MB-1-E Part Eighteen: The Test Flight

Hi All,

I got my 30 Amp DPDT Switch from Digikey today.
It's a about twice as big as the cheapo switch I got on eBay and looks well made.

I had to rework some of my lugs (connections) to the switch since the screws are also about twice the size of the last ones. I slipped some heatshrink over each wire before tightening them up then heated them gently with the torch. I taped the connections and exposed screws well and then tried to figure somewhere to place the switch within reach of the existing wires.
I finally ended up going up and over the top horizontal frame tube and it fit pretty well like that, so I wire-tied it down.

I don't know what I was thinking, but I sat on the bike when the kickstand was down. I was going to check for pedal clearance and make sure that the switch would not get hit by my leg when pedaling.
The double leg kickstand twisted forward and flattened my CrMo tube frame a bit. I checked it out and it did some damage but should be structurally sound since it's right next to the BB and part of a very solid triangle.
I'll never do that again :(

I checked the rest of the bike as a general maintenance check, adjusted the chain just a little and headed out the door.

As usual, the bike took right off, smooth and quiet.
I rode the usual back streets, headed down the power line trail, down some more roads, different dirt trails and back home. I decided to go another round, so I rode the streets some more until I was getting a bit tired.
I headed home then decided to try another round.
Eventually, fairly near home the controller kicked in to energy save mode (reduced current) so I headed in for the evening.

During this whole ride I hadn't pedaled at all except to assist slightly on a hill or two.
My speed tops out right at 20 mph, some times a little more, sometimes slightly less depending on the wind, grade etc.

My Odometer read 17.36 miles today with an average speed of 14.4 mph. This includes the slower rides up and down a number of dirt trails and some casual riding through some neighborhoods. A good deal of the time I was riding with the pedal to the metal, right at 20 mph.

I think I could definately increase my range by being a little more conservative on the throttle and pedaling once and a while.

All in all, I feel this was a good test run and I now have a better feel for what she'll do.

My stated goals were to go 20 mph with a 20 mile range (at reduced speed).
I think I've nearly accomplished that, next ride I'll slow down to 15-16 mph and see how far it will go.

Once I got the bike inside, checked the voltage and the batteries were at 11.53 volts. I switched over to 12V parallel and put the charger on it. The IOTA 3-stage went into bulk mode and is charging away.

I don't plan to drain my batteries this low often but had to know what the limits were.

I'm a pretty happy camper! :) Fun Ride!!

Dave
MB-1-E