and threw them out beyond the roll cage and broke some fingers.

It takes effort to unlearn what is otherwise a natural reaction. Reminds me of how unintuitive rolling an upside down kayak is. Instinct is to get your head above water ASAP, but if you want a successful roll, it has to be the last thing to leave the water. In fact, you throw your torso and head down into the water to force the boat upright first.

[freebeard]

I could say that I rented an FUV today but truth be known my brother fronted a credit card and I reimbursed him.

You can't rent an FUV with legal tender.

He and my son went somewhere for a an hour, then I rode along while he [freebeard junior] took a pass through his childhood haunts -- grade school, middle school high school and the 7-11.

Consensus? I should wait for the MLM. (I should live so long) My brother's commute is about 100ft across his lawn. My so will continue to commute in a Silverado that has a hood at my eye level.

What did I learn? The FUV attracts paraplegics like a magnet. The other reneter at noon today was an old couple, the wife having a cane. They were testing whether the wife could step over into the back seat. I don't think they were accomodated. The rental manager (I collected another business card) said there is a group of mobility-challenged persons that rented six at once for an outing.

When we were riding past the Park Blocks a guy in a wheelcar wanted to roll off the curb and talk to us in the traffic.

I see an opportunity aftermarket for assistive features (a back seat the swivels and slides to either side) that would sell the vehicle to some.

Certainly easier ingress/egress than my Metro.

[redpoint5]

Don't make any movements easier than you are capable of managing, because you don't get 'em back.

Tangentially, and I forget where I heard it (probably Peterson), you don't do for a toddler or a senior what they can do for themselves.

Around the beginning of the year, I made the mistake of thinking I could just start working out, like I always have. Now my elbow hurts all the time doing everything. I wore a stupid tennis elbow brace while I paddled the lake tonight. That was my small attempt to rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Anyhow, sounds like a marvelous day. Colorful sunset today here.

[freebeard]

I took some measurements. The step-over height of the center tunnel is nine inches. The floorboard is 8-12" wide. I didn't get the width of the battery box.

If the battery box was a flat plate 3" thick it seems they could have a flat floor. The 1.x platform is incremental. There shall follow a 2.x platform.

Don't make any movements easier than you are capable of managing, because you don't get 'em back.

Do everything the hard way? Because YOLO?

I'm currently bike-less -- broken rear axle. Schwinn Collegiate Unobtainium? I'm thinking the best solution might be the MIT wheel, or some modern equivalent. The MIT wheel had the batteries right in the wheel.

Mean Lean Machine is maybe two years away.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Do everything the hard way? Because YOLO?.

I'm one to talk, I take the mini Segway to the mailbox.

My creekboat kayak is staring at me in the garage, mocking my inflexibility. Roll sessions at the reservoir are the antidote.

[freebeard]

My son talked about restoring his grandfathers redwood canoe. The hull just needs refinishing but the gunwales and seats are deteriorated.

Personally, I think it needs an inboard paddlewheel shaft amidships with a little brass steam or naptha engine.