Custom KMX recumbent trike with QS205

About 2.5 years ago I had purchased a used recumbent trike frame online and outfitted with with a hub motor and heavy 48v 30ah LIFEPO4 battery, after about a year and a half however the frame broke; In the process of fixing it it was stolen. This had been my 3rd e-bike The first being a cheap china scooter that I quickly became annoyed trying to go long distances (wasn't comfortable) and the fact I had to do electrical and upgrades, and the screws into the plastic didn't like being taken apart. Having had a recumbent once before Which I really enjoyed, I had started planning the Next build, This time I had spent a good 2 years planning and reading build threads, looking at parts and planning. This trike will serve many purposes for me as It will be way of commuting around town, I plan to go cross country camping too (Canada). It also serves as show piece of my skill set and what I hope to offer as apart of the company I'm starting. I'll keep this thread up to date as much as I can but ongoing progress can be viewed on my Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/austins_creations/

The trike in MAY 2018:

After 5 months I had placed over 400km on it, I had been using a goldenmotor hub on the rear, along with a 12s 10ah hobby LIPO battery. good for about 40km of travel. By driving the trike throughout the summer I was able to see what I liked and didn't like.

The customization I plan on doing:
NESE 3d printed battery 20s 8p (X2) with Sanyo 18650GA 3400mah cells for a total of 20s16p ~54ah
There will be a separate 11.1v 3s10p Sayno 18650GA battery pack for running all the lighting and electronics.
QS205 hub motor 32*343, about 930rpm at 72V (went with a higher torque winding) laced to a 17inch motorcycle rim
Sabvaton 72150 motor controller
LED light bar - off road lights and amber traffic bar (there will be other amber strobes placed elsewhere as well)
Custom switch control panels - controlling turn signals, headlights (HI/LOW), Electronic park brake, reverse, strobe lighting
frame extension - plus other metal fabrication
J1772 EV charge port connector with charging station module (allows for authentication with sense and proximity pins built into connector)
KMX suspension kit
There are many other pieces being build and as they are completed I'll keep adding more photos.

For the entire project I've been keeping track of all the parts that I want to purchase and what still has to be done in an excel sheet. The current total cost is sitting at ~$9639CAD (will likely go up as some parts haven't been quoted on price such as sheet metal

Starting fabrication:



custom headlight fabrication - has RGB sk6812 (party mode) and amber 5630 leds (amber for DRL and turn signal)


Electronic ebrake mock-up (now I can take measurements for CAD modelling)


Control panels - switches and indicators are modified to hold the sk6812 RGBW LEDS



Marker Light pcb assembly (I'm using my new soldering oven for these PCBs) along with the mock-up of the tail light pcb in the 3D printed housing. The tail light will be in the shape of an infinity symbol and with the multi color leds can be animated.

View attachment 7

Motor and tires. The tire I'm using is the Shinko 241 on all three. The rear is 17x3 and the fronts are 14x2.75.
No more popped tires from potholes for me.


More photos and updates to come, The entire project should be completed before I graduate college in April 2019

Now that my holidays have started (since last week) I finally get some time off from my college work and get to put more time into finishing up stuff for my trike.

I managed to finish the parts that I needed to make in black abs filament on my 3D printer; I have a few more to do but need to finish welding my trike first. In the mean time I've switched over to orange ABS for the printing of the NESE module - 40 in total ~8 hours each. the trike will have 20s 16p when done, with syano GA 3500mah cells
View attachment 3

I've designed, 3D printed and assembled my rear parking brake. I'm using a cheap disk brake in which I've removed its return spring and added a linear actuator. Inside the mount is a little space for an arduino nano that will control the actuation based on input from the main arduino mega on board the trike
View attachment 5

I also received parts from gigavac (THESE PARTS ARE FROM A SPONSORSHIP REQUEST) These parts will allow me to turn on and off the battery safely, and it can handle the control of the precharge circuit as well as lockout/tagout for maintenance. I'm building this trike while I'm in school (College: Automotive technician) and I want this trike to showcase what work I can do so I'm following most automotive things that you would see for safety and such, My teachers have been very supportive of the project as well giving me class time to work on it as it gives other students to learn some stuff that they wouldn't normally see, It's also why I'm using orange for the high voltage pack (74v) along with orange automotive double shielded cable for my power.


