It Lives!
Once again, the lobster crawls the Earth! That's right, a day of maintenance work on the trike has ended with a solid shakedown ride.
A successful maintenance day!
Lots of maintenance work was done on the trike today.
On site frame inspection from an actual aerospace engineer.
Ricardo, our welder (and an actual aerospace engineer) came out to get a good in-person look at some of the welded areas. He noted it's kind of neat to see the product of time wearing on a vehicle frame, and how much has held up is a testament to the quality of the original work.
Tire and Tube Swaps
The front tire swap was more struggle than expected. Mark had no trouble getting the wheel off, but absent the axle, the forks closed up substantially, making it a challenge to re-install the wheel. We did have the leverage to to separate them far enough by hand, and the position was took awkward to get a pry bar in there without causing damange to the lobster's shell. Eventually, Mark managed to get a wedge in there along with the wheel. After tightening up the axle nuts, Mark rotated the wheel, and the wedge delivered without issue.
Mark and I swapped out tubes and tires on the back to wheels and got them aired up before taking the trike off of the saw horses.
Chains on Sprockets
There are sooooo many chain links on soooo many chains on soooo many chain rings, but I looked at every one of them. There are a few stiff points, but the chain is practically rustless. It is still carrying a good amount of a heavy (assumed marine) grease, and 99% of the links are moving freely.
We put the gear shifters into the lowest gear on pilot's rings and loaded the chain on to each ring throughout the frame. We cleaned off and streightened out a few derailleur arms. A few pully and springs have worn loose, but not enough to restrict movement of the system.
We debated on whether or not to remove the chains that drive the paddles in the back. Since we're not riding it in the Sound right now, do we need to spend the energy turning them? We decided to keep them on for now becuase it provides a nice visual effect that makes it look a bit more alive.
A Shakedown Ride!
Catch a (very) brief video of the start of the shakedown ride here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PY1P7UbpK0w
What a well-engineered machine! The trike rolled out of the lot and, after break tests, steering tests, stability tests, turning tests, shifting tests, clearance tests, and a whole lot of safety tests, Mark and I climbed in for a turn at both the pilots seat and the puppeteer seat. We made three or four laps around the parking lot, each time adding another system to the test ride.
Let me tell you, it is thrilling. From the pilots seat, you cannot see the front wheel, and steering is controlled by a rotating crank on top of a steering column that wraps a rope around it. With that in your right hand, you've got a controls column on the left side with two shifters and a brake lever, and a control cable below your seat that animates the lobster's tail. With having to keep and eye on the road, the steering, the clearance around the trike, etc., your hands are genuinely full.
The front seat is no less exhilarating. There are shifters and pedals to operate, and then three puppet controls: one each for the mouth and two claws. The build is sturdy enough to survive all this time, but the consequence is the weight. Even just a couple of parking lot laps of me flapping the mouth and working the claws got me sweating.
Since it was a rather nice day out, and being as we were immediately next to the Burke-Gilman trail for the test riding, we got a LOT of immediate feedback. And by feedback I mean people were losing their minds. They stopped to ask questions. They stopped to take pictures. They almost crashed their bicycles because they didn't stop to take pictures. Parents with their kids squealed at the sight of it. Many could not contain their swear words. I have a feeling it will be a big hit anytime it comes out.
Next up: Patching the hull!
We've got a few holes in the hull that need to be patched up, and some stress cracking that needs to be addressed.