Finally – the day I’ve been waiting for has come! TW560 is ready for a first week of driving in minimum configuration in order to detect any major problems before going ahead and concentrating on the remaining details. I will be collecting TW560 from Andi in a ‘barely driveable’ state. This means: No fog lights No reverse light No internal lights No 12V outlets No windscreen wiper! The hood will not fully open No wheel covers No battery bay cover! Lots of non-connected cables everywhere No serial number…I’m incognito 🙂 but: All drive-related parts are functional! Front lights work Indicators […]
Re-build of TW560, part 2
As TW560 cannot monopolize Andi’s business for days on end, TW560’s revival had to pause for a few days. Other TWIKEs need repairs, too! We rejoin the action for the second part of TW560’s re-build. The goal for today is to get TW560’s back on its own wheels, able to break and propel itself – a bonus would be to have the hood fitted. Let’s see how far we can get today. Last time we left off with the main frame mounted and the battery bay ready. A good next step is to add the back suspension assembly. When this […]
Re-build of TW560, part one
I was very much looking forward to this part: Finally, TW560 is going to be put back together, as a Chimera of TW560’s main parts, TW524’s outer hull and TWxxx’s hood. It will take time to get used to. But I have really missed my TWIKE unlike any other possession I’ve had in my life. It’s a very strange and strong feeling. I don’t know if other rare vehicle owners have similar feelings. It’s similar to how you might feel towards a very old and very dear friend. Anyway: today is the day TW560 fights its way back to life…and […]
Tips: Updating DFC3’s software
Three months without TW560 taken its toll on me. No long therapeutic drives across Switzerland’s beautiful landscapes. No tinkering with my TWIKE to keep it in tip-top shape. After working really hard for a few weeks, I decided to take a day off from work and asked Andreas from Ksenotek if I could take on his offer to borrow his TWIKE – he happily agreed to give it to me for the weekend. Just a few minutes after setting off with Andi’s TWIKE, I noticed that the controller was running a 7-year-old version of DFC’s software. Many of the goodies […]
Stripping down TW524
With TW560 reduced to a square cube meter of parts, it’s time to remove all parts from TW524 and get its Space Frame ready for transplantation to TW560’s frame. Everything else will go towards my ever-growing TWIKE spare-part collection. I’m really happy to finally have many parts in storage which can make problems (such as this one) go away very easily and cost-effectively. As I mentioned, we had to source a back top Luran cover as the one that came with TW524 was non-standard … and I really want my stock-edition non-modified outer hull TWIKE back. This is why […]
How to balance with dead cells in a stack
Another spot of giving back love to the community after having driven a TWIKE that was offered to me after my catastrophic total-loss accident with TW560. TW230, a 10Ah capacity TWIKE from 1999 was lent to me by Thomas who also asked me if I could tell me if I could hear something that wasn’t OK with his TWIKE. After a few hundred km, my verdict was: some ball bearings are on their way out and will be needing some attention soon. The battery pack, however, was showing strange drops in voltage at higher loads and the end-charge voltage would […]
Tear-down of TW560
With the hood and original Luran top taken care of, we can start repairing TW560. First of all, we have to tear-down both TWIKE 560 and 524. In this entry TW560’s gets taken apart: from vehicle to parts. The image below visualizes in a very simple way what we’re going to be extracting from TW560 during this process. My job allows me to be super-flexible with regards to where I can work: Anywhere. (Which is important – I travel a lot in Europe…and beyond) I just need my laptop to be connected to a decent Internet connection. I have […]
Welcome TW524!
As one of the parts of TW560’s rebuild strategy after my catastrophic total loss accident with TW560, procuring a new TWIKE was a cornerstone of making it happen within the means available. As always, Karma somehow handed me the solution on a silver tablet: TW524. The serial number of the TWIKE providing the parts for mine may not be too far off, as there were major changes during every single production series making many parts incompatible. An acceptable price for TW524 was found and within 2 weeks of getting the go-ahead from my insurer I am now the proud owner […]
TWIKE pilot community – compassion and camaraderie
News of my accident traveled through the grapevines of the TWIKE community at light speed – TW560’s absence was noticed by many during TWIKE Klub’s 2018 general assembly in Berne. I was asked a lot of questions what happened and how TW560 was doing. Out of nowhere I got multiple offers to borrow and drive TWIKE’s for short to longer periods of time – which I gladly accepted as I was in need of an independent mode of transport. Driving various TWIKEs proved to me – yet again – one very important point: There is not one TWIKE like another! […]
TW560 – rebuild strategy
I have CHF 15,000 to spend. What needs to be replaced? Space Frame Hood Plexiglas front windshield Luran outer skin How do I get the parts … and from where? Buying new parts is expensive. Used parts are the way to go. However, finding larger used Luran components is near-impossible, because they are usually attached to a TWIKE….hmmm. Quite a few people suggested I just buy a used TWIKE and transfer everything of value over to it. This wasn’t an option for me, as it wouldn’t be TW560 anymore. After some deliberation and lots of phone calls TW560’s rebuild strategy […]