More Badsey EMX Racer Information
Below is a collection of more Badsey EMX Racer information I have collected from various mailing lists:
From: "Allen, Todd" <todd.allen@m...>
Date: Tue Sep 4, 2001 8:48 pm
Subject: the Badsey racer experience - part IHi, I just started reading this group and was surprised to see how vibrant it is and the fair amount of talk about Badsey scooters. I was invited to this group by a scooter enthusiast Steffan Carroll over a year ago but blew it off cause I thought it was Zappy only stuff. Seeing what's here I wish I hadn't, but I'll try and make amends.
I've been riding a Badsey racer for a year and a half, roughly 3500 miles, and thought I'd share my experiences. I've grown to mostly love the damn thing, but it has not been without pain.
I ordered direct through John Limbocker. I came very close to cancelling my order when they instantly charged my credit card but didn't send the scooter. He reversed the charges and a few months later when the scooter was finally ready e-mailed to confirm my order.
I'll start with the good things, much was immediately apparent, some was learned later:
The aluminum parts are excellent, thick stock, nicely machined & polished. The fiberglass bodywork is likewise excellent, solid, smooth & glossy. The wheels look great, beefy with big axles and large removable sealed bearings. The charger is 36v, 10 amp automatic with indicator lights. It uses an anderson connector to the scooter which works great. It's hefty, but portable in a pinch. I think the model is a Schumacher 1036es. The batteries are big 26ah Hawker Odysseys. Probably the very best AGM type batteries available for this application. The controller is a Curtiss unit which is large and robust in appearance. The motor is a Bosch brushed pm with an open frame and an internal fan. Good heat dissipation, big brushes; looks like it should be reliable even though it's speced for 24v and only weighs 8 lbs. It's a direct chain drive, simple, efficient & fairly robust. The chain is #219, 106 links, commonly used for go-karts and easily obtainable.
[Ed. Note: I believe the chain is actually #219, 104 links.]
The front sprocket is 9 tooth, rear 72 tooth, even if custom they could be made from go-kart parts with a little milling. The tires, wheels and brakes are also go-kart parts and obtainable from online kart shops. Construction is simple & straight forward using only a few sizes of nuts and bolts. Most of the bolts are good quality allen heads that mount flush. All in all fairly light but rugged parts throughout. I'd guess two thirds of the total weight is battery. If lithium batteries ever become affordable, this could be a very light machine with excellent range. The handlebars are the only major steel part. Aluminum would be a bit nicer and more in line with the rest of the construction but at least they won't break easily in a crash.
There were quite a few initial disappointments:
The scooter arrived minimally packed & padded in an oversized unreinforced, damaged cardboard box. I was surprised that absolutely nothing was damaged in shipment.
There is no manual. I asked for one, but I don't think it exists. Perhaps they have one now, but I've learned most everything likely covered in a manual through trial & error.
There is no front brake, just a rear drum. Not really adequate for a 30 mph machine.
No suspension at all, just the big (for a scooter) tires.
The rear tire arrived flat. It was a slow leak requiring daily topping up. They said they would send some sealing goo to put inside, but I never got it. The valve stem on the rear tire was straight and fairly stiff without enough clearance to the axle making inflation difficult. They told me they would switch to an angled stem for future units.
The throttle & brake cables were both poorly adjusted & loose. Many of the electrical wires & connectors were loose. The large ring nut which holds the steering bearings in (and holds the front wheel on) was loose. One of the bolts holding the left rear aluminum arm on was loose.
The chain tensioner/guide, a small rubber o-ring over a plastic tube sleeved over a bolt, was not aligned properly so the chain was dragging directly on the bare metal of the bolt causing a hellacious racket on the first ride. Even when properly aligned, the chain never wanted to ride on the o-ring for long. As soon as it worked itself off it would get fairly loud riding on the plastic tube, but not as bad as riding on the metal bolt. The chain tensioner is a miserable piece of crap that should not be on this machine.
On my first ride:
Every part that could shook and rattled. The deck made my feet buzz on a lightly textured road. Every crack and pavement ripple hit at speed would cause the innards to smack around and the motor would cut out. Even on smooth pavement the thing screamed so loud at speed that I was afraid I would wake the entire neighborhood and had to proceed slowly to a remote parking lot to test it out. This was mostly chain noise.
Braking hardly slowed it any faster than the drag of the motor and chain with the throttle off.
Although stable, steering was a bit heavy.
The top speed, flat smooth & level pavement, no wind, as measured by GPS was 26 mph, not the promised 30+.
I came very close to boxing it up and sending it back after the first ride. The shoddy aspects gave me an impression that Badsey would soon be bankrupt again and I'd be stuck trying to make the beast work properly and keep it running on my own. It was too much money to throw away on something so miserably supported. A manual and a knowledgeable local dealer would have gone a long way towards minimizing my initial hesitation on keeping it. Even a resource such as this group would have been a big comfort.
But for all the warts, it was still fun. I had long wanted an EV. For my situation an electric scooter for city use and a gas car for long trips seemed a good compromise. I did much of my commuting & city errands by bicycle, but riding with asthma in Chicago's foul air I would often take my car when I didn't feel up to the challenge. As bad as the Badsey was, I was unable to find any commercially made scooter or electric bike at any price that seemed better for the task of frequent 5-10 mile city trips. While I could probably build a better functioning electric scooter or bike for less money it would take a lot of time and effort. I had more money than time and decided to keep it and see what I could do to fix the warts...
As this is already quite long, I'll get into maintenance issues, what's failed and what hasn't and the various small mods and things I've learned to keep the scooter working and make it work fairly well in another post.
Part II - first steps of wart removal
First I adjusted the throttle, brake cables and chain tensioner and checked all other bolts and fittings for tightness. Better, but it still rattled.
I pulled the batteries, laid a 3/16" thick dense foam rubber sheet in the battery tray (the tray fits the 24v 2 battery model) and on the fiberglass base in the nose where the third battery goes. I reinstalled the batteries on top of the padding after having put a nylon strap handle around each. They were hard to get out the 1st time. You can't remove the battery cables without lifting the battery, but you can't lift the battery out very far without removing the cables. They are packed in tight so you can't get your hands around them and they are heavy. With handles it is much easier. I put another layer of padding on top of the batteries. It takes a little pressure to get the compartment cover to lock shut, but this wedges the batteries firmly in place. That cured the main source of smacking/rattling and makes the scooter seem much more solid.
The rattling was almost gone but power would still cut out over bumps. This is annoying because once must shift their weight forward to balance against the thrust under hard acceleration. If power instantly cuts out you are then falling into the handlebars, not good. To regain power one must entirely release the throttle and then redepress it. This is a "feature" of the controller. It must see throttle input rise somewhat gradually from near zero or it will not put out any juice. I assume it is meant to prevent current spikes or some such, but it is annoying. I'd rather the controller just limit current to change at a safe rate to a safe max regardless of whether it sees the throttle setting come instantly on or not. Not turning on at all is wrong. If you adjust the throttle too hot, a rapid press of the throttle lever will be ignored by the controller. If anyone knows how to change this behavior of the controller I would love to hear about it.
I called Badsey about the cutout problem and they suggested that it might be due to the steering column lifting and triggering a cutout safety switch. One lifts the steering column to fold the handle bars. With the handlebars up it relies merely on the weight of the clamshell and controller to keep the sleeve down over the pivot. I put a hose clamp around the steering column shaft just above the collar at the top of the clamshell (the steering column bodywork). This positively locks the steering column in place. A quick release pin here would be better to retain hassle free folding. With the column locked the scooter was now rattle free but the motor would still cutout on bumps.
I bypassed the steering column cutout switch. No joy. After a couple weeks the problem got really bad, every tiny crack killing power at most any speed. I opened the battery compartment and retightened all of the wiring here. No joy. I disassembled the clamshell to expose the controller. The wires have the little crimp connectors that friction fit over the blade terminals of the controller. Some were moderately loose. I soldered them all down. The cutout problem was mostly fixed. Still large bumps at speed would trigger a cutout. I've never been able to entirely resolve this. It's a gremlin, occaisionally getting worse. I go over everything checking & tightening, usually not finding any obvious problem. This usually makes it better but never perfect. The problem might be the key switch but more likely I think the solenoid might not be strong enough and is momentarily opening on big hits. I've thought about bypassing it as a test, but it doesn't seem extremely prudent. Power cutting out is not as severe as not being able to turn it off, especially with the weak brake. The solenoid is a bit of a power waster and it would be nice to get rid of it, but I don't know what the best solution is. You wouldn't want to run big guage wires all the way to the key switch and it probably isn't robust enough for the current. Perhaps a beefy key switch could be mounted on the side of the nose of the deck and a large lit switch put on top of the deck in front where you could stomp it in an emergency. There is no indicator light on the Badsey to indicate it's powered up. Always get in the habit of pulling your key(s) to be sure it's powered down, especially if your throttle off switch is finicky like mine.
A scooter with this much weight, speed and power needs a front suspension. Especially when it is touted as off-road capable. It might ride fairly well on a putting green but it absolutely sucks on typical grassy fields. Each bump the front wheel hits can cause the handlebars to jump dramatically back and forth at any speed above a walk. If you hang on tightly to the handlebars you will rapidly break the pinch bolt assembly near the top steering bearing race. I called Badsey after having the scooter for 3 months and said a part had broken. He immediately described the part. They said the racer's warranty was very limited and didn't include this part, but after some grumping they sent me a free replacement. The new part was different and looked better, machined from a solid piece of aluminum without the obvious stress points of the original part made from aluminum with a steel insert. The new part lasted a year. The entire part should probably be steel, but then torque applied to the handlebars might cause something more expensive or difficult to replace to break.
To make this part last as long as possible, keep the spanner nut over the top steering bearing tight - it works loose causing the handlebars and front wheel to get shaky. I tighten it with a flat blade screw driver tapped with a hammer. This is awkward, there's probably a special tool for this, but you can tighten it this way until the bearings get stiff which is tighter than you really want. The pinch bolt also works loose, if it gets too loose the handlebars may turn without steering the wheel or the wheel may steer itself.. To tighten it you have to pound out the friction fit pin about which the column pivots as it is directly over the pinch bolt's head. Be sure to knock the pin out to the side from which it was originally inserted or it can become next to impossible to remove. Loctite should probably be used on both the spanner nut and the pinch bolt, but I've not yet tried it fearing they might get too stuck. Since the hardened steel pin goes through the comparitively soft aluminum top of the pinch bolt assembly (which you'll probably replace every year or two anyway) you don't have to worry too much about making the pin looser by removing it. A quick way to check if the pinch bolt assembly is loose: clamp the front wheel between your shins or something more solid and see if you can twist the handlebars. If you can, pound out the pin and tighten the bolt. Don't wait for it to get worse. If your pin is tight get a 10 inch or so long punch with roughly a 1/4" tip and a short handled hammer with a big boxy head,
You can also help preserve the pinch bolt assembly through your riding practices. Don't hang groceries or other weight from the handlebars or steering column. It's tempting but you really shouldn't. Wear a backpack instead. Ride with a light touch. Don't grip the handlebars too firmly even though they will try to wrench themselves out of your hands on some bumps. When you can't or don't want to adequately slow for larger bumps, jump just before you hit to unload the front wheel and the scooter will take it better. Sometimes a bit of extra gas (or should I say juice) at the last second helps too. Between jumping and/or throttle you can take a single large speed bump at speeds higher than cars will cross, but a series of small ripples, potholes or cracks will upset the scooter terribly if/when the front wheel is bearing load. Work on your fore/aft balance, use the handlebars for steering, not for hanging on. Never expect to be able to get any useful braking done when the pavement is rippled or rutted. Brake hard before or after but not during bad pavement. Slow for intersections as the pavement tends to be more rippled and cars and pedestrians are likely to give you cause to brake suddenly. Fortunately, leaning the scooter up on the wheel edges as when swerving usually makes it traverse ripples better.
And keep a spare pinch bolt assembly or two...
Badsey calls the scooter EMX for electro motorcross. With practicel you can sort of ride grass or rough spots by shifting your weight back and floating the front wheel. The back wheel takes bumps pretty well. Don't yank the brake while floating the front at speed over rough ground and *NEVER* forget to get your weight forward after returning to smooth pavement before resuming full speed... If you really want off road capability get a mountain bike. The EMX likes pavement. The smoother the better.
All this talk of bump management reminds me of the single best (and simplest) mod. Put a pad on the deck. I went to Target and got a 1 inch thick, dense closed cell foam purple mattress from the summer pool section. I cut a piece to shape and bungied it to the deck. Nirvana! The terrible buzzing vibration of textured roads is gone. Small cracks are gone. The edge is taken off larger bumps. The scooter still needs front suspension to protect it from hard hits, but a good pad can do wonders for your own comfort. My pad just barely compresses when standing still on it leaving most of the inch of travel for the big bumps. The pad has almost zero effect on handling or my sense of being connected to the scooter. The pad is snugly secured with 2 bungies, one at each end hooked over the wide deck lip. I use adjustable length bungies with a hook at each end and one in the middle so they are doubled running over and back across the pad. The bungies also secure a compact 4" kryptonite u-lock and a cable.
When the handlebars get fiercely jacked on a bad bump they can wrench your throttle thumb. I tend to release the throttle before bad bumps or use the back of my middle finger to work the throttle in the bumpies. I think a twist grip would likely work better, but when inexperienced one would be much more likely to get caught with your weight behind the scooter when accelerating. Hanging on would just gun it resulting in a mess.
If your neighbor begs to ride your scooter; doesn't listen when you say keep your weight forward and go easy on the throttle; insists he doesn't need your helmet, ... Then don't let him ride if the sight of a scuffed scooter and a cracked oozing skull will make you queasy. On the bright side, the scooter can go down hard with little ill effects, except maybe to put another crack in the pinch bolt assembly.
