RobMatthies Vancouver
New Member
Look at the YouTube video of an unedited ride through the rain puddles. The EFF rider screams as he gets his pants soaked. Anybody contemplating purchasing an electric trike should watch that video.
That was exactly my thought when I saw an ELF yesterday in Vancouver (nickname: Raincouver), BC.
All my e-rides have been heavily modified, and all (10+ easily, maybe even 20, since 1998) of them were working well when I either sold, gave away, or stolen.
If I owned an ELF electric trike, here's how I would mod them, for reliability:
- Install water splash shields by cutting coreplast and installing with zipties
- Make a partial floorboard of some kind. If would be a partial cover due to the components that would prevent building a complete floorboard.
- Liquid Tape in specific areas (a lot)
- Spray MG Chemicals Super Contact Cleaner where needed
- Add lockwashers on nuts
- Create a splash shield for the motor and other components underneath that are vulnerable to salt/rust
- Install two chain-cleaning wells as oil baths
- Get an air-bottle air horn
- Prevent the rubber grommets (where cables enter the ELF trike's body) from loosening, as seen on the one I saw yesterday.
For a future ELF trike re-design, or mod:
- Change to a gearless, brushless hub motor on the rear wheel, preferably a QSmotor with a matching sine-wave controller.
For those new to electric trikes: This "industry" has a history of failure. Look up the "cemetery" of electric bikes and electric trikes, at EValbum.com
For 10-year, daily drive durability, an ELF owner will need to do what I did to my electric rides. There are very few electric bikers in Vancouver with a working 8+ year electric rides. I still have all of my electric scooters in working order.
That was exactly my thought when I saw an ELF yesterday in Vancouver (nickname: Raincouver), BC.
All my e-rides have been heavily modified, and all (10+ easily, maybe even 20, since 1998) of them were working well when I either sold, gave away, or stolen.
If I owned an ELF electric trike, here's how I would mod them, for reliability:
- Install water splash shields by cutting coreplast and installing with zipties
- Make a partial floorboard of some kind. If would be a partial cover due to the components that would prevent building a complete floorboard.
- Liquid Tape in specific areas (a lot)
- Spray MG Chemicals Super Contact Cleaner where needed
- Add lockwashers on nuts
- Create a splash shield for the motor and other components underneath that are vulnerable to salt/rust
- Install two chain-cleaning wells as oil baths
- Get an air-bottle air horn
- Prevent the rubber grommets (where cables enter the ELF trike's body) from loosening, as seen on the one I saw yesterday.
For a future ELF trike re-design, or mod:
- Change to a gearless, brushless hub motor on the rear wheel, preferably a QSmotor with a matching sine-wave controller.
For those new to electric trikes: This "industry" has a history of failure. Look up the "cemetery" of electric bikes and electric trikes, at EValbum.com
For 10-year, daily drive durability, an ELF owner will need to do what I did to my electric rides. There are very few electric bikers in Vancouver with a working 8+ year electric rides. I still have all of my electric scooters in working order.
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