Aprilia Enjoy

[jateureka]

and the new controller is also hidden away behind a "stock appearing" cover plate..

Looks good but just make sure the controller doesn't overheat, especially with the added power you'll be putting through it - the original controller had its heatsink as the 'coverplate' with only 200 - 250W.

[Aprilia Electric]

Crikey dont take the motor to pieces!! It took me about 5 hours to put it back together again.....

[gtadmin]

Hi guys, warmer weather is coming! So I laid 3 layers of fibreglass into my mould, set it off with heatlamps and then removed my new upper case from the mould. Oops, guess the mould release didn't

P9280005.JPG (139.75 KiB) Viewed 1157 times

Never mind, I got one case upper from it, and now fingers crossed I don't stuff it up Just got to clean it, trim it and finish the inner case and then Lipo, here we come

[jateureka]

Crikey dont take the motor to pieces!! It took me about 5 hours to put it back together again.....

So did you check the brushes and bearings?

[gtadmin]

Hi guys, got my case together today so I charged the 8S 25C Turnigy LiPos using a charger supplied by Hyena. I then took it for a spin, the details are as follows:

Weather 18oC wind from the south at 33 kmh gusting to 43 kmh (normal for Windy-alla) - ride was about 10% into the wind, 10% tail wind and the rest cross wind on mainly flat ground.
27.9 A max, 888W max, 31.3V min, total distance 3.85 km, 1.6Ah used, 51.4Wh consumed, which is 13.35 Wh / km.

Starting volts was 33.2, end is 32.01V with a max diff between the 16 cells is 12mV. I checked the tyre pressures after the ride, 23.5f and 28.0r - should be 40 min to 65 max.

Max speed was probably about 35kmh and the bike could have gone faster just my legs wouldn't! It's worth noting that into the wind, I could get max spin in 4th gear (24kph?) so this is good.
I'll finish painting the case next weekend ( ) and post pics if you're interested.

Edit: and the Hobby King Oz warehouse now stocks LiPo - woo hoo!

[jateureka]

Interested to see your Wh/k with your tyres inflated to correct pressures!

wow, didn't realise Hobby King now has a NSW warehouse. Two of these and two 8s chargers + freight are still cheaper than getting the original NiMH battery pack rebuilt and is lighter to boot... http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... duct=10870

[gtadmin]

Interested to see your Wh/k with your tyres inflated to correct pressures! Not sure if the pressures I quoted are correct. Either my (new) pressure gauge or my air compressor adaptor is kaput!

Two of these and two 8s chargers + freight are still cheaper than getting the original NiMH battery pack rebuilt and is lighter to boot...

I bought the same packs only configured differently - these Turnigy 5800mAh 8S 25C Long Lipo Pack. I also bought this charger (for balancing only) Turnigy Accucel-8 150W 7A Balancer/Charger, 2x CellLog 8S and a Turnigy Watt Meter and power Analyzer for monitoring.

AND a TPpacks.com LVC/HVC Parallel adaptor, which I'll be "potting" later this week (mind this took me ages to put together, not because of a lack of skills, but the inability to see the holes in the PCB - gotta get a new pair of glasses I reckon). Tools, wires, Andersen connectors in bulk and I still reckon it's been cheaper than fixing the original battery!

[Aprilia Electric]

Crikey dont take the motor to pieces!! It took me about 5 hours to put it back together again.....

So did you check the brushes and bearings?

Sorry, Mega AFK. Yeah, I checked the bearings and the brushes Everything good in there. well made unit too.

[Hillhater]

A.E. .. I have yet to pull mine down, but just curious, did you find a sprag or roller clutch in the drive somewhere ?

[gtadmin]

Hi Guys, some piccies

Repost of mould pic

20100928_mould.JPG (139.75 KiB) Viewed 1193 times

Base is made from environmentally sustainable 3-ply, with locating blocks made from 12x12 pine, wrapped with a layer of fibreglass and painted matte black.

20101015_ap_base.jpg (102.6 KiB) Viewed 1193 times

The container is made from celloluse fibre (cardboard) wrapped with 2 layers of fibreglass, with some 3mm insertion rubber at each end. On the rear is GGoodman's LVC / HVC board, potted in resin and glued to the battery container.

20101015_ap_batt_c.jpg (101.8 KiB) Viewed 1183 times

The container was then painted black and the batteries were added. I then added a layer of insertion rubber and tightly wrapped everything with black gaffa tape. This should prevent any puncturing of the batteries.

20101015_ap_batt_c_wrapped.jpg (112.13 KiB) Viewed 1183 times

Once i had the fibreglass lid removed from the mould (carefully as noted above ), it was sanded, smoothed, primed (primer filler) and then any imperfection was filled with "spot" putty, which is sometimes called blade or knife putty.

20101015_ap_batt_c_lid.jpg (62.72 KiB) Viewed 1193 times

Once sanded, 4 double wet coats of matte black were sprayed (I had this left over from when I sprayed my Falcon GT in 1980!) The paint was then left to harden until today. I then colour-sanded it with 1200 grit wet & dry, and polished it with "buff and shine" for new duco

20101015_ap_together.jpg (138.21 KiB) Viewed 1193 times

Pissing with rain right now, so won't get to ride it now until sometime next week.

Cheers,
GT

[docnjoj]

That is a really nice job GTAdmin! I am inspired to do something but am not sure what. Prolly Coroplast.
otherDoc

[gtadmin]

Thanks doc, not bad if I say so myself!! First time fibreglassing too. One photo I missed (the dots are sprinkles of rain, not any defect BTW):

ap_top.jpg (178.95 KiB) Viewed 1092 times

BTW, what's coroplast? Aluminium alloy?

Cheers,
GT

[docnjoj]

BTW, what's coroplast? Aluminium alloy?

Cheers,
GT[/quote]

Nah just polycarbonate cardboard. Light and strong and not messy. Comes in 2 and 4 mm and probably bigger sizes. Used for election signs on lawns.
otherDoc

[gtadmin]

Sounds really interesting stuff! I'm thinking I should get hold of some of this to play with. What do you use to join it with? How strong is it?

On another note, how's the wife with her trike?

[docnjoj]

Thanks for asking about Joyce. She can get it on 2 wheels if she corners too fast but learned how to shift her weight to control it. She is just about faster than me in the corners. She loves the idea of not having to put her feet down to stop. She is mostly healed!

The corrugated polycarbonate is joined with zip ties or wire but it is fairly hard to glue. Cool stuff. There are several folks using it for fairings and some gorgeous Velo's made from it. Check the search function and there will be tons of info. Here is one with a tailbox and front fairing in progress.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=22147&p=322597&hilit=coroplast#p322597
otherDoc

[Hillhater]

Very neat gtadmin, that turned out really well. Time and effort well spent.
Pity you broke the mold or i would have commissioned one as well !
.. dont they go well on 36v lipo !

PS: remind me what you are doing for batt management / LV protection ?

[gtadmin]

Hi HH,

Yes I'm really pleased on how the enclosure turned out, and it was worth the time and effort just to gain the fibreglassing experience. Although as far as cost goes, it would've been cheaper to buy an Aprilia one and hack it!
Yes, it's shame I broke the mould because I would have taken another as this one had some shortcomings, but I spent some time to fix it up and now it's all good!
HVC / LVC control is taken care of by GGoodman's circuitboard, however I couldn't get the throttle to work correctly when it is wired as per the instructions on page 4 of his manual! So I've left my options open for awhile.

Cheers,
GT

[hughdogz]

I just want to thank everyone for all the information in this thread.

I bought an Enjoy back in 2002, and after the NiMH battery went kaput after about five months, I just parked it. It was a great bike, I did 2090 miles (~3600 km) commuting to work and back. Although it weighs 68 pounds (~31 kg) I got it up to 38 MPH (~60 KPH) downhill one time. High pucker factor with a top-heavy bike going around corners that fast

I'm not getting any younger (I'm 38) and gasoline isn't getting any cheaper, so I thought I'd figure out how to get her back on the road and get back in shape!

I was going to buy 20 F cell NiMH batteries, which I can find on ebay for about 14 dollars each, I think I'm going to try to go the LiPO route. Cheaper, lighter and more energy-dense. The electronics seems kind of daunting, but I have a bit of experience after replacing the stock Bosch L-Jetronic engine management in my Datsun 280zx turbo with an aftermarket Wolf engine management system out of Australia...

Hopefully someday soon I can post back with the progress. This thread is really a great inpsiration and knowledge source for me.

Thanks again!

Cheers, -Hugh

[gtadmin]

Hi Hugh, welcome

I just want to thank everyone for all the information in this thread.

I bought an Enjoy back in 2002, and after the NiMH battery went kaput after about five months, I just parked it. familiar story! It was a great bike, I did 2090 miles (~3600 km) commuting to work and back. Although it weighs 68 pounds (~31 kg) I got it up to 38 MPH (~60 KPH) downhill one time. High pucker factor with a top-heavy bike going around corners that fast cutting washers for sure How did your legs keep up?

