Scooter / Moped style. Legal?

[Kinninvie]

I have a similar one and it can only just pull me along on the flat(108Kg).
It grinds to a halt on the slightest of hills.
I did add an extra battery to take it to 48V but its still gutless.
I will shortly be getting a better controller (which one?) and use my Multistar batteries on it.
As said before pedalling is almost impossible because its so low geared you cant keep your balance.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Tandem just means two people sitting one behind the other. No mention of pedals, so up to 60kg is OK.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I have a similar one and it can only just pull me along on the flat(108Kg).
It grinds to a halt on the slightest of hills.
I did add an extra battery to take it to 48V but its still gutless.
I will shortly be getting a better controller (which one?) and use my Multistar batteries on it.
As said before pedalling is almost impossible because its so low geared you cant keep your balance.

Are they decent batteries? Try lipos.

 

[Kinninvie]

The batteries were lead acid,I bought a new set but no different.
My Multistars should be better though http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=68822

 

[shemozzle999]

Tandem just means two people sitting one behind the other. No mention of pedals, so up to 60kg is OK.

from this link:

http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/marku...tml&query=electric and bicycle&method=boolean

tandem bicycle " means a bicycle which is designed to carry two or more persons at least two of whom can propel the vehicle at the same time.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

That's a blow. 40kg max then. Battery in a back-pack??

 

[GloveMakingMan]

Those rules go back a bit don't they!? Didn't know they had electric bicycles in 1967 & 72.

 

[flecc]

Those rules go back a bit don't they!? Didn't know they had electric bicycles in 1967 & 72.

The first commercially available e-bike electric motor was a hub motor made by Heinzmann in 1922.

Dutch electrical giant Philips had a prototype one a year or two earlier.
.

 

[flecc]

from this link:

http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/marku...tml&query=electric and bicycle&method=boolean

tandem bicycle " means a bicycle which is designed to carry two or more persons at least two of whom can propel the vehicle at the same time.

It's possible with one set of pedals though. I think it was VeloVision that published a clever compact tandem design built by two women which they rode together routinely.

The front rider was upright, the rear rider lower and semi-recumbent, both using the same large two angle pedals on one set of cranks. Very efficient since the rear rider would be driving the pedals though the front rider's "dead" top pedal position.

I think this was probably the only time I'd seen a modern fundamental bicycle design change which had never been done before in some form.
.

 

[GloveMakingMan]

The first commercially available e-bike electric motor was a hub motor made by Heinzmann in 1922.

Dutch electrical giant Philips had a prototype one a year or two earlier.
.

Crikey, that's going way back, the battery must have been huge, i remember using accumulators in my radio!

 

[flecc]

Crikey, that's going way back, the battery must have been huge, i remember using accumulators in my radio!

Yes, they were old car style "wet" batteries then!

Here's the 1897 Humber e-tandem prototype:

.

 

[OldFart]

Well i took a punt for the grand sum of.... £20.

Stickers say Bike Easy, Supplied by Broadribbs. It comes with rusty bits that were once chrome. A small topbox held on by some rust.
Guy said he bought it from a police auction and didnt have keys or the inclination to do anything to it. Not even check to see if it was complete.

Removing the locks to the topbox found the original toolkit, removed the lock to the seat and founf 3 x 12v SLA batteries (10Ah) in a strange case.

Checked the voltage to each battery and they are 7 volts. I dont have a 36v charger so will be doing them one at a time to see if they will hold a full 12v.

Anyone help on the ignition switch? 3 wires. Red, Green and white. Do i join all 3 or?

Indicator switches appear to be seized. No switches for the lights so assume they are on with the ignition.

I pedalled it with the switch set to on, But batteries removed and a red light appeared on the display and the horn worked.

So it maybe worth trying to sort it.

Run it on SLA for now whilst i save for some lithium batteries.

Found the controller under the front floor. eek how many wires?

 

[Kinninvie]

My e-fun scooter
I would love to put a big motor in this if anyone knows where I can find one

 

[Deleted member 4366]

There's loads of motors on Aliexpress.

 

[OldFart]

Having a tinker, My CTEK charger seems to be doing its job on the first battery. 12.3 volts so far. At least it didn't flash up dud battery. So hope yet.

