Re: Street LEGAL Custom Bomber build! :-)

Dlogic

1 kW
Joined
Oct 18, 2010
Messages
379
Location
Germany
For the nervous, a video is found at the end of this post. :)

After almost 2 years of planning, building, testing and a constantly growing frustration, due to the complexity of this project, the final result is now ready for you here to be commented or criticized. Since my stealth bomber is the best thing ever to be ridden around i decided it was time to fabricate a pimp worthy of this bike. So John, if you read this don’t feel offended and please don’t see me as a competitor. Your work is brilliant and deserves my utmost respect This is and will remain a custom built prototype. The only one of it´s kind. That’s why this is not, like already done by someone here on ES, a plain 100% copy of your ideas. No, this is, although very similar in design, my very own interpretation of the Bomber. But let’s start from the beginning. After a couple of month as a totally satisfied Bomber owner, the strong urge emerged to personalize this machine. Since range is never enough the first thing was to fit a bigger battery. The standard frame was to small for my Turnigy Nano Tech 32 Ah and 18 cell custom built pack so obviously a new frame had to be created. A real pimp needs just that! Like people cut up and redesign the famous Harley Davidson motorcycles. So why not do the same with the Bomber? Ok, it would have hurt my heart to touch the original frame, so redesigning it was a better option. To keep it looking like a bomber the original lines weren´t altered to much.
The first steps are those weeks of drawing and building frames out of cardboard ( CAD -cardboard aided design- ) in order to materialize the mental construction. Rapidly the idea was born that by just copying John’s ingenious sheet metal design and making it bigger to fit more battery cells couldn’t be considered something personal. So, even though precious space would result in being wasted, my frame was welded out of rectangular 30*10 mm 25Cromo4 tubing. It gives the bike that Ducati motorcycle tube frame look. The spaces between those tubes where filled with sheet metal and the battery was mounted onto an aluminium plate that bolts to the frames bottom. It took weeks to weld, heat treat, grind and manually sand down the steel structure to reach perfection.
Another wonderful detail was the enjoyment during all those month of gear shifting using the Vboxx. Since an E-bike is a high tech machine antique, ugly looking and maintenance intensive derailleur systems never came to my mind. Designing and welding the Vboxx mounting structure was a terrible task that almost killed this project. After all wheel alignment is critical and once the Vboxx support has been welded into the frame there´s absolutely no more margin to play with. So it had to be perfect and nothing less. For those who like hard facts, the frame, without the swingarm and Vboxx, weighs 9700 grams. Sheet metal wise a thickness of 1.5 mm was utilized.
On the electric side, Lyen´s 24 fet controller is integrated into the frame and 3 battery medics give me information on the state of each cells voltage. This is vital as a BMS is not used. The charging is done via 3 i- chargers that are connected to the bike by a custom built plug that establishes all connections at once. Even the balancing leads are in use. The idea to bulk charge the pack was found as being something for the electronics guru. Mechanics is my thing so this was the retard method for people like me.  To ensure a perfectly balanced pack every cell was charged individually using a cheap 1 amp single cell charger. It took weeks to bring all cells to exactly 4.15 volts, but that´s what you should do prior to it´s first use. After all the intention was to have fun with this machine thus doing every possible thing to prevent a lipo fire!!
The rear wheel features the X5403 motor laced into a 24 inch rim and using the hookworm tires by Maxxis. On the front part the Marzocchi 888 fork makes for a plush ride. The internal spring was replaced by a stiffer one that effectively prevents the fork from ditching in when hitting the brakes hard. Instead of a picture loaded thread it´s video time now. The machines creation was filmed in many occasions and then rendered into a short film. Enjoy!

PS: The main intention and motivating force behind this project was the joy of diving deep into the making of a personal e-bike. Oh and yes, I spent almost four times the money my bomber once cost me. Not only on bike parts, but for the tools necessary to make this machine. Money buys you everything, but nothing is more satisfying then building your own stuff!!

