Trek Navigator 400 IGH TSDZ2 project.

[ncmired]

Back rack the battery, maybe - hate that location though.

I wish the chain case video had sound - I'd guess the case makes a sliding sound, not unlike the chain tubes you see on the long recumbent bikes.

[Retrorockit]

I thought about it. But I'm so toally amazed that the Shark battery fits inside the 14.5" frame at all I'm gonna go for it. If there's .010" clearance I'll take it.That seems to be the theme of this whole build. I love it when things that weren't ever supposed to be together fit that close.

Maybe it whooshes like a jet exhaust! That and a little gear whine for turbine effect. LOL

[ncmired]

I'm hoping for the day when the next battery revolution comes barreling through - smaller, lighter, and safer, hopefully. Yeah, I'll cry a tear thinking how much I've spent on the current batch.

Speaking of form fitting, fabricating, and fiddling, I've a 15 pound triangle pack to get to work on. Some sort of tray is what I'm considering.

Always something.

[Retrorockit]

The longer I put off doing this the better the design becomes. The knife hinge has just turned into a prallelogram hinge that pulls straight out sideways to clear the frame, then swings backwards.
I thought I would need a triangle bag for this. I'm totally thrilled that the Shark actually went into the frame. I jsut need to find a way to get it back out.

[Retrorockit]

The whole battery weight problem was soved by Turbonique in the '60s.@ 2:50 will give you a good idea of a lightweight solution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiVRv1ZPtWw
You notice it doesn't idle. All or nothing! Don't ask me what they were using for brakes. Safety equipment for some of these guys consisted of Velcroeing your ass to the seat cushion.

[ncmired]

I watched the video, then read the Wikipedia summary. I like, " if the operator left off the throttle and then reapplied it, the device would essentially become a bomb" - ouch! Then the NHRA banned it - party poopers!

Getting a VW bug up past 180MPH was quite a feat. Mostly gone is the non-aero interest in turbines (this, Chrysler, etc.), though they're in boats to a degree.

[Retrorockit]

NHRA also had a Nitormethane ban going back then. AHRA had all the cool stuff. This was a "ROCKET Turbine". No air inlet, just shoot a liquid fueled rocket engine into a turbine scroll ang gear it down to drive something. Homeland Security would pay you a visit if you tried to buy fuel for this thing.
Here's their ad for the VW kit.
https://www.motor1.com/news/99041/fo...est-vw-beetle/

[Retrorockit]

NHRA also had a Nitormethane ban going back then. IHRA had all the cool stuff. This was a "ROCKET Turbine". No air inlet, just shoot a liquid fueled rocket engine into a turbine scroll ang gear it down to drive something. Homeland Security would pay you a visit if you tried to buy fuel for this thing.
Here's their ad for the VW kit.
https://www.motor1.com/news/99041/fo...est-vw-beetle/

[Retrorockit]

Ok once again my photos went where they felt like going. This is now a caption for the photos in the previous somewhat OT post.
The bike starting to come together. The business cards at The chainring show how close the Wipperman 1E8 chain is to the 28ga. steel wiring cover at 47mm chainline. It only took 2 coffee stirrers to wedge the Shark battery in for the photo. One is at the seat tube the other at the top. I have a shop worn Bafang RH crank on it also.
The detail shot shows the counter sunk bolt at the fornt of the bracket to clear the brake cable. The socket head bolt is still at the back.

[Retrorockit]

If anyone is wondering why the seat tube is so short the Navigator series were all comfort bikes and this frame is designed so smaller riders can have a suspension seatpost. I usually have a a Thudbuster LT on it. The seatpost that's in the photo is just so the bike shop could clamp it on the workstand.One customer at the LBS spotted it as an E bike but thought the IGH was the motor. He completely overlooked the mid drive.
The photos of the fabricated chainring seem to have disappered fron an earlier post. They were there yesterday, so here's a replacement

[Retrorockit]

[Retrorockit]

Oh well my chainring picture went away again. I could understand it if Luna actually offered one for this motor but so far they don't. ASFAIK nobody does.
Any way I decided to try the 2 leg kickstand again. I loosened the motor and swung it forward, pulled all the wiring out of the way, removed the Tong Sheng torque strut and installed the kickstand.
The motor ends up all the way forward almost touching the downtube. This is actually a known mod for rear suspension bikes that don't have a kick stand mount for the torque strut to tie into. I'll put a rubber vibration pad in there, and see if I can make a smaller torque strut in the remaining space. At least the bike can stand on it's own 2 feet now. The 2 leg stand is nice because the carnks can turn all the way around with the rear wheel raised a couple inches. The motor ends up being even with the bottom of the chain guard now. Because the 2 leg stand has the bike in a balanced podition it even works on grass.
The cruiser seat tube has me thinking about putting a Schwinn Stingray banana seat and passenger pegs on it. With a long enough seat I might even be able to ride it myself.

[Retrorockit]

I put pedals on it and rode it around today w/o power ( battery mount not fabbed yet) it's geared too high. I had geared it up to 38x16t before the conversion, but needed the 44t chainring to get my chainline. 1st gear is a litle too long. I'm ordering an 18t.rear cog, this will give me the same range as my Gary Fisher (50x11-40) w/o the OD top gear and bail out low gear = to about 50x13-34. This fork is setup with a single stage stiffer spring than the GF. Not as plush, and the geometry doesn't tighten up as much in corners. Mechanically the same fork, but a different spring stack.. I have the elastomer to 2 stage it but IDK if I can find a softer spring for it. It's not bad, just kind of boring. The chain doesn't hit the metal wiring cover when pedaling. I also ordered a 19T and I have the original 20t so I should be able to get the gearing dialed in.

These motors stop assisting at 90rpm unless you mod them for more. So gearing at 90rpm pretty much equals top speed on these.

[Retrorockit]

I worked on the handling some. Took off the wide Azonic DW riser bars and put on a spare carbon fiber flat bar from my XC bike. I like narrow bars for street riding anyway. More weight on the front end and less swing needed to steer it makes a big difference. I have some extra headset spacers and a riser stem so it's still pretty upright. At 6'1" it's hard for me to tell about a setup on a 14" frame. Much more responsive now. I wouldn't buy a carbon bar for a street Ebike but it's all I had lying around.

[Retrorockit]

I did a couple things today. Replaced the big aluminum lump TS uses for a motor torque mount and installed a 5/16" Heim joint ( rod end) and a 2 1/2" draw screw with the original TS frame top washer. I needed a button head 8x25mm screw to clear the center stand, and had to rmv. the stand to install it. But 8mm goes right through the 5/16 rod end and into the motor housing ear.. I'll probably add a star washer to the draw screw help keep it tight.
The nexus cogs came today. I installed the 44x19t which at 90rpm gives a 10mph 1st, and 25 mph 7th gear. I had to put an extra link back in the chain.