The Electric Triking

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Doverhay
Posts: 306
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2018 6:43 pm
Location: TA66NN

The Electric Triking

Post by Doverhay » Sun Oct 14, 2018 7:15 pm

I very intrigued on the current position with the first electric powered Triking, perhaps the builder could bring us uptodate with its progress?

EricStarmer
Posts: 280
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2018 3:51 pm
Location: USA

Re: The Electric Triking

Post by EricStarmer » Mon Oct 15, 2018 12:54 am

I'm also interested in how the project goes, but I have to be honest, if I ever built an electric Triking (I did convert a Renault R8 to electric) , I would have to fit it with loudspeakers that went "Brrrrm-Brrrrm", or maybe put a heavy piece of plastic that made noises when it hit the spokes ( like cigarette cards when I was a (younger) kid) - the noise is a lot of the fun. The weight of the batteries alone in my Renault was more than the weight of my Triking

Weg
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Joined: Tue Sep 25, 2018 7:30 pm
Location: Huntingdonshire

Re: The Electric Triking

Post by Weg » Mon Oct 15, 2018 6:58 am

I've copied the post by Basfromasd from the old site to refresh memories.
1st June 2018
------------------------------
I have just started my build of a type 3 Triking and I would like to share some of the technical choices I've made.
For a long time I have wanted to build and drive an electric car that was both beautiful and useful. The reason I chose the Triking for this adventure is, apart from its great looks, the low weight, the quality of the chassis and suspension, the relative simplicity and the fact that it doesn't require an elusive donor from the 1980s.
Alan was extremely helpful in making certain choices for the drive train and custom work on the chassis as a result of the change from a Moto Guzzi V twin engine to an electric motor. I can't praise this man enough!
As a result of our conversations I went for a permanent magnet hub motor in the rear wheel, a 15 inch car wheel. These motors are fairly common for plug in hybrid conversions of front wheel driven cars in China. The battery pack is to be a 96V, 20 kWh Lithium Polymer box, made with small cells (the Tesla method) and the controller driving the motor is the KLS96601-8080H by Kelly Controller. The reason I chose a hub motor is its quiet operation: no drive shaft, no gear box, no cardan. The price to pay is its larger unsprung weight and the need for a beefy custom swing arm.
We decided Alan would make the new swing arm and modify the chassis to accomodate the motor in the rear wheel. I would myself make the modifications to chassis and body to accomodate the battery pack. While I was waiting for the kit to be readied I took a welding class...
When the Triking arrived we spent a few days identifying all the bits, trying to find out what goes where and determining the possible location and maximum size for the battery pack. The pack will replace the Guzzi engine and gear box. Its weight will be around 80 kg. The engine is a structural member and provides stiffness. We replaced it with a bar. The two box sections were grinded off and a box bar was welded in place. The bonnet will have to be changed, to cover the battery pack. The normal Triking bonnet would not look right, placed over a stainless steel box, instead of a V-Twin engine. We will make something like the bonnet of a Morgan F Super. I welded two steel tabs to the front bar which can be used to support that bonnet with its faux grille. My welding is very ugly, but the weld is solid and after powder coating it looks just fine.
Next challenge: mounting electrics and making a wiring loom! There is some high voltage (96V battery, 230V charger) involved, which means we can't just leave the connections on the motor controller open.
To be continued.

Doverhay
Posts: 306
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2018 6:43 pm
Location: TA66NN

Re: The Electric Triking

Post by Doverhay » Mon Oct 15, 2018 9:20 am

Those were the days, bits of card with clothes pegs clipping them onto the frame of the old bike to make a noise as they flicked passed the spokes, great stuff. I watched a youtube clip of the Morgan EV3 driving through the Malvern hills, impressive performance but sadly lacked the throb and noise of the internal combustion engine. However, this is the way the industry is going and like it or not the internal combustion engine is being forced into the history books (may be not in our time on this planet).
Thanks Tony for transferring the earlier posts on the subject, we'll just wait for the updates to be posted, I can only guess that its not going to be a quick build, a great deal of safety has to built in and some detailing on its final appearance, lets hope its a success and performs well.

basfromasd
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Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2018 9:34 pm
Location: Hilversum

Re: The Electric Triking

Post by basfromasd » Mon Oct 15, 2018 10:28 am

I have not been able to work much on the electric Triking since the summer holidays, but the wheels are on and they have tyres, pedals and brakes have been mounted.
The battery factory came to the conclusion that the battery has to be flatter, maximum height 15 cm, with width 40 cm and length 93 cm. They are still working on it. This implies a different location for the battery (on top of the chassis above the pedals, quite close to the dashboard), which means I will move the hand brake lever back, to where the gear lever is on the regular Triking. That's fine with me. I always thought reaching under the dashboard for the hand brake to be rather clumsy.
Bas

Doverhay
Posts: 306
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2018 6:43 pm
Location: TA66NN

Re: The Electric Triking

Post by Doverhay » Mon Oct 15, 2018 12:33 pm

It’s a pity you have to have the battery’s so high, seeing you don’t have to fit a fuel tank would it be possible to utilise the rear area of the chassis? Of course I don’t know what battery area is required to power the motor, but I would want to keep the batteries as low as possible. Anyway, I’m sure you’ll have fun in building the first electric Triking. Updates whenever possible, we’re all intrigued.

basfromasd
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2018 9:34 pm
Location: Hilversum

Re: The Electric Triking

Post by basfromasd » Mon Oct 15, 2018 2:49 pm

Doverhay wrote:
Mon Oct 15, 2018 12:33 pm
It’s a pity you have to have the battery’s so high, seeing you don’t have to fit a fuel tank would it be possible to utilise the rear area of the chassis?
Yes, lower would be better. The ideal position would be to use the central tunnel. Unfortunately that would require more changes to the chassis, since the cross section of the tunnel at the moment is not rectangular. More like a half mushroom.
The rear of the car is not really suitable, because it would replace the weigth of the Guzzi engine between the front wheels with an equal weight behind the rear wheel. The Triking would flip over backwards at the traffic light! :)
Bas

Doverhay
Posts: 306
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2018 6:43 pm
Location: TA66NN

Re: The Electric Triking

Post by Doverhay » Thu Nov 28, 2019 10:44 pm

Any up date on the electric build?

Richard and Pat
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Location: Biggleswade

Re: The Electric Triking

Post by Richard and Pat » Sat Apr 03, 2021 1:20 pm

I have sent for some details on electric drive units, how I wonder is Basfromasd getting on with his electric build?

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