SR 14x Testing
SR14X is the evolution of SR14. SR14 was the bike which did 0-100kmph in 5.24 seconds, but we wanted to improve more. The Key changes of SR14 are as follows :-
- Improved rake angle
- 13.5Kg lighter
- New suspension and shocker setup
- Lighter chassis.
Our first test of SR14 was in mid-july, it was one of our most successful test. As we wanted to push more in the existing frame design and EV components, we started building the frame with clear vision in mind to make it lighter to improve handling and decrease the rake angle of the bike. It was a very challenging job to decrease the weight of the frame, but our team at workshop did a phenomenal job in weight reduction, that includes removing the non-required clamps and brackets, shredding off some metal parts, keeping in mind that frame is also strong and reliable enough for racing. Our aim was to make the bike 10kgs lighter.
By the time SR14X was ready for testing monsoon has hit the city. We started looking for a place for testing, and then we found a beautiful place for testing (TWM Academy, Kharagpur) which was 150km from the city. It had off-road trails, fast flowing corners and straights also. The surface was moorum which was perfect for us because it absorbs water very quickly.
The new bike was prepared by 2nd week of august and it was ready for testing. We took the bike to Khargpur for testing on 14th august 2024. The weather was humid, and chances of rain was more than 80%. We quickly unloaded the bikes from our truck and start preparing the bikes for testing, but we faced a complete cut off in power in first 50 meters. We were out of clue what the problem was, after sometimes it started again. We had various test plans for SR14X.
- Reliability test
- Suspension and shocker test
- Bodyline check
- Trail setup check
- Sprint Setup check for motorsports
We first started testing the bike for the reliability, but we were facing some issue with the bike, after every 5-6km bike was getting completely switched off and again after few seconds the bike was again running to its potential. We changed various settings throughout the day. We striped off the bike in the evening to find out that if there is any problem. But we found all the connections and wiring are at the right place. We charged the bike for the next day.
The next day was bit cloudy and slight drops of rain was also there. We started testing for reliability and we found that same problem was there. The problem won't hurt us in the next events in motorsports, but we wanted to make sure that the problem was not happening within 5kms. We started testing the bike roughly in trails for 5 kms and there were no problems at the time span at all. We checked up the suspension setup it was smooth as butter. We dropped the bike in slush, mud, waterlog, etc and there was no problem.
Later in the evening when all team members and engineering was having a chat about what the problem was then one of the engineer’s told that it could happen because of the moisture. The temperature of motor, controller, battery pack, etc was ok, so there was not much concern with heat at that point of time. We opened the motor encoder cover and point out that there is moisture in the encoder, and it was of huge amount. The seals were perfect and there was not leakage in the seal. We started looking for silicon bags from our camera bag but unfortunately, we couldn't find it so we started thinking of some DIY stuffs. We wrapped some dry rice in a tissue paper and put that thing in the motor, so that it could absorb moisture.
Next day we started testing the bike early morning and found out that same problem is there. We found out that it is the problem of the encoder, it absorbed lot moisture, and the chip is damaged. The chip was not damaged during testing, but in our workshop as the motors were kept in an almirah and because of repair work in workshop water got inside of the shelf and it damaged various expensive goods. But nevertheless, we decided we will change the encoder when we are back in base and do the reliability test there. We started doing test for our next event and it was a successful test. We faced some mechanical issues like a front brake failure, chain link got broken.
We changed the brake pads and the chain link and did 8-10 runs of test in trails and tested the limit of the bike. We were confident about the bike for the next race, but there was a bit of doubt and curiosity to know that the problem is with the encoder or not. The following week we went to the workshop and changed the encoder and did the test in the city and the reliability problem was solved and the bike was running again to its full potential. We got sure that the problem was with encoder, we accepted the problem and find the problem in limited time. We decided to make the bike more powerful, lighter by the end of this year and make a different bike of smaller size.
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