Compounding on top of the other problems already existing was the kickstand. The previous kickstand for the Buell Blast was mounted on the left side of the engine. So now I had to devise a way to mount a new kickstand on the bike.
Luckily I had saved a used kickstand from a friends 2012 Zero ZF9 motorcycle. The bolt had broken, Zero sent him a complete new one, and I replaced the bolt giving me a nice aluminum kickstand! (yay)
As I expected the kickstand would not be long enough. I simply found another piece of square aluminum to fit over the kickstand after cutting off the “foot”. I then drilled a hole and installed a bolt to keep it in place.
I traced the Zero kickstand flange on the Aluminum motor mount (which is very sturdy) to mark holes and drill for bolts.
I then slightly tipped the bike to get an idea of how long the stand should be, then trimmed at an angle the square aluminum.
After the kickstand was completed and working, I realized it was next to impossible to get down with my foot while sitting on the bike. I installed a very long 4.5″ cap-head-bolt with aluminum sleve so my foot can properly actuate the kickstand. I then welded a pad on the bottom and painted the whole thing silver to match. The kickstand works flawlessly!
Mounting the batteries.
Although this looks difficult, it really is not. This battery mount is simple because its only holding 2 battery modules. It was constructed using 1″ 6061 aluminum 90 degree angle, and 1.25″ 6061 flat stock from http://www.speedymetals.com.
pre-assembled the battery pack and jacked it into place using a motorcycle/atv jack from Harbor Freight. This allowed me to put the battery exactly where I wanted it and fab up the mounts. Note the front mount towards the handle bar is simply a bent piece of flat 1.25″ flat aluminum with clip on threaded inserts.
It was constructed like all of my other battery frames, making a “basket” on the bottom and using the metal to support the sides, front and back up to the mounting points.
I was having trouble getting good lateral support on this battery mount, so I used one large threaded rod with 2 nylon stop nuts and aluminum tubing to act as a spacer. This made for one very supportive mount pictured below.
More to come, stay tuned.
Experimental Electric Vehicles 