Old bent RANS rider

BothellBob wrote:
:: Also, the cloth "fairing/pouch" that fits the tiller ring has seen
:: better days. Would you recommend: doing without, buy a new one (is
:: this possible?), make a new one, get a much better "real" fairing

I don't think that does much.....perhaps it's good for storage, though.

BothellBob said:

I have acquired an old RANS Stratus...reallllly old; probably brought
out west in a covered wagon type old. I am making a few modifications: moving both brake
levers to the tiller, adding fenders, and the biggie - power assist in
the form of an electric hub motor on the front; so I need to mount a
thumb throttle on the tiller bar.
Anyone here powered one of these? Where did you put the batteries?
I'm thinking of building a bracket to fit under the frame (putting
that weight on top of the rearwheel bracket seems like a bad place for
balance).

Thanks for the help,
-BothellBob

I have a v-rex with a hub motor on the front. It is a gearless, brushed motor laced to a 20" rim. It will cruise at about 20mph with 36volts applied. The three 12v 12 amp/hr sla batteries are right behind the seat on top of the rear rack. I think your idea of lowering the pack to add stability is a good one but in my case it is not a show stopper to have it were it is. A good electric bike can make a good bike even better if you use it more.
Mark the biker

nget' aka 'Mark the Biker said:

BothellBob said:

I have acquired an old RANS Stratus...reallllly old; probably brought
out west in a covered wagon type old. I am making a few
modifications: moving both brake
levers to the tiller, adding fenders, and the biggie - power assist in
the form of an electric hub motor on the front; so I need to mount a
thumb throttle on the tiller bar.
Anyone here powered one of these? Where did you put the batteries?
I'm thinking of building a bracket to fit under the frame (putting
that weight on top of the rearwheel bracket seems like a bad place for
balance).

Quoted message said:

Thanks for the help,
-BothellBob

I have a v-rex with a hub motor on the front. It is a gearless,
brushed motor laced to a 20" rim. It will cruise at about 20mph with
36volts applied. The three 12v 12 amp/hr sla batteries are right behind
the seat on top of the rear rack. I think your idea of lowering the pack
to add stability is a good one but in my case it is not a show stopper
to have it were it is. A good electric bike can make a good bike even
better if you use it more.
Mark the biker

However, the RANS V-Rex has a front heavy weight distribution, even
with a rider tall enough that the seat is mounted towards the rear of
the available range of travel. A RANS Stratus will have about 60 to
65% of the weight on the rear wheel without any load on the rear rack.
For the Stratus, using one of the under-seat racks as the basis of a
battery carries would be the best option, as it would minimize
detrimental effects on handling (and in particular, low speed
handling).

--
Tom Sherman - Clueless Newbie
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

BothellBob said:

I have acquired an old RANS Stratus...reallllly old; probably brought

Quoted message said:

open to suggestions)?
Thanks for the help,
-BothellBob

I have a Wilderness Systems hub motor on one of my Visions. If you're
going to use handlebar shifters, I recommend you mount the thumb
throttle on the shifter post and then run a pushbutton switch to your
handle bar to control the motor on/off. The only reason to keep the
throttle is for the charge indicator. Believe me, on/off is all the
throttle control you will need.

Having the battery above the rear wheel makes my bike pretty awkward and
top heavy when I try to lift and move it, but once I'm riding, it
doesn't make any difference. What will make a difference is the amount
of time it takes you to get the bike on the road if you try to
make a custom battery rack for it. As in: Never.

My bike is a lot more fun and nimble without the weight of the motor and
battery, but I gain at least 5mph for my 17 mile ride to work over some
pretty significant hills in Oregon City. This is the equivalent to a
reduction in age of about 12 years and a reduction in weight of about 50
lbs.

--
John Kimmel
[email hidden]

GET YER STINKING PAWS OFF ME YOU DAMN DIRTY APE!
--
John Kimmel
[email hidden]

"He's dead, Jim."

John Kimmel said:

...
Having the battery above the rear wheel makes my bike pretty awkward and
top heavy when I try to lift and move it, but once I'm riding, it
doesn't make any difference. What will make a difference is the amount
of time it takes you to get the bike on the road if you try to
make a custom battery rack for it. As in: Never....

For a LWB bike, I would start with a commercially available unseat
rack and battery box. The battery box can be attached to the rack
using the standby methods of a combination of Jubilee Clips (hose
clamps), "U" bolts, "P" clamps, cable ("zip"😉 ties, sections of old
inner tube and electrical tape [1]. It may not be pretty, but it
addresses the weight distribution problem and is much faster than
never.

[1] All of the items are relatively inexpensive and readily available.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful