jonescg's NEW electric racebike BUILD thread!

freak'n excellent.
 
Some minor goings on for Voltron Evo this summer. I say minor cause we don't have a lot of money and it's rather hot in the shed right now. Kind of the opposite to what the Maritimes are experiencing right now.

We have decided on a new tank cover. The old one works just fine, but it's not the most elegant of shapes and it really needs to be shallower at the back so you can get into a comfortable tuck. Turns out the CBR600 fiberglass tank protectors were a pretty close fit.

Honda cover on.jpg

I have to modify the front a bit to accommodate the rectangular battery pack, so that means more frustration through the use of expanding foam and auto bog (Bondo). The crazy foam experience was surprisingly civilised, with a minimum of fuss, and a few cuts with the hand saw and we're pretty close. I started work with some bog I got from the local Bunnings but the hardener seemed rather liquid and not quite right. I applied a few generous helpings around the front and came back the next morning hoping it was set well enough that I can start sanding and shaping. :( It was like toffee. So I had to peel it all off and start again. The hardener had settled and was probably a bit out of date, so it's not setting right.

Anyway, once I have a smooth shape I can work with it's over to KiM's place with a carton of piss, some rubber gloves and some acetone... :? :lol:
 
If you used a plastic one, instead of fibreglass, could you maybe heat it and re-shape it?
I have a plastic CBR1000RR tank cover here you can have for free if you can use it as it was too big for the Zero.
 

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  • CBR100RR tank cover 2.jpg
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Thanks for the offer man! We might take it up later on. We're going to be at Queensland Raceway in July, so you can come down and we can try it then.

Before adding filler and bog, I had to trim the tank cover down to fit snugly over the battery. A bit of cardboard taped in front made the shape and let me know how much foam had to go into the space at the front.



I spent more of the evening sanding and bogging, and sanding some more. It seems so futile for so long, but eventually you get there and it starts to take shape. It's hard to know exactly how far you have to go, because it's not like I can just pop it on the bike and find out. I think it's pretty good.
 
Finally got the image off my phone -


It's going to be taller than it needs to be, but I can cut the excess off the bottom till it's snug. A few more bog and sand sessions and it will be ready for polyurethane spray painting and polishing. Having a nice smooth enamel makes a world of difference when making moulds.
 
TrakDayz with Pottz on Voltron, February 2015 at Wanneroo Raceway.

[youtube]rUQNGq6NPTI[/youtube]
 
Nice footage!

It does look like you could reduce your lap times by turning in a little later and using more track (tighter to the apexes) and maybe even ride different lines. But that's just from behind the keyboard in the rain soaked Netherlands being jealous... :mrgreen:
 
It was the first session out on the bike in a couple of months. We were trying a few new setup changes, so things weren't ideal. Besides, you can tell how happy he is to be on the bike :D Pottz knows this circuit pretty good ;)
 
jonescg said:
Some minor goings on for Voltron Evo this summer. I say minor cause we don't have a lot of money and it's rather hot in the shed right now. Kind of the opposite to what the Maritimes are experiencing right now.

We have decided on a new tank cover. The old one works just fine, but it's not the most elegant of shapes and it really needs to be shallower at the back so you can get into a comfortable tuck. Turns out the CBR600 fiberglass tank protectors were a pretty close fit.



I have to modify the front a bit to accommodate the rectangular battery pack, so that means more frustration through the use of expanding foam and auto bog (Bondo). The crazy foam experience was surprisingly civilised, with a minimum of fuss, and a few cuts with the hand saw and we're pretty close. I started work with some bog I got from the local Bunnings but the hardener seemed rather liquid and not quite right. I applied a few generous helpings around the front and came back the next morning hoping it was set well enough that I can start sanding and shaping. :( It was like toffee. So I had to peel it all off and start again. The hardener had settled and was probably a bit out of date, so it's not setting right.

Anyway, once I have a smooth shape I can work with it's over to KiM's place with a carton of piss, some rubber gloves and some acetone... :? :lol:
A blue Voltron would look good Chris http://endless-sphere.com/forums/download/file.php?id=159561&mode=view
 
Hey everyone,

Not a huge amount to report but we've made some additions to the bike. Mainly a new set of clip-ons from Woodcraft. These are a bit longer than the OEM ones, and are far easier to replace. It was also a good chance to try the new Domino throttle.

Conclusion - Pottz didn't like it. When you have 140 kW on tap, it's nice to know that chopped to WOT is about a full handful. The short action of the Domino meant that it was very easy to give it the berries when you only wanted to gently feed it in. So we're probably going back to the Magura.

