Gettin' the Blues

I'm still in the process of designing the lower battery tray. So far, I've gone through dozens of revisions in the solid modeling program, a tedius and frustrating process. Against all the recommendations of my fabrication advisors, I'm leaning toward a single piece of 3/16" Aluminum plate with strategically placed bends. It's a Gixxer - it's got to be aluminum.

Patience is a virtue, but no hands-on activitities on the bike were gettin' me down. I decided to paint the tank. I was going to fix it up right and have it shot with automotive paint, but the tank has had more work done than Joan Rivers. Multiple layers of body filler and primer were evident in several areas, so I decided to go cheap on this revision and save my money for some AirTech pieces.

Rustoleum's finest Blue is fairly close to the color of the motor and just what the doctor ordered. Careful observers will note the lack of stupid looking vent cap and tubing on top of the tank. A friend of my sons recommended I turn the vent assembly into a beverage dispenser! While entertaining, I thought some form of ventilation would be a good idea. A small mag-lev fan will do the trick, I hope.

Action Flick

I just had to do a quick connect with 12V to see the rear wheel turn under battery power. Most triumphant!

The battery's I used are some burned out SLA's from a UPS. I've been placing them on a charger to see if they can be recovered, but they wont hold a charge over 13.2V. Good enough for the demo and testing phase though.

Holy Oversized Sprockets Batman!

In order to maximize acceleration, I needed the biggest rear sprocket that would fit. I measured the clearance avialable on the swingarm and a 71 tooth sprocket would just barely fit. So to give myself a little extra room, I decided to go with a 68 tooth unit. Combined with a 12 tooth in front, the gear ratio of 5.66 is a little high, and will sacrifice top speed, but I'm not too interested in going on the freeway. If I decide freeway speed is needed later, I can always put in a 14 or 15 tooth front sprocket.

The front sprocket and chain arrived from Grainger a few days ago, but the rear sprocket from Sprocket Specialist was taking it's sweet time. After finally arriving, I nearly choked at how big the sprocket was. Had I made an error calcualting the sprocket size? I estimated the 68 tooth sprocket at 13.75" diameter, but it looked like 16" to me. You know that saying "measure twice, cut once"? Well I'm famous for cutting twice, and sometimes more.

A tape measure told the truth: 13.875" (whew!). Still looks pretty big to me.

After putting together the hub and sprocket, I threw the rear wheel in place and cut the chain to length. Sprocket has a least 1/4" clearance from the swingarm, the chain fits and lines up just fine. Even the mislocated bolt pattern for the motor is not going to be a problem.

At this point, I'm feeling a little lucky and may go buy a few lottery tickets.