Once again this is getting long. Fun stuff like brakes, the drive chain, tires, batteries and so much more will have to await further installments.
the Badsey racer experience - part III - tires
The slow leak in the back tire was cured after about two weeks when I ran over a piece of glass that cut a 1" long slit in the tread. The fix-a-flat I had tried in vain on the slow leak came out in a hurry, creating a big rooster tail as I was going about 25 mph. It wasn't exactly a blowout, but the tire went from 60 psi to 0 in about 3 seconds. The scooter remained fairly stable running on the rear sprocket until it slowed to a stop. Sprocket and chain took the abuse fairly well.
The rear wheel comes off very easily. 1 nut to loosen the chain tensioner, 1 nut to pull the brake arm and 1 nut to pull the axle. The tire though is a pain. The rear wheel is 4 parts, the brake assembly, a large core that holds the bearings, and two rim halves. The brake assembly just rides on the axle and nestles inside of the wheel. There are 6 nuts inside the wheel, removing 3 allows the core to be pulled from the rim halves. After the core is pulled, 3 allen bolt heads are exposed allowing the 3 nuts to be removed so the rim halves come apart. Unfortunately the tire bead is so tight on the rims that I couldn't get the rims out of the tire. I was starting to think they might even be glued in. I put the wheel back together and checked the yellowpages for a go-kart shop as that was my first guess for the type of wheel. Fortunately, there's a kart shop in Chicago.
The folks at John's Karts are great. Although it wasn't a wheel they sell it was familiar enough and he took the tire off for me. It took about 10 minutes and a great deal of effort using a vice like tool designed for removing kart tires. He refused payment for the service. With the tire off the reason for the slow leak was apparent. There's a cheesy rubber o-ring that is supposed to be a seal between the rim halves but it looks like it is awkward to install correctly and I bet it wasn't. I bought an innertube in spite of the caution about sudden deflation - just did it, not too dangerous. I wouldn't use a tube in front, but for the rear it's ok. The innertube came with a nice metal angled valve stem, much better than the straight stem the wheel came with. I patched the tire, put the tube in, put the rim halves back together fumbling with the o-ring and was glad for the tube.
Although I couldn't get any better brake parts at the shop he gave me advice. Clean the shoes and drum well with brake parts cleaner. Sand them with a medium grit emory cloth removing the shiny dark stripes from the shoes and all corrosion from the drum. Clean everything again. Take care not to touch the cleaned surfaces to prevent contamination by skin oil or dirt. This makes the brake work fairly well. Not great, but marginally acceptable. Unfortunately, it's very easy for excess chain lube or other gunk to work it's way into the the brake meaning this needs to be done on a regular basis.
Putting the rear wheel on is a little trickier than taking it off. You have to put the brake inside the wheel, then get the chain on the rear sprocket without the brake falling back out of the wheel letting the shoes come in contact with the chain or your fingers... The bearings may try to fall out and you need a spacer washer for each of the bearings. All this must be held in proper alignment and then you can slide the axle through to hold it all together. The first time I did it the chain was derailed off the front sprocket and I had to do it again. The second time I missed a spacer washer for one of the bearings, the wheel didn't spin well, and I had to do it again. The hub inside the brake that goes over the axle and the little hub for the brake arm bolt were both loose which was a royal pain. I JB welded them. I also JB welded the spacer washers to the bearings. Everything goes together so much easier and better this way.
The bearings are good sized but they are low grade made in China bearings that don't spin particularly well. When you have a limited range electric vehicle it doesn't make sense to not use good parts for stuff that affects efficiency. I haven't yet sought or found great bearings but need to do so. Any suggestions?
Maybe 3 weeks later I got another rear flat. I made a tool for breaking the tire bead from the rims. I used two 4 foot long pieces of 2 inch angle iron and bolted them at one end to a 12" x 2" x 1/2" bar drilled with multiple holes so I could adjust the spacing. The bolts use nyloc nuts because they aren't tight allowing the angle irons to pivot smoothly. I mount the bar in a big vise clamp, put the tire between the angle irons near the bolted ends for good leverage and squeeze from the other end. Unseats the tire quick. Which turned out to be very fortunate.
About every 3 weeks I got another rear flat. There is a ton of broken glass, nails, wire, etc. along the sides of the roads in Chicago in many areas the pavement is too rough for me to go faster than a walking pace and I must then ride to the side or on the sidewalk and this results in many flats. Flats are a pain because I frequently have to abandon the scooter, take a bus or the train home and then retrieve the scooter with a car later. I had 9 patches on the innertube before it died.
I bought a used 92 EMX cruiser (24v & seat) that I was planning on chopping up and using as a test bed for building a suspended scooter. It was plainly obvious that the scooter was almost unused. I popped a couple of batteries from the racer into it and took it for a test ride. The steering was amazingly light at 5 mph unlike the stiff racer. At 15mph it started to oscillate with the handlebars slapping violently from side to side and I nearly crashed. No wonder the scooter was unused. I checked the hardware, it was virtually identical to my racer, in perfect condition and adjusted tight. hmm.
Different tires. The front tire of the cruiser was almost round in profile while the racer's is nearly square. The cruiser's was also a half inch smaller in diameter and an inch less wide but mounted on an identical sized rim. I swapped the front wheel of the racer onto the cruiser. It was sweet, lighter in handling than the racer and NO tendency to oscillate. I put the cruiser front wheel on the racer. Not as bad as on the cruiser but definitely unuseably unstable. I took both the front and rear wheels off the sweet riding cruiser and put them on the racer. Very sweet.
The rear tire of the cruiser was about 3/4" inch larger in diameter than the racers. Its as large a tire as can be used, it has just a hair or two of clearance. The tire also had a rounder profile to which I attribute the lighter handling. When you lean the scooter it will now stay at the angle instead of trying to push back level. I could now make a right turn at 15 mph with confidence (when the pavement is smooth) where before it felt scary at 10 mph. In addition, the taller tire gave me a couple mph in top speed without any noticeable loss of acceleration. Best of all, it rode rough stuff better. I'm not sure if it was due to more cush from the taller tire or the rounder profile but I liked it.
Unfortunately the new rear tire was made of extremely soft rubber. You could cut it with a finger nail (or glass or wire or ...). My rate of flats increased to about every two weeks. Fortunately, the new (from the old used scooter) rear wheel didn't use a rubber o-ring seal. It has a large soft plastic disc with holes for the bolts so it is securely fixed in place. Easy and no slow leaks. No need for more innertubes. Someday I'll have to find out if I can get another of these seals for the racer's wheel from a kart shop.
The constant flats were unbearable so I started looking for new tires. I ordered a pair of Dunlop street slicks in the hardest compound offered from Rieken's racing (an online kart shop in Iowa - great people here too). They had a profile that was just slightly rounded. The front was the same width and height as the racer's. The rear was 11x7.1. I put them on. HEADSHAKE again. The slightly rounder profile?!? On closer inspection the front Dunlop 11" was only 10" measured while my original Burris 11" front was 11" measured. However, the rear tire has worked great. NEVER a single flat. At least yet, but it's been over 3 months. It is not as cushy as the oversized 11.5" from the cruiser, but the street slick is a little smoother riding than the treaded dirt tires that come on the scooters. Traction wise the slick seems fine with no more tendency to slip, even in the rain, than the originals.
I ordered a Burris slick for the front. I questioned them about the sizing problem stating I really needed an 11" tire. They said the Burris was bigger than the Dunlop 11". It turned out to be 10.4" measured. It worked better than the Dunlop slick (10" measured) but still was unstable. I think the tire diameter is affecting the amount of trail. The scooter seems extremely sensitive to slight changes in steering geometry. This has made me put the suspension project on hold. It will have to be designed carefully to not adversely affect steering geometry when compressing or extending.
Still I now know that with the right front tire in size and profile the handling and ride could be improved a bit more while using the orignal fork. To make a front suspension work I'll need to use one of the smaller tires to give clearance for travel which I think will have to be compensated for by increasing the trail of the fork.
I'll eventually try another new front tire, but at $35 or so a pop I'd appreciate it if anyone who's already done experimenting had tips to share.
For the meantime, I'm in no hurry to get the cruiser going as I've had to cannibalize a few more parts for the racer. But that's another story..
the Badsey racer experience - part IV - brakes & drivetrain
The frequent flats meant I was pulling the rear wheel a lot. Each time I would have to loosen the screw that pinches the brake cable to create enough slack to get the brake arm back on. After 3 or 4 times the brake cable was frayed with several broken strands. Nothing smarts quite like stabbing your fingers with broken strands of bicycle cable. I had used hotmelt glue on the tips of each of the cables to prevent fraying because none of the cable ends had crimps on them as commonly is done for cable ends on bicycles. But the screw connector for the brake cable was a particularly bad type which would damage the cable a bit each time it was retightened. It looked like it was going to be a pain to swap the brake cable with a new one but I stumbled upon a solution at the local ACE hardware. For about a buck I got a package of ferrules which are for use on garage door cables. The smaller size exactly fit the Badsey brake cable. The ferrule is a small metal tube designed to sleeve over 2 adjacent cables. I cut the brake cable off a couple inches in front of the brake arm. I spliced in a length of fresh cable using 4 ferrules crimped with a pair of pliers. 1 or 2 probably would suffice but this is the brake cable and I wanted it strong. I inspected it regularly for a while just to be sure. I also replaced the screw connector with a better clamping connector from a bicycle that would not damage the cable in the future.
By extending the cable about 3 inches I was able to mount the brake arm turned an extra notch rearward. This puts it at a 45 degree angle backward at rest and straight vertical at full pull instead of vertical at rest and 45 degress forward at full pull. This gives a little better leverage and slightly stronger braking action. I had previously made an attempt to get stronger action by drilling a hole and attaching the cable lower on the brake arm. This gave slightly stronger braking but at the expense of a much stiffer lever. The new arrangement with the arm rotated backward gives roughly the same boost in braking but without increasing the lever stiffness.
One benefit of an electric motor is the lack of noise and vibration associated with a gas motor. Unfortunately, when my scooter arrived it was very loud. When the chain was well lubed and riding on the rubber o-ring of the tensioner it was acceptably quiet. You could still hear it from a block away but it wasn't so loud as to anger the neighborhood. But I couldn't get the chain to stay on the o-ring for more than a few miles at a time. I ended up replacing the o-ring with a couple layers of clear flexible pvc tubing sleeved over the plastic tube. This was almost as quiet as the o-ring and now the chain couldn't fall off. Much better.
Around 1500 miles my chain was badly stretched beyond the range of the tensioner. It's not a premium grade. I replaced it with one that is, a DID o-ring chain which costs about $40 online as opposed to about $10 for a cheap one. The racer's stays are nicely designed with a large hole at the front sprocket allowing one to pull a chain without breaking it. Unfortunately, the DID only came in 110 links so I had to shorten it. At each end of the pins between the plates and the rollers is a tiny rubber o-ring. To take out links youy have to remove the pins. I was unable to get the o-rings to stay aligned while reinserting the pin and had to leave them out. If there's a trick for this, I'd like to know as it causes a clicking sound when I walk the scooter. You can't hear it at speed though.
The DID chain was very stiff and loud when I first put it on. I thought I had made a mistake, but after a couple hundred mile break-in it's almost as quiet as the original. The DID chain doesn't require as frequent relubrication nor does it appear to be stretching.
I switched from using oil to a heavier wax based lube (white lightning). Oil based lubes frequently seemed to find their way into the drum brake housing rendering the brake useless until cleaned. I apply the lube very thouroughly with a rag and then brush/wipe off all excess before any can contaminate the brake. A well lubed chain is much quieter.
I've had several motorcycles and I was surprised that the scooter's smaller chain was so much louder than the bigger and much faster motorcycles. I was also surprised at how rapidly a ~2 hp scooter could stretch and ruin the chain. I've had chain last for many, many thousands of miles on a 120+ hp motorcycle.
However, the answer is obvious. Gear ratios. The rear sprocket on a motorcycle is perhaps a third of the diameter of the wheel thus the chain is moving at a third of the bike's speed. The racers rear sprocket is almost as big as the rear wheel thus the chain is moving nearly the speed of the vehicle. My racer's chain at 30 mph is travelling at roughly the speed of my FJ1200's chain when going 90 mph! Worse, the front sprocket of the racer is a 9 tooth. This is the smallest #219 sprocket you can get and it forces the chain to bend sharply. This is a lot to expect from a chain, especially the stock low grade chain.
A motorcycle accomplishes most of its gear reduction with an oil bathed gearbox. The racer puts the entire burden on the chain. The 9 to 72 tooth sprockets gives an 8 to 1 reduction. With the racer's motor turning 6,000 rpm the 11" rear tire is spinning 687.5 rpm which gives 24.5mph. The top speed is faster than that. This little motor is really screeaming.
This explains how a small 8 lb non-premium motor can put out so much power. It spins very fast. But this puts a big burden on the chain. Use a good one and keep it perfectly lubed and adjusted.
When I got the old used cruiser I was pleasantly surprised to find that it had a better chain tensioner than the racer's. A big rubber roller. I swapped it in and it works better. But the annoying thing is there shouldn't be any tensioner at all. Motorcycles have a spring loaded tensioner arm because the rear suspension causes the distance between the sprockets to vary. On the racer there's no suspension which is why the racer's tensioner isn't spring loaded. Therefore, its function could be done much better by using a rear axle pullback adjuster like is done on motorcycles. Someday when I get a milling machine I will redo the rear end to work this way.
I currently don't have any chain tensioner on my racer. I'll explain how I achieved this magic later. The effect of losing the tensioner was dramatic. The coasting range of the scooter nearly doubled. The scooter pushes by hand with far less effort, especially backwards. The chain noise was halved.