For my throttle I prefer a thumb throttle on the trike as I find it most comfortable, however the one I have has the 48v LED status built in and a button switch I don't need (and gets pressed accidentally all the time because of its position) along with the terrible routing of the wire, I decided to make a cap for the throttle, and make a new hole for the wire to travel nicely and hidden within the handle bar, I also plugged the button hole, removed the LED's and added a price to nicely hold a 3 speed witch in place. Because of the odd compound angles (I wish I had a 3d Scanner). I made one 3D printed part then used epoxy putty to fill the gap and I've been using glazing body putty to fill blemishes before I paint.
View attachment 2


I also printed a mount to hold old bicycle light housings that I gutted added a 3d printed piece that holds 5mm LEDs for the tail/brake/turn/reverse lights on the trike trailer, and a spot for the amber strobe lights.


More to come.

I'm interested in seeing your progress, but all your attachments appear to be deleted. ("selected attachment does not exist anymore").

Could you reupload your images to the posts?

amberwolf said:

Could you reupload your images to the posts?

Click to expand...

sorry about that, for the longest time the images showed up on my end but once I loaded the page in incognito mode they disappeared. They have been fixed now.

I've made progress in the past week as well:
The front rims (prowheel 14x1.4) have been ordered.
The J1772 charging connector I ordered is set to be delivered any day
The 8 AWG black and orange wire that I've ordered should be delivered within the week.

I've also finished assembling the electronics and have been slowly completing the task of sanding items and using body filler to fill gaps and cracks before I start painting.

The 3d printer is running almost 24/7, with orange ABS printing the nese modules. as of typing this post there are 12 of 40 done.

Left to be purchase is front spokes, cycle analyst v3, cycle analyst usb plug (I have the cycle analyst v2.3 that I'm going to put the marine software on to monitor my 12v pack). Then I have to purchase the 18650 cells, 72v bms, 72v charger and 12v charger.

More will be posted when I complete and take photos of the work.

tonystark20 said:

sorry about that, for the longest time the images showed up on my end but once I loaded the page in incognito mode they disappeared. They have been fixed now.

Click to expand...

Thank you!

I like the idea of the "infinity" taillight; be interesting to see it in use once it's done.

Regarding lighting, I've used quite a few variations, from my own handwired stuff on DayGlo Avenger (whcih worked and was better than bicycle ligthing, but not good enough), to DOT lighting from motorcycles/etc., and now a combination of the DOT stuff and the stick-on silicone LED strips. (because I can't make PCBs and housings or afford to have someone else do it), and the LED strips are very cheap and easy to use).

The LED strips are definitely visible and have probably doubled or even tripled the positive feedback I get while riding, vs just the DOT stuff plus downlighting.



I like the detail you're putting into this; my stuff is always pretty crude, partly due to lack of skills, and partly lack of time. (and that I tend to reach the stage of "good enough to use it" and just go with it, as there are always too many things to get done).


The gigavac cutoff switch is interesting--it appears to have a place to padlock it into the off position. (the cheap HF cutoff switch i use simply has a removable "key"--handy but not that helpful for theft deterence since they just have to have one of the universal keys).


If I am seeing correctly, that disc brake (the rear?) is (dis?)engaged via a linear actuator. Does the actuator just disengage it when powered, and then fully engage it when unpowered (theft deterrent, safety interlock, etc), or is it analog control via the brake lever?

(I have the cycle analyst v2.3 that I'm going to put the marine software on to monitor my 12v pack).

Click to expand...

Marine software? I must've missed that (or forgotten it), and will have to look it up. My v2.3 (IIRC) is sitting unused at present, and could be used to monitor my lighting pack.

amberwolf said:

I like the idea of the "infinity" taillight; be interesting to see it in use once it's done.

Click to expand...

here is a quick video of the neopixels within the tail lights. the lights are diffused by a layer of white abs 3d printed material. I'll do more in depth photos and video of them later. there are dedicated 5630 leds for the tail, brake, turn and reverse. Only "party mode" leds can be animated, I've kept the systems separate as the 5630 leds are brighter for their size and they are analog and less likely to glitch in use. still waiting for the resistors from ebay to finish the marker lights and tail lights
[youtube]_S3N8YpMJdo[/youtube]

The projector I'm using was the cheapest set I could get from the website retrofit source, but I choose super cheap H1 leds bulbs instead of using HIDs, they leds bulbs do however use 1.5 amps each so I'm scrapping the driver for a different one that I can PWM and change brightness based on driving conditions.

amberwolf said:

I like the detail you're putting into this

Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliment; While I would love to do some of the stuff quickly, I've learned from previous builds that i end up hating it later when I have to fix it. I'm also hoping to use this trike as a daily driver and as a showcase of my skill set for the company I'm starting or for a potential employer to see what I can do.

The gigavac switch is list as OSHA compliant lockout tag out, so yes a pad lock can go through it in the off position.
The rear brake is fully controlled with the actuator, I purchased the RC servo variation of the linear actuator, inside the mount that holds everything I have a recesses to hide and arduino nano, this controls all the timing and control for the actuator, the nano will receive instructions from the main arduino mega on the bike, when I'm parked I will use one of the big switches on the control panel as a brake switch (I'll make a diagram of what each switch is for later), when the switch is on the linear actuator will activate the brake and hold in position, then when the switch is off the actuator will deactivate the brake. on of off the linear actuator controls the brake, the brake itself to make control easier I removed it's return spring.

amberwolf said:

Marine software?

Click to expand...

Take a look at this post about the marine software, in my case works well for the 11.1v 3s 30ah battery I'm using for my lighting system. https://www.ebikes.ca/news/new-ca2-firmware/

Also I've wired both sets of lights for the headlights;
neopixel (party mode) sk6712 RGBW

and the Daytime running lights and turn signals using orange 5630 LEDS

tonystark20 said:

there are dedicated 5630 leds for the tail, brake, turn and reverse. Only "party mode" leds can be animated, I've kept the systems separate as the 5630 leds are brighter for their size and they are analog and less likely to glitch in use.

Click to expand...

I like the way it looks...but you could run into an issue with law enforcement with the non-red non-amber colors in that. Most places, they are not legal to display at all, or at least while moving. Some places enforce it, some don't (here in Phoenix, at least one cyclist with battery-powered christmas lights on their bike was stopped for that, that I am aware of).

It's why the lights on SB Cruiser / etc are all setup for red / amber to the rear, and white / amber to the front. Downlighting used to be all white, including the rear, because none of the light sources are visible from the rear (the only stipulation in local law about that), but now I use a red light for the under-trike lighting at the rear end. Still has white side-body lighting and downlighting, and can still run the white deck and "cockpit" lighting for higher visibility if I need to (but the glare from these two make it harder for me to see stuff around me so I don't use it, normally).


Hopefully you won't have any problems.

The projector I'm using was the cheapest set I could get from the website retrofit source, but I choose super cheap H1 leds bulbs instead of using HIDs, they leds bulbs do however use 1.5 amps each so I'm scrapping the driver for a different one that I can PWM and change brightness based on driving conditions.

Click to expand...

That would be useful, saving power when needed, as well as not "blinding" anyone when on a less trafficked road, but turning up automatically when needed to let you still see the road with headlights in your eyes from oncoming traffic.

My LED strip lighting is very very bright at night, so I actually have it dimmed (except when braking; the red ones all brighten for that). But if I dim it as much as I would like to, then in daylight it's not visible under many conditions. So the plan is eventually to put a switch on the "dash" (after I build one) to be able to dim for night but normal during the day. (plus switches for all the other lights, individual or by category depending on what they are). But all my switches will just be ugly old toggles without any labels.

