UK wide - Lands End to John O'Groats, 3rd September V1.2

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ChrisB
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Postby ChrisB » Sat Apr 19, 2008 10:27 am

Hi folks,

Sadly I am the bearer of bad news, late last night I heard that its been abandoned and they are all back home now :cry:

There where a number of factors apparently that caused them to abandon the event so early on :(

They managed to travel 73 miles, on first day they went from Lands End to Redruth and then on day 2 to Tavistock, it soon became apparent that Terrys scooter due to a number of reasons but mainly the weather temperature being around 6-8C meant the scooter was only realistically doing about 12.5 miles on a charge which meant they spent longer charging than running :cry: and this meant their calculated average speed over the whole run was going to work out at just 6mph :shock: the knock on effect was the whole run was going to take far longer than orginally planned and they both had other commitments afterwards that couldnt be changed so it was decided to abandon it on this occasion, also the generator starter motor failed which didnt help matters.

The plan is now to re-group and look at having more sets of batteries say around 3 sets, then charge one set on the trailer while travelling, one set is being used while the 3rd set is resting, this then takes the loading off the batteries somewhat and also means if they have any battery failures they then wont run into to many problems.

There will be a full write up in the next magazine of all their antics :lol:

Thanks for your support and look out for them doing it the next time 8)

No new date has been set currently.

ChrisB
I reject reality and substitute my own !!!!!!

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qdos
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Postby qdos » Sat Apr 19, 2008 11:01 am

what a shame but a heroic attempt all the same. and well done Terry and John for having a go. Image

Yep the back up batteries and ready charged ones are the way to go in my opinion. I'm sure it will be done

MalcolmB
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Postby MalcolmB » Sat Apr 19, 2008 7:20 pm

Real shame. I can sympathise with the cold lead problem. It was around 6ºC here the other morning when I took my bike for its MOT and the difference in performance was very noticeable, especially on the way back. (Though I think the fact the mechanic had taken it for a five-mile joyride contributed a bit to the sluggish ride home).

Hope the weather improves soon so they can have a proper go at it next time.

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ChrisB
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Postby ChrisB » Sat Apr 19, 2008 8:17 pm

Considering last year we where going through a mini heat wave with temps around 18-20C the current 8-10C is really not good :cry:

Tomorrow is National drive it day and I remember clearly last year it was the first time I took my Berlingo out after its battery change and it was lovely.

ChrisB
I reject reality and substitute my own !!!!!!

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MB
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Postby MB » Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:11 am

Sounds like some battery heaters would be a good investment.

The heat mats you get for greenhouses should be ideal. They don't take a lot of power - you might even be able to run them on a small 10w solar panel on the back of the scooter and should help improve the range.

You really need to try that sort of thing on an electric vehicle with 'hot swap' batteries. Most electric bikes have hot swap facilities, but I'm not aware of any electric motorbikes at present that can do that.

That could be about to change this summer though. Theres a small car being launched that has hot swap batteries...

john
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Postby john » Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:44 pm

HI MIKE WHAT DO MEAN BY HOT SWAPPING BATTERIES JOHN CRAYTON

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ChrisB
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Postby ChrisB » Fri Aug 29, 2008 7:44 am

Right folks its game on time for the Lands End to JohnOGroats challenge once again 8)

Terry, now furnished with two new packs of batteries an extra charger and spare generator is planing on leaving for this V1.2 of this trip on 3rd of September with John C as the back up man and his trailer and genny's.

They are now hoping that with the extra sets of batteries they now have and chargers they will be able charge at least one set of batteries while running on the others.

Heres the rough map of their route and once again if anyone wants to give them a hand or meet up for part of their journey I'll keep you updated on their progress here :wink:

Image

ChrisB
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qdos
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Postby qdos » Fri Aug 29, 2008 8:07 am

Good luck Terry !!!!!

It's a bit warmer now and less windy so hopefully that will make things easier. Are they starting again at Lands End or are they picking up where they left off from? Really ought to start over I think...

As they are passing Manchester maybe they might pop in on the committee meeting for a recharge?

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ChrisB
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Postby ChrisB » Fri Aug 29, 2008 8:24 am

I think the aim is that will be one of their stopping points to they can attend the committee meeting :wink:

ChrisB
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qdos
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Postby qdos » Fri Aug 29, 2008 8:47 am

now there's dedication if ever there was any!


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