Daily Summary:
7:00 AM to 4:00 PM — Average Speed: 17.9 Revelstoke, BC to Salmon Arm Sky Blue Waters RV Park.
Odometer: 2,211 – 2,290 miles (79 miles)
Climb: 5,688 ft. — Descend: 5,913 ft.
40-65° F : Heavy Rain last 5 miles, Wet Roads : 5-15 mph mostly head winds.
Battery Performance:
Note: All charging and range data after the World Record Day will be published in Excel format at a later date.
— 40 —
Today was the First Day on this trip that I saw a mountain goat.
I’m not sure who had the coronary first, him or me!
I was doing about 25 mph and going around a corner that was thickly overgrown with trees and vegetation and then the greenery abruptly changed to a rock outcropping very near the shoulder of the road.
The goat was clinging to the rocks and lept forward as I hummed by within a few meters of his perch.
He hit the ground not too far from me and instantly bolted back up the rock face!
My heart skipped not a few beats.
Watch out Spiderman, Goat Guy is out there!
And now, introducing the ultimate micro-travel upright “monster” electric vehicle:
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The Sasquatch e-Scooter
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Tires and Wheels:
- Increase tire diameter to 12- to 14-inches but maintain the 5- to 6-inch width.
- Tread pattern should be a hybrid pattern suitable for both road and trail use. Slightly softer and grippy rubber since it will be easy to change these as they wear.
- Tread should be uniform rounded sidewalls just like a normal bicycle or motorcycle tire. No raised edge like the current Wolf King GT tires have becauseit gives unpredictable performance when leaning significantly or when negotiating deep ruts.
- Tires should continue to be tubeless and use the current Kaabo GT self-sealing technology.
- Wheels should have Quick Disconnects on the motor wires for quick removal from the frame. This also encourages users to have one set of road wheels and a different set of offroad wheels which can easily be swapped for different terrain needs.
- Wheels should have Split Rims for easy tire replacement. THIS IS A MUST for field repairs with minimal tools!
- Wheels should be pre-drilled with a hole to allow the injection of “Statorade” fluid from Grinn Technologies.
- Wheel motors must be pre-greased or be completely waterproofed to eliminate any possible rust or corrosion if used in wet or submerged situations.
Deck and Battery:
- Increase the deck WIDTH at least one inch.
- Increase the deck LENGTH at least two inches.
- Increase the battery to 40 amp/hours by using a 21Sx8P cell configuration but do NOT alter the voltage.
- Use the additional space in the deck length to install a WIRING BUS PANEL instead of just stuffing all the wires together. The bus panel should enable 100% water proofing to the external wires AND permit quick maintenance and easy motor, lights, battery and/or fuse replacement without requiring major re-wiring or re-waterproofing alterations.
- The deck lid should use an “O-Ring Gasket” for 100% waterproofing and accurate positioning when installing and should use quick-disconnect clips instead of screws for rapid battery/bus panel access and consistent pressure on the “O-Ring Gasket” when reinstalling the deck lid.
- The deck, battery compartment and all wiring must be completely waterproof and be able to operate normally even if fully submerged.
- The charging connectors must be spaced farther apart AND farther from the scooter frame to make it easier to connect two plugs at a time AND to attach the waterproof caps when charging is completed.
- The charging connectors should be of a type that DO NOT ARC when the user plugs them in. Do NOT use the current aviation connectors that are on the Wolf King GT!
Frame:
- The frame must be strong enough to pull a 60 kilogram, single-wheel trailer.
- The frame should come with a rear luggage rack capable of carrying at least a 12 kilogram load.
- The frame should also allow easy attachment of a “trailer hitch” that is compatible with the Burley Ballz Thru Axle COHO trailer mounting system.
- The trailer hitch and luggage rack should have reinforced mounting points on BOTH the frame and the deck for security, strength and redundancy in the event of frame or deck structural failure.
Brakes:
- The brake Rotors and Pads should be motorcycle grade (NOT bicycle grade) and be able to safely stop the scooter while going down a 2 kilometer long, 20% grade and while carrying the full load capacity of the scooter PLUS pulling a 60 kilogram trailer.