I'd like to make a photo-resistive sensor to detect ambient light levels and change them automatically, but that will only come later once I have the switched stuff wired, and then only if I ever get around to it.

But I'm still using a car headlight (Kia?) for seeing the road ahead, simply because I had it (found in a parking lot, leftovers from some collision I suppose). Would like to use a projector light of some type eventually, but all the good ones I see tend to be expensive, and the cheap ones I can't tell how well they actually work or if they have a good horizon/etc).

Take a look at this post about the marine software, in my case works well for the 11.1v 3s 30ah battery I'm using for my lighting system. https://www.ebikes.ca/news/new-ca2-firmware/

Click to expand...

Thanks! I'll look at it in more detail later.

I use a 4s2p 40Ah NMC battery, which I charge to 16.4v (4.1v/cell). It's closer to automotive voltage levels, and so more compatible with DOT lighting (though it makes it noticeably brighter), while not damaging any of the "12v" LED lighting I've used, even the aquarium stuff. Their dropping resistors get warmer, but none have suffered damage from it (other than perhaps a shorter-than-ten-year lifespan, eventually).

I found a 3s didn't work well enough, since it drops quite low vs normal automotive voltages as it runs down, but since all your lighting is custom-made, that's probably not an issue. However, if you have a future need to use automotive accessories, like stuff that plugs into cigarette lighter jacks, you may find some of them don't operate (normally or at all) when your battery gets toward the low end of it's voltage range.

At some point I would like a DC-DC with a steady 13-14v output at 30-40A capability (to run air compressor, etc when needed), to replace the large lighting pack, and then I could use just a very small backup lighting pack that's simply kept topped off by the DC-DC. But the ones I've found so far that I would trust and might be able to afford are almost as large and heavy as a 20Ah 4s1p lighting pack. The one I already have here (that needs twice the input voltage than I have available) is about half the size of the 20Ah pack but about as heavy. :/ It's a lot more expensive than the stuff I could afford though (this one was a donation).

I have found quite a few wallwarts that operate off my 14s traction pack voltage range, one of which has a 15v output at a few amps, and I used that for at least a couple of years on CrazyBike2 for everything but the car headlight, but it isn't powerful enough to run the headlights or the compressor, so I still have to have the biggish battery.

amberwolf said:

but you could run into an issue with law enforcement with the non-red non-amber colors in that. Most places, they are not legal to display at all, or at least while moving. Some places enforce it, some don't

Click to expand...

I don't plan on using the multi color lights very often, for this specific reason - there are times I can use it when driving but with specific colors. Its why all the lighting systems I have are designed separately, with 5730 leds being used for turn, brake, marker lights,ect.

I've had the 3d printer going non-stop and have half the nese modules made for trike. Only another 20 modules to go.


The front rims for my trike have finally shipped as well leaving very few parts left to still be ordered.
The J1772 ev charging connector arrived the other day, along with its control module shall allow me to charge anywhere I decide to travel.

amberwolf said:

That would be useful, saving power when needed, as well as not "blinding" anyone

Click to expand...

The added bonus of using projector housings is that they have a cutoff shield so no matter what brightness I pwm the driver at it wont blind anyone (providing I aim them right) The photos below show the headlight 20ft from a dumpster about 2ft off the ground. the photo shows only one housing at full brightness (I have 2) so they should be more than adequate for my use, and if not when on super dark areas in middle of nowhere I also ordered 4inch auxbeam pod lights in both flood and spot pattern.
View attachment 4


Throughout the project I've been planning most of the parts and working out a budget, as the project finishes I've been updating my cost list as many items are in USD and I'm in Canada and our dollar sucks. As well with final touches being done there are a few bits and pieces that will have to be added to the list. The cost list however doesn't account for the quite a few items that had been given as a sponsorship or larger tools I've purchased to make things easier. Either way defiantly one expensive project.


