Wisper 905 GTS

[Blew it]

The Wisper 905 GTS

Just another configuration of this popular machine. Personally I like to see a little contrast in a colour scheme, therefore silver mudguards were chosen rather than the usual black. I like the way they pick up the silver chainwheel and cranks. They are the SKS/Bluemels full length 60 mm x 26". For various reasons they had to be custom fitted.

The wisper 905 full width throttle has an outboard bearing providing smooth operation even when leaning heavily on the bars, but this means I was unable to fit the Mirracle bar end mirror. The mirror was modified to bolt through the unused hole in the brake lever shroud. It works surprisingly well in the underslung position. The additional "Bike eye" spy mirror fitted up by the headstock, while quickly showing the presence of a wheel sucker, is not much use for anything else.

The short pump supplied was replaced with a 13" Maxair, It's carrier fitted between the bottle cage and frame. I prefer to carry my refreshments in the handlebar bag which frees up the cage for a bottle type tool box containing everything needed for trailside repairs. The big "cheek creaser" saddle was replaced by a £10 Tesco's job, It's quite narrow at the rear and I prefer my weight supported on the boney bit, I find it very comfortable even on long rides.

One final item that earns the "Gran Turismo" badge. A 10 a/h Ping LiFePO4 battery fitted into a trunk bag can quickly be installed on the rear carrier, greatly extending the already huge range of this machine. Normally the Ping battery is used as a range extender on my old Synergie Bayamo "roughstuff" bike, unfortunately that machine is currently a little poorly and is unlikely to be repaired until the winter months. The Wisper and the Bayamo share the same IEC europlug power lead, which means the 905 can be used to give the Ping battery an occasional "stir" to maintain it's condition. One small problem encountered was the Ping battery is not fitted with a switch, Before connecting the Ping, I make sure the power is off using the red button on the handlebars. With all this extra kit the weight of the 905 is now 30 Kilo's, but still rides really well.

I'm sure this has been said before, but the more I ride the Wisper 905 GTS, the more I like it!. It's also been a bit of an eye-opener on the matter of rear suspension.... but that's another story!!.

Regards

Bob

 

[flecc]

Very neat Bob, the silver mudguards do indeed look attractive as a contrast, co-ordinating well with the other silver items. That super long range potential is a unique touch too, well beyond most e-bikes capability.
.

 

[ElephantsGerald]

Bob,

Nice job, the Wisper 905 GTS looks great - very shiny and spangly!!

I wish my 905SE looked like that - its currently covered in mud-splats and quite a bit of cow poo after following a dairy herd up the lane last week!! I've found it almost impossible to clean the muck out of the cable wraps that run under the down tube.

Does the 30 kilo's include the extra battery?

How did you modify the mirror to fit onto the brake lever shroud?

Regards,

Elephants

 

[eddieo]

I look at the picture and wonder were the 30Kg is...the battery? is it a solid frame? lol

To heavy for me man

Also IMO it just looks to austere....almost retro/pre war. I noticed in another wisper thread were someone posted links to sources for what looked like identical Chinese frames, and they had some much nicer colour schemes that lifted it a little......in particular a black and silver one which with the silver guards would look OK - but the weight!

 

[dicklaiwisper]

I believe 30kgs is for the bike with two batteries.

Great picture and slef improvents!

I believe 30kgs you mean was the bike with two batteries, but not one.

 

[the_killjoy]

What was the problem with fitting the mudguards ?

 

[Blew it]

Hi All,

Thanks for the compliments, very much appreciated.

In answer to your questions, yes, the photo is a bit misleading as the extender battery is not shown fitted. When the extra battery is mounted the bike weighs 30 kilo's, but still retains it's agility.

The Mirracle was modified by sawing off the wedge portion of the handlebar spiggot, (Only the wedge and no more, If you saw off right back to the large diameter thats abutts against the bar end, your thumb will foul the mirror arm when you open the throttle). The brake lever shrouds have an unused hole presumeably for fitting a long arm mirror, a blanking plug in the top needs knocking out. ( you can't use a long arm mirror as it would foul up with the gear indexer lever). The long bolt supplied for the handlebar spiggot might look like a M4 but it's not, It's 3/16 Whitworth 24 TPI believe it or not. As a Model Engineer and lifelong member of the "Ancient order of the golden magpies" it was easy to find a shallow nut to fit on top of the shroud. You could use the barrel nut provided, the indexer lever will still clear it.

Fitting the mirror: put the long bolt through the mirror arm as per the instructions, next is a household tap washer, offer the assembly up through the shroud and secure with a nut on the top. Tighten the bolt enough to squidge the tap washer a bit, this will give a little frictional resistance to enable re-positioning the mirror when accidentally catching your knee on it when passing through kissing gates etc. When happy with everything, saw off the excess bolt length and dress the cut end so as not to cut your gloves or thumb when shifting. You'll need to set the outrigger arm slightly forward of the handle bar line, so that your thumb doesn't catch it when opening the throttle. Use the two other adjustments to set the final position. If you decide to go ahead with this mod, PLEASE give it a good dose of looking at and thinking about before taking a hacksaw to it. Think and measure twice....cut once!!.

Now, about those darned mudguards. Tomorrow, I will take some photo's and post them, a single photo being worth a thousand words.

Regarding the other comments. Even critical comments are constructive, so I really don't mind. The "look" is not everybodies cup of tea, but it was what I was aiming for and I'm pleased with it. Yes, the machine is heavy when fitted with the extra battery. Let's put that into perspective. I'm 66 years old and would never curtail my half day 40 mile rides for the sake of a bit of extra battery power. I would further add to that, my own weight is 76 kilo's which means the gross vehicle weight is still less than with a heavier rider of which there appears to be plenty about!. The primary reason for mounting the extra battery, was not entirely about extending the range of the Wisper. The machine that normally uses the Ping battery is currently out of use, and I wanted to use the Wisper to stir the chemistry of the Ping to keep it in good condition.

It is purely coincedental, but, as Flecc points out, the POTENTIAL for long range touring is there if needed. Okay guys, it's teatime, catch you later

Bob

 

[Saddlesore]

If the picture was taken outside your council tenement block I shall be sending you a begging letter forthwith!
The bike looks very nice and reminds me of a Vincent Motorcycle and I'd like to know more about adapting alternative batteries for other bikes such as my Ezee Forza as an alternative to forking out nearly £400 for a backup:

 

[Blew it]

Hi saddlesore,

No, that's not my front door!




...It's the entrance to the servants quarters.



I've now got a headache from learning how to post pics.
Unless somebody can help out with a link back to "Jeremy's" excellent thread about the Ping battery, you'll have to bear with me while I figure it out.



I'll post more about the Ping battery later.

Regards

Bob

 

[Blew it]

To Eddieo

Hi Eddieo,

You obviously have a good eye for a handsome bike.

I found a bike on the 'net a couple of years ago that I felt looked really cool.

I haven't the foggiest idea where the pic came from. There is no name on the machine so it must badge marketed. The one thing I do know is, if it was available I would buy one tomorrow!. It was also partly responsible for the inspiration in developing the Wisper 905 GTS look.

I'm quite sure you won't agree with me, but here's the machine anyway.

Handsome brute isn't it.

Regards

Bob

 

[poppy]

Tucano Carrera

Hi Eddieo,

You obviously have a good eye for a handsome bike.

I found a bike on the 'net a couple of years ago that I felt looked really cool.

I haven't the foggiest idea where the pic came from. There is no name on the machine so it must badge marketed. The one thing I do know is, if it was available I would buy one tomorrow!. It was also partly responsible for the inspiration in developing the Wisper 905 GTS look.

I'm quite sure you won't agree with me, but here's the machine anyway.

Handsome brute isn't it.

Regards

Bob

Hi Bob!
I am Poppy. The bike is a Tucano Carrera. Well, at least that´s what it says in the decals And i own one. Bought it last December. You can look up the specs on WWW. Tucanobikes.
Regards.

 

[eddieo]

Hi Eddieo,

You obviously have a good eye for a handsome bike.

I found a bike on the 'net a couple of years ago that I felt looked really cool.

I haven't the foggiest idea where the pic came from. There is no name on the machine so it must badge marketed. The one thing I do know is, if it was available I would buy one tomorrow!. It was also partly responsible for the inspiration in developing the Wisper 905 GTS look.

I'm quite sure you won't agree with me, but here's the machine anyway.

Handsome brute isn't it.

Regards

Bob

A brute maybe....lol

They do say beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Sorry but I still don't like that paint job, its to much, and looks cheap IMO.

Bike I liked was on the "wisper clone" thread, where a few people posted links to identical looking Chinese product ( including hopefully this one below) that I liked and I think would look OK with your silver mudguards.

I need two bikes and there is no way my wife will ride a bike like that. I would prefer identical bikes and maybe one with a more female style frame... As I wanted the battery range to be similar.

I weigh over 16 stone so...weight for local riding not important, BUT primarily I want the bikes for my motorhome trips and payload weight is a real problem

Well picture kind of worked, although image not great quality.....Maybe wisper will do me a special edition to stop me posting lol lol

 

[Blew it]

Poppy

Hi Poppy,

Thank you so much for your help with a name for this machine. I have found the website, and now have the full specification, and I have to say it's quite impressive. I still think it's a very handsome looking machine and I'm sure you are a proud owner of yours.

The photo I had on my hard drive was extremely high resolution, but It had to be reduced for uploading to Flickr and of course posting on this forum. Will I buy one?, well, It's getting a bit crowded in the "stable" with all the bikes I already have, so I'll have to be a bit sensible before looking into importing one from Spain.

Thank you once again for your help in identifying the machine and it's good to see you posting on the forum again.

Best wishes

Bob

 

[eddieo]

Mmm...... Approx £900....... The colour scheme is growing on me! lol

Is there much difference in spec between this Spanish bike and a wisper 905SE?

 

[poppy]

Hi Poppy,

Thank you so much for your help with a name for this machine. I have found the website, and now have the full specification, and I have to say it's quite impressive. I still think it's a very handsome looking machine and I'm sure you are a proud owner of yours.

The photo I had on my hard drive was extremely high resolution, but It had to be reduced for uploading to Flickr and of course posting on this forum. Will I buy one?, well, It's getting a bit crowded in the "stable" with all the bikes I already have, so I'll have to be a bit sensible before looking into importing one from Spain.

Thank you once again for your help in identifying the machine and it's good to see you posting on the forum again.

Best wishes

Bob

Bob: I don´t want to discourage you, but i´m not satisfied with the bike. Main problems:
!. Heavier than the 21.3 kg of the specs. 2. You´ll have to do a frequent complete tighteninh and adjustment of all the components. 3. Motor stutters and cuts out on long not steep hills. 4. Not very manageable- you have the impression that the bike controls you. 5. Battery gauge unreliable. 6. Aftersales service is non existent-don´t respond to mails (I think they don´t know squat about ebikes)...
Given the ratio of exchange pound/euro you might find it cheap....
It may interest you to know that this is the company that in Spain is distributing the Wisper clone that David Mail (Wisper)is complaining about.
I´m trying to get rid of mine!

 

[poppy]

Mmm...... Approx £900....... The colour scheme is growing on me! lol

Is there much difference in spec between this Spanish bike and a wisper 905SE?

Hi, I am Poppy and I owned one of those clones.
On paper they differ in the battery-better one that of the Wisper. Actually the main difference lie in the quality of the components, assembly and supervision. Not to mention after sales service. i had one and had to send it back.

 

[Blew it]

Hi Poppy,

Thanks for the advice, sounds like a major re-engineering job.

" All that glitters is not gold!" (or black and silver!)

Think I'll give it a miss, after all, I have the real thing here now.

Take care

Bob

 

[Blew it]

For "Elephants"

Hi Elephants,

Here's a pic showing the modded mirracle.

Hope it helps.

Bob

 

[Blew it]

For "Killjoy"

Hi Killjoy,

When the Wisper is configured to "city" form, two very long lower stays run forward and under the brake caliper and are anchored behind the front wheel nuts. I don't like the idea of tightening the stay eyes against the drop-outs, also, the SKS stays are not long enough to reach the wheel spindle. The dropper bracket that fits to the lower fork yolk was too short to allow the close touring type fit I wanted. But first, an old engineering adage!.

"There is always more than one right way to achieve a satisfactory solution"

The short bracket was removed and a new, longer one made from 1.5 mm stainless sheet, the length will determine the distance of mudguard from tyre. The new bracket was re-fitted to the guard using M4 stainless nuts and bolts.

Two angle brackets made from the same sheet were bolted to the back of the fork legs using the existing threaded holes, these are blind holes so the S/S bolts will need to be the correct length. The V stay "secuclips" are bolted to these brackets. With the upper stay temporarily attached to it's stay bracket on the guard, it will be found the lower stay will not line up with the lower stay bracket. The angle of the V stays is fixed by the molded on Secuclips. You could move the lower stay bracket further up the guard, but this would leave the bottom of the guard flapping about in the wind!, if it catches the tyre, the secuclips will release and the stays possibly going into the revolving spokes ( not good!). Now, remember the adage in my preamble. I decide to put a dogs leg in the lower stay so that it lined up with the lower stay bracket. I experimented first with hard drawn copper wire to get the angles right and then bent the stays to match, both stays need to be exactly the same angles to look right. With all stays temporarily fitted, mark the stays were they need to be cut. leave enough length for the rubber end caps to be fitted. remove the stays and cut to length. You can now fit the guard, line everything up nicely, and tighten all fixings.

The rear guard has a cutaway on it's lower R/H side for clearing a chain guard. This looked unsightly so 60mm was sawn off leaving just the upper curve of the cutaway which fits nicely down against the chainstay and allows the phasing wires to the motor to pass on the inside of the chainstay. The 905 comes fitted with a short crud catcher bolted to the frame, I couldn't be bothered to remove the wheel, so a M4 allen key was shortened to enable removal of the two bolts, a bit fiddely. A hole was drilled in the mudguard to coincide with the lower bolt and secured to the frame using the bolt just taken out. I decided to make another angle bracket for the sliding bridge, as using the second, upper threaded hole in the frame would bring the guard to close to the brake cable boot. After all this complicated stuff the V stays were easy, they just chummy up with the carrier brackets onto the rear dropouts. When cutting the stays remember to leave enough length for the rubber end caps. Line everything up nicely and tighten all fixings.

I'm going to have a look at some mudflaps to provide additional mud catching, but of course you can buy mudguard sets which include flaps.

The rear guard was straight forward, but to clarify the method for the front, here's a pic

I expect that's as clear as "mud"

Regards

Bob

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Love it!

Hi Bob

Just thought I'd add my two penneth.

I think the GTS looks wonderful, congratulations! Great photograph.

I'll put you down for a set of Wisper panniers and handle bar bag when they arrive in about 3 weeks, please accept them as a thank you!

Can we use the image?

All the best David