Bladez 450SE to be fixed up.

[patrickza]

Someone donated a bladez 450se to me, well actually she gave me two, told me if I fixed one I could keep the other. So the first was fixed with a fresh set of batteries, the second will be my project.

Looks like the control unit on the second is blown. I know I could just replace it and get going again, but I have other ideas! Phase one will be 12s1p of headway lithium. That will give me 38.4v10AH worth of power. The 12 cells just fit into the battery compartment width wise, I have a feeling I could get the 12AH headway cells in as they're only 2cm longer, but I have the 10AH on me so that'll be what it is. Then initially I'll keep the original 450w motor, and replace the controller with a 36v 1000w unit I found here: http://www.monsterscooterparts.com/36vocove1.html

I wanted a plain controller with no features I found on TNC scooters, they were also the cheapest, but sadly they won't ship to South Africa so I'll just have to pay a little more and ignore the things I don't want or need.

Phase two will be more exciting. I'll order one of the big turnigy outrunners from hobbycity (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... oduct=5142), hopefully this one will arrive in working order, as the last one had a broken winding and I'm still trying to sort out the return. Hobbycity has picked it up according to the post office, but is making all sorts of excuses about how it must be at their other office. Then I'll get some hall sensors connected and link it to a 9 fet lyen 48v50A controller I bought for a different project earlier. Then some lipo, also from hobbycity to fill the inside with these (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... duct=10480). My measurements show me that I can fit six of them inside comfortably, for a total of 44.4v15AH, or 666wh, pretty evil isn't it! I may consider a bigger controller, as this controller would "only" be able to give me 2200w while the engine and batteries would be capable of 7kW! Nah I think 2.2kW should be enough.

Anyway, now for the request for your assistance. I'd like to gear down for more torque, does anyone know what type of sprockets and chain that my scooter uses? I think the chain is a #25, but I have no idea what type of sprocket to buy. I don't have a freewheel, so the 90 tooth freewheel sprocket won't work, do you guys know what I should look for there?

Here's a pic of my scoot:

Patrick

[irv]

Hi Patrick,

Just wondering if you have any updates about your project. I also just picked up a bladez xtr comp, I have a 48V controller right now but everything else is stock, trying to find good examples of how else to upgrade it, and preferably in an efficient way in terms of budget. Were you able to fit the outrunner? Good job on picking that scooter up btw!

[patrickza]

So this scooter is finally up and running. Inside I have 12 headway 38120s cells. They just fit, well only after massaging the battery area a little with a car jack

Thanks to Lyen for his super brushed controller, and to cellman for a perfectly functioning 12s BMS I'm in business. It seems this controller has no amp limit. I've managed to push 130A through it for 3.3kw of power! A little higher than the motors rated 450w... I'll have to keep an eye on the heat.

I've taken it up to 20mph, but after that I get a little scared.

And now for the eye candy:








I think it looks quite ghetto, but that's the way I like it. I've decided not to use the turnigy on this toy, I'm thinging of a 3 wheeled go-cart for that.

[sk8norcal]

very nice,
20mph is fast enough on 10" wheels with no suspension,
i like the bladez, build quality is good,
frt brake is janky.. (mine got clearance issue also)

i got a 450-s
crappy stock controller with on/off throttle..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10689703@N ... 543444388/

btw, how much for the lyen brush controller?

also did you change the gearing?
there are replacement parts online for your scooter...
http://www.bladezscooters.com/catalog/i ... cPath=3_52

[patrickza]

Lyen's brushed was $50. Bargain I'd say!

Still on the default gearing, but I really do want to gear down. The motor get's to 100 degrees celsius on longer uphills, even when i don't use more than 1000w. I'm looking all over for a bigger rear or smaller front sprocket that'll fit but I can't find one, any ideas? May need to put the turnigy on after all, but I'll first see if this motor lasts....

[sk8norcal]

what is the advantage going with Lyen brushed controller ?

and why headway instead of lipo ?

[patrickza]

what is the advantage going with Lyen brushed controller ?

