Electric Bike V2
It's Bigger, It's Badder, It's... actually kind of terrifying.
We learned a lot about mechanical engineering from our first project, and we used it to springboard us into a much more ambitious conversion.
The Bike
The bike we will convert this time is a circa 1970s Rokon Trailbreaker. Before the 3hp 2 cylinder engine stopped working, this thing was a beast. This bike features a two-wheel drive system and a very torquey gearing configuration, allowing it to climb any hill. It had a very low top speed, but can tow just over 1000 lbs according to it's description on the company website.
The Plan
We now generally know how to build an EV, so we want to try and extend that knowledge and optimize the power we can get from that drivetrain. The bike is geared heavily for torque, and electric motors are already much more capable of torque. We want to gear it down so that it maintains its power, but also has a higher top speed. We are also going to tackle a new challenge of building our own battery pack from scratch. Finally, we want to work on the finish and give it a much higher quality paint job, as well as reupholstering the seat.
Getting Started
The first step we took was restoring the body the best we could. the bike was last registered in 1980, so there was a lot of rust damage, chipped paint, and broken parts.
At this point in time, we've finished most of the restoration. In the future, I'll go more in-depth in the upcoming days.