Road-Trip Testing & Charging Adventure!

August 4, 2015

Yesterday morning, I decided the head out on the Vectrix to start determining how far I could ride on my 9KWH Nissan Leaf battery pack in real-world riding conditions. Because there are so few public EV charging stations in my area, I decided to head up to a particular state park. If needed, I could […]

Read the full article →

Charging, Adapters, and RV parks

August 2, 2015

This weekend, I had a chance to keep working on battery charging for the Vectrix and start working on adapters as well. To start with, I assembled the second set of three Mean Well power supplies in series to create another charger. I set all three to a matching maximum current and even 50V output. […]

Read the full article →

First Charging with Power Supplies

July 26, 2015

Yesterday morning, I got my first chance to charge my cycle with the Mean Well power supplies. First, I wired the output of the three in series, connecting black to red, black to red with automotive butt connectors with built-in heat shrink. The metal cases of the power supplies are isolated from the DC outputs, […]

Read the full article →

Charging with Power Supplies

July 24, 2015

I recently got back from traveling to Ohio to participate in the Craig Vetter Fuel Economy Challenge. (For full details, visit THIS blog entry…) One of the lessons learned on the trip is I NEED BETTER/FASTER CHARGING. I wasn’t able to complete the ride on my Vectrix electric motorcycle, partly due to the batteries not […]

Read the full article →

“300MPG.org’s Electric Vectrix Wins Craig Vetter Fuel Economy Competition!”

July 13, 2015

“300MPG.org’s Electric Vectrix Wins Craig Vetter Fuel Economy Competition!” is the headline I would love to be able to tell you. Unfortunately, it only exists in my imagination. Nope. Truth be told, I was a complete amateur who simply showed up, NEVER having been at this type of event before on a vehicle unmodified other […]

Read the full article →

Getting Bent

June 2, 2015

So, I MAY have just started tearing apart the Vectrix again… To get bent. Make a recumbent that is… After my first taste of long-distance riding, I want MORE! So far, the furthest I’ve gone on one charge is 91 miles. But that’s so close to 100, that it’s just BEGGING to be broken! However, […]

Read the full article →

1st Mini-Road Trip on the Vectrix

May 29, 2015

Yesterday, I clocked 72.3 miles on the Vectrix. One of the two people that I sold the rest of the Nissan LEAF cell modules to is Nick. He lives in the greater Milwaukee, WI area, and has the same Vectrix as I do. I mean the SAME! It is also a 2007 VX-1 and it’s […]

Read the full article →

Electric Motorcycle Roadtrip Movie?

May 27, 2015

I’m looking for some input from you. Should I make a film about riding long-distance on an all electric motorcycle? Before you get too “Rah-rah-rah” on me, let me explain the details…. To start with, I’ve shot a LOT of YouTube videos. Don’t believe me? Go to my account and watch all of them. There’s […]

Read the full article →

Vectrix: Cycle Analyst now Working

May 27, 2015

I got the Cycle Analyst working! It seems that the problem is that I never bothered to program in the sensitivity of the shunt resistor. All of the ammeters that I have worked with in the past were simple analog ones. I would have a meter and a matching shunt. It just worked – nothing […]

Read the full article →

Custom Lettering on the Vectrix

May 18, 2015

Yesterday, I was busy running errands, but had the chance to swing by the Milwaukee Makerspace. That’s a hackerspace in Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s Bayview neighborhood. I wanted to stop in to see if I had left my Solar Death Ray there. I had promised a friend that we would use solar power to burn his shirt […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →