Arcimoto

[Rickb]

as one who has little more than a superficial knowledge about an Arcimoto, I'm curious as to the reasoning behind their decision to not offer doors as an option .....

Pop on, pop off hard half, hard full, and soft sided doors were a stated option and included on the concept napkin sketch way back in 2008. The proof of concept was fully enclosed. Hard half doors are currently available, but 2 years after the production start in 2019. Apparently they discovered engineering doors to fit the tubular frame to be more of a challenge than expected. About a month ago the 1/2 doors were no longer an option on the “Build Your FUV configurator. I don’t know why. The FUV is one fun ride, but I need full enclosure In my 4 season climate. The current owners in the warm season climates love the open air year around ride and they stay surprisingly dry during downpours.

This hardcore biker took delivery of his FUV, a month or so ago, and having some fun with his 1/2 door option. The half doors do provide protection from getting lower legs wet on rainy day rides and rear passenger compartment enclosure to contain groceries, pets, or whatever.

 

[FC]

Could the door issue be that tubular frame construction has too much flex to use a simple door design.
Another thought is maybe the frame are difficult to make with the precision needed for simple bolt in doors, which would take hand fitting.
It might be one reason Elio turned to unibody construction.

 

[3wheelin]

Could the door issue be that tubular frame construction has too much flex to use a simple door design.
Another thought is maybe the frame are difficult to make with the precision needed for simple bolt in doors, which would take hand fitting.
It might be one reason Elio turned to unibody construction.

I agree. Those tube frames are so skinny for a full enclosure to build on. It will need a totally new thicker framing to install seals all around to prevent water and air leaking inside. Doing so would add more to this already expensive 3wheeler.

 

[Rickb]

Could the door issue be that tubular frame construction has too much flex to use a simple door design.
Another thought is maybe the frame are difficult to make with the precision needed for simple bolt in doors, which would take hand fitting.
It might be one reason Elio turned to unibody construction.

The 1/2 doors fit and have a tight seal. The upper half more difficult since engineering and fabricating a window in the upper half enclosure is a factor. Also fabricating the doors is an expensive process Until production scale kicks in. I don’t think it’s flex, but rather an odd shape, particularly in the passenger compartment. As it is, the FUV is still safer and drier than your typical three wheeler motorcycle. One of the first Evergreen Owners fabricated a soft door enclosure for his FUV turned Deliverator he uses for his daily mail route deliveries. He has logged on over 20K miles and loves it.

 

[3wheelin]

The 1/2 doors fit and have a tight seal. The upper half more difficult since engineering and fabricating a window in the upper half enclosure is a factor. Also fabricating the doors is an expensive process Until production scale kicks in. I don’t think it’s flex, but rather an odd shape, particularly in the passenger compartment. As it is, the FUV is still safer and drier than your typical three wheeler motorcycle. One of the first Evergreen Owners fabricated a soft door enclosure for his FUV turned Deliverator he uses for his daily mail route deliveries. He has logged on over 20K miles and loves it.

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I'm seriously considering this Chinese made 3wheeler, 150cc gas engine (yes!), seats 3 and drumroll please- priced at $2,380.00! I'll make enquiries as to the amount of shipping, tax, etc. Fully enclosed and available to order right now at ALIBABA.

The 155cc gas engine is so easy to work with, lots of available parts or the whole engine if it fails, no need to worry of battery degradation and just fill 'er up and go simplicity.

 

[Mel]

I'm seriously considering this Chinese made 3wheeler, 150cc gas engine (yes!), seats 3 and drumroll please- priced at $2,380.00! I'll make enquiries as to the amount of shipping, tax, etc. Fully enclosed and available to order right now at ALIBABA.
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The 155cc gas engine is so easy to work with, lots of available parts or the whole engine if it fails, no need to worry of battery degradation and just fill 'er up and go simplicity.

I sincerely hope you are looking at this for neighborhood and/or back road cruising. This configuration can be VERY unstable at highway speeds. Especially with the narrow rear wheel track.

 

[3wheelin]

I sincerely hope you are looking at this for neighborhood and/or back road cruising. This configuration can be VERY unstable at highway speeds. Especially with the narrow rear wheel track.

That is the general idea. Around town cruising, town to town cruising using side streets, grocery shopping, golf course, etc. I wouldn't dare driving Arcimoto's FUV in the highway either which costs 6x as much!

 

[Coss]

I was thinking about the doors, why not make them like it was for a boat.
On boats it would be similar, but it wouldn't be a tight seal, more like just something to fill the hole.
But I went back and read that you were looking for air and watertight seal, pretty hard to do with a boat style.
It's just a thought but if you are looking for "right now" kind of cure, it would work.

Just a thought, and something to explore if you have to have it NOW
You might want to talk to a trim shop that does boats and explain what you want to end up with.
(Trim shop = Upholstery Shop )

 

[Ace]

Pop on, pop off hard half, hard full, and soft sided doors were a stated option and included on the concept napkin sketch way back in 2008. The proof of concept was fully enclosed. Hard half doors are currently available, but 2 years after the production start in 2019. Apparently they discovered engineering doors to fit the tubular frame to be more of a challenge than expected. About a month ago the 1/2 doors were no longer an option on the “Build Your FUV configurator. I don’t know why. The FUV is one fun ride, but I need full enclosure In my 4 season climate. The current owners in the warm season climates love the open air year around ride and they stay surprisingly dry during downpours.

This hardcore biker took delivery of his FUV, a month or so ago, and having some fun with his 1/2 door option. The half doors do provide protection from getting lower legs wet on rainy day rides and rear passenger compartment enclosure to contain groceries, pets, or whatever.

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With tight fitting full sized sealed doors, wouldn't ventilation be a big issue with everything closed up?

 

[RSchneider]

With tight fitting full sized sealed doors, wouldn't ventilation be a big issue with everything closed up?

Never will happen with the FUV. Only happens with everything else. Plus, the windscreen will never fog up either.