View attachment 1

Lovely work

tonystark20 said:

The J1772 charging connector I ordered is set to be delivered any day

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I might have missed it, but do you have a link/source for the J1772 connector + control module you ordered?

Thanks!
M

agniusm said:

Lovely work

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Thank you, so far it's printing very well. I'm looking forward to seeing how it preforms long term, although I imagine it will work just fine and preform just as I need to for many years to come.

MJSfoto1956 said:

I might have missed it, but do you have a link/source for the J1772 connector + control module you ordered?

Click to expand...

Don't worry you didn't miss it; but here is a link to the exact part I ordered, I purchased it with the 1m of cable pre-installed. I must say that I'm very happy with the quality. shipping from china took about 3-4 weeks, but was worth it, the module shipped from usa and took about a week to arrive. Hope this helps.

https://www.electriccarpartscompany...to-Door-from-China-br-0-39ft-0-12m_p_629.html

Well I'm back in school which slows my progress a little but gives me access again to shops at school again - so welding will start again soon. I've also did the filler primer spray paint this week (wet sand then color coat next)

The batteries arrived, 320 cells for the 72v 54ah traction pack, 30 cells for the 11.1v 30ah accessory pack.
I test 2 cells that Ipurchased extra (bought 365 cells total, the extra cells are for another project) of 5 cells checked they were +-0.01v of each other. charged 2 to 4.178 and 4.168 (the imax b6 charger inst the most reliable tester, voltage measurement is a little off) but upon discharging I got 3282mah and 3293mah with end voltages of 3.223 and 3.169. all in all they seam and appear to be of genuine quality purchased from liion wholsale - shipping was quick and customs was much less of a hassle than expected.


The front rims have arrived, purchased on ebay as prowheel was out of stock, the wheels are 32h (which matches the hubs for kmx trikes) No I'll have to measure them up for custom length black oxide spokes. the rims are 14inch and will have Shinko SR241 14-2.75


I also ordered this panel meter that is programmable to monitor batteries, amps, Low voltage and high voltage, and a few other functions. I'm using it to control a solid state relay that will control the charger, hopefully when wired up it will give me the ability to set a charge limit, instead of always doing a full charge.


Also managed to assemble and finish 3d printing all the NESE modules (no photo of these yet).
Left to be order is the font suspension kit, Cycle analyst v3, front spokes, Cycle analyst programmer, spray paint, bolts, spray paint, roughly another ~2000 left to spend and the chargers and BMS have already been ordered. so about another 2 months left to save and spend money. but hopefully by then I'll have everything ready to go and I'll just have to assemble the suspension and front tires and be able to drive.

Photo of the completed NESE modules, will make create a 20s 16p pack.
View attachment 1

I've been doing paint for the past week, with the filler primer completed today, I've started doing color paint. The theme of the bike is using flat black paint and contrasting with rust-oleum aged copper metallic paint. I'll do up close pictures as things dry and are completed. (more parts not shown in photo)


I also took the time to set the seat in position (need to know where to weld it and where to add rear mount points as the frame has been extended 6", also added the spindles to see where to put an 8mm bolt to mount the steering dampener. this also allowed me to make sure that the seat was in a good position for me to hold the handle bars as well.


The brake handles I have are goldenmotor branded ones, they are really nice compared to the wuxing ones you normally see, the only issue I have with any ebike brake handle is that the mechanical switches in them glitch way too much for my liking. I've drilled small holes and using jb weld added magnets (then sand excess epoxy off). with the hall effects that I choose (ugn3503) this hall effect is will act similar to a hall effect in a throttle, allowing me to connect it to an analog pin on the arduino mega that will me on the trike to control lights and such. I've already managed to program the arduino so that if you pull the handle the brake light will turn on, but if you pull the handle quickly in an emergency stop the brake light will flash and then go solid. (video will be posted when the light are wired up) the other end of the brake assembly has epoxy putty filling where the switch was, then a small hole allowing for the hall effect switch and Ethernet cable to pass thru, they will be sealed in place during final assembly with silicone adhesive (photo to come)
View attachment 3

Why are you welding the seat on?

calfeetwenty said:

Why are you welding the seat on?

