April Fools. 

Just a quick note to folks who haven’t checked out our forums (where I post much more often).   We’re making steady progress with the SPARC XEV project.

Both seats are mounted, with the front seat mounted on a set of seat sliders to allow for forward/rearward adjustment.  The 4-point seat belt safety harness for the driver is also mounted.  I ordered and received new stainless steel brake lines for the front disc brakes and plan on installing those this weekend.  I also have the Magura twist grip throttle and right hand brake lever temporarily mounted to see how well they fit together (answer: pretty well).  I need to remove the other hand controls (lights, starter switch, turn signal switch, horn, etc.) from the donor bike (a 1990 Kawasaki ZX600D) so I can re-use them on the SPARC.

The Delta-Q Quiq charger has been programmed for the Headway cells (72V pack) and the Curtis controller is already programmed for the AC-31 running at 72V, so we should be good there.  Travis is in the process of getting the controller talking to his computer via serial so everything will be ready for me to put together in the SPARC when I’m ready.  The battery pack holder still needs to be fabricated though, so it will be awhile before any powered runs (although I might do some short downhill rolling tests once the brakes are done and tested).

Lee is working on a new body design for the SPARC but we’re not ready to show anything publicly yet.  It’s difficult to design a body that is both aesthetically pleasing, yet functional and aerodynamic.  Still, it’s a fun challenge and definitely one of the most appealing aspects of the design process.

Tomorrow Travis will be coming by to work on things with me, and I’m hoping to make a lot of progress then.  I want to post some new pics and a video of the xenoDisplay showing data from the Lithiumate BMS.   So look for updates over the weekend!

Eric