It's been a few weeks... got back from my holiday in Europe without being robbed (trust be it's a good thing =) but the queues in Paris is balls...
I've finished my build with a centre frame made out of sheet metal (cheap galvanised steel). it measures 13.5cm wide so still room to pedal (although my feet sit on the middle/edge of the pedal until I get used to it).
Here's some build pics :
Bought an Irwin sheet metal nibbler (cuts sheet metal for $100)
I bought a sheet metal bender ($80) to do it properly :
Did some frame templates out of cardboard.
lid design (my design isn't that complex)
test fit 1 :
I can fit another 2x 5800mAh lipo in there (waiting for stuff to be delivered sucks =/ )
Test ride to work today
On the way home I decided to take a snap in the local park :
I used some automotive rubber hose cut up to protect the frame. Then some hose clamps through some slits in the metal to clamp it down. 2 at the bottom to hold it down and 1 at the top near the back to stop sideways movement. I've burned through about 150 cable ties, 100m roll of duct tape and about 5 Litres of good whiskey.
So far so good. I've got way too many cables to jam into the triangle at the moment (should make it fit if I shorten the cables) but balance cables are everywhere... it's a frocking mess. So I've left the controller in a bum bag under the seat. Waiting on a large 21cm wedge saddle bag to make it all fit nice (Ebay + Hong Kong == whenever it arrives, it arrives... But hey... It's cheap ).
The ride difference between having the weight on a rear rack/pannier compared to in the centre frame is like night and day. Heaps more manoeuvrable and less bumpy (probably since I have a hard tail). Its also reduced the tendency to lift the front wheel (since weight is now more centred) but still bunny hops a bit if you punch the throttle from stand still. If you have your weight on a rear rack, make the change to centre triangle. You won't regret it.
When the 2 extra batteries come in I'll try to fit the controller and all connectors into the triangle, but so far it's good enough to get to work and back.
Thanks for all the help guys, it's been a great experience and heaps of fun (except the being doored part) =)