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Because it seems the easiest and better way to do it, the frame is extended right below the seat, so the original mounts will no long work unless remade from scratch. The original mounts are a pain in the but to put together, there will an electronics box under the seat and would rather have more space and trying to keep things sealed without holes where water can get in to ruin things or rust areas, so no built thru the frame and seat either as the frame is steel and the last trike I had ended up rusting inside out.

Unless there's a simple way to install it that I haven't seen, then I'm all ears.

Edit: I would prefer not to weld the seat as it makes it easier to change the position and do repairs on other parts. I'm still thinking of ways to have the seat bolt in, might be some time before I start welding so it gives me time to think of another way.

Ok I went back and looked at the welding photo and see that the extending tube is on the outside. I plan on getting another frame kit and extending also but I will put a tube on the inside. Harder but when I'm done you won't be able to see it.


I have a Qs motor V3 6t and the same controller on a cargo bike frame. It ran just long enough to break my arm. My fault though I didn't do enough testing on the stand because I was in a hurry to see what the motor was like. My trike has a 1500 Edge and that is enough for me...now. https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=93873

calfeetwenty said:

see that the extending tube is on the outside

Click to expand...

Yep, the frame is made form 50mm steel tubing, and being in north america I only have local access to materiel in imperial measurements, so 2" hot rolled steel with 0.1" thickness fit perfect over the tubing, very small amount of play which made it easy to align and center everything.

calfeetwenty said:

Harder but when I'm done you won't be able to see it.

Click to expand...

I the end I'll have a big box under the entire section of the seat to put electronics and the battery so in essence you should see it either, but it defiantly made it easier to weld. I did come up with an idea however for not welding the seat, hard to explain but I'll post photos later when I weld.

While another week goes by, still working on small tasks here and there, eventually I hope to show much bigger updates but in order for things to be done correctly some small task do have to be completed. I'm also doing a fair amount of work at my college and can be at the mercy of going to class, having limited shop class time, weather (painting outside, in Canadian winter with snow), and waiting for responses to organize time in other shops (welding and CNC)

More parts have come in, including the cover for the headlights (only one was available via prime so I'll have to wait for slow shipping on number 2) The cover is 6" diameter an designed for an underwater go pro system, in my case it was the perfect measurements to fit over the front of my headlights, this will seal the housing but also allow for you to see everything, including the awesome projector shrouds, and being able to see the DRL and turn signals from an angle (although it will have marker lights on the side as well)



I also received the 11.1v charger - designed for 100-240v
The *$v charger was listed as dual voltage, unfortunately the seller has issues with people burning out chargers because the dual charger has a switch, so mine is for 110v, but because I have the J1772 connector The main voltage I'll likely use is 220, but I'm in luck as there is a wire on the PCB that I can cut to have it work on 220v, which means I don't have to send it back. (thank goodness) (all end plugs will be cut and hard wired into a junction box)
View attachment 4
View attachment 3


The BMS system also arrived, the seller isn't the best when it comes to emails, and it took 2 weeks to ship (with expedite shipping selected) but did end up arriving. set up for Bluetooth and came with the usb cable as well (way more settings on the usb connection, Bluetooth is good for some settings and overall health. it is good for 74v 150a (I doubt I'll use 150amps but that is the max my controller can do, and figure better to have the ability to change settings later than to have to buy another BMS. after taxes and shipping, ect it set me back $252.84 CAD
purchased from lithiumbatterypcb.com (note their website does go down and act up quite a bit use at your own risk)






There are still a few items left to purchase,
Sheet metal
Main fuse
Nuts, Capscrews, general hardware
Electrical Crimp connectors
12v power supply (will power on during charging to run electronics and eventually a battery heater)
Headlight cover (need a second one)
Foam roll - insulate and protect the batteries (will also help keep in heat when I had battery warmer)
High voltage stickers
Spokes for front wheels
Cycle analyst V3
KMX front Suspension Kit

so roughly $2000 to go...

More progress...

Painting has been progressing nicely, color has been sprayed, black parts need wet sanding and more coats, copper parts are ready for clear coat. (sorry no photos yet)

Welding hasn't resumed yet

I've set up electronics on my desk, the parts were initial set up with Ethernet connectors, I was originally planning on keeping the connectors but I've noticed quite a bit of oxidation on contacts way more than I'd like to see, so to avoid issues when driving, I'll end up doing solder joints and heat shrink. Seeing as how one of my plans would be long distance driving and camping, the last think I want is too be stuck in the middle of nowhere.

There are two control panels that will be on the trike one on each side of me, the most used panel has big toggle switches that I can feel even with gloves, or glance at quickly, the other panel will control the strobe light system, most of time I just use the front, rear mode of those lights but has extra features that I wanted on a previous version of my trike. This includes a front facing top light bar, rear 6 module traffic bar, and using the side markers as side facing strobes. along with a master on/off, so I can quickly turn lights on and off if I pull up to scene (I'm the type of person to pull over and offer aid if someone needs it) or I'm entering a parking garage. on each panel there are also 3 extra push buttons, modes of which haven't been fully decided yet.

The left panel has 6 switches,
ebrake (linear actuator) will also mimic brake light ensuring that I know my brake handles work, had this issue on previous version of the trike
forward/reverse switch (controls tail light and uses relay to trigger motor controller)
High beam (won't turn on unless low beam is on)
Low beam (dims all lights and allows you to see all other switches in the dark)
Left signal
Right signal

Signals can both be turned on at the same time for "hazards"

The brake handles are also programmed and they are fitted with hall effect sensors, if the brakes are pulled quickly, they with flash then go steady (doesn't show up on video well) the tail lights are controlled with a PWM / mosfet board (the board is controlled via I2C) which opens up more pins on the arduino mega for other tasks. so far 595 lines of code and I'm no where near done adding to it, but everything so far work the way I want it to.

Also all the switches and indicators came from ebay with white LED's instead I have sk6812 RGBW leds in it, which again lessens the number of pins needed on the arduino to control everything and opens up the options for programming different status information.

Once the bike is completed I plan to do a walk-through, outlining all the electronics and parts and explaining why I've done it (beyond me just wanting lights) - although, I'll still have people while driving past tell me they can't see me.

video of current prototyping:
[youtube]PvKwf5sE8bg[/youtube]

Ah, here it is the updated parts being painted.

Still waiting to start welding (did I mention my college has busy shops...)
Some more parts have been ordered, including a dc 250v 100amp breaker, ordered heatshrink for my 12v battery (arrived), second headlight cover (shipped) also ordered a roll of 2mm foam 36" x 60" (will protect the batteries) (arrived) and ordered a 12v 6amp power supply, that will be used on the bike to power an arduino and eventual heaters for the battery, when the trike is plugged in to charge.

I'm adding a traffic bar, the LED modules I have had their own covers, decided to make my own one piece cover to make it look better. The clear coat still needs wetsanding and recoat.



Throttle(s) (there are two throttle painted, one has two buttons the other selector switch for 3 speed. they will be used as throttle and regen, they have been designed so that the wire will go thru the handle bars giving a clean factory type look.) The throttle have been painted and clear coated, These parts are now ready to be assembled



Headlight shroud is ready to go as well, the main headlight housing is flat black but still needs a clear coat. The shroud also has a plastic ring that goes on it that will slightly diffuse the DRL and party mode LEDs.
View attachment 5


Control panels have also been painted black and need a clear coat now. The panel shown is for the strobe system control see earlier photos and video of the parts that will be added in.



Taillight housing painted and clear coated and ready to be assembled.



More progress to happen soon (I hope)

Pretty wild project.

Tom

litespeed said:

Pretty wild project.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I know I'm going a little bit beyond what most might do but I want something that fits my needs and I'm hoping it will act as a showcase piece for myself and the company that I'm building.

