As I said I’m feeling lazy, and I really don’t have anything specific to buy right now except some comic books that have been put on extended hold until I can come in again. I will be going to the store that has the ATM I’m going to use on Saturday and I have money for bus fare to use until the 15th if I don’t have any in the checking account to use on my GoPass app.
I’m saving up for this to use to steer the Sprint-T. The pitman arm in the kit is longer than the steering arm on the spindle meaning I get slightly more than 90° of steering from lock to lock reducing the steering ratio to 18.8:1 without using a quickener. If I build the quickener I want (5:1) I’m looking at 3.76:1 total ratio from steering wheel to front wheels. This will definitely require power assist and the only add-on assist made right now is electric. I want to put the sensor on the steering wheel side of the quickener and the motor on the output side of the quickener so the load on the motor is reduced. The effect will be the same, but the possibility of overloading the motor is reduced by the same ratio as the quickener.
And now I feel really old because the tech on the electric power steering vendor saw my request for information and called back immediately, and he had no idea that Vegas didn’t have rack and pinion steering, and likewise did not know what a recirculating ball steering box was. Anyway, we discussed the technology and it was his professional opinion that the power assist should be fitted on the steering wheel side of the quickener to prevent lag from the motor not reacting as quickly as I could force it through the quickener especially with the high ratio in my quickener box. The motor would not overheat from trying to work against a very high resistance and was designed to be capable of extended periods of working against stall, so the only question was could my steering quickener hold up to both my muscles and the electric motor working against the stall of trying to turn past the limit locks of the Vega box. Given that the components I’m using to connect the steering wheel to the steering box can withstand 4 times my weight applied to the steering wheel, I think at this point wear is a greater concern than ultimate strength, and I have accounted for that by putting the chain and sprockets in a sealed oil bath.
And since I have things I need to do before midnight tonight, this seems like a good place to quit for today,
Witch on a Bicycle 