The tensioner roller doesn't having bearings. It doesn't have proper bushings either. It is a high friction device. Remember the above discussion about chain speeds. Well putting a high friction device into direct contact with a high speed chain is a bad idea. Losing the tensioner is an instant hop up. More speed for less power and less noise to boot.
Don't rush out and remove your tensioner. A slack chain on a 6,000 rpm 9 tooth sprocket is worse than wasting your batteries' precious juice spinning a hot noisy tensioner. Probably the best bet is to try and replace you tensioner with a low friction device made with bearings. That's what I was planning on doing. Until I got lucky.
I was blasting down a little hill with a tailwind and running a few mph faster than normal, the motor whining like an angry mosquito. Bang! whhhiiine Bang! Bang! whhhiiiine Bang! I slowed and all seemed ok again. The bangs were very odd. It felt as if each bang was caused by the motor momentarily trying to spin in the opposite direction although it couldn't because it was probably spinning at 7,000 rpm. A few miles later the motor started sputtering, halving my speed. I had just wasted time that morning fixing another flat and I wasn't in the mood to get off and take another bus. A mile later I didn't have any choice as clouds of black acrid smoke began to pour from my scooter. Crap! I flicked off the key hoping that power was truly cut. It continued smoking for a few more minutes but thankfully didn't erupt in a fireball like in my overactive, movie influenced imagination. The little 24v motor is good and peppy but its obviously not designed for prolonged abuse at 36v and I wasn't going to pay $400+ for another.
Fortunately I didn't have too. I pulled the one from the used cruiser and it exactly matched, except the cruiser's had a nice plug connector that I had to sacrifice since racer's wiring doesn't use the plug. This brings up a minor point. In most of the small ways the cruiser and racer differed, the cruiser was better. Nice polished chrome plating on the brake housing. A motorcycle horn. A better chain tensioner. A twist grip throttle. Better connectors on the wiring. Although the cruiser oddly came with the absolutely unuseable & dangerous front tire and the ridiculously soft rear which I'm sure were stock way back in their day. Might help explain why the original Badsey went bankrupt..
When I put the replacement motor in I noticed that the motor mount has a bit of room to shift the motor fore or aft. I shifted the motor almost all the way forward. It was a guess. You can only access the motor mounts by removing the rear wheel and the chain side fork/stay. I had no way to easily check and getting it wrong would have been a tremendous hassle. But when I put it all back together I got very lucky. I was just barely able to get the rear wheel lined up with the axle holes but when I put the axle back in the chain was nicely tensioned with NO TENSIONER! Because this fortuitously happened after I had already broken in a high quality premium chain I've been able to put on another 500 miles and all is still working beautifully. I expect I'll get many more miles before I have to resort to a tensioner again and may just maybe by then I'll have a milling machine.
After removing the dead motor it was plainly clear that it was past time to pull it anyway. The front sprocket teeth were badly worn. No surprise, that's what you get for pushing this much power through 9 little teeth at 6,000+ rpm. The answer to this is fairly straightforward.
I'll rebuild the motor for lower speed and higher torque. I've never rebuilt a motor so I know I've got a bit of learning to do first. But basically as I understand it, if I replace the magnets with stronger ones and carefully rewind the armature with the proper number of turns of the right gauge wire it's possible to accurately predict the resulting motors speed, torque and general performance. If I drop the motor's rpm 10% I can add a tooth to the front sprocket. Ideally I'd like to drop it 30% or more if I can adequately increase the torque and then I can lose a few teeth off the rear sprocket too; slowing the chain speed a bit. A slower chain around a fatter sprocket should be quieter, longer lasting, more efficient and just all around a little more pleasant.
Stay tuned. Next week I'll get around to batteries, wiring, riding in a deluge and many more fun things Eventually, I'll even get to the reasons why I've been willing to put the effort in to keeping the scooter going. It really is fun.
Hopefully, the messages about stopping the Badsey bashing aren't directed at me. In case they are let me state that my intention is NOT to bash this product. I LIKE it. It's been a real pain at times but the fact that I'm still at it ought to be as strong an endorsement as you can find. My goal is to help everyone get more out of their scooters. I'm sure much of my experience is equally applicable to other scooters. In turn I'm hoping others will help me get more out of mine.
By sharing the knowledge that we gain using these products the products will get better. I use my scooter hard. Chicago is a harsh environment for a scooter. We have asphalt melting hot summer days and concrete shattering cold winter nights. We have heavy industrial traffic with lots of big pavement wrecking semi-trucks. We have corrupt politicians. Broncos, Blazers and Grand Cherokees have to slow down to survive some of our streets. There's only a few feet of truly smooth pavement in the entire city. Since I've gotten my racer I drive my car about 1 day a month in the city (not counting the trips to retrieve the racer after flats). My racer is still racing.
Have fun and enjoy your scoots.
From: "Allen, Todd" <todd.allen@m...>
Date: Fri Jun 7, 2002 4:43 pm
Subject: Badsey racer updateI posted fairly extensively several months back about my Badsey racer and thought I'd post a little update.
For the last few months I haven't been riding my racer too much because I broke my last steering knuckle. I managed to weld it back together but it was a pretty messy job and I don't think it has much life left in it. When I had tried calling Badsey to order another the phones weren't being answered. It turns out they have gone through yet another rebirth with new management. Ray Wong is now the CEO and it seems the Limbockers are out. While Don and John both seemed personable they were rather poor at promptly delivering product or even promptly keeping in touch with their customers. As I understand it they were a bit frustrating for some of their dealers as well. Ray seems eager to please and I hope it works out for him although I wonder if they are in over their heads.
Anyway I managed to get the parts I HAD to from Badsey. Dang but the prices are too high. On the bright side I just ordered two Bosch GPA 750 motors for $172 each (the best price that I'm aware of in the US on this motor) from Dan Danknick of TeamDelta, a robot wars supplier. He was prompt and helpful in replying to my e-mails about my quest to find parts for my Badsey racer scooter. His website is good too, reminds me of the informative no-nonsense approach of 4QD. Check out
http://www.teamdelta.com/products/prod5.htm for good prices on a few other electric motors (especially the B&S Etek for the power crazed) and some nice machined mounts. Also go to the bottom of
http://www.teamdelta.com/misccomm.htm for a great links page to lots of other sources for robotic builders. A lot of the same stuff they use is the same stuff we need for building electric bikes and scooters.I'm pleased also that my switch to the DID o-ring chain has really stood the test of time. This chain has not stretched and has put much less wear on my sprockets. I expect to get at least 3 times the life out of this chain and sprockets than I did the originals. Perhaps part of that is I learned a much better lubrication method. By removing the rear wheel you can unhook the chain from the front sprocket and feed it out through the hole on machined plate. This allows you to fairly easily remove the chain without having to use a chain breaker tool. On an o-ring chain this is vital because it is supremely painful to get the little o-rings back in the chain after breaking it. Anyway with the chain off put it in a jar of your favorite degreaser, shake it up, pull it out blot it dry, put it in a jar of your favorite lubricant (mine now is 90 weight bar oil for chainsaws) shake it up and let it soak in. If you pull it out and blot it again you will have a chain that runs much quieter, faster and stays cleaner than anything I've managed to achieve in any other fashion. This treatment lasts me 2+ months and only takes an hour or so to do. I no longer do any on the scooter lubrication. I do my bicycles the same way too, works great for them as well although the super long recumbent chain is a bit of a pain.. I always clean and then soak my wheel bearings in the oil too (do them first if your chain is grungy). The drop in friction is quite noticeable.
Also my switch to the Dunlop slick rear tire has proven hugely successful. Not only does the rounder profile give better handling and the totally slick tire gives a smoother ride, but the much harder rubber compound has totally resisted all the road debris. Not a single flat ever in a very, very long time. I used to get at least 1 flat a week with the soft stock dirt tire. It is a monumental pain in the butt to pull these tires so relief from flats is a HUGE win. Not to mention the confidence gain of not ever getting stranded.
I still have the problem with the power occaissionally cutting out on big bumps at speed requiring one to release and redepress the throttle. It tends to come and go but hasn't been too bad for a long time. Keeping all the connectors in the entire electrical system clean and tight seems to help but mysteriously doesn't seem to entirely eliminate the problem. I think it might be a weak solenoid in the contactor or perhaps one internal to the controller.
My batteries still seem strong and I've got somewhere between 800 and 1000 cycles on them, although most of the cycles are only to 25% dod. Recharging after every rider at both home and work seems like the best way to go for battery life if you can manage it.
I just ordered an Xport SLX for $650 +$55 shipping from Groov-E-Skoots (Trey Hammond's offer to this list). The guy at the shop, Kevin?, was quick, efficient and friendly. We'll see if it arrives on time and in good shape, but at the moment I'd do business again with them and if I get a Volocci it will likely be from there. This scooter is going to be a birhtday gift for my girl friend but I imagine I'll take a spin or two on it and will give a report. I'm especially interested in the quality of the suspension. I hope they got it right or at least close. In my opionion all small wheeled vehicles should be fully suspened. Even the very fat tires on the Badseys are no substitute for a proper suspension. The tire pressure must stay high for low rolling resistance. Bumps should be absorbed in shocks and not just ones knees or the foam pad beneath their feet..
On Sunday morning I'll be riding the length of lake shore drive (30 miles), closed to auto traffic for the duration of the ride, in the Chicago Bike Federation's fund raiser along with about 10,000 others. These are the folks that are getting bike lanes put on many of the city streets. At $30 a rider they should make a nice haul which should be good for all users of the bike lanes here in Chicago. If you have an equivalent organization in your own area make sure you get out and support them. They are making a difference!
From: "Ken Trough" <ken@d...>
Date: Fri Sep 7, 2001 3:31 pm
Subject: The really old Badsey Racer Experience from a year and a half ago(reposting this online due to >24hour delay)
> I've been riding a Badsey racer for a year and a half,
> roughly 3500 miles, and thought I'd share my experiences.So your experiences getting your Racer and the associated condition it was in when it arrived, the general build quality, etc, is also a year and a half old? Is this correct?
> I picked up a used 92 EMX cruiser (24v sitdown) after getting
> my racer. It was from the previous Badsey, before reincarnation
> by the Limbockers. I was a bit surprised that it was mostly the
> same machine. Almost all the parts are interchangeable.The cruiser/racer design has existed since the 80's. Most of the basic improvements and upgrades are going to show up earlier in the design cycle. I am not surprised that many pieces are interchangeable between the 93 and the 2000 models. These are likely the parts that have worked the best for that particular design.
This latest revision has some significant improvements over the Racer of a year and a half ago. The charger has been replaced with a much better/faster unit. The old charger didn't really bring the battery level up high enough, I hear. That is why getting the new range data on the new racer is so important. You say you got low 20s for mileage. The new owners are saying that they are getting up over 30 miles. That is a HUGE difference and one that we need to quantity.
Another huge upgrade is the rear brake. The old drum brake was just not enough for most users. The new disc completely solves the braking issue. I have ridden it and it is the best brake I have seen on an electric scooter yet. No troubles stopping when/where you want with this thing. I think that this was a feature worth waiting for on the Racer.
> The EMX likes pavement. The smoother the better.
> When the handlebars get fiercely jacked on a bad bump
> they can wrench your throttle thumb. I tend to release
> the throttle before bad bumps or use the back of my middle
> finger to work the throttle in the bumpies. I think a
> twist grip would likely work betterInteresting take here. I totally understand what you mean about the off-road issue, but I think you are looking at it the wrong way. The Racer has balloon tires, but this is a hard nose, hard tail ride. No suspension. It is not an "electric mountain bike" device designed to do rutty, rocky, bumpy, mountain bike rides. It is an Electric Motocross. Motocross tracks are wide, smooth dirt surfaces with berms and whoop-de-dos. The Racer is great under those conditions. The thing is stable and does power cornering in the dirt very well. Those wide tires are nice in those conditions. It also does most dirt and gravel roads and paths very well. It has limits, sure, but it is not strictly an on-road vehicle as you seem to assert. It does well in many off-road environments.
As an experienced off-road electric scooter rider, I can tell you that you definitely want a twist grip throttle (thumb throttles don't work in bumpy conditions) for riding off-road. Also, you definitely don't want to hold the bars tightly during the bumpy parts. A loose hold accomplishes much more and saves your wrists as well. Your bars can go all over the place, so long as you are maintaining your line overall. That just comes with experience.
I'm sorry you have such a sour taste in your mouth over your racer experience. You sure experienced a lot of issues. I'm glad it sounds like you eventually sorted out most of them and have gotten down to enjoying your scooter. I think you should definitely upgrade to the new brakes, and get the new charger for sure if you can. The charger is light years ahead of the one you have and will noticeably improve your range and "fresh off the charger" performance (Right now you are missing out on the best part of your ride). The new brakes totally solve the braking issues you mentioned.
I guess the good news is that this product is better built and better packaged (wood crates) now. Hopefully new owners will have fewer problems with these new models. As product is starting to ship, we should get a few more reports in soon. I can't wait to hear what Richard has to say about his when he gets it. He will receive it next week (psychic prediction).
-Ken Trough Outlaw Turbologist
http://visforvoltage.com
From Richard Burge rwburge@p... Date Sat Sep 8, 2001 1257 pm Subject New Racer review!
After all the speculation and a lot of angst and yearning, Badsey pulled the rabbit out of the hat. My EMX Racer finally arrived after an almost 4 month wait. It is NASCAR yellow and looks just like a wheeled version of a jet ski. (One caveat before I continue It is human nature to look for ratification by others of one's extravagant purchase. While the Racer costs a wad, I'll try to not let that color my opinion.)