Parts update: the last part to order in the KMX front suspension kit. that is the last part besides some nuts, capscrews, ect. all to complete my $10,000 custom e-trike

The painting of the parts has finished, so I've done the assembly for the headlights, tail lights, throttle and control panels.
The video, shows the parts - the headlight lens still needs to be cleans and sealed but waiting on the second one in the mail.
The throttles have been assembled one for acceleration the other for variable regen, the switch is for the 3 speed selection on the sabvaton controller, the other buttons are for horn and flash to pass respectively (not going to be high beam flash but instead to what trucks do and turn off and on the headlight- this is very useful for telling a truck when they have passed me and can move back in the lane, among other uses to communicate with a driver)

the control panel demo shows the indicators in their normal state and that activating them will change their state, include low beam mode which activates all the lights at low intensity, pushing an extra button (there are 3 on each panel) will activate the "party mode" which includes turning on the leds in the headlight. there are many other functions to wire and program but I'll have to wire everything on the trike before I can do more.

The welding is set to start again tomorrow, hoping to make progress and get done quickly.
Then I just have to wait for the 13 Gauge black spokes to arrive in about a week so that I can start assembling the front wheels
almost there...

[youtube]Uhlq24v7iBw[/youtube]

After being sick for a little while and being busy with other projects, I finally have some pictures and information to give in an update.

I've been able to do more welding, was having someone helping me but instead I'm doing the welding myself to speed things along... I however haven't welding in 3 years so instead of spending what little time I have re-learning tig, I decided to use mig, not as nice of welds that I would like, but they will work and most will be hidden.

So far, I have the seat welded (will hold motor controller), the fame is extended, rear light bar and trailer hitch mount is in place, rear seat mounts are in place, chain tensioner mount is in place.

Left to be done is the battery box, rear sheet metal panels (hard to explain how they'll be place), battery charger mount (which will be behind the seat) the round rolling chain guide has to be moved, headlight mount, control mount, trailer hitch and trailer axles. Along with the mountain of wiring.

I'm back in the weld shop tomorrow to get the headlights and battery charger mounts in place, leaving the trailer hitch and axles to be welded after the motor mounts are cnc, as then I'll be able to see the ride height for everything. THe rims arrive a while back and after a couple of purchases of spokes I now have the right length, went with black 13 gauge spokes with 14 inch moped rims they just have to be tensioned and trued.

Photos:

Wow, that's quite a nice and complex project you have going there! Very impressive!

I will follow your development here for sure.

About the front suspension, I've test different wheels in the past and found out that the lighter the wheel, better the suspension perform.

You can see my results here : https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=81487

adam333 said:

Wow, that's quite a nice and complex project you have going there! Very impressive!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the awesome feedback

As for the wheels, I've gone with reusing the kmx hubs, laced using 13 gauge spokes and #10 washers to a 14" prowheel aluminum hub, with Shinko SR241 2.75x14 (the tires will likely be the most weight, but I plan to drive long distance and I really hate pot holes and flat tires so I wanted something durable. I'm weight them and post the result.

I finish the welding of the main frame, There are still quite a few holes to drill and tap still and then painting. The trailer hitch will be welded once I can CNC the motor mounts and check and ensure that everything is welded at the correct height.


I was reading the around the world solar ebike build thread and saw the post about the cycle analyst having a night mode back light. Totally wish I'd known sooner. But either way I wanted to be able to control the light with my arduino (eg turn on at night when I activate low beams) so I used a photo cell, NPN transistor and white LED to control the back light, all I have to do is activate the led using a ground (the positive of the led uses voltage from the regulator inside the cycle analyst. but now it's easier to control I then 3D printed a bracket that holds the 2 cycle analyst together; which will clamp to the front of the trike, but I also made sure that I could adjust the angle of the second display so that they will both be view able in a comfortable manor.might have to change the bracket a bit down the road but I'm gonna test it a bit first then make changes.

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