Is an AWD SRK possible?

[DiscjockeyDale]

The Start Engine page is so last year. I think we're way past it.
Start Engine has come under very heavy criticism from the financial world.



And... though the Sondors EV is RWD, Protean systems are indeed used for AWD. Even on eighteen wheelers.
http://www.proteanelectric.com/

[paravil]

Hub electric motors sound like a good idea ..... until you realise that the unsprung weight is increased dramatically. A single in-hub electric, rear wheel powered trike is the cheapest .... and the nastiest solution.

[DiscjockeyDale]

Hub electric motors sound like a good idea ..... until you realise that the unsprung weight is increased dramatically. A single in-hub electric, rear wheel powered trike is the cheapest .... and the nastiest solution.

Protean believes they've got that solved along with numerous other problems with previous designs.
And their motor may be more expensive than a standard off-the-shelf EV motor.
The control circuitry is built into the relatively light-weight unit.

Do you have any links specific to problems with the Protean motor?

[Rickb]

CEO Sondors appears in a video of himself attempting to do a Steve Jobs, but (unlike Jobs) looks as if he doesn´t quite know about details such as whether the thing is planned with rear or front wheel drive. So it´s likely to be just one more colourful, Photoshop plastic ,midlife toy.

THAT'S NO PHOTOSHOP! Storm Sondors did prove to show his ability to generate funds and coordinate with the right team to design, engineer, and build one detailed and well crafted prototype in record time.  If it drives as good as it looks and the price is right it's going to be a winner!  The side by side seating makes it more auto than cycle.  Too wide for me.

NOTE:  I'm well beyond midlife, but still appreciate toys.

[paravil]

Hub electric motors sound like a good idea ..... until you realise that the unsprung weight is increased dramatically. A single in-hub electric, rear wheel powered trike is the cheapest .... and the nastiest solution.

Protean believes they've got that solved along with numerous other problems with previous designs.
And their motor may be more expensive than a standard off-the-shelf EV motor.
The control circuitry is built into the relatively light-weight unit.

Do you have any links specific to problems with the Protean motor?

I´ve no idea what the Protean spec sheet looks like. There´s not a single motorbike manufacturer (except maybe HD) that doesn´t spend time and energy in the attempt to minimise the unsprung weight. If it´s more expensive than `a standard off-the-shelf EV motor´, the only advantage could be in saving the belt drive and sprocket. The large rear sprocket looks likely to prove a very real disadvantage on the Solo. Both vehicles are little more than slick plastic bodywork hiding the cheapest possible technical combination of all the disadvantages of a trike.

[Rickb]

Hub electric motors sound like a good idea ..... until you realise that the unsprung weight is increased dramatically. A single in-hub electric, rear wheel powered trike is the cheapest .... and the nastiest solution.

The SONDORs engineers specifically stated that they were engineering solutions in the design of the vehicle to eliminate unsprung weight issues.  Track testing and time will tell if they were successful.  There is nothing cheap about the component parts of the SONDORs Prototype and/or the Protean Electric hub motors.  The Protean in hub motors would allow for an AWD SONDORS and there would be nothing cheap about that high performance option.

[Brevet05]

If I could have ridden my motorcycles in snow-covered, ice-riddled streets, I would have.  I understand deep, heavy, wet snow is a problem for many vehicles, and the SRK would be at an added disadvantage with narrow-width drive tires.  My thoughts are more for the typical winter day when temps are in the 10s or 20's (F, for Patrick!), there's nothing falling from the sky, and the roads have been snow- and ice-packed to driveable conditions.  That is Massachusetts for 4 to 5 months, and I'm tired of spending money on a vehicle that sits for half the year.  I will be watching with great intensity for any SRK snow romping this winter!

Does anyone even make a winter tire in the same narrow width?  

I won't buy a single rear wheel drive vehicle, for that very purpose.  The Spyder proved that point.  SONDOR said in their video it was front wheel drive?

AC,

I have a 2010 CanAm Spyder RT-S that was my daily driver for years, until I bought the BMWi3. I imagine that Ohio and Massachusetts have similar climates, and have often come out to discover that my Spyder was covered in a blanket of snow. I have ridden my Spyder on snow-covered, ice-riddled streets. I can assure you that a rear wheel drive single is awful in deep snow, as it fishtails wildly. However, given plowed roads, it's a perfectly useful all-season ride (given proper winter gear). I have a Corbin heated seat and heated handgrips, which is what I've read about the Arcimoto. I am hoping that the softside panels look good, as that'll be enough protection for me. I am planning to treat the SRK as my long-term commuter after my i3 lease expires.

[Rickb]

The most recent hardshell enclosure design looks ideal.  Uncertain about the soft shell appearance, but will serve the same function of providing enclosed cozy cabin comfort on those cold weather commutes.

[AnimalCage]

AC,

I have a 2010 CanAm Spyder RT-S that was my daily driver for years, until I bought the BMWi3. I imagine that Ohio and Massachusetts have similar climates, and have often come out to discover that my Spyder was covered in a blanket of snow. I have ridden my Spyder on snow-covered, ice-riddled streets. I can assure you that a rear wheel drive single is awful in deep snow, as it fishtails wildly. However, given plowed roads, it's a perfectly useful all-season ride (given proper winter gear). I have a Corbin heated seat and heated handgrips, which is what I've read about the Arcimoto. I am hoping that the softside panels look good, as that'll be enough protection for me. I am planning to treat the SRK as my long-term commuter after my i3 lease expires.

I have lived in sixteen states, and experienced many different winters. Minneapolis was by far the coldest. My family has lived in Indiana for over twenty years. I lived in Indiana for 6 years and experienced a somewhat similar climate to Massachusetts, but Mass definitely has a greater amount of snowfall and number of days below freezing.

I do appreciate your experience on ice and plowed roads with the Spyder. That's not a take I expected, obviously. I'm waiting for one of the big motorcycle magazines to do a nice weather comparison of reverse trikes, including the SRK, Solo, and maybe Sondors, along with current brands. Maybe someone will do a snow/ice version.

[paravil]

I hope that a comprehensive professional test is written up somewhere comparing the Solo with the SRC. But they´ll both have to be registered first (andn the SRC enclosures are still only artistic `renderings´)