That being said......this scooter ROCKS!!! The fit and finish of the monocoque fiberglass shell is superb. The Racer has an aggressive, get-the-hell-out-of-my-way look about it. Add to this the futuristic, shiny, machined aluminum front and rear forks, polished aluminum wheels and huge, wide racing tires that allow the scooter to stand upright without the kick stand (did I mention `shiny') and, from an aesthetic standpoint alone, the Limbockers have the Racer completely dialed in. I seriously do not see how they could have made it look any better unless they painted on flames, which may come later. Pure, unabashed eye candy!
MikeZilla' Mercado did a super job prepping it after delivery which insulated me from the Oh, sht! disappointment we all suffer from occasionally when we get a new toy but can't play with it immediately. No out of box headaches, the batteries were fully charged and when I first hopped onto it outside his Burlingame shop I had the most exhilarating mobility experience of my life. I hit 27 mph in seconds and I weigh 200 lbs (185 if my wife asks) and I had absolutely no idea how much I did NOT want to really travel that fast standing up exposed to the world! It kind of made the old heart go pitter-pat. I had to lean way forward over the handlebars and brace myself with a wide stance to keep from being left behind. THAT is what I call fun transportation. Mike expects the top end to go up once the batteries have a few good charge cycles under their belt and the motor brushes wear in and feel happy.
Mike also installed a Specialized Sport speedometer in a black case with corresponding yellow buttons and it looks like original equipment. He mounted the little button magnet to the mirror-finish rear sprocket and custom cut, sculpted and polished (to match every other glistening surface) a very cool steel bracket to which the sensor head was mounted. The bracket was screwed into the rear fork with a black, hardened hex bolt to match the other various fasteners. The wire was then run up into the shell through an unnecessary hole drilled by Badsey's fiberglass guy who maybe wasn't told it was no longer needed for the old shoe brake cable no longer used —- but it was perfectly situated for this application.
The one-piece main body shell is basically a trough with sexy side air vents. The batteries sit in an aluminum box molded into the shell for added rigidity. Keep in mind the Racer has no frame. Monocoque construction makes the entire fiberglass body self-supporting. Access to the batteries and motor is through the key-locked aluminum plate on the deck. A minor problem surfaced early on but was easy to correct and I would advise any new Racer owners to look for this. One of the three batteries is tucked upside down at an angle into the front of the compartment, most of it hidden from view under the shell. The other two batteries lie on their sides, bottom to bottom, behind it. There is maybe a 14 inch metal lip that runs across the bottom of the battery compartment ostensibly to hold in place the rear battery pair but there is more than a 14 inch clearance between the batteries and the underside of the deck plate. A bone-jarring bump bounced one of the batteries up over the lip and shifted it back toward the motor about 12 inch. So, for the short time I had ridden it, I was actually standing on the battery case applying my entire body weight to it with only the knife edge lip supporting it on the bottom. I put the batteries back where they belonged with some difficulty because the front one needed to be moved back up to recover the lost space and it was hard to manipulate. I then cut about a foot off a piece of foam pipe insulation, spread it flat, laid it over the wandering batteries and replaced the deck cover. The factory had applied an ineffectively thin piece of the same kind of foam under the deck cover but I removed it in favor of my own. Problem solved.
The entire rear end of the Racer has been redesigned in this incarnation and that's where it all matters. Don informs me only the axle bolt has been retained. The new Magura hydraulic 6 inch rear disk brake assembly is a big improvement over the previous shoes and drum I was familiar with on the older Sport. It also looks very hi- tech. It's smooth as silk, infinitely responsive and the wheel can be locked up at any speed. My first impression was that this is a machine that might very well benefit from a front disk as well although the stopping power as it is now is perfectly fine even from high speed. It has the weight and stability to justify dual brakes though. I must negotiate some pretty long, daunting hills where I live in Oakland and, in the alternative, a regenerative braking system would intuitively have been a nice additional feature to save the brakes on long declines (maybe an interesting future Badsey research project considering the ability of Hawker batteries to slurp up large currents without overcharging). Lacking regen, if brake pad wear turns out to be excessive, at least I'm dealing with externally serviceable components that don't require disassembly of the rear wheel to get at.
Another improvement over the older Sport is the rear wheel's new design. Badsey claims the sprocket is now attached to the hub and not the wheel itself although it's invisible. This helps isolate some of the chain vibration amplified by the wheel's deep bell shape and the body shell making the ride far quieter. It's still not a whisper quiet ride but compared to the Sport it's a lot better. Badsey also improved the free-wheeling characteristics of the rear hub. At 115 pounds, the Racer will never be a kick scooter (duh!) but its effective range is certainly going to be extended by this feature as well as by the Hawkers which are standard issue. Previously, John Limbocker mentioned to me that one test rider reportedly got close to 40 miles out of the new Racer. Don told me a few days ago that an East Coast user's 100 lb. son got 56 miles. These are truly astounding numbers!
One annoying deficiency has also been remedied the valve stems are now angled and easily reachable instead of being pointed inward toward the axle. The tubeless tires were inflated to 25 psi out of the box but I upped them to 60 psi to give them a more rounded profile. This will improve range and the ride is stiffer but it's a practical necessity. Where I live up in Oakland's Crocker Highlands the streets are pretty narrow and years of repaving have given many of them quite a pronounced crown. That may be fine for drainage but the outer edge is the most laterally sloped part of the road and the wide, flat go- kart tires make handling a little dicey at lower pressure when they want to be square to the ground. Badsey made a good call by using a 5.5 inch wide front tire (it handles much better in turns with less rubber in front) while using the 7 incher in the rear. It also gives the Racer a nasty drag bike appearance and, after all, image is everything!
The new Deltran charger draws 15 amps (about 12 x 7 x 3 inches and maybe only five lbs —- easily backpackable) and it has been programmed specifically for the three 26 amp-hour Hawker batteries providing a full charge, even from 100% discharge, in about an hour and a half (although 4-5 hours is recommended by Hawker for the conditioning phase) and more than 95% charge in far less than an hour. My first 4.2 mile trip to my office was done with jack rabbit starts whenever possible and it only took 36 minutes to recharge fully. The quick turnaround time is sweet! It makes all day touring very doable with virtually unlimited range if I carry the charger in a backpack and find a benevolent soul to lend a free outlet. Group travel on Racers would be a blast. For instance, an all day wine tasting tour of Napa Valley (beautiful, flat, spread out and VERY purposeful) is now well within reach distance-wise. With the Racer's huge range, the better part of the valley would then be reachable from Oakville to Calistoga and back again with a many side trips in between Highway 29 and The Silverado Trail. The next scoot-in could be a real hoot (to borrow Badsey.com's terminology) with enough participants on new Hawker-equipped Racers!
