i am happy to report that the drl project for TW560 is completed. below i will share the details of how the project came together and how the bom looks like. after ordering the switchback led’s from a US-supplier and blinker covers in germany i was perfecting my DRL amtel-chip powered LED switchback solution and even created a pcb according to the prototype i wrote about in one of my last posts. after only one week – this during the festive season! – the led’s and the covers arrived and i was very happy not to have had to pay […]
happy new year!
happy new year! thank you for reading this blog! TW560 has been a trusted companion for over 19000kms in 2013. i am looking forward to an exiting 2014 with many happy e-kilometers!
DRL > a new project for TW560
18jan14-update: project finished, see result here. swiss road laws are changing. from january 1st, 2014 onwards, every vehicle on switzerland’s roads must have DRL – daylight running lights – when in motion. older vehicles without dedicated DRL can comply with this law by keeping their main lights on during daytime. a TWIKE, obviously, doesn’t have any dedicated DRL and keeping the main lights on during daytime is not an option for most TWIKE pilots, including me: using 210-260W on just a bit of lighting just seems a tad wasteful and – in tw560’s case – will shave of 6-10 kms […]
world record attempt in zurich july 6: with TWIKE 560
this weekend louis palmer, organizer of WAVE2011-2013 (TW560 took part in WAVE2011, in india) wanted to end the current WAVE with a challenge: beat the current world record bringing together as many electric cars as possible. the current world record stood at 255 vehicles. after reaching out to his network, louis arranged to have all cars converge in zurich on the morning of july 6. below is a video walking along the cars waiting for the start signal. (i started about half way in!) in any case, we TWIKE pilots were here in force! about 60 TWIKE’s were to be […]
racing TW4 at e-mobility world in friedrichshafen
every year, friedrichshafen hosts a large gathering of rare and old cars at the local exposition halls. a remarkable collection it is, but one part is reserved for alternative and electric propulsion cars. this part is called e-mobility world. this year fine mobile, the TWIKE manufacturer decided to take part and have a large presence there. all TWIKE pilots were invited including access to the halls with their own vehicles. i drove the 100 kms to friedrichshafen in one charge. a very nice drive given the wonderful weather. lake constance, nestled between germany, austria and switzerland is a very nice […]
WAVE 2011 – press clippings
i know it’s been a while since WAVE 2011 in india, but i recently stumbled across a selection of news clippings which i thought would be interesting to anyone who had followed our blog in the past. interestingly, most clips feature the TWIKE with either me or jc… click the images for higher resolution versions. enjoy!
visiting fine mobile, the TWIKE manufacturer
after a good nights’ sleep, i rise refreshed from yesterday’s marathon drive across germany. i have a nice balcony on which i enjoy my breakfast, looking down on rosenthal. breakfast over, i head to fine’s HQ… after chatting with some employees, i head for lunch with fine’s ceo, martin möscheid, his brother and the first official twike2fly (in german) partner from morocco, silvia brutschin (a.k.a. twikezora). after lunch, martin möscheid took some time to explain the history of how TWIKE production was transferred to fine mobile after swisslem went out of business. he filled in many blanks i had and […]
halfway through germany in one day
faster than expected the day has come to drive to rosenthal. i’m really looking forward to meeting the guys at fine mobile. some last minute changes to the route and a decision to add a quick 30 minute charge in wurmlingen and the usual preparations regarding my travel cabling kit. so, here i am, 4:40am. TW560 is fully charged, about 14°C and a sliver of dawn forming on the horizon. although i am used to long-distance >450kms day-long drives on our tours, we seldomly go over 300kms/day. View > rosenthal in a larger map above is the route i will […]
under the hood #2: water + batteries > combine at your own risk!
i’ve had problems charging the TWIKE recently. after driving in wet conditions, charging led to FI failures. i was, however, always able to charge using the two external onboard chargers i added to TW560 for fast charging. charging on normal fuses was no problem and since i normally charge the TWIKE during the night on a 6A non-FI secured line, it took some time to discover the problem… the problem had to be with the internal charger and internal electronics. thomas from moeckli elektrofahrzeuge agreed to have a look and this blog entry documents what we found… TW560 was one […]
TW560@TWIKE HQ > visiting fine mobile
since i’ve got much more time on my hands nowadays, i’ve arranged to visit fine mobile, the TWIKE manufacturer june 6-7, 2013. for months now, fine’s marketing department and i have been corresponding on what can be communicated on new developments, options for current TWIKE models and so forth. i felt that i was necessary to see for myself how TWIKE’s are assembled and what status TWIKE 5 has and maybe get a rare glimpse into the design process of this new vehicle. first and foremost, this visit will be for me personally. however, since i am also vice-president of […]