The first and BEST Qulbix Raptor mid-drive build!

I've been using these on my EV stuff for a while now. They include a small DC-DC converter good for 12-85 volts and are reasonably bright. The auction says 20 watts, but I think that's an exaggeration...more like 12 watts, but they throw a decent amount of light for a 2" diameter lamp that costs $5. There's a version with an external DC converter. I think the converter outputs 12 volts which is convenient for people running a 12 volt subsystem because you can just eliminate the DC converter.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/162002482637?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
 
Sorry for the delay on this build. I have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for a bunch of wiring accessories (XT90s, special marine grade adhesive lined heat shrink, etc) to make the harness. Well, I finally have what I need other than the XT90s. However, I found that I do not need as many connectors as I thought. In fact, the frame will be so full of lipo that I need to restrict (reduce) the number of connectors and make interesting wire routing choices in order to fit all 80ah inside. So, with that in mind, I an finally assembling the pack and fabricating the harness. The hardest part will probably be drilling the frame for a couple grommets to pass the motor wires and the charge connector through. I am roughly 6 hours of labor away from completion.

We are due for 5 to 9 inches of snow this weekend. I would love to have the bike up and running to try in the snow. But, I refuse to rush it. I have committed myself to taking my time and doing everything correctly. No cutting corners.....

If I do not finish it this weekend, I have Wednesday of next week set aside to finish.

We are getting close, oh so close!

Matt
 
The bike is running! :D

I have been riding it for 20 minutes or so in the deep snow. This thing is ridiculous...... It is the most powerful bike I have ever built other than the triple motor drive I had installed for a short time in my black 20 inch bike. It is a touch more powerful than the motoped (different KV motors), shorter, narrower, and far lighter. The bike is running beautifully. I have had no problems. I am sooo glad I lengthened the swingarm. The handling is wonderful. The bike is crazy wheelie prone, even with the longer swing arm.

There is only yone minor issue; it looks like I have it geared a touch too tall. In the deepest snow at extended full throttle the controllers start beeping at me. I have not pulled the data from the data loggers to find out if it is overamping, or if the pack is sagging below the LV cutoff. When I rode it, my 12S pack was at 45 volts. So, it may have sagged a bit a hit the LV cutoff. I have not clocked the bike with GPS to find out the top speed yet. But, it feels well over 40mph. That is too fast for my area of riding. So, I will gear it a touch lower and see how it rides. My guess is that I am just barely overamping it under the hardest running. Gearing it down a tiny bit would solve that.

Anyeway, I will post pictures soon. I will try to get some video action too.

Oh, also, the suspension on this bike is fantastic compared to my Motoped. Don't get me wrong, the Motoped is a fantastic bike. But, it was built as a motorcycle primarily. That made it ride like a motorcycle. That is fine for its intended purpose. But this bike is built as a bicycle in looks and ride. That difference really comes through in the ride quality and handling.

Honestly, this thing is too powerful. It is a blast to ride, but, it is a handful. In dirt trails it would be a real beast. I think perfection would be twin 3215s. But, for the deep snow, I need all the power I can get! That is why I built it this way. It will take some getting used to. But, oh Baby, it freakin RIPS! :mrgreen:

Matt
 
congrates to another, perfectly built and and well conceived bike
i can imagine that you have a great time riding it :)
 
OK, a bunch of information;

I downloaded the data from the controllers. They were peaking at over 290 amps each (brief peaks). So, this was over-amping the controllers and softening the throttle response. That confirms my thoughts on the first ride and the tall gearing. So, I went from 20 tooth motor pulleys to 16 tooth. This dropped the speed to the low 30s (maybe 34mph judging by the traffic I was riding with). I also changed the throttle response in the controllers to soften the "Hit" of the throttle. These two changes dropped my amp draw to the point that it is running 100% perfectly now. The throttle response softening helps the insanity of the radically high torque, making the bike more enjoyable to ride.

You can see in the pictures that I am routing the belt in a very strange way. This belt routing was done to maximize wrap around the pulleys and eliminating having any idlers on the power side of the belt. The belt, now, runs around the idlers only on the slack side. This provides a few benefits (more on that later). You can, also, see the battery packs in the frame. There are 4S packs situated three packs deep in the frame. This provides 12S-80ah total. I have decided to limit my charge voltage to 49 volts (100% charge on 12S lipo is normally 50.4 volts). This provides some protection from overcharging and will make the cells last far longer. I have way more pack capacity than I can use on this bike anyway.

I will post more info as I have it.

Matt
 

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Looks like fun. Did you eliminate the mechanical torque limiter? Just happened to notice it was not there or at least not on the large pulley where I thought it usually is.
 
DanGT86 said:
Is that because you are snow riding or because you have the throttle ramp dialed in better than the old days?
Click to expand...

This twin motor drive unit has a 7/8 inch diameter shaft. The torque limiter bore size only goes up to 3/4 inch. Besides, this thing has enough power that it would be difficult to hold all that torque with a limiter.
 
nutspecial said:
Looks awesome Matt, wow 600amps! I bet that was sagging the batteries a little lol. Regardless of lower temps and associated sag, I was thinking 250a max draw from 80ah of multistars? 3-4 c max.
Click to expand...
Sag looks to be about 1.8 volts at 600 amps. These cells are rated at 10c. This bike should never exceed 8c however.

I am downloading a GoPro video on youtube right now.
 
I've been going over the bike looking for ways to improve it. There are a couple nit-pick items that I may change, but nothing of consequence. Basically I want to improve belt wrap around the front motor pulley by adding another idler. This will allow lower belt tension for greater efficiency without any belt skip. I also want to add headlights as I mentioned earlier in the thread. Basically everything is working fantastic. I have about an hour of hard riding on it without issue.

Once I am satisfied the bike is bulletproof, I will offer it up for sale. :D

Matt
 
recumpence said:
I've been going over the bike looking for ways to improve it. There are a couple nit-pick items that I may change, but nothing of consequence. Basically I want to improve belt wrap around the front motor pulley by adding another idler. This will allow lower belt tension for greater efficiency without any belt skip. I also want to add headlights as I mentioned earlier in the thread. Basically everything is working fantastic. I have about an hour of hard riding on it without issue.

Once I am satisfied the bike is bulletproof, I will offer it up for sale. :D

Matt
Click to expand...

Do you already know how much $$$ you are asking for it?
 
APPELBOOM said:
recumpence said:
I've been going over the bike looking for ways to improve it. There are a couple nit-pick items that I may change, but nothing of consequence. Basically I want to improve belt wrap around the front motor pulley by adding another idler. This will allow lower belt tension for greater efficiency without any belt skip. I also want to add headlights as I mentioned earlier in the thread. Basically everything is working fantastic. I have about an hour of hard riding on it without issue.

Once I am satisfied the bike is bulletproof, I will offer it up for sale. :D

Matt
Click to expand...

Do you already know how much $$$ you are asking for it?
Click to expand...

$12,500

Most of my bikes sell for around that. This is the best I have built so far.

Matt
 
recumpence said:
https://youtu.be/Iqn25uQiiyA

GoPro video. :mrgreen:

Matt
Click to expand...


Cool video and yet another amazing build. Top notch as always.
I hope to see even more "drifting"/tailing preferable captured by camera from someone riding behind you, or standing stationary and films as you come into the camera. Both doing radical angles in the street curves and on that nice white playground you have behind your house. This bike looks like tons of fun for winter riding. Seems you can go sideways anywhere you like with that bike. With a heavy DD hub it is very hard to do consistent drifts, as the hub will increase the tail swagging and makes it hard to control the angle by using the throttle, more nervous then an old Porsche doing raceway laps with tight bends. This alone would be a great reason to go mid drive.Increased fun and drifting abilities. Pls show us more.

Btw What are your setup now? 2 x 3210 or 2 x 3220?
 
Great build Matt. As usual, pushing the boundaries. I think I have followed everyone of your builds over the years and never been disappointed. In fact your first trike build got me into ebikes in the first place. Do you know how much money you have cost me :lol:
 
Kepler said:
Great build Matt. As usual, pushing the boundaries. I think I have followed everyone of your builds over the years and never been disappointed. In fact your first trike build got me into ebikes in the first place. Do you know how much money you have cost me :lol:
Click to expand...

$12,500? :mrgreen:
 
macribs said:
recumpence said:
https://youtu.be/Iqn25uQiiyA

GoPro video. :mrgreen:

Matt
Click to expand...


Cool video and yet another amazing build. Top notch as always.
I hope to see even more "drifting"/tailing preferable captured by camera from someone riding behind you, or standing stationary and films as you come into the camera. Both doing radical angles in the street curves and on that nice white playground you have behind your house. This bike looks like tons of fun for winter riding. Seems you can go sideways anywhere you like with that bike. With a heavy DD hub it is very hard to do consistent drifts, as the hub will increase the tail swagging and makes it hard to control the angle by using the throttle, more nervous then an old Porsche doing raceway laps with tight bends. This alone would be a great reason to go mid drive.Increased fun and drifting abilities. Pls show us more.

Btw What are your setup now? 2 x 3210 or 2 x 3220?
Click to expand...

Two 3 turn fan cooled 3220s.

Matt
 
seeing you ride that bike makes it hard to supress my wish to build a high powered mid drive as well. i like my 2kW bike, great to ride, reliable and everything, but i doesn't wheelie at all. and for me a perfect ride has ALWAYS more power than you dare to use. then it's properly sized :)
 
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