Ended up changing out the rear blinkers as the base ones with rubber boots are pretty much crap. Yes they blink well without a flasher relay, but they break easily at the stems and if tightened enough to stay firm the post will pull out of the blinker material.
So I ended up ordering some more set screws and other pieces I thought I could use but ended up buying most of the pieces from Home Depot. End result? Used a double set screw for each location with locktite red, the 2nd screw to keep the first in place. Had to adjust the tire and take the chain off to work on it but that wasn’t too bad. Also added a collar lock tight against the sprocket to keep the sprocket from moving should the key find someway out again, which may be unlikely as I added an end cap to the shaft as it is a threaded 7/16-20 shaft. The concern with the shaft cap is that is clockwise to the view while the rotation is counterclockwise so it does have the potential to unscrew despite the additional locktite on it.
So finally got around to making a basic sprocket cover from an aluminum roll, replacing last week’s venerable card-board cover. Also swapped out the bottom cover to protect the motor from road debris. Haven’t decided if i will keep it or go with an acrylic side panel so the sprocket is visible.
So looking to improve on the off-the-mark performance (the 10 T front to 40 T rear was pretty good but the chain kept impacting the swing arm) I swapped out the front sprocket to a 16 T and then replaced the rear sprocket with a 46 T as the 16:40 ratio was just too slow at start.
Seems a bit faster off the mark but I think i need to reprogram the throttle control again and start with the default (linear) curve to see how the throttle responds when riding. I feel like i’m getting a bit of herky jerky motion on start just with a basic throttle twist.
You’ve heard of Dark Helmet, now you can meet the Green Helmet. For the first public viewing (and future ones) I finally broke out the never been worn Green Helmet … no green lights yet but i have a couple spares from the accent lighting on the bike.
So finally getting around to making a sprocket cover, bottom plate, and cowlings to cover the batteries (to keep the sun off). Started with some basic CADD work (cardboard aided design and drafting). Drove it about 11 miles with the bottom plate and sprocket cover on but not the battery cowlings as they are not as rounded out or secured yet.
Also a good example of the throw pattern of chain oil when the motor is under load. Never underestimate the power of centrifugal motion …
Was finally able to track down a couple of standard KZ550 LTD side panel labels at a reasonable price without having to buy a net set of panels. Thank you Ebay.
So i finally got around to making a little chain slide from 1/8th inch thick 1/2 inch wide heavy weight plastic, and had a heck of a time trying to install with the chain in place. Since it was easier to take the chain off i replaced the 10 tooth sprocket (which is the cause of needing a chain slide in the first place) with a 16 tooth sprocket. The 14 tooth i have actually would not fit on the shaft as there seems to be some minute lip that I can feel with my finger but not see that keeps it the end of the shaft from going all the way through the bore.
The bad part is now i have a 2.5:1 sprocket ratio (rear to front) where I had a 4:1 sprocket ratio before. Without making adjustment to the throttle I note that with the 10 tooth sprocket i had better acceleration up the hill in front of my house and from a level standing stop. i can still get up to 50 mph easily but got there quicker before. Will look at the software config on the motor controller next as there are some adjustments i can make to call for more power on the throttle twist than the defaults I chose.
The interesting part is that I was expecting amp draw to go up and it actually went down. I was hitting about 150 amps last test and topped out around 100 amps with the 16 tooth sprocket during today’s ride.
So for kicks i put the tank back on the bike for some day pictures. This will definitely look better up close with a professional wrap ( I am hopeful that will not be too expensive).
So I learned this past week I am not a very good wrapper. It is probably better to leave this to the professionals. Have a couple of quote requests in to local companies that can do vinyl wrapping to see what they come up with but this is the pattern i want to go with.