The complete tool list:

1. Milling machine
2. Motorized variable angle tube cutter ( another custom built machine )
3. Lathe ( with added digital displays for precise adjustments )
4. TIG Welding system ( fully programmable )
5. Custom built welding table with absolutely plain die cast metal plate for alignment purposes
6. Stand drill
7. Taps and dies in all metric sizes from M1 – M 20
8. Angle grinder
9. Dremel ( The number one tool for delicate manual grinding work! )
10. 2 new work benches for assembly
11. A stereo sound system to keep me grooving. 
12. Metal bender
13. Soldering system
14. Tube notcher
15. 10 Power supplies with custom switch grid for generating any voltage from 3 – 120 volts DC at 20 amps
16. Multimeter
17. A 12 ton hydraulic press. ( Yeah, just the tool to rectify the frame )
18. A washing bin with pump and brush


The complete parts list:

1. 54 meters of steel tubes in the sizes 30*10, 60*30 and 100*30
2. Sheet metal with a thickness of 1.5 mm.
3. Suntour VBoxx ( The center piece was removed and painted brown )
4. Crystalyte X5403
5. Sun Ringle MTX39 24 inch rims
6. Maxxis Hookworm tires
7. Motorcycle spokes ( 8 AWG!! )
8. 12 Turnigy Nano Tech 8000 mah packs
9. 4 I-Chargers ( 1 as a spare, now in use to recharge my robot lawnmower )
10. 4 27 volt and 30 amp power supplies.
11. Tons of bullet plugs
12. 5 contactors
13. Cycle analyst
14. Key switch
15. DC – DC converter In 12-80 volts Out 12 volts
16. 4 battery medics
17. Marzocchi 888 fork ( Pimped with a stronger spring )
18. Motorcycle shock stage 6 RS
19. Maxxis hookworm tires
20. Custom built plug for charging the bike ( I spent days figuring that out. It was made out of a solid block of aluminium. )
21. Custom milled housing for the battery medics
22. 2 * Cycle Lumenator.

This is the bike in it´s final state, standing in the sun after it´s first real joy and not test ride. :mrgreen:

55kuhv.jpg


Here with 18*1,60 inch motorcycle rims and Heidenau K65 tires. :mrgreen:

2a4r2f6.jpg



[youtube]PsumaCujGdM[/youtube]
 
Great video and explanation. You must be happy to have 2 sweet ebikes.

You mentioned that a bigger battery was one motivation, as was the joy of having a big project. I can see the bike is also faster and more powerful.

Did you make changes to the size and geometry of the frame to suit you or your riding style? I think you are quite a tall guy?

What's the final weight?
 
Nice shop, skills, and build. 8) What is the running weight of the bike? My 5403 build ended up around 110-120lbs. I'd love to see some ridng vids. Small note- your vid something about "a real machine needs an engine like this" - but it is a motor, not an engine. :D

-JD
 
Thanks for the feedback. :)

I´m just in from another ride and since the weather is great some pictures where taken.

Range is about 65 - 70 Km on plain ground at an average speed of 45 - 50 Km/h.

This frame is longer then on the stock one. The head tube angle was changed too to make the bike more agile despite the longer wheelbase.

The battery and controller are fixed to an aluminium plate and slide into the frames bottom, that features a large opening. To prevent the battery from moving around it is strapped down to this plate and can be tightened with a ratchet. There´s no space left inside. Mounting the controller on the frames underside would give me more battery space, but on the other hand cause more problems.

At 2,4 Kw this pack has loads of capacity and get´s you really far.

161i2aw.jpg


This is the charger with a 3 Kw industrial power supply inside the big white metal box. It takes about 1 hour to charge the pack. All balance leads are hooked up to the charger when this is plugged into the dashboard in front of the charger.

