IET transmission

[1lesscar]

Anybody know what kind of oil I will need?

[Richard230]

My guess would be something like a 20w-40 motorcycle transmission oil like what is used in two-stroke IC motorcycle gearboxes.  My BMW uses 90 wt. synthetic GL5 gear oil, but that is likely too thick for the IET transmission.

[Shinysideup]

OMG! Our first oil thread and the bike's not in production

[ttxgpfan]

OMG! Our first oil thread and the bike's not in production

LMAO!  I remember the oil thread wars on the old VF/VFR list.  Brutal, just brutal.

[Sorian]

Slightly off topic and probably incorrect train of thought, but do you really need to use the clutch on an electric motor if you are not applying force? Example being in 3rd gear, let off throttle, shift to 4th, throttle up.

[protomech]

In general for EVs the answer is no, because the motor has very little moment of inertia. One thing with most home conversions is that if you naively command an unloaded motor to apply maximum torque then it tends to hit and exceed maximum RPM very quickly and damage itself.

I expect the Empulse's transmission will be mostly idiot-proof, at least in this respect.

[Sorian]

Thanks protomech

[Richard230]

One way Brammo might deal with the rpm change between shifts is to use a "slipper" clutch that was tensioned to slip when under a sudden load and then it would grab under normal torque.  It would be tough to get set up properly, but properly designed it would be able to absorb shocks to the power train so that the motor and chain didn't suffer when shifting. That way you wouldn't need a manual clutch lever and shifting between gears would be much easier. Sort of like one of the new automatic dual clutch $$$ transmissions that Honda uses on a couple of their new IC models. 

[FreepZ]

An automatic clutch may have many benefits, but a manual clutch allows more control, and it's a lot more fun to use!