Modification mishaps

[BringOnI2]

Time to fess up! What's the worst mistake you've made modifying your segway?

The only reason I haven't yet is because I live in constant fear that my curiosity/imagination will get the better of me and try some mod that I'll instantly regret, like "Why on earth did I just do that?". So anyone out there done this kind of thing that can warn us to steer clear of?

[KSagal]

This is a good topic. It is not just mistakes in design, but also appearance that may take their toll...

One thing that I have always tried to do is to have a spare of what ever I am trying to modify... An 85 year old friend accross the street always touts having, "A pair and a spare".

I did some modifications to the fenders of my E-167. I routed a small channel along the outside edge, about 1/2 inch in from the edge, and about 1/16 inch deep. In this I put a strand of electrolumensesent wire. (Actually, green across the front and red along the back).

I did this years ago, but it demonstrates this point well. I did the router work only after buying a second set of fenders from the factory. Those old titanium fenders were sold as seconds for a good price, and the blemishes were really insignificant.

The advantage of this attitude is that I make less mistakes. I still have the spares in their original box, and still have the original fenders on my nearly 4 year old machine.

Same with the handlebar. I bought an old one, broken, and drilled it apart, and did many experiments on it. I have a working spare. When it came time to drill into my original, and add the 9 microswitches, 2 banks of LEDs, and the almost 20 wires up thru the CS and into the bottom of the handlebar, it was easier because of the practice.

My current headlights on that unit will need to be re-done. No problems, just cosmetic improvements are due. If you look at my galleries, both current and from the old server, you will see the many evolutions my manchine has endured...

[BillPaxton]

and about 1/16 inch deep. In this I put a strand of electrolumensesent wire. (Actually, green across the front and red along the back).


Where did you get the glow wire? I can only find it in kits pre-cut to lengths that won't help me and I can only find yellow and lime colors!

Anyway back on topic, I have been through 6 fenders now on two segs, and though not directly due to my mod (I drilled holes around the perimeter of the flat portion behind the rubber insert from the base and glued LEDs, as seen in my album), the tensile strength from my mod caused a dramatic crack when grazing an outturned car tire on a dark night. A few bumps and stairs later, the crack extended to connect my drill holes and I had to replace the fenders.

[solotrek]

Where did you get the glow wire? I can only find it in kits pre-cut to lengths that won't help me and I can only find yellow and lime colors!

Anyway back on topic, I have been through 6 fenders now on two segs, and though not directly due to my mod (I drilled holes around the perimeter of the flat portion behind the rubber insert from the base and glued LEDs, as seen in my album), the tensile strength from my mod caused a dramatic crack when grazing an outturned car tire on a dark night. A few bumps and stairs later, the crack extended to connect my drill holes and I had to replace the fenders.

You might try:
www.glowire.com
They sell in bulk.

[SEGsby]

Trying to buy accessories before they were shipping?

SEGsby

Time to fess up! What's the worst mistake you've made modifying your segway?

[GlennO]

I haven't messed up yet, but I am planning on putting a bar/tube between the two lower cargo frames, and in front of the CS, making it available/removable to hold things that are too big to put on to the side frames.

Any takers?
Glenn

[guyler]

It looks OK if you are about six feet away and don't see very good, but up close it is obvious that I made a mess of it.

http://www.pbcinfo.com/SEG/flames1.jpg

Standard procedure is to cover the space with masking tape, then Exacto knife out the flames. Then spray the flames (yellow in this case). Works OK on smooth surfaces. On the pebbled finish on the fenders quite a bit of spray snuck under the masking tape. What a mess. Impossible to remove. I took a tiny artist brush and tried to cover them up with black paint. Had to paint the rest of the fender black to match the corrections. Of course I got some black on the yellow. Then 600 wet or dry sanding which gave a dull finish and made a clear overcoat mandatory.

OK here are some lessions learned:

1) Use a finger nail and press the masking tape down firmly along all the edges of the flames.

2) Don't spray. Use a roller. Shouldn't get any paint under the tape. Also, no need to mask off the entire unit which have to do when spraying.

3) If you screw up, like I did, there is no way to recover. On metal the entire lot can be sanded off and start over. Not so on plastic fenders. Also, forget paint remover. Least bad option is to sand smooth and paint the whole fender the same color. I am thinking of red.

[SEGsby]

I think the yellow flames on black look really nice. :)

If you go with red fenders, that would be very bold looking... Perhaps even a little like an evil i180. ;)

SEGsby

[solotrek]

The flames look really cool. Could you use some automotive pinstriping tape to cover the areas where the paint bled through?

[guyler]

The flames look really cool. Could you use some automotive pinstriping tape to cover the areas where the paint bled through?
Not sure. There are some very short radius curves. Doubt if pinstriping tape could make the bend. Good idea though.

[BillPaxton]

You might try:
www.glowire.com (http://www.glowire.com)
They sell in bulk.
They do sell by the foot but have very limited color selections. Another vendor on the web has a wide array of colors in the ultrathin (1.5mm) but they only sell in 10' lengths and spools...I haven't looked in awhile, I'll see if I can google something new.