I'm not getting any younger (I'm 38 - you youngster, you) and gasoline isn't getting any cheaper, so I thought I'd figure out how to get her back on the road and get back in shape!

I was going to buy 20 F cell NiMH batteries, which I can find on ebay for about 14 dollars each, I think I'm going to try to go the LiPO route. Cheaper, lighter and more energy-dense. The electronics seems kind of daunting, but I have a bit of experience after replacing the stock Bosch L-Jetronic engine management in my Datsun 280zx turbo with an aftermarket Wolf engine management system out of Australia... you will find brushed controllers pretty easy then, it's just the chinese instructions that are daunting ...

Hopefully someday soon I can post back with the progress. This thread is really a great inpsiration and knowledge source for me.

Thanks again!

Cheers, -Hugh

I've found that most people here are very helpful, and I'll return the favour if and when required. I'm curious though, why did you buy an Aprilia? I mean, you guys have more relaxed laws and aren't particularly known for using little hammers

Cheers,
GT

[czach]

Interesting thread here, glad there are some people still riding these bikes.

My enjoy had it's controller apparently die last fall. Odd, one day it worked, next it didn't. The battery pack is good, however there's nothing with the key turned. It is pulling current from the battery with key in, but no lights, no beeps, zilch.

Oddly enough though if I plug it in then turn it on it will make a beep beep beep noise. Maybe overvoltage.The other clue is last year it would not turn on, but removing and replacing the battery would get it going. It's not the battery contacts, and I have tried booting the controller on a bench power supply with no luck.

Anyone got a spare controller Otherwise I will probably go to some generic and try removing all the potting goo to see if I can fix it (I can repair controllers; I repair 50kw Dolphin electric controllers in my spare time. But they're not potted, just conformal coated)

Anyone else try to repair the controllers or had this sort of failure? I like the assist mode a lot, and turning it into a generic moped is not my optimal goal (though I guess I could get used to it.)

C

[gtadmin]

... I like the assist mode a lot, and turning it into a generic moped is not my optimal goal (though I guess I could get used to it.)

C

Hi (and welcome),

Can't comment on the symptoms you're having with the original controller (as it was a long time ago since I ditched mine), but I didn't like the PAS. However, I am willing to concede that I could have had a problem with mine leading to that dislike.

I DO though, like having a throttle to control when and how much assistance the motor gives me I always pedal but don't always use the assistance, so it doesn't feel like a moped to me!

Sorry I couldn't help you otherwise

Cheers,
GT

[jateureka]

My enjoy had it's controller apparently die last fall. Odd, one day it worked, next it didn't. The battery pack is good, however there's nothing with the key turned. It is pulling current from the battery with key in, but no lights, no beeps, zilch.

Oddly enough though if I plug it in then turn it on it will make a beep beep beep noise. Maybe overvoltage.The other clue is last year it would not turn on, but removing and replacing the battery would get it going. It's not the battery contacts, and I have tried booting the controller on a bench power supply with no luck. C

Tried/tested the relay on the controller PCB?

Anyone got a spare controller Otherwise I will probably go to some generic and try removing all the potting goo to see if I can fix it (I can repair controllers; I repair 50kw Dolphin electric controllers in my spare time. But they're not potted, just conformal coated)

Anyone else try to repair the controllers or had this sort of failure? I like the assist mode a lot, and turning it into a generic moped is not my optimal goal (though I guess I could get used to it.)C

If you look back through the start of this thread I posted a link to an Italian website where someone has scraped out the potting and reverse engineered it. You'll need google translate or something to understand it if you don't know Itallian though.

[Hillhater]

Oddly enough though if I plug it in then turn it on it will make a beep beep beep noise. Maybe overvoltage.The other clue is last year it would not turn on, but removing and replacing the battery would get it going. It's not the battery contacts, and I have tried booting the controller on a bench power supply with no luck.C

You might want to try dismantling the battery to check all those internal wiring connections ( there are many).
A dry contact inside there gave me similar symptoms for a while.

[jateureka]

Yeah, I was thinking that too but he said he tried it on a bench supply and no luck, so that kinda rules out the battery.


On a side tangent, there appears to be a few 'knock-offs' of the motor/bottom bracket drive setup getting around. I have seen the Gette http://www.gettebikes.com/ and the Tonaro (or Torano?) Big Hit that look similar to the Aprilia drive design.

[Hillhater]

Remember, the Aprilia controller needs a 12v "control" supply as well as the 24 v "power" input.
czach...did you hook up the 12 v also when bench testing ??