Changes to the Beast

As I mentioned in the previous post, the first thing I did was to remove the storage compartment from the rear rack. The thinking was that a passenger seat will be located in its place. I also decided not to install the 2 rear view mirrors on the handle bars. The horn unit was broken when I received the bike so I remove it from the scooter and tucked the remaining connected into the electrical box so as to keep it out of sight.

The next change was to remove the bicycle pedals and build foot pegs for a passenger. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the pedal mounts are 1/2" squares on the end of the sprocket shaft. So I went to our local Harbor Freight Tool store and purchased a set of 1/2" drive Deep Well Sockets and used the two largest sockets along with Anti Slip Tape wrapped around them as foot pegs. I did have to purchase 2 longer bolts to secure them, but other than this, the setup was almost complete.

Foot Pegs, and Bicycle Chain Removed

The only other issue was that the sprocket would roll, due to the shaft being installed in bearings. The answer to this was to wire tie the chain sprocket to the frame using 2 wire ties. I'm hoping that I'll come across another, more permanent way in which to keep the shaft from spinning. But for now it works quite well.

The decision was made to remove the chain from the scooter as well. Mostly because it was unneeded but also to reduce the chance of foreign material getting into the chain and sprocket assemblies, i.e. sand from the beach. I also removed the hall sensor and reluctor wheel from the left side pedal shaft. It was just a single screw for the sensor and the reluctor wheel is just a interference fit that came off by spinning it while pulling. I kept these in case I ever wanted to restore the PAS (Pedal Assist System).

The last alteration was the addition of the passenger's seat where the storage compartment was originally located.

Passenger Seat Installed

Looking at Daymak's Parts supply web site I noticed that you can purchase a seat for the Beast. I had to tap the the pipes of the support bracket to accept bolts, 2 for the back and 2 for the front. I used 1/4" x 20 machine bolts to fasten the seat. The front of the seat also required a metal cross member to be added, and the front seat bracket was bent 90 degrees to properly sit on top of the support bracket. This proved to be a simple and strong solution. I didn't need to weld anything, but I'm sure an accomplished fabricator could create a more elegant solution.

So now I have a 2-passenger off-road e-bike that my wife and I can enjoy in the forest and hopefully down on the beach. However, the performance of the unit was not quite what I expected which will lead me to the next few posts.