Project Flying I-Beam

Most of this post can be considered Retcon, because I was too lazy to write construction logs.
Not that you should feel left out or anything, the story of this scooter, indeed the final construction, is almost insultingly simple:

 

This is the original plan, a 12" scooter bought for £35 on ebay, this is an unfinished Google Sketchup model as this idea was so bad I abandoned it before it could break one of my legs in some hitherto suspected accident.

<arse-kissing to prevent heated argument> If you are the seller, I am not faulting your sales conduct, it was second-to-none; it was me who should have known better than to buy bargain-basement when sending 3000 watts through one (perhaps two, if I had proven insane enough) wheel(s). </arse-kissing to prevent heated argument>

UPDATE 10/04/2012:  The 12" Scooter

This is the Scooter:

Some Modifications were made (to no avail) to correct problems of braking and handlebar height

Standard "BMX" Type bars which were too low, but could have been sorted with some welding

The Single-Pivot Caliper Brake, the only effective braking system (in a dangerous-lack-of-stopping-power sort of way)

The Rear V Brake which even after considerable tweaking failed to offer any slowing at all

This I suppose is the disadvantage of internet shopping - you have no idea what you buy until you receive it; however, all is not lost:  The frame has rusted a lot less than I thought it would, so it may be cut up for some other project at some point (welding/brazing practice at least).  As for the wheels, I may use them for a Python Recumbent or even my second electric scooter.

Just to satisfy curiosity as to what I was to arm this scooter with, here is the specs and calculations (courtesy of ebikes.ca):

N.B:  This was on level ground, 2800w was projected on a gradient of 13%.

Specs:

• Turnigy 80-100 180Kv Motor
• 120A Speed controller of some description
• 2 x 6s1p Zippy Flightmax 8000mAh 30C Flight Packs

 Of course this was before I knew that A)  Aircraft ESCs do NOT monitor the current they pass and will go bang should too much pass through and B)  Li-Po batteries had a nasty habit of toasting themselves in the event of short circuits.  Watch enough videos such as this:  Overcharging LiPo Battery  and you will SHUDDER at the thought of a short circuit of one of those!

The next step I took was to abandon the 12" wheels and go for something a bit more compact:

There is no two ways about this, it's a wooden brick.

The plan at this point was to hack up an obscure model of JDBug (Stunt Series with the 140mm wheels) to obtain the folding mechanism.  I was hoping that I could haul this around as a nifty transport solution for the solitary trips I take to various british cities by train.  This version was made of Plywood all around save for the folding front end.

Specs:

• Aeolian C4260 600Kv Motor
• Turnigy Trackstar 150A Car ESC
• 6s1p Zippy Flightmax 8000mAh 30C Flight Pack

At this point I scaled down my ambitions to 1500w power output since the knowledge of de-rating all components had still gone over my head.  I had also seen fit to add a 60mm fan over the motor to keep it nice and cool:

Delta Fans:  Ears not welcome within 100 yards

 I seem to have hit the limit of what one post can contain, see the next post for a parallel design in Aluminium.