[Dave Koller]

Yep - I finally got in here to lurk - nice lines on the trike!

But I do like the "retro" dash and the use of "ye olde meters" ....

[Woodsmith]

You can tell I like older vehicles.
I will need to see if I have any MSVA problems with hard edges and toggle switches sticking out.

[Woodsmith]

Hmmmm, that transfer box lines up well with the wheel.

The output aligned with the wheel final drive puts the input on the centre line, just right for the motor.

[Jimdear2]

Originally Posted by Woodsmith

Hmmmm, that transfer box lines up well with the wheel.

The output aligned with the wheel final drive puts the input on the centre line, just right for the motor.

Looking good.

It's nice when things fall into place.

I don't know if reason will finally catch up with you, but that 12 inch sticking through the front of the grill with wing fenders on each side sure would look awsome. Heck maybe even the 9 inch wouldn't look too bad.

We can but dream.

Take a real good look at the quad front end I'm using on the Big 13 (i'll send you a hi rez close up if you want). You could widen it very easily. It might not work out for a front motor set up (look at one of the bigger ones if you can find one), but for a rear motor it might just be the ticket.

For a rear motor you could offset the motor to the non drive side and use a chain drive to a drive shaft with a u joint and get a usable ratio.

God I love brainstorming, even at long distance. Most of what I come up with is crap, but I do get a few winners.

Jim

[Woodsmith]

I was having a close look at that quad front end of yours. It would be difficult with a motor in the centre of it but it may save making wishbones and links.

I was playing with options to keep a rear motor transverse and central with a jack shaft to a chain drive wheel.
I have also thought about the 12" motor at the back with a chain drive to the wheel shaft. The 12" transverse with a jack shaft would be good as it would show off the art deco ends of the motor on both sides.

For weight distribution, and that transfer box, I could place the transfer box under ther seat with the range selector in a 'normal' position either between the knees or cranked off to one side.
I would need to remember not to unlock the diff when the motor is running.

[Woodsmith]

I did a quick scaled sketch to see how things lay and what the weight distrubution would be.

A number of assumptions had to be made about the front wheel size at 400mm (16") and I left out the other unknown components weight as those can be factored in to retain balance and overall weight later on.

I used a wheel base of 2m (6'7"), a maximum length of 2.9m (9'6"), max width of 1.2m (47") and a height of 1.1m (43"). These constraints are mainly to do with workshop space and trailer space but it may be prudent to increase the length a bit more to get a lower height and better lines.

With a real sized person in and the seat and motor not on the floor the trike profile is a lot higher then the lovely sleek design that Todd came up with.


However, it will surfice for now.
Using the known weights and positions of the rear wheel, 12" motor, myself and 30 100ah cells and a guestimate of about 25kg for front wheels I get a 70/30 F/R weight split. That isn't too far off with the battery pack in two lots of 15 on each side of the cockpit and can change a reasonable amount withthe addition of the rest of the structural and essentail components.

I have removed the transfer box for now as the input is too high and would require me to have a hole in my lower abdomen to let the prop shaft through. It would make getting out a little fiddly if I have to remove the prop first!
As it is I have the ground clearence at 4" which is a little low but it is meant to be a tiny vehicle.

I figured a good way to watch the weight is to buy three cheap bathroom scales and put one under each wheel as the build develops. Knowing my own weight distribution and that of the pack will allow me to determine the correct wheel weights as I go.



I am not as impressed with the front view as it looks too small and low with the little wheels and tall seating so that may have to change. I may not be vain about myself but my creations matter.


It is starting to look a bit like a Messerschmitt.


Cute but I want more of a...

look about it with a little...

and maybe some...

with a little...


I also found this which is quite cute.

Weigth distribution would work if that was a reverse trike though. But nice lines.

[Woodsmith]

I played around a bit with the ground clearance and seating position.
I have raised the ground clearance to 6", mainly because I have a ready made platform that height for the motor to sit on, and I moved the seating position forward and reclined it a bit more.

(Holy cow, Batman! The invisibilty cloak works on the Batmobile!)



That gave space to put the transfer box back.

The earlier issue of the transfer box was that the input was high up and the output low down. To solve that I tipped the box on its side so the mounts are now top and bottom. It means that the input is now at the lowest point and the output is back at wheel centre height.
The box is resting with a mount on the ground but that can be cut off and new mountings made up to suit.




As luck would have it the input is still on the centre line and running nicely under the seat position.
It also puts the range selector lever at the right hand side so I can put a short linkage to it (I'm getting good at them) to make it easy to reach.

[toddshotrods]

Originally Posted by Woodsmith

...With a real sized person in... Todd...

I think I might take offense to that statement!

Originally Posted by Woodsmith

...then the lovely sleek design that Todd came up with...

Gee, thanks - offense nullified. Yeah, it's tricky sometimes to get the proprotions right when real-world considerations are factored. It looked much longer in the first mock-up pics. One of the tricks in the sketch overlay I did was the front fenders are much higher than they need to be for adequate wheel travel. This was done to balance proportions with the much larger rear wheel. It still allowed a nice wedge shape though because of the size difference, and created large pontoon-style front fenders. Similarly, the motor would have been encapsulated in an oversized hump.

One of the challenges with electric, I discovered in designing the Inhaler, is the motor is really small by vehicle standards - even with small vehicles like we're working on. When you attempt to feature it in the overall design it makes it look tiny, or the rest of the vehicle shrunk-wrapped around it. Like it just ate a lemon! It takes some experimenting to find a nice compromise. I decided to magnify my motor's visual impact with the forced-air system to balance it with the body. At first I was trying to cut the body down to match it, but it killed the proportions of the T body - unless I were to build a 1/4-scale toy!

Originally Posted by Woodsmith

I played around a bit with the ground clearance and seating position.
I have raised the ground clearance to 6", mainly because I have a ready made platform that height for the motor to sit on, and I moved the seating position forward and reclined it a bit more.

...

I like this setup. It does, however, take a serious bite out of low and sleek. If my wrist and arm are okay I may be inclined to do some chicken scratching over that pic...

[Jimdear2]

Originally Posted by Woodsmith

I



As luck would have it the input is still on the centre line and running nicely under the seat position.
It also puts the range selector lever at the right hand side so I can put a short linkage to it (I'm getting good at them) to make it easy to reach.

Woody,

It's nice that it's all lining up, you deserve a few breaks.

But before you commit to this layout I would disassemble the transfer case and see just how you are going to lubricate some parts without drowning others and check the condition of the internal parts. When I built my first tractor I had to turn the differential upside down (another story). If I had only just turned it, it would have starved the pinion bearing. I ended up having to make a catch tray that carried splash to the bearing without overfilling the diff. and flooding the axle bearing and seals causing leaks.

I know I'm always the negitive one but better safe then sorry.

You and Todd seem to have a hand in each others pocket (across the pond is a long reach). The Idesas just jeep melding together.

Wonderful

I like what I'm seeing. Keep it up.

Jim

[toddshotrods]

Take two.

I raised everything to match your component and seating layout, but tried to maintain some sexiness. With my previous post in mind, to feature the motor but not make the nose look like a duck's bill, I kept it level and rolled it down to the motor in front. As with the Inhaler, I used the height to make the design a little richer. I also swept the fenders in to the nose with a more convex curve, and some extra detailing (the line/ridge near the bottom). Pulling the nose down to the motor too fast makes it look like a certain sex toy! Pulling the lines farther forward, and then diving them in towards the motor, gives a lot of surface to build character with. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it...