On Thursday, 6 August 2020 12:13:11 UTC+1, T i m wrote:
On Thu, 6 Aug 2020 02:39:22 -0700 (PDT), tabbypurr wrote:
On Thursday, 6 August 2020 09:28:20 UTC+1, T i m wrote:
On Wed, 5 Aug 2020 17:24:15 -0700 (PDT), tabbypurr wrote:
snip

Bottom line, I can either try to skim the disk (might be able to mount
it on the lathe) or space the mech out slightly so that in the
manually 'opened' position the disk floats freely (even if it doesn't
when it should be electrically activated).


are they not cheaply available used on ebay?

Possibly, depending on how you see 'cheaply'.

If it had failed at 13 months on a 3 grand buggy then ?100 or even
?300 for a new one (these *******s are a ripoff) could be considered
'cheap'.

If you only paid ?200 for the buggy then even ?65 for a second hand
one is quite expensive?

Now, the good thing is that I believe it will run without the brake
fitted (it will need to be in the loom because it kills the throttle
if the override lever (microswitch) is actuated and the brake actuator
coil (45 ohms) out of circuit, but I don't think it can detect it's
not mechanically installed) so we (not Mum) can give it a run (many
times round the block) to check all is well again before sourcing a
replacement.

The is a chance you could buy a complete damaged scooter privately for
less than the cost of the part. The st//dealers tend to break them and
sell them on eBay.

I have seen this model complete and running sold on eBay for ~?400 so
if we get a known working one for less than that I guess we could
count that as a result?


Depends what your time's worth.

Well in cases like this its more a function of S&G's and learning
about the workings of Mobility Scooters. Also batteries and
electronics so it's more of a hobby than a chore.

Re brakes, yes they can work without a brake.

An 'automatic electric brake', it will still have an mechanical brake
etc.

But it would be a concern to operate one like that outside of testing it somewhere safe.

Quite (given the above). It will be interesting to see how much
natural overrun braking there is or if there is an electrical brake
(shorting the motor rather than an electro-mechanical-physical brake).

From the very few I've seen it seems mob scooters have all sorts of design oddities.

Oh indeed.

Steering that's not Ackermann, brakes that can be deactivated by the user with no marking, no warning and no obvious effect on operation, that insane 5 wheel setup etc.

;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_RcLYGCPKc

Reminds me of the somewhat famous 1951 Hoffmann car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y16ObVRvgOE
and he doesn't even do its terribleness justice.

Oooerr!

Initially I thought it might be like my Messerschmitt KR200 but then I
saw it was *nothing* like that (wheelbase longer than the track, front
wheel steering, sliding windows, easy to get in and out of etc).

That Hoffmann looks like it was 'designed' by Crazy Jim, not wanting
to conform to any standards and not realising how undesirable that is?

Cheers, T i m

The kabinenroller was one of the best designed microcars. The Hoffmann is truly the worst ever found. What Jason doesn't address there is the steering crisis - I won't call it a problem. Turning the steering wheel moves the car sideways as you saw on the vid. What this means is that once you go full lock, it becomes physically impossible to turn the steering wheel back to straight, centripetal force from cornering keeps it locked. So in real world driving the thing is strongly prone to going out of control on corners. I suspect after a couple of drives it was never used again.


NT