2018 MOAR Bike and upgrades.

My MOAR e-bike.  I think I received it the first week of March 2018.  I of course wanted to put it together and go ride it but we were leaving for a month in Argentina and Chile with the majority of time in Patagonia.

Here is a picture of me with the new bike all put together and ready for the first ride.

Since MOAR was a Kickstarter crowd funding campaign I knew that  there would always be issues with something and this was true with the bike.

Since my first ebike build was a 48V 1000W unit that totally kicks ass, I decided to get the 500W with a larger battery.  I knew this would be an easy build and should be one of the first ones complete which it was.  Keep it simple and you won't have as many issues.  It's not the fastest but I don't care I want reliability and didn't want it to look like an ebike which are super easy to spot.

Yes I wanted it last year but the bike was being improved on a weekly basis and for the good.    I could tell that Ken the CEO (or owner) was being very thorough about design and testing but then started adding more colors, more motor options and a bunch of other things and I could see the scope creep coming.This isn't what you should do on your first crowd funding campaign but I'm not the one in charge so I just chilled since I already had an ebike that I built a few years ago.  Here are my 2 bikes.

Even after receiving my bike I knew there would probably be a few issues and I had to go over all the bolts to be sure they were tight, the front fender is held on pretty lame with a couple of zip ties and the back fender flops around so I drilled a few holes in the fender and ziptied it to the back rack and now it doesn't move.

It's not pretty but does the job and you can't really see it anyway so I don't care.  I'm into function not glamour.  Another issue I had was the tiny zip ties that were used on the machine.  They kept breaking and one allowed the wire to rub on the tire which I didn't like so I replaced a few of those. You can see the broken tie and the wire hanging a little in the top of the photo.

I also added a mirror to the bike bar end that I had on one of my bikes

After riding the bike to work a few times I didn't like how tall my lunch pack and other crap were on the back battery. I am not flexible so getting on and off and lifting my leg much higher was a pain in the ass.  You can see how high the bag comes up.

Since I live in the Pacific North WET of the US I knew I'd get caught in some sort of crappy weather which is why I ordered the fenders.  Well they will do in a pinch but are semi useless so to the design lab I went.  I am an engineer at Boeing but also own a sign shop which is what I'd rather be doing.  Here is a simple solution to help keep the crap off of the components and you can get the supplies on any street corner, especially after an election. (LOL)  There are tons of these 18"x 24" coroplast signs that people think they can just litter up our neighborhoods well NO take those shitty signs down.  I picked up a few and made some "additional" fenders for my bike.  Yeah it's not "pretty" but as you know I don't care.   Here is a piece from a sign I used for the front.

I cut it to size then painted it flat black.  After I did that I put a few holes in it with a soldering gun and zip tied it to the front shock.

Then I went to work on the back.  I just don't want rain, mud, and other crap to get on the joints, electrical wires and components if I don't have to which will make it wear prematurely.  These simple pieces can be replaced anytime since there are an abundance of signs available - LOL

So here is the back fender area.  I have not completely finished but this keeps the majority of crud off the wires and upper linkage.

It's really not to noticeable but does the job.  Now back to the carrying my lunch and other tools, etc. issue.  I'm a long distance motorcyclist from WAY back!  My current bike is a 1999 BMW R1100RT 

I found some front saddle bag type bags for an ATV that I thought I might use on my motorcycle but it just did'n't work out but then they turned out GREAT for the bike.  I only needed a bungee cord to loop over the top and through some loops on the bags and presto, problem solved.  Here is a shot with some small bungee cords which I replaced with a thick one that went over the top and made it sturdy so neither bag would hit the tires or spokes.

So there you have it for now.  I only have about 200 miles on the bike because I have been enjoying recovery from shoulder surgery this summer.  I hope to ride later this fall after I get the ok from the Doc an Physical Therapy folks.  

Happy riding.

Prep for trip and packing

It was finally time to start packing.  Since I had been planning this trip for years and throughout the year thinking about things I needed to take to survive I had a box of "Stuff" down in the basement.  Mostly for the motorcycle I would purchase later. 

Survival 

I try to plan for everything.  What if I break down in the middle of nowhere, or if I am enjoying some mountain pass in the middle of nowhere and it gets dark and I'm miles or kilometers from the nearest town?  So.........

I picked up a small 1man tent that can be put in a heartbeat.  Then I got a very nice sleeping pad that has a foot pump built in which is about 4" tall and perfect for sleeping.  Next was an emergency bivy sac that helps reflect your heat back to you.  Who knows where I'll be and many of the mountain passes can range from 3-15,000+ ft.  (My wife and I were in the Atacama Desert a number of years back where it NEVER rains or anything in mid-March.  We drove over a pass and on our way back the temperature dropped to 32 F or 0 C and we started getting snowed on, so you have to prepare for anything.)  Then a small towel, Knife, whistle, bug venom extractor, a water filter, and the Garmin InReach messenger.  

The Garmin Inreach messenger does a few things.  Allows basically a bread crumb trail with certain plans that sends out a signal every 10 mins.  This will give family and friends a chance to see where I am at any time throughout the trip (as long as I remember to charge it) AND it allows me to call for help if anything should happen with a press of a button.  The other great part of this unit is that I can send and receive texts from people and send them back.  The texting can be done via the unit itself OR it can be hooked up via Bluetooth to a smart phone and you can text via your smart phone.

So that is my basic survival stuff.

Motorcycle stuff

I decided to purchase some soft saddlebags that are waterproof.  I know everyone touts the Mosko brand but I just didn't feel like spending that kind of dosh.  I found a really good pair on Amazon called Wild Heart, they are 25 liters per side which I think is big but they look very well mad and fairly easy to use.  These are called Dry Bags and are supposed to keep your stuff dry in any kind of weather and be rugged enough to take a few falls.  Time will tell.

Then I found a small battery powered air pump, a USB outlet for charging things from the bike to mount on the handlebar, some rim protectors and a pair of Motion Pro bead breaker and tire removal tools which I hope to NEVER use.

Camera Gear

Everyone knows I'm a camera nut.  I purchased a very nice monopod to bring on the trip to hold up car but decided it was just too long.  I decided to use the cheap small tripod and a metal selfie stick as my camera holders and they will just have to do.  For cameras I have 2 cell phones, and a host of other camera gear, we'll leave it at that.

Moto Clothes

My trusty First Gear jacket I've worn forever and halfway around the world.  It is textile and repels water, has a liner and it HOT in the sun and warm temps but that's the way the cookie crumbles.  I've ridden with it in 20 F to over 100 F.  Next I decided to finally after 40+ years of riding get a pair of mesh pants that will keep me protected yet allow air to flow through and keep my legs cool.  The only issues will be for RAIN and cold temperatures.  I have an old pair of gortex overpants that I can put on for both of those instances.  I have some hard core dirt bike boots that are like concrete.  I've worn them once for the BMW Performance school off road class and they did a great job but they are super heavy and I can't walk in them so I decided to do the next best thing and use my nice Vasque hiking boots.  They will give some protection and I can walk.  Ya can't please everyone but to bad, this is what I'm doing.  I also have a couple of neck gators for dusty or cold conditions.

Other misc stuff

Some Rock straps, a couple of wratchet straps, a siphon tube, coupld of bungie cords, flashlight, leatherman tool, first aid kit, earplugs and a few medications.  Of course, you have your electronics and a bazillion cables for everything and too much electronics, power adaptor, small extension cord, etc.  You know what I'm talking about.  Then of course a few pairs of lightweight pants, socks, shirts, underware but trying not to go overboard with too much stuff which I'm sure I have.