Niquels' - Doodlebug Build - (Chinese Class)

#41
Thanks man :), it's all about having a little fun with it. I got this patch for the seat (once I get to doing that) since (if I choose to use the turn signals) I will be doing some one handed riding but probably not going to no-hand it ;)
patch.png
I'm a software engineer so I'm having a lot of fun with making the tail lights (cool patterns) :devil2: More on that later!
 
#42
Got a little bit of work done on the mini bike today (and got a few rides in). The hotrodminibike hydraulic brake system is on the bike! In the interest of time (and laziness/to see if it would work) the left-hand brake lever that came with the brake system has been mounted on the right handlebar upside-down. The right hand brake lever will go on the bike next time we work on it (assuming it fits ;) ). I put a new twist grip throttle on as well, the original one's hand grips turned very hard and the cable inside of it was frayed and was causing it to stick (cheap on amazon).

hydraulicCaliper.jpg

How the lever should look
hydraulicRight.jpg

How it actually looks :laugh:
hydraulicUpsidedown.jpg

Here's a picture of what the led light looks like at night
lightNight.jpg
 
#46
Got the ammo can mounted today, right now it's just screwed in where the chain guard should go. The ammo can will house the battery and will let me toss some spare parts/tools in there (like master links). I think I will relocate the kickstand to the proper side since the battery makes the bike want to tip to the left.

ammo_holes.jpg
ammo_1.jpg
ammo_2.jpg
ammo_3.jpg

Next up is putting a spring on my chain tensioner, my buddy put one on his bike tonight.

tensioner_1.jpg
tensioner_2.jpg
 
#49
I've found also that putting spring on opposite side of mount helps too because mount is one point of support,spring on the other side ..I'll add this dual mount idea to my tensioner knowledge:thumbsup:
 
#50
I've found also that putting spring on opposite side of mount helps too because mount is one point of support,spring on the other side ..I'll add this dual mount idea to my tensioner knowledge:thumbsup:
That's a good idea too, I hadn't thought about it that way. When I add the tensioner to my bike I'm going to have to put the spring on the inside (unless I space out the ammo can a bit) so if I do the dual mount it sounds like it should be pretty sturdy.
 
#51
Another small update.. I have pulled the head off the engine to see what length rod I need to order, it looks like I need the 20 thousands longer one. I will be ordering the rod, a cam, springs, retainers, gaskets, and other small parts soon!

I have been working on a "dashboard" recently. The goal is to be able to display engine rpms (by using a hall-effect sensor to pickup on the flywheel magnet), mph (by attaching a magnet to a wheel or disk brake assembly and then pickup on that with another hall-effect sensor). I want to have a little 4 digit segment display which I can use to show mph, rpms, the time, and maybe something else. I also have 8 RGB leds below the segment display which I will use as a tachometer (each dot representing 1k rpms) and also to indicate that the turn signals are on.

cluster.jpg

Tonight I'm going to try and code up auto-highbeams :) More to come (and soon!).
 
#53
Yup, for this I bought a 4$ "clone" called the "Arduino nano v3". I bought a few more after I got it working, can't beat the price and size. I just got a simple version of the auto high beams working, it's just seeing if the value the sensor is reading is less than a certain threshold (works fine in my room with phones flashlight, will have to adjust it later down the road). I am going to do the low/high beam with the LED light I have by using 2 relays, one that will send 12v to the light, and the other will have a voltage regulator (maybe 3v) so I can have the arduino choose which power source is powering the light. I will hook the horns up to the relays as well.

arduino relays.jpg
 
#55
Cool! Does the Nano have similar I/O pins to the Uno? I'm currently working on gantry starting lights for our races. I wanted to use a random green light function so I went the arduino path. The code is written and I'm just wanting on the slow boat from China now with my I/R remote and a few relays.

 
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#56
Cool! Does the Nano have similar I/O pins to the Uno? I'm currently working on gantry starting lights for our races. I wanted to use a random green light function so I went the arduino path. The code is written and I'm just wanting on the slow boat from China now with my I/R remote and a few relays.

Yep, the Nano surprisingly has all the pins/memory that the Uno has, they're both using the ATmega328 chip. The hardest part was getting my computer to talk to it, I can send code to a regular arduino just fine but to get this one to work I had to install special "FTDI" drivers (and hop over to Windows 7 vs. an outdated version of Mac OSX). Those starting lights are going to be awesome :) feels good to make things like that "from scratch".
 
#57
Oh yeah, it's been fun. I'll be doing a build thread once it's complete with the code and everything so someone else can use it. (would be good for drag racing lights) Can't wait to see how you tie everything together on your mini.
 
#58
We worked on securing the battery inside the ammo can today (and a previous day). Since the inside of the can isn't flat we decided to make a flat bottom out of wood.
battery box 1.jpg
battery box 2.jpg
battery box 3.jpg

I decided I wanted the battery to be held in place by wood vs. using a strap/tie-down. I figure this will let me put the battery and electronic components on one half of the can and have a divided section for actual storage (tools, spare parts, etc).
battery box 4.jpg
battery box 5.jpg
battery box 6.jpg
battery box 8.jpg
battery box 9.jpg
battery box 10.jpg

I was not able to make the screw in muffler work with my exhaust header, so I decided to lift the engine up on hockey pucks to see if that would give the proper clearance and it seemed to work :) I might try it out once I get a fourth because I want to be able to quiet it down a little when needed ;)
engine mount mock.jpg
muffler.jpg
 
#59
I started painting the header/muffler today using VHT header paint. I did a did a couple layers of white then started painting it red. I will finish the painting another day (I plan on also removing the paint from this bike and re-painting it as well).

header 1.jpg
header 2.jpg

I purchased studs/nuts for the sidecover, I found a great thread on this over here https://www.oldminibikes.com/forum/engines-and-modifications/123750-cover-studs.html

studs.jpg

I started getting the light and horns wired up to the relays/microcontroller, I'm able to flash the light or honk each individual horn using code. I only fried one of those microcontrollers in the process trying to do the auto highbeams (wired the relay wrong and send 12v into the 5v input). Good thing I bought a few/have others haha.

relays 1.jpg

The engine is also now on mounted on hockey pucks, I don't think it will make things worse and I want to be able to screw in the muffler when I want to be quieter.

hockey pucks.jpg
 
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