mr neutron Posted April 1, 2014 Report Share Posted April 1, 2014 I wasn't sure if this has been covered or not. At a local trial here in the Pacific Northwest of the States, a man pitted next to me with two very interesting bikes, Naturally, I forgot to bring a camera that day, and further forgot my new "smart" phone is also a camera. I wish I'd taken some video or photographs of these bikes that day...... An interesting thing, to me, was that these motorcycles were both hand built. Things like the suspension & brakes were sourced, but the frame, swingarm, plastics, & such were built by the man parked next to me in the pits. He's an engineer/welder/fabricator/designer, and did what I considered a very good job at building his electric trials bikes. One bike was his "prototype", and was ridden by his son in the Novice class. The son actually won the class on that day, beating his father on the more refined version like what you see in the link below. I think that particular trial was the "maiden voyage" for those bikes. The batteries seemed to hold up well, as far as I was able to tell. Between the 2nd & 3rd loops, the son had his bike on a generator powered charger for about 10 minutes, if I recall correctly. http://digitmototrials.com/index.html If you click on the link above, and then find the "Specs" button, click on that. It shows two side views of the bike, and of course, lists the specifications. One thing that really impressed me was the quality with what the builder, Ely Schless, put into his bikes. He makes his own molds for the plastics on the bike, & builds his own frame & swingarm. The craftsmanship on the frame & swingarm looked on par with most other bikes I've seen. At the trial competition I'm writing about, we have what's called "Group Checking", or Group Observing. Riders form small, 2-4 rider groups, normally within their skill level, and observe/score each other in the sections. The son rode the prototype in the group I rode in, a mix of Novices & Intermediates. The bike seemed to perform very well for the son. Not having ridden it, The only negative aspect of the bike that I could observe was the sound the rear tire made when it occasionally got slapped by the rear fender (mudguard). I think there was further trouble with a plastic cover, where a fuel tank would typically be. Again, this was the prototype version; I didn't see, or hear, these problems with the refined version that the father/designer rode. In fairness, he rode with another group of riders, so I didn't see him as often as I saw his son. I wish I had the money to order one of these. The price is definitely higher than gasoline-engine bikes, which is a bit of a drawback, I guess. I'd really like to ride one sometime. The build quality looked very good, and might possibly justify the price. The weight is definitely light, a plus for those of us that need to pick our bikes up more frequently than others...... My Gas Gas doesn't bother my neighbors when I ride it on my property, but it would be nice to be able to ride a bike like this one on my land. No one would ever know I was out practicing, unless they could see me...... Also, having had a total knee replacement on one leg, and needing one on the other soon, it would eliminate that old starting problem, for certain..... Anyway, like I said, this is an interesting machine. I don't have first hand riding experience with it, and being relatively new to Trials, wouldn't be very good to evaluate it anyway. But having ridden with a young man on one, I was impressed by the bike.I work for a large commercial aviation company here in the Northwest, which shouldn't be too hard to figure out who that might be. So I see very high quality engineering, machining, designs, assemblies, and such on a daily basis. I'm thinking Ely Schless's work on that bike is at least up at that level..... Jimmie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b40rt Posted April 1, 2014 Report Share Posted April 1, 2014 "Hooked up to a generator" Surely that should have read "solar panel / wind turbine " ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactusjack Posted April 1, 2014 Report Share Posted April 1, 2014 I look forward to seeing some real time video's of the bike in action. A truly unique project that is fantastic to see from a passionate trials person. Hope it all goes well for them. Hopefully they get updated into this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totalshell Posted April 1, 2014 Report Share Posted April 1, 2014 a couple of observations ( no pun intended..) why not have both front and rear brakes lever operated from the bars thus opening up to the after market/oe mtb specialists such as Hope.( state of the art lightweight hydraulic disc brakes) this mean feet are for standing on not twitching the toes on the right foot looking for a brake.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr neutron Posted April 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2014 I *think* , but am not 100% certain, that the reason for not having a rear brake on the left hand handlebar is that Mr. Schless believes he may be able to fix a clutch up to the electric motor. One of my friends mentioned this to me when we were discussing the bike a few weeks after the trial i mentioned above. One of the "Champ Level" riders (one that rides the US Nationals) in our club rode the bike. One thing that kept this National level rider from trying some of the tougher obstacles was not having a clutch. But as far as being able to lift the front wheel, and go hopping along on the rear wheel, he could do that...... He mentioned needing a clutch to do some other stuff that he felt he couldn't/shouldn't try...... Jimmie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan williams Posted April 10, 2014 Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 (edited) All depends on the instantaneous torque of the motor. A clutch lets you release energy stored in the rotating flywheels of the crank and ignition. Necessary because a gasoline engine won't make high torque at low RPM. An electric motor is different. Torque at any RPM is dependent on the magnetic field strength generated by current and the stator/rotor configuration. You can generate maximum torque at 0RPM with an electric motor. That'll take some getting used to. A virtual clutch could be programmed. Pull the lever and the field strength goes away and the engine freewheels. Twist the grip and let the lever go and wham, instant torque. The only difference is the visceral feedback of a buzzing, vibrating motor. Again easily synthesized. Engine drag could also be simulated for down hills and such by putting the motor in generator mode when sensed load goes negative. Increase the field in generator mode using a brake pedal and the whole rear brake assembly becomes redundant. This would allow regeneration braking to recharge the battery. It wouldn't get you much recovery but something is better than just burning up that energy in a brake disk. The only difference in the operation of the chassis would be the unloading of the rear suspension would feel slightly different due to the braking torque being fed through the chain rather than a disk concentric to the rear axle. Edited April 10, 2014 by dan williams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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