The controller on the scoot was dead, then the one I bought from monsterscooterparts was 48v not 36v, and they refused to exchange it. Besides Lyen's usual great service, his controller also seems to have no power limit. It comfortably pulls 3kw+.

and why headway instead of lipo ?

2 reasons. Firstly I had headways available, and secondly I wanted to see how the new headways perform. So far I'm quite impressed. Voltage drop seems lower than those in my kona.

[sk8norcal]

cool, thx for the info,

i like your idea of a 3 wheel gokart,
check out this gas one,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpR0jNbq ... r_embedded

I want to do a electric luge, 1 wheel in the rear, skate trucks up front..
like this,
http://wackyboards.blogspot.com/2009/07/bodykart.html

[sk8norcal]

good blog on bladez and mx500
with lipo

http://scooterchum.wordpress.com

http://scooterchum.files.wordpress.com/ ... ag2495.jpg

[sk8norcal]

found some exploded diagram for the bladez

chassis
http://www.ereplacementparts.com/tanaka ... 35016.html



steering assembly for the bladez moby (gas), similar to electrics
http://www.ereplacementparts.com/tanaka ... 35008.html




btw, if you are doing headset replacement on these,
these are 1.25" headset, they are an odd size used on tandem bikes.
you will need 40mm spanner wrench.
(i actually have one, my old 90's Gary Fisher used to use 1.25" headset)

i need to order a new headset for my Xtreme (similar to bladez)

[sk8norcal]

http://www.evopowerboards.com/aboutus/index.asp

I been reading about the bladez/evo brand...
someone said bladez were made in USA at one point... with tanaka japanese gas engine...
designed by Mike Puzey..
sold now as X-treme, Superscooter, etc....

Mike Puzey (The man behind the name), and holder of about 25 international patents, was born in Zimbabwe, and comes from a very mechanical family background. Able to strip and rebuild his go-kart engine as early as five years of age, he built his first Motocross bike at eleven by welding together cannibalized scrap parts.

Mike Puzey grew up around cars, bikes and planes and at a younger age than most, qualified as an aircraft engineer and commercial pilot. His huge interest in all things technical have resulted in an interesting collection of ideas and inventions.

He is responsible for a string of mechanical gizmos, including mass market exercise machines, a pool cleaner, a hovercraft, a two-speed gearbox, a four-stroke scooter engine, and a human-powered hydrofoil called Pump-a-Bike.

Mike has been doing leading edge design full-time for a number of years and has produced numerous patented products that are licensed to third parties.

Ownership and control of intellectual property rights is the key to the commercial success of inventions, says Mike Puzey, the Randburg whizzkid who has made his name internationally as the designer of the Big Boy scooter.

His principal focus going forward is on his own Puzey Design product portfolio. Additionally, Puzey will be commercializing a number of patented technologies that emerged from his research.

"SA is oozing with good ideas but people are not realistic about how to turn them into commercial successes," says Puzey. " You have to come up with products that fit into society's lifestyles, that are functional and saleable, and then don't patent until the whole thing is ready to be tooled.

Puzey's workshop is a tidy place which contradicts the stereotype of the crazy inventor in his shambolic den. Here he manufactures and tests every prototype item himself to the final finished standard.

[sk8norcal]

china factory pic,
chassis, and rear swing arm......

[patrickza]

Cool info, that's a lot of scoot in that picture. I wonder if we could find a cheap copy oin alibaba. Since I finished mine a bunch of people have asked me where they could buy one.

[sk8norcal]

I wonder if we could find a cheap copy oin alibaba.

the xtreme is already bare acceptable in terms of quality, (IMO not much difference compared to the Bladez)
you don't want to go cheaper in terms of quality.
for cheaper price, maybe if you buying direct from China....

your model is similar to the xtreme x-500 (48v9ah)
http://www.x-tremescooters.com/electric ... /x500.html

seems like no one sells them anymore...

the full suspended xtreme x-600 can be found in many places... @$400-$450
there are even lithium ones now...
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=30297

[sk8norcal]

http://www.scooter-ag.ch/schweiz/pages/ ... r-shop.php

I cant believe this Swiss company is selling this same X-600 Chinese scooter for $ 1,629.90 USD (1,500.00 CHF)
and CHF 2'790.00 for the lithium....

