John in CR
100 TW
I had a front wheel drive ebike for a few months back in 2008, and didn't note any problem issues in handling. If anything, in loose stuff like dry sand it was a benefit to handling. I do recall the tendency for it to make the ebike go upright more quickly when accelerating out of curves, which did put me closer to the center of the road after the curve than I would have been with a RWD.
I ask because I'm building a high powered 2wd mostly for trail riding, and want to make sure I'm not missing anything in terms of handling. I'm getting too old for taking hard falls. The only potential problem I foresee is when I'm powering through loose stuff where both wheels are throwing off rooster tails of small rocks or mud, if the front wheel suddenly gains traction with the handlebars turned at all, then a high side would immediately result.
I don't have much off road experience, so am I looking at it right? Can any of you FWD users confirm the risk? Any other issues, other than the obvious:
1. Be sure to let off the throttle when any wheel gets air.
2. Don't use slip charge regen (regen braking activated by letting off the throttle).
I'm planning for 8-10kw peak input to the rear motor and 4-6kw up front, through 4" wide knobbies that are only 16.5" in OD, so the target is something along the lines of a bipolar Hanebrink on steroids. I just want to make sure it's not a pain inducing machine. I've always though that 2wd would be the holy grail of dirtbikes.
I ask because I'm building a high powered 2wd mostly for trail riding, and want to make sure I'm not missing anything in terms of handling. I'm getting too old for taking hard falls. The only potential problem I foresee is when I'm powering through loose stuff where both wheels are throwing off rooster tails of small rocks or mud, if the front wheel suddenly gains traction with the handlebars turned at all, then a high side would immediately result.
I don't have much off road experience, so am I looking at it right? Can any of you FWD users confirm the risk? Any other issues, other than the obvious:
1. Be sure to let off the throttle when any wheel gets air.
2. Don't use slip charge regen (regen braking activated by letting off the throttle).
I'm planning for 8-10kw peak input to the rear motor and 4-6kw up front, through 4" wide knobbies that are only 16.5" in OD, so the target is something along the lines of a bipolar Hanebrink on steroids. I just want to make sure it's not a pain inducing machine. I've always though that 2wd would be the holy grail of dirtbikes.