- The brake rotors should be at least 180mm in diameter and at least 4mm thick.
- Ideally there should be TWO Rotors on each wheel instead of just one.
- The electronic ABS regenerative brakes should be fully programmable by the user. Specifically, the ABS function should NOT operate below a user-prorgrammed speed, and the user should be able to program the amount of electric braking force for each wheel in each gear.
- The electric motor brakes must ALWAYS operate even if the battery shuts off at the low-voltage threshold.
- The electronic brakes, if the user has enabled them, should begin to operate on BOTH wheel motors at the moment the brake lights go on, but BEFORE the disc brake pads engage the rotor. This will enable the user to only use the electric brakes to avoid wear of the mechanical rotors and brake pads.
- If the user has enabled electric motor braking, the electric brakes should have the option to disengage below a user-programmed speed so that the user can then use the smoother mechanical disc rotor/brake pads to come to a complete stop. If the user programs the disengage stop speed to “zero” then both the mechanical and electrical brake systems remain in effect regardless of speed until the user releases the brake levers
Handlebar Controls and Accessories:
- All handlebar controls and accessories must be completely waterproof and operate even when submerged.
- All controls (throttle, horn, signal indicators, light, keypad, and TFT display MUST have quick release, “clam shell” type mechanical attachments and plug in electrical connections so they can be easily repositioned to ANY handlebar location without the need for removing the brake levers or grips or any other installed accessories or controls.
- The turn signal indicator controls MUST be motorcycle, tactile. slide-lever type AND be auto shut off after a user-programable length of time.
- The front AND rear turn signal wires MUST have a pre-installed “accessory” quick connector that will allow the user to attach additional front or rear turn indicators at the front and/or rear of the scooter by simply plugging in extra lights to the pre-installed connectors.
- The throttle should be a “thumb down” throttle that is easy for the user to apply GRADUALLY over its entire range AND which is easy for the user to MAINTAIN at ANY single throttle position for up to 120 minutes without experiencing any fatigue of the hand or thumb muscles.
- The front lights should be an LED BAR with wider and farther USER ADJUSTABLE illumination.
- No handlebar controls should require the user to look down to operate the control when the vehicle is moving.
- No handlebar controls should require the user to remove or lessen his grip on the handlebar in order to operate the control.
- All handlebar controls must be fully tactile and be able to be engaged or disengaged automatically or with minimal user intervention or distraction whenever the vehicle is moving.
- Lastly, Preinstalled accessory mounts on the upper and lower front and rear frame components would be appreciated in order to facilitate the installation of video equipment, water bottle cages, small tool bags, etc. (Think bicycle and motorcycle accessories. )
That’s it, the ULTIMATE Sasquatch for long distance, heavy, Overland (and underwater!) travel.
If you’re listening Kaabo, I would be very interested in showing the world the capabilities of such a vehicle on the remaining segments of my Western Hemisphere Scooter Journey.
I am planning to be in Hyder, Alaska in mid-July, 2022. From there it’s still a LONG WAY to the Southern tip of South America.
I’m looking for an upright vehicle that is up to the task ( and one with a deck that’s at least 2″ longer than my current Wolf King GT!)
BTW, today was also the first day that I almost crashed.
I was traveling around 20 mph in heavy rain along Canada Highway 1.
The road was resurfaced last summer (according to a proudly displayed sign), but the new surface did not include the badly cracked and deteriating shoulder.
The nice white (and VERY SLICK) white line marked the delineation between the new and old surfaces.
My tire caught a long rut in the aged asphalt hidden by a stream of water.
Instinctively I turned left away from the narrow shoulder and right-side drop off.
The tire’s “pointed” sidewalls tried to grip the sides of the rut, but both wheels began to spin when they contacted the slick white line.
I began to fall left into the traffic lane.
A semi-truck passed at 80 kph.
The wind surge and road splash from the truck threw me to the right, out of the rut and almost over the edge.
I didn’t fall.
Yet…
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