It's Time...

Well, I think it's about time I posted this. Sadly I haven't been able to utilize the bike recently due to having to move to a more rural area.

I've greatly enjoyed the use I've gotten out of this little machine but as you may have read in a reply I made to a comment it hasn't received the attention it deserves. I've continued to maintain the bike in the hopes that I'll figure some way to ride it more often but after 3 months of it sitting in the corner of my apartment with the charger keeping the battery healthy. It seems I just don't have the time.

There once was a time when I scoffed at family that told me just to buy a motorcycle and get it over with. I said "I'll never need something like that." But, time has proven me wrong yet again. I am now the proud owner of a Kawasaki Ninja 650R. It's extremely fast with a top speed of 140 MPH, about 5 times faster than the E-bike. Anyway, that's enough about motorcycles, this is an e-bike blog after all.


With that said I'm posting my bike on craigslist this week. I'll link the listing as soon as it's created. I'm asking $500 for the bike since it's had it's bumps. That includes all the accessories minus the Fenix flashlight since that stopped working reliably after I dropped it on a camping trip.

You've seen the bikes history, you know exactly what it's been through and when. The motor purrs just like it did when I first bought it and the battery easily has another 1000 charges left in it.

I'll be leaving the blog up for posterity since I haven't seen anything like it for the cyclone model of motors and I think it will be helpful for anyone that is considering such a purchase. I am still a huge fan of their products and will voice my support if anyone ever asks.


A few interesting things I've learned about this bike:

1. It's power is equivalent to a 50cc scooter
2. It gets the equivalent of 1200 MPG (10 cents a charge, 30 mile range) at $4/gal
3. It's a great precursor to a motorcycle. My instructors at the MSF course said I had the best clutch control and braking ability in the class, which I attribute to the e-bike.
4. It's extremely forgiving with control. You never have to worry about the bike lurching when you give it power.



If you're in the San Diego area and are interested in the bike send me an email and tell me you found me on the blog, I might just give you a discount. :)

Bzzzt, pft..........

An interesting thing happened the other day. I was riding down the road when I suddenly lost all power. Normally this happens when my battery comes unplugged or something like that, but not this time. After checking all my power connections I checked my fuse. It seemed ok until I pulled it out. Turns out going up my hill it had gotten so hot that I had melted all the solder that held the fuse together. It happened over time which explains why the fuse didn't break but I was still surprised when half of it just pulled away from the glass. I swapped it for the spare I always carry and was on my way again. The fuse lasted about 9 months so I think I got my $1's worth.

I'll be heading down to industrial liquidators again for a new spare but it still amazes me that my fuse holder got so hot as to melt the solder without the fuze breaking.

Maintenance and Mechanical Issues

Recently I took the plunge and decided to attempt a mountain trail as a shortcut in my commute. Little did I know that only half the trail was an actual fire road and the rest was a rocky stream bed. The jolts and jars bent my motor mount and did a number on my rear wheel.

Luckily the motor mount is aluminum so I could bend it back just by leaning on it. My wheel was old anyway and I had planned on replacing it so no harm there. My chain on the other hand is another story.

After this jaunt in the canyon I was having an awful time trying to keep my chain on my front cog. It just kept falling off. A closer inspection showed it bent and mangled in three places and one of the links had nearly popped apart. A short ride to the bike shop for a new chain and I was back in business.

While attempting to adjust the chain stay that is mounted to the motor I somehow managed to bend it. Not wanted to have to order another one I decided to try and make due without it. I wasn't really motivated to replace it anyway because that thing has been a pain ever since I installed the motor. The two cogs are so close together that if your chain drops it is all but impossible to reinstall it without breaking the chain.

So far I've had no problems and I actually like it better. One thing I have noticed is that if I go over any larger bumps the chain is more likely to jump off the motor cog but that's no problem now since a simple lift of the chain fixes it. Time to reseat the chain now is around 5 seconds vs. 30 sec to a minute with the chain stay.

The Power of a Clean Chain

So I posted a while back about my accident. What I didn't mention was how my bike started making this terrible grinding sound. Well I discovered this week that that was caused by the chain catching on the motor cog and then being ripped off. This vibration was being amplified through the bike to make it sound like my freewheel was damaged. I thought about it and realized that I hadn't lubed the chain in a while. So, I broke out the chain lube and proceeded to drench the chain in the stuff. As I went along the chain action got smoother so I decided to lube the motors freewheel and the three tensioning sprockets on the bike. After I thought it had had enough I gave it a bit more for good measure and let it soak in.

Todays ride was incredible. Not only was it easier to pedal, my bike was actually quieter than when I first put it together. The motor makes a slight whirring sound and nothing else. All the horrible sounds that started after my accident went away. In fact the motor seemed more responsive and I could accelerate faster.

I've learned my lesson about chain maintenance. So if any of you put your cyclone bikes together and think the motor is terribly loud, check your chain.