Any idea on the ignition wires though? Switch on left handlebar causes a red LED to light when pedalling.

I think i will play it safe on the weight and keep it below 40kg. There is not really room for 2 people unless you sit right forward.
If that means junking the rear box and forward carrier and swapping the batteries from SLA to lithium i will give it a try. As long as the basic bike works of course.

May make it look less like a scooter. Although it does look more like a bike than the above picture.

 

[Geebee]

Well i took a punt for the grand sum of.... £20.
Anyone help on the ignition switch? 3 wires. Red, Green and white. Do i join all 3 or?
I pedalled it with the switch set to on, But batteries removed and a red light appeared on the display and the horn worked.

My scooter switch had 2 red and a green the reds were shorted together and the switch connected the reds to green for on.
Can you dismantle the switch to work out the wiring if no one replies with the wiring.
I just found this, a meter would be able to confirm if it is similar switch wise, it's meant to be a typical electric scooter wiring.

 

[Synthman]

So its looking like they are legal then. I was thinking of getting a numberplate made up with the details on.

Seen an advert that has a plate with the makers name, The voltage and motor power output. Not sure if its a shop thing but thought ideal for a following police car.
Maybe less likely to be stopped if keeping my feet on the pedals rather than the running boards?
It maybe more comfortable for me anyway.

As long as i keep the speed to around 15mph, Although that does have me wondering how i would tackle certain 40mph roads around here. Would i want to turn right on a 3 lane roundabout, exiting onto another 3 lane road?

One thing i have not really seen or maybe i have not looked enough. 12 - 16" wheels/motors that some of these seem to use.

Would the motors be a universal size? Or is it possible to buy something unique and not find spares?

Big thanks.

When I bought my bike the dealer advised to keep feet on pedals. I discovered that if the freewheel is sticking and you don't have feet on pedals, when you let go of the throttle the rear wheel will drive the chain and pedals, and as they rotate the pedal sensor will kick the power back in again possibly leading to loss of control!

I never went on roads faster than 40mph and in regards to roundabouts I preferred to stay in the left lane and indicate right.

Unfortunately I have been off the forum for a very long time because I no longer use my ebike. It has serious corrosion and other issues on the rear wheel, axle, and brakes. I bought the 125cc SYM scooter I wanted last year and have put a significant amount of miles on it. It has not let me down once, is extremely fast and powerful, capable of carrying more stuff, and in nearly 18 months I've covered 50% more distance than I did on the ebike in 3.5 years.

At some point I would like to get my old ebike going again but I fear how much more it has deteriorated since I last used it.

 

[OldFart]

Thanks Geebee, The ignition switch is a plastic block thats sealed with hot melt glue or similar.
I have no idea how many wires run to the motor. Guessing its an old bike and just 2 wires. Not one of these fancy modern motors.

Lights appear to be standard bulbs not LEDs so they will be swapped.

A partially seized slider switch on the left i presume is the indicator. Another smaller red switch. With it on i pedal and a red led on the dash lights up.
No idea what thats for?

Looks like the batteries will be charging for a few days. I dont want to fry them so chose the bike battery option on my charger. And having to charge one at a time. damn..

Battery connector is a standard 240v kettle style plug. Silly i thought. What if someone plugged the battery or scooter into the mains...eeekkk..

Thanks Synthman, I have not looked underneath yet. I do hope its not rotten.

 

[OldFart]

Test meter across the battery plug. One side gives continuity on the green wire and the other gives continuity on the white wire.

Battery charging in the shed so no reference as to which is + and - though.

I will check as much as i can before attaching the batteries.

Silly me, Just thought the negative would give continuity to the battery/switch because it will earth through the bulbs..

Silly me. Must be bedtime.

 

[Geebee]

The red led will most likely just be the power on led as they often run regen and the bike will just see it as power on.
The regen, if you live some where hilly basicly removes the Peukert effect allowing a 12 amp battery to give an easy 12 ah of power instead of closer to 6 ah. One possible issue is I dont know how the Lipo's will cope with a fairly crude regen, on mine the voltage would almost go off scale on steep hills.