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

[ME_Andy]

That cantilevered rear wheel makes me a little nervous. Usually you want to support a shaft on both ends. I've seen it pulled off in mountain bikes before but never on such a heavy vehicle.

Here's the Cannondale Monoshock, the bike equivalent--

[NachtRitter]

The fronts axles of the Arcimoto aren't supported on both sides of each wheel... ?

[sendler]

1,000 pound motorcycles have used single sided swing arms for decades.
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BMW Motorrad USA
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[Christopher Jordan]

When reporters say "We test drove it" might mean something: especially to Elioites. This electric car took almost a decade to build

[NeilBlanchard]

Single sided swing arm means the wheel can be removed without difficulty.

I rode a BMW K75S for over a decade, and the single side swing arm was flawless. A single spring damper can mean it is more stable, too.

By the way, the front fork on the K75S was sprung on both sides - but damped only on one side. There was a robust fork brace, and axle, and this also worked very well.

[freebeard]

When reporters say "We test drove it" might mean something:

Arcimoto are in LA right now, at CES in January and the test drive program will be available after the vehicles return from there.

[Hersbird]

I was just looking at the specs on this again, thinking about side loading on a 8' wide flatbed. It is 8'10" long. Is that considered a normal width load or do you have to keep it under 8'? I'm still knocking ideas around about custom campers and 5th wheels. Thought incorporating a Arcimoto hauler sideways would be pretty cool. If not sideways then maybe in the boat tail in the back.

[freebeard]

I wonder if two would ft diagonal parked head-to-foot in an eight foot square.

I'd been thinking more along the lines of a stinky old Vespa motor scooter with the front fork replaced with a wheel bracket and strap arrangement, or dedicated docking brackets, with a little 2x3 foot flatbed. For interstate travel with luggage.

[Hersbird]

There are some late 90's early 2000's 2wd Cummins Dodge trucks around here with flatbeds for under $5000. They seem lower miles and less molested then the average normal extended cab 4x4 we usually see in those years CTD. The 4x4s go for twice as much also (maybe because there is a blizzard outside right now) The biggest problem I see with a flatbed on a pickup is, it would be hard to load as they are pretty high off the ground. Maybe the trailer could be built as a goosneck with a lowboy style drop on the front to roll the Arcimoto off. Probably the best would just to do it toyhauler style and have it drive up a ramp in the back. Just not the normal toyhauler style but one with a tapered tail. Maybe like how a military cargo jet opens in the nose to load just reversed.

[freebeard]

Any of those flatbeds have a hydraulic dump bed? Because those are really handy for hauling (construction/landscaping) bulk materials. Scissor bed for roofing materials.

It sounds like you're thinking of something enclosed. I was picturing a 'ramp trailer' behind the flatbed. Maybe a triangular, single wheel trailer with ramps that swing out like a pocket knife.

Here's a picture that Fran Lee posted elsewhere;



With two wheel brackets you could do the same with an SRK. Maybe even a two/four wheel dolly for the back.

Am I right about that? If you capture the two front wheels, as long as the brackets absorb the change in toe-in from the Ackermann effect, wouldn't the third wheel be free to swing side to side?

Edit:

I'm still knocking ideas around about custom campers and 5th wheels.

A box the size of the flatbed, with camper jacks 45° off the corners. The roof is three arched layers. The top one is raised like a caboose roof and pivots 90° to overhang fold-out sections on both sides.
The second one is most permanent, connected to the walls.
The lowest layer is two parts slung under the second layer, that slide out the front and back. Front could be a complete pop-out. The back one would be just the roof, with a fold-down porch (the porch railing makes a Watts linkage), usable on the road with the rest closed up. It would go from 8x14ft closed to a 14x 18ft T-shape plus the porch and steps.

Arched corrugated metal with spray-on ceramic vacuum-bubble insulation roof sections would be no more than 2-3" thick. If the camper jacks were on [double hinged] arms to move them front and back for on-road clearance; then you could power them and make it walk like a robot.