The new tank cover popped out of the mould today. Well, more of a crack and pull, but you know the idea :) It's very hard to lay woven mat right down into the corners of an intricate design, but I think we did OK. Few little bits will need repair, but looking good for now.

Photo-0034.jpg
 
Pottz and I had another good day at the track. We managed to sort the throttle issues out finally by installing a ~200 ohm resistor at either end of the pot. This way the inverter has more margin at either end for safety, and we removed the nusiance cut-outs on the track. We also dropped the bike through the forks a bit further still and it seems to have helped. Still tracking 65s around Barbagallo's but this isn't too bad for cooked tyres.

The Cycle Analyst seems to be working now too, so we can count the amp-hours as they are taken away.

The tank cover needed a bit of work, as there were some big air pockets in the final lay-up. So I have filled these in with resin and bog. With a bit of luck I can have this painted in time for the next tuning day. It's looking better than the other one, and it considerably lighter and more comfortable.

Photo-0037.jpg
 
Beautiful monstrously powerful machine!
 
jonescg said:
Pottz and I had another good day at the track. We managed to sort the throttle issues out finally by installing a ~200 ohm resistor at either end of the pot. This way the inverter has more margin at either end for safety,
First off great job.

Do you mean the positive and negative for the 3 wire pot both have a 200 ohm resistor in series with them? This should make the 0-5v swing for the signal wire do the same as before.
 
Arlo1 said:
jonescg said:
Pottz and I had another good day at the track. We managed to sort the throttle issues out finally by installing a ~200 ohm resistor at either end of the pot. This way the inverter has more margin at either end for safety,
First off great job.

Do you mean the positive and negative for the 3 wire pot both have a 200 ohm resistor in series with them? This should make the 0-5v swing for the signal wire do the same as before.

Yes, a 200 ohm resistor in series with the Gnd wire, and a 200 ohm resistor in series with the 5 V output. It means that the inverter will now see 0.19 V when the throttle is chopped, and 4.88 V when WOT. Before it was 0.03 V and 4.92 V respectively. There was still room at either end to catch a wiper-short-to-ground event, or worse, wiper short to 5 V, resulting in either full regen or full forward torque, but it was a bit of a hair trigger and it tended to fault about 1 lap in 6. Now with the bigger buffer at either end it doesn't throw nuisance faults, while the range of travel is not affected.
 
I installed the mounting points for the new tank cover. The cover itself still needs touching up and painting, but we're on our way to a better looking, more comfortable bike already :)

new tank cover fitted 001.jpg

new tank cover fitted 004.jpg

new tank cover fitted 005.jpg

Loving the new shed :D 7 m by 3 m! It's huge compared to the old place - I can even take the battery out and work on the bike INSIDE!!!
 
Voltron by Rick Price.jpg

Edit - Voltron won't be a the track tomorrow :( The RHS rear wheel axle nut has popped off while tightening it. It was TIG welded in place, but not strong enough. Bummer, but at least it didn't happen on race day!

Voltron Evo will be at Barbagallo Raceway, Wanneroo again tomorrow (Saturday). We still haven't painted the new tank yet, but Pottz will be testing it for comfort. Looks a million times better already :)

Check out http://www.voltronmotorcycles.com and keep abreast of all of the latest updates and news. We're going to be adding more content each week and as the racing picks up, we'll be doing race and tuning updates too.

We're still on the lookout for some floor space on the 14th, 15th and 16th of May in Adelaide, ideally the northern suburbs or Mallala itself. If you can help us out, that would be awesome!
 
Pottz just sent me a text from Wanneroo Raceway - new personal best of 1:03.7 (63.7s) :D

The new tank cover is very comfortable to ride with and new tyres make a big difference. This is quicker than the mean club 600 times and about the median club 1000 times.

He even passed a BMW 1000RR on the straight :twisted:

Edit - see video below :)
 
Never fear, Pottz is adding some GPS and accelerometer data to the video and putting it back up in a few hours :)
 
Sorry I removed it but it's only because this one is so much better......
https://youtu.be/lDHSeqxQ84g

If you only watch one of out videos, check this one out .
It'll give a real good feel of what it's like on the bike.
The guy in green is one of WA's fastest superbike riders, I'm pretty impressed that I held him up for 1/2 a lap.
The guy at the very end that you hear then see a glimpse of is on a BMW S1000rr commonly known as one of the most powerful production race bikes you can buy.

Voltron is a lot of fun! Can't wait for the season to start, fingers crossed.
 
pottz said:
Sorry I removed it but it's only because this one is so much better......

Awesome footage guys, very cool.

Is that throttle overlay correct? You never hit full beans? Looks like you guys have done some great development since the debut. Excited to see some voltron domination!
 
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