1txbfd.jpg


The dashboard with 3 built in battery medics. When the knob is turned, the controller fires up and those medics are also switched on. When off, so are the medics to prevent them from draining the pack.

smxdf5.jpg


The still unpainted frame sitting in front of the bomber.

vi2zx1.jpg


The Vboxx slide in structure. This was attempt number 6 and finally worked out. :)

mu73b5.jpg


The rectangular tubes prior to welding them together. Loads of different angles had to be cut.

v7wc2a.jpg


2m67fk6.jpg


or7989.jpg
 
It was hard, very hard to lay hands on a new Vboxx. They only sell it to bike manufacturers. In the end it was the bike dealer next door, not a special type guru shop. No, just a guy that sells ordinary bikes. All the others just made promises.

Building the slide in structure for the Vboxx was a fu.... pain in the ass. Welding the thing together deformed it. Any tolerance above 0,2mm and there´s no way it´ll slide inside the support.
After 6 attempts i had figured out the order in which to weld the pieces together and how much out of alignment they had to be.
The positive effect is that even without any screws it already sits in there super tight. :)
 
you did a great job , homemade ebike at 5* level , simply perfect !
 
Man nice job!! Only thing i don't like is the seat, but what a nice result!!
Curious of a ridding video
 
Yeah, the seat. I had one of those high tech gel saddles in use and was rather unhappy with it. All my other bikes use Brooks leather saddles. They take some time to adapt to ones anatomy. After this process they offer a second to none comfort.
But off course there´s always various opinions about something. :)
 
Rodney said:
Dlogic I would love to be able to weld like that. I work in a Keller plant and see alot of fabrication so very impressed.

The biggest and most important thing is an excellent welding system. When learning how to weld back in the 90. the technology available was lightyears away from what we´ve got today. The mosfet inverter used is fully programmable.

Press the button once on the arc and it fires up with the adjusted current and frequency. The correct values can´t be calculated exactly. The fine adjustments come from years of experience.

The wonderful thing about a digital welding system is the ability to program that arc button with various parameters.

For example when you´re about to reach the outermost area of your weld a lot of heat has been building up inside the pieces. With another click on the button the current ramps down allowing a great result even at the welds end.

This is just a small part of the many possibilities these machines now offer. Any build, when you want to get really serious, will never end successfully without the right tools. That´s the biggest downside to it. I spent more money on tools then on the parts needed for this bike. Just the reamer for a precise cut of the seat and steering tubes cost me 400 €. Without it you´d end up with a deformed tube after welding. Grinding it with a Dremel will produce a loose fit.
 
Here´s an image of the still unpainted bike getting it´s first charge.

2ez35af.jpg


Simple and easy. Just plug in and let the electrons flow. All cells are checked during charge and balanced at all times. Once terminated another plug is inserted that hooks the 3 big packs in series for a total of 75 volts. :mrgreen:
 
Another pic of the finished bike getting those electrons refueled. :)

biuy3l.jpg


I just love those i-chargers. So accurate and intuitive to use. They balance the pack perfectly. It´s the noob solution for people like me that already reach their limits when wiring up everything. :mrgreen:

There´s only one big downside to this project. It´s all finished and such a joy to ride. Did over a thousand km in just one week. Approximately 87 Km per charge. So now what? I´m bored!

Help!

There´s so much bike stuff cluttering up my house. All those leftovers from this project. I´m thinking about making an electric chopper bike. The winter is coming so there´l be lots of time to spend in the basement. :D
 
Haha! congratulatory telegram
You make a fantasy homework! full marks! :wink:
 
Dlogic said:
Another pic of the finished bike getting those electrons refueled. :)

biuy3l.jpg


I just love those i-chargers. So accurate and intuitive to use. They balance the pack perfectly. It´s the noob solution for people like me that already reach their limits when wiring up everything. :mrgreen:

There´s only one big downside to this project. It´s all finished and such a joy to ride. Did over a thousand km in just one week. Approximately 87 Km per charge. So now what? I´m bored!

Help!

There´s so much bike stuff cluttering up my house. All those leftovers from this project. I´m thinking about making an electric chopper bike. The winter is coming so there´l be lots of time to spend in the basement. :D
You need to start accepting custom orders!
 
dlogic,whats the rake degree on the steertube?
 
Back
Top