New Shocks for the Twike

My left rear Koni had seized up.  Even jumping up and down on the rear end would not produce any compression in the shock.  Apparently this is pretty rare.  After 15 years of holding up 100s of lbs of batteries it was time for a new set.  Koni bit the dust and changed over to Ikon.  Luckily some all night googling landed me here http://www.ikonsuspension.com/v1.0/content/customer-projects.html

 You have to remove the bracket to get the part number.  Its four allen wrench metric bolts.  Its difficult to get the shock out.  I suggest pushing from the eye hole from above where you take off the 19mm nut to free the top eyelet.




I was able to contact a local distributor in San Francisco;
Recommended Service
1064 Revere Ave
San Francisco CA 94124 USA
P: 415 822 2041

Dave at Recommended Service put me in touch with Geoff the engineer at Ikon and we figured out this is what I needed;

 7610-1282SP6 for the front (unless you do not want a new spring in which case it is just 7610-1282) and 7610-1638 for the rear. 7610-1638 normally comes with a spring fitted but if you wanted it made without new springs that could done but needs to be noted accordingly.

Cost wise 7610-1282 is AUD$175.00 while 7610-1282SP6 and 7610-1638 are AUD$210.00 each shock (ie $420.00 a pair). 

Its like Christmas getting new shocks!  BEAUTIFUL!

The only difference is that the nubs on the new ones that hold the height setting in place stick out a little more so they don't fit flush into the old fittings.  I could have ground them down, but it doesn't seem like it matters.

The ride on the new shocks is amazing!  No more creaky Twike'n!  These shocks have 4 settings on them.  There is a little # at the top of the eyelet.  I don't think you can change it with them installed in the rear.  1 is the loosest, 4 for heavy loads.  I kept all mine on 1.  

Death Wobble. I'm out of commission...

Alas, at this time the Twike is completely inoperable due to a strange death wobble that occurs when hitting bumps or steering back and forth suddenly, even at slow speeds the front wheel and corresponding rudder vibrate back and forth (left & right) violently.  I have replaced all 3 shocks and inspected for loose fittings and I'm still no where.  I'm running out of hope!

UPDATE!  Its fixed!

It was the bolt that connects the frame to the fork.  (Thank you so much Ralph!) There is a nut underneath you can secure with a 19mm socket if you move the splash guard out of the way.  The socket can wedge itself against the shock so you can turn from above w/o it spinning.

An adjustable wrench will get in there, set it to 19mm.  I put a lot of pressure on it and got it really tight.  It acts as a dampener, after this was tightened the regular dampener is not needed.  So if your steering starts developing really light back and forth, meaning there is no resistance / dampening you need to tighten this nut.  The nut head had marks on it like this had happened before.  Now what else needs tightening?

Motorcycle Parking has its advantages

So technically in the state of California, the Twike is a Motorcycle, but being that it is enclosed and has seat belts one does not need a motorcycle license to pilot the vehicle.  I finally took advantage of this a few days ago by parking FOR FREE in the motorcycle parking in Santa Monica parking garage.  The Twike fits right through the barriers allowing me to leave with the rest of the under four wheel crowd.

Battery reviving

So the twike is back from its long rest in storage for a few months...  the batteries didn't like it and have developed a memory and im working to train them back to their full capacity. 
My first run was under a mile, but after a few hard uphill climbs and recharges they are shrining back into shape.

Xmas Card From Twike

I got this great Xmas card from Twike today.  Poor translation and everything!  Safe journeys :)

Running out of juice!

Tonight I couldn't make it up the hill!  I charged for about an hour and was hitting 400v running my regen down the hill on the way to the grocery store.  When I take my finger off the regen it dropped down to 380, still a respectably charge to get around town.  Unfortunately, I still have a lot to learn because the range indicator only showed 7 miles, when it usually shows 16.  The battery light went on at the bottom of the hill, which I now know is a death warrant.  We were peddling like hell, but as we approached our turn I pulled to the side and lightened my load.  I had Kristin hop out and take the groceries while I let the batteries rest.  The Voltages climbed up to about 320 and I gunned it and made it over the last hill and rolled home beating Kristin who was on foot with the groceries.

Morals of the story
#1. Know where you need to be beyond when the battery light goes on to make it home.
#2. Pulling over and letting the batteries rest gives you another jolt
#3. One person peddling up a hill is easier for the Twike than two, due to weight.

I took this opportunity to run the batteries to empty.  When you hit bottom the computer shows a batteries empty message and restarts.  I decided to just plug it in and let it trickle charge for two days.

Now to rest my legs!

California License Plates!

After my long awaiting appointment at the Santa Monica DMV I left with a shiny new motorcycle plate for the Twike.   I whited out my license plate #, just incase someone would want to find and steel me! j/k  Notice the red plate fragment behind the new Cali plate.  The holes in the Twike are for a standard Automotive License plate so that is an old Arkansas fragment with holes in it to accommodate the motorcycle plate done by the previous owner.

I'm fully street legal now!  I just need to fish a passenger seat belt out of an old mercedes (REPA Seat belts were used in the Twike) or other german car that fits so my passengers feel safe.  With motorcycle plates do they need to be wearing one, though?