[itchynackers]

I would recommend this guy... http://superscootersales.com/

American based reseller. I bought the green one from him. Its miles ahead of the old xtreme x500 (which I also have).

[sk8norcal]

Xtreme is also American based,
both import from China.

I don't buy into superscooters' marketing hype, saying how their scooter is "so much" better than the competition,
main thing different is that its got a bigger 800w motor vs 600w from Xtreme.
To me its all Wallyworld quality.... at best.

I have a superscooter, bought for $100 off Craigslist..
try to get it running,
the headset is destroyed on it, (partly cuz its cheap)

hate the 1.25" headset, hard to find quality parts replacement...

[itchynackers]

I didn't believe the hype either, until I got one. Really takes a lot of abuse, and is still working perfectly, even the headset! Since I currently own both, I thought I'd chime in for you with my real world experiences, not internet guesstimation.

[sk8norcal]

you own the x-500,
that's the non-suspended model,

shouldn't you be comparing it to the x-600 ?

what parts on the superscooter is better than the x-600 ?

I have seen both up close, not much difference...
95% same parts...

the used superscooter I have is an older model I believe, it has the exact same fork as the X-600...
everything looks exactly the same except for the motor...

and it has a destroyed headset, is that not real ? or am I just imagining it ?

[itchynackers]

Probably imagining it, just like I'm imagining I have both, and the super scooter is much much better. Good luck.

[irv]

Hello,

I saw some discussion on replacing the headset and something about bike tools from a few posts back. I was able to replace my Bladez scooter headset before so I thought I'd jump in. Instead of buying bike tools, which were mostly expensive, I was able to find a jumbo adjustable wrench at Harbor Freight. Plus the adjustable wrench is more useful than if I were to buy a regular wrench. The one I got from Harbor Freight before was just $3 or $4 but I don't think they sell those anymore. They have this $6.99, that's with a sale they have right now though:

[sk8norcal]

to properly adjust a headset, you need two wrenches,
one for the adjustable race, (needs to be thin)
and one for the locknut (you can use a big adjustable wrench)




the bladeZ is 1.25" headset, (which are an oddity in the bicycle world, impossible to get now)
uses 40mm spanner wrench,
search this tool online, I see it for $11
Park Tool HCW-9 Headset Wrench: 36.0mm and 40.0mm

[sk8norcal]

more drama with this old "Superscooter" I picked up...

I bought some spare headset from here,
http://www.x-tremescooters.com/electric ... /x600.html
anyways, turns out the threads on the "pole" were completely f*cked...
took me forever to thread on the adjustable cup...
and a thread chaser for this 1.25" size is almost impossible to find.
and the pressed-in cup is loose in the headtube, meaning the headtube was enlarged...

putting in all together,
and went for a short ride,
and I realized there is a bigger problem,
the front fork barely moves and the steering angle is like way too steep ...



I looked at one of superscooter "sales pitch" videos and even he mentioned how they used to have this crappy stiff telescopic fork,
and now they are using this new linkage fork... (not designed by them of course.., they just pick out the color )
great! I got their old "flawed" version...
this setup is still used by Xtreme...


anyways, the new ones with the linkage forks are marketed under various names (with all the same parts)
appears to have a slacker head geometry...
(i did get a chance to ride a linkage fork model, seems to ride ok )
http://www.evopowerboards.com/evo/evo800w_main.asp
so if you gonna get one, get the linkage forks,
and don't buy into superscooter lame sales pitch, there are other guys selling the same exact 800w scooter...
http://www.eastcoastwholesales.com/elec ... s_x900.htm
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.js ... Id=4339521

anyhow, I am gonna just junk the frame and salvage the parts...
good thing I didn't pay much for it...

[sk8norcal]

..

[thedarlington]

hey guys i bought an old nonworking extreme x600, anybody know how to put a controller bypass? i see its a simple brushed motor, which is overvolted as i think i remember seeing it say its 250w, anyway what can you guys recommend to do this? or should i try to get the controller board working? i dont know what happened to it, it recognizes charge and the battery led turns on, but simply wont go, is there a way to troubleshoot these?