SDW-1 Greetings Readers!

NOTE: Scott wrote this, but technical difficulties prevent him from posting it himself. It has been six years plus since I began to fly my freak flag (the night of my 59th birthday). I was not impressed with what I saw in the mirror. I first reviewed my notes to find a good idea to execute. Five months later while at my local bike shop, hanging from the ceiling, I spied a hubmotor.

In 2006 I came to the conclusion that until a type of electric motor called a hubmotor became available and reliable, a particular project would remain unborn. This status would last 12 years.

Leaving the bike shop, I went straight to the bathroom mirror to consult. I’d been telling people I could do this for forty years. The scary part was now I didn’t have an excuse to not try. There is a saying that amounts to a dare: “Are you going to fish or cut bait?” I was going to fish.

The idea was to design and build a three-wheeled vehicle that wouldn’t threaten to tip over every time you went around a curve. The rider is to experience the ride of a motorcycle, with all the centrifugal forces during a turn traveling straight down through the frame and into the roadway. I went all in even though I had no idea of what I was getting into. I also forced myself to do things incorrectly due to expense constraints or inexperience. This was allowable in the name of moving forward and expedience. I also quit listening to critics, self included. All very liberating.

I have come to realize that the pre-born years were not a waste because over the years I conducted dozens of thought experiments that helped me to avoid design pitfalls. They steered me toward an embodiment that seems to do almost everything well and is also compact uncomplicated. I have three prototype builds under my belt and three years experiencing the physics of the thing to find out “what it wants.” Now I’m scheming to do a Portugal redesign and build next but I really don’t want to build it alone.

Electric tilting trikes are starting to spring up, bypassing my efforts toward commercialization. The positive spin on this development is it just confirms that it’s a good idea.

Mk.3

BF4

BF3