Update 2020-07-16
All the final tasks completed- and she is rolling!
New
Cable sleeves
The sensor wires and phase wires were a little too exposed. Adding some cable sleeves (and heat shrink) to them ups the protection.
RipTide Bushings
After reading the info here I contacted Brad @RipTideSports and he suggested getting the Evolve kit for my setup. I’m about 170lbs and he suggested getting the white/green box (for more carve) or the green/wine red box (for more stability) I went for the latter:
This setup differs slightly from the earlier version on the eLofty thread:
- Bushing R4 (Rear Truck & Closest to the deck) is now a Chubby and has the same durometer as R3.
- Bushing F4 is now a FatCone and has the same durometer as F3
- Bushing F1 and R1 are both ShortStreetBarrels instead of ShortStreetCones
Bluetooth Programming
Now that the Bluetooth module is installed, this should become the primary method of programming the VESCs (no more direct connections required)
Protective Gear
It’s time to get a better helmet, wrist guards, and some more practical riding pants. I’ll use my motorcycle jacket for upper body protection.
Helmet
I expect to crash some on this board, so sacrificing my motorcycle helmet for this is a bad idea. I spent a lot of time reading the helmet thread and eventually arrived at a few contenders. My criteria:
- I do not like modular helmets as they introduce a weak point into the design of any helmet.
- I like my face the way it is = full face helmet.
- I want good ventilation
- I want good visibility
- I want a light helmet
- I want sufficient protection at bicycle speeds.
The 7iDP M1 checks all these boxes. It comes in just shy of 2lbs (less than 1kg) and provides a very comfortable fit. Highly recommended.
Wrist Guards
187 Killer Pads- The Wrist Guards:
I tried the Triple Eight Hired Hands, but found the top ABS bracer uncomfortable as it pressed against my pisiform bone. The 187 wrist guards are comfortable, offer great protection, and work well with my remote.
Pants
Fashio Motorbike Jeans - Black:
My full motorcycle pants are a bit much and after some browsing around Amazon I came across these Fashio pants. I like how snug they are since this will ensure that the internal pads are in the correct location in the case of a fall. My one complaint is that the knee pads are a bit long and dig into my upper shin when my knees are not bent. Some aftermarket modification should address this without sacrificing protection.
Temp Sensor
The Neptune 15 BMS comes with a temp sensor. Adding this was easy and allows me to measure the ambient temperature around the electronics. This change required an update to the wiring diagram:
Changed
Smaller Cable Glands
Since deciding on the RJ-12 connector for the sensor wires, I was able to move from the PG13.5 to the smaller PG11 cable glands. This allowed for smaller holes in the enclosure (which is always nice) while still capturing the three phase wires and the sensor wires. This change required an update to the dimensional drawing:
Complete
Updated firmware to v5 and Tested
The biggest outstanding issue was the cogging of the motors. As I mention in my previous post, I found a post which sounded very similar to the issue I was having with my SV6 VESCs. I was able to update to firmware v5 and can confirm that the cogging problem now appears to be totally addressed. To be clear, I used VESC tool v2.06 for firmware updating.
Verified functionality of Bluetooth module
Before closing things up, I needed to make sure that I could program my VESCs using the Bluetooth module. Surprisingly, the hardest part of this was side loading the .apk file. For some reason the file browser on my phone would not install the .apk file (although I have sideloaded apps before). I needed to resort to installing the app using the Android dev tools in order to get the app in place, but once added, configuration was easy.
Before doing any programming, I simply started up the app and connected the Bluetooth module. At this point, my VESC programming was lost and I need to reconnect my laptop to the VESCs to run through the configuration again (I probably could have programmed with the phone, but wanted to walk through a known good solution first). In reading some other threads it appears that this is not entirely uncommon and the initial connection with the Bluetooth module will reset VESC programming. After reprogramming with the laptop, successive connections with the phone were easy and successful with no further instances of resetting.
Mount cable glands to enclosure
I was able to mount the cable glands in the designated spot in the enclosure. Internal clearance was not a problem at all:
Externally, however, they do protrude somewhat far vertically. Overall, however, I’m happy with the result:
Mount enclosure to board
First, I had to comb down the wires internally to ensure I had the proper clearance and make sure none of the components moved inside the enclosure while it was being attached:
After attaching the enclosure to the board, the cables were connected between the enclosure and the motors:
As stated above, to ensure the protection of the sensor wires and phase wires, some additional cable sleeves were used. This cleans up the external wiring quite a bit:
Route motor cables to avoid motor contact
Although the motors ship with cable sleeves installed over the motor cables, these sleeves would hang dangerously close to the motor CANs and often contact these CANs when in a hard carve. To avoid this contact, I used a makeshift bracket on top of the rear baseplate along with a velcro strap to hold the motor cables flush to the underside of the board. Longer term this makeshift bracket will be replaced with a permanent bracket as part of the mounting hardware for the brake lights.
Test ride
After pulling this all together I was able to take a short test ride and it was AMAZING. Here’s my initial impressions:
- Off the line speeds are underwhelming, but at about 5mph things really pick up
- Brakes were great out of the gate
- Carving is so much fun
- Things started to get squirrelly at about 18mph
- With the remote on (M)edium, I cannot max out my speed before board stability becomes an issue. (H)igh is just crazy time. Wheels up & no load (bench test), 95% duty cycle = ~42mph.
RipTide bushings installed
After adjusting the preload and getting the feel for the stock bushings, it seemed time to move over to the new RipTide bushings. Installation was mostly easy, but as mentioned in the thread I link to above, the seating for the R1 bushing (the farthest from the board on the rear truck) has just slightly too small a diameter for the supplied ShortStreetBarrel. I convinced it to go in eventually but it took a lot of patience and elbow grease. Also, the fender washers supplied were just a little too small for the diameter of the StreetBarrels and ShortStreetBarrels (F1/F2 and R1/R2) so I reused the fender washers from the eLofty kit (which have a slightly larger diameter). Here’s how it turned out:
Front:
Rear:
How does it ride?
- Stock bushings had a “float” in the middle (like the drift in old rack and pinion steering). This is totally gone.
- Carving is more predictable and progressive. Getting into and out of a carve feels like a much smoother transition.
- The front truck initiates the turn and the rear follows. This is noted elsewhere on this forum and makes for a more predictable carve.
- Stability at speed moved from about 17.5mph to about 23mph. This is just the very beginnings of speed wobbles. Higher speeds may be possible with more preload and smooth roads.
Thanks for the great ride Brad @RipTideSports
Help Needed
Nothing right yet
What’s Next
- Experiment with optimizing motor settings
- More riding
- Pull, clean, and reseat the bearings after break-in.
- Tear down, sand, and paint
- Regrip
- Build a custom mount for the motor wires and brake lights
Research
Nothing right now