En-route

My motorcycle was picked up from the distributor today at 3pm. I can't wait! It will be here sometime tomorrow, the driver will call me an hour and a half before he gets to me. I will try to remember to take tons of pictures. I have quite a bit to do to get the garage ready for the trike, and to get it off the truck. Apparently they did not get a truck with a lift gate so I am going to have to figure something out to get it down safely. More tomorrow.

Pics!

Here are the pictures that the manufacturer sent me of the reverse trike in their factory.

I can't wait for this to be at my door! Ships this Tuesday.

Ordered!

Well I broke down and ordered the bike (reverse trike) today. I ordered it directly from the manufacturer at a discounted price (which I can't disclose). They are very interested in seeing the finished project. I stopped by Electric Motorsport and talked over the project with Todd. We came up with a few ideas but will know better once the bike is physically in our hand. I am very excited for the bike to get here, shipping is scheduled for Tuesday.

Logistics

So I found a company that will remove the motor for me and ship it to California. The only thing being that it is more than I want to pay for it which wouldn't be a problem but they have given me a deadline of this next Wednesday. I don't know if I can raise enough money to purchase the vehicle by next Wednesday. Today is Saturday so I will call and see if they are open tomorrow and if they provide financing. I am doing this project on a shoe string budget so every penny saved counts.

Purchasing!!

Now that I have found the trike the trick is to get it here. I have contacted multiple dealers/distributors for the bike here in the United States and none of them will ship to California. Apparently the trike is not CARB legal and they can not ship it here (even though they are stored in warehouses here). I explained to each of the dealers that I did not need the engine therefore the CARB issue should not be a issue, but I was told that it has to do something with the fact that the VIN number is not a legal number to register in California.
    I discussed this with Electric Motorsport in Oakland and learned that they can ship it to me as "parts" since I will not be needing it as a complete vehicle.

Doner Trike

So I have found the trike but it seems that its going to be a little more than I wanted to spend. I called the dealers directly and they said that they could get me a used one for $4,000.00. Here are the links to the dealers/distributors:

http://www.roketa.com/product/2610/0/47108.shtml

http://www.soluscorp.com/Products.html

http://www.hotrodpocketbikes.com/content-product_info/product_id-1935/reverse_3_wheel_250cc_spider_trike_auto.html

http://www.azscooter.com/Trikes_-_3_wheel_scooter.html

All of these are half the price of the Can AM spyder.

http://spyder.brp.com/en-US/

I will continue to shop.

Shopping!

I have been doing some shopping for EV parts on various sites;

http://www.evparts.com/

http://www.marselectricllc.com/

http://www.cloudelectric.com/

http://www.electricmotorsports.com/

http://www.electricmotordepot.com/

http://www.thunderstruck-ev.com/

http://www.lemcoltd.com/

All the above are good links for motors and other ev parts. All their prices are pretty much the same.

http://www.alliancerenewableenergy.com/

http://www.evolveelectrics.com/

http://www.electricmotordepot.com/

http://www.electricmotorsports.com/

http://www.thunderstruck-ev.com/

The above are good links for lithium ion batteries.

I think I am going to go with electric motorsports because they are pretty much the same price as every other company (plus or minus $100) and they are right here in my backyard. So if I have any problems I can go straight to them.

The Donor

If I can afford it, this will be the donor trike,

The Start

This is my idea for a all electric vehicle. I have decided to attempt to build a three wheel motorcycle, also known as a "reverse trike". My idea came from a need to have an all electric vehicle that would get a range better than 100 miles. I have researched and decided that the easiest and most feasible ways to accomplish this would be to build a motorcycle, and more specifically a reverse trike.

Advantages of a reverse trike

• lighter than a car
• more room than a motorcycle
• more stable than a motorcycle
• easier to comply with safety regulations
• easier to import an existing model from out of the country
• parts are cheaper than a car
• I already have a motorcycle license
• potentially more fun to drive than a car