The continuing nuggets bike build...
I got busy with the lathe this morning to make a few spacers. All for the motor mount.
First I cut a spacer for the bottom bracket. I was having an issue where the bearings could move side to side inside the bottom bracket, so I cut a spacer to make the outside bearing stay in place.
This spacer really did a nice job of making the bottom bracket feel solid. It spins nicely, and doesn't have any play in it now.
Next I cut a couple of spacers so that I can replace the weird 4 bolt setup on the motor mount with two long and strong through bolts. Here's all the spacers.
The long spacers will replace this threaded piece... See how I have set the spacer there.
I ordered a 2' x 4' kydex sheet to use to build the battery box. While I am waiting for that, I put it all back together, and put the battery bag on the bike. Then I took it for a shakedown ride to the local singletrack. I figured the rooty track would quickly suss out any issues.
The battery bag sucks since it doesn't fit the frame well, and lets the battery bounce around too much. It would be a great bag for a larger frame, or for riding on the street. Other than that, the rest of the bike was solid. It could use a bit more brake though. Even with the larger front rotor and hydraulic brakes, it felt a bit manic at times. Of course, when you twist the throttle, the thing takes right off.
The exposure went nuts on this photo...
You can see the outline of the battery in the bag. It was just flopping around the whole time.
The bike handles well, even with the extra weight. I spent some time showing another biker around the trail system, so I did just pedal it for a few miles, and it does surprisingly well just pedaling along. I did nearly whiskey throttle the thing into a tree, but otherwise avoided any trouble. When I stopped to check the controller and the battery, they didn't feel hot, but the motor does get hot to the touch.
I maxxed it out at 39MPH on the surface streets, and was hanging nicely with 35MPH speed limit traffic.
When on the gas, the thing feels like a light weight dirt bike. It's got tons of torque, and is a bit scary on the MTB trails, so I'm happy.