For security I am using a very heavy, hardened Kryptonite New York chain. I do not trust cables; there are cutters that go through them like Jello. The chain conveniently passes through the largest right side hole machined into the rear fork (the left hole is obstructed by the kick stand) and it has a thick nylon or polyester (or some other material not of this Earth) sleeve that protects against scratches. I admit its $90 price gave me pause but when I thought about the value of what I was protecting it was a no-brainer. It's a one-time 3% insurance policy. It's about 10 pounds but payload weight is immaterial on a Racer with a designed capacity of 600 lbs. To my disappointment though, the upright steering pocket is no longer usable for storing the chain or anything else for that matter. It's filled by the 275 amp Curtis controller which is about half the size of a shoebox! So, I did what any red-blooded scootist would do —- I wore the chain around my waist and it frankly was a very comfortable fit.
Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), riding a Racer on a sidewalk is strictly out of the question. It's just too big and too threatening to pedestrians to claim I have any right to their space. Aside from the fact that California's scooter law prohibits sidewalk use, the Racer has the performance capabilities to hold its own on the road and, in most cases, to not just be able to avoid many traffic hazards but to become part of the normal traffic flow itself. When I have to, I just pick a lane and I'm not in anyone's way.
In general, the workmanship is excellent from top to bottom. There is zero (nothing, nada) play in the steering column, no rattles or strange noises and the whole scooter is tighter than a drum —- a pure joy to ride and boy does it draw admiring looks. The only thing I am going to have to get used to is the choreographed way I need to ride it. With huge torque and shockingly efficient stopping power, shifting my body weight accordingly front to back is going to have to become second nature or I'm going to get a couple of elbows full of asphalt.
Now, I am not trying to be some rah-rah advocate for Badsey although I'd like to be if the product deserves it. Time will tell. I expect some disappointments along the way and if they don't happen that will be just fine with me. The lengthy wait, multiple failed deadlines and poor communication I endured was unpleasant and I do not know if anyone will not experience the same thing if they order one. If they do, I'd like to think they will be rewarded by owning an exceptional scooter with no peers. Badsey's prepayment requirement may not be so unusual in commerce although their tendency to be mum on progress reports certainly is. Maybe they will now figure that out when they get some breathing room. However, I suspect they in fact make the best scooter and giving them the benefit of the doubt may be worth the hassle involved although a stocking dealer would be the preferred approach to buy one. I know what it is like to take the investment risk to own and operate a small business. You have no alternative but to be understaffed and when you wear so many hats you pick your battles to succeed. Badsey chose to allow the answerability to their customers to require more work than it should. It wasn't the best choice in my view but if it gets the job done, and if their customers have faith it will, I suppose everyone wins in the end. I hope I have because there are absolutely no alternatives for the Racer class of scooter.
Regarding the $3K price tag.....In a recent post within the greatly overplayed Scooter industry is dead thread, someone mentioned that one of the reasons for so many of the mechanical failures experienced with scooters is probably their underdesign in the quest to keep prices down to a level the larger market will accept. I think I have to agree. That's a big point. Many weeks earlier, I commented in another thread that for scooters to be really successful products they are going to have to cost more, probably in the thousands of dollars. My implication then was the same. Unless more expensive battery and motor capacity is purchased up front, the common rider will not be able to demand reliable day-to-day performance within the machine's comfort zone, that subjective area below its maximum design capacities where it isn't working too hard to please you. Pushing a value-priced scooter's capacities to its limits means failures will occur more often. I tend to treat my possessions kindly. If I use them sensibly like I want them to last forever, they'll be there for me over the long haul. So, knowing I have a 25-30 mile range and 30 mph top speed under me in the Racer will leave me pleased as punch when I expect to ordinarily travel 10 or 15 miles at 20 mph tops (well, maybe I'll cheat occasionally). The scooter will like it too and I'm less likely to be stopping in here from time to time looking for solutions to problems I create myself by pushing it too hard.
Bottom line From the get-go, the EMX Racer looks like it responds to nearly all needs dear to the heart of serious e-scootists —- exceptional speed, range, ultrafast charge time and flashy appearance. It fails on portability (a trade-off I made going in) and its $3,000 price tag is not for the faint of heart. It looks like it's the scooter for the next level of satisfaction given a scooter- friendly environment like California. It will be a little while before I can offer feedback on overall performance and durability but you can bet I'll be back.
Those of you out there who have been pissing and moaning about the new Racers and who seem to claim some kind of superior knowledge short of actually owning and riding one, you don't know feces from shinola what you're talking about. Maybe this will put that crap to rest!!!
Scoot long and prosper! -)
Richard, now very pleased and mobile in Oakland......finally!
Idler Cam Replacement Ideas
I replaced the chain roller with a "patio door roller" "Prime Line D-1500" from OSH (Orchard Supply Hardware)
I used both wheels that came in the package. Perfect fit replacement for the rubber/aluminum space The hump between the 2 wheels matches with the hump in the stock rubber roller
Still noisy but at least its on bearings
Wade
-----
Thanks for your input it was worn rollers just as you thought, I was able to find exact replacements at Orchard Supply Hardware, by a company called Prime Line model # D-1541(cost about $6.00 each, 2 per door).
From: garygoul@y...
Date: Fri Oct 5, 2001 5:15 pm
Subject: Fix for Badsey Racer Chain idler "pully"I removed the solid chain idler "cam" for the chain and took three high speed skate board bearings, put them together and covered them with 3/4" heater hose. I then took some steel brake line (you could probably use copper tubing) and honed it out just a tad, wire brushed the outside, and pushed it through the three bearings to make a bushing for the bolt to go through. Put the whole thing back the way it came off and now it spins beautifuly when the chain touches it. It works better than the $%&#*@ that was originaly in it's place. Try it it is very simple. I think you can use alternator bearings instead of skate board bearings but that is all I had.
Motor Upgrade Ideas
From: "Michael Zilla' Mercado" <mechspkg@s...>
Date: Thu Dec 20, 2001 6:24 pm
Subject: Re: [zappy] Re: EMX Racer UpgradeThe acceleration is as good as original if not better. I didn't do a range test & it's in the customer's hands now.
MikeZilla'
From: "windowburns" <Edit@m...>
To: <zappy@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2001 1:05 PM
Subject: [zappy] Re: EMX Racer Upgrade
>
> How is acceleration with the series wound motor?
>
> wrote:
> > I just finished modifying an older Badsey EMX Racer. I
> installed a Series Wound motor from Thunder Struck Motors, It is
> the same motor which was installed in Eric's record setting
> Racer but I left the original controller which runs 36v. I did the
> following on this job.......
> > Fabricated an aluminum motor adapter plate & a new rear hub
> for the brake drum & sprocket. The old Racers have the sprocket
> riveted to the rear wheel & I have never seen one which spins
> true. This problem has been corrected in the new models with
> the disc brake. I also replaced the 219# chain with a 35# chain.
> This along ith the separate rear hub allows the use of GO-Kart
> split sprockets to be used & the gear ratios to be changed
> without removing the rear axle/wheel assy. I also installed a
> roller bearing chain idler/tensioner & a speedo. I was aiming for
> 40mph but only achieved 38.7mph. I weight 185 lbs & ran the
> tires @50psi. The speedo is calibrated for the loaded Tire
> diameter of 865mm.
> > I tried to send more pictures but the file was to large.
> >
> > MikeZilla'
