TWIKE 560's adventures

Returning to check on the charge after our drive-free day in Valencia (a town well worth a visit!) everything was OK regarding the charge… but there was another issue manifesting itself on the floor of the garage I was parking in: A puddle of oil! Hmm. Even if a TWIKE only has around 150 ml […]

As one of the last parts of my full restoration of TW560 after an accident completely destroyed the vehicle and needed extensive re-building from the ground I thought it to be fitting to go all the way and spend some money on a new interior. This isn’t a decision based purely on luxury – the […]

Have you had canopy fasteners coming off the frame and staying in the canopy thus creating a not-so watertight problem? Don’t despair – I have a handy and easy way to fix it.   Just buy M4x15 screws, helical spring washers, M4 nyloc nuts and a 4.1 metal drill. Carefully place the drill in the […]

After my first km and various smaller trips resulting in extensive testing of TW560’s rebuild, it was time to go to Ksenotek for one last rebuild session for some last finishing touches. A new wooden battery bay cover – the last one was just plain wood. This time over I’m getting a beautifully lacquered one. […]

Part of the TWIKE community reaching out to me after destroying TW560 was me being offered to drive TW600. Caroline and I have known each other for a few years now and I’ve been her primary gateway for most questions around her vehicle as we both live in the same (small) village. During the handover […]

Finally – the day I’ve been waiting for has come! TW560 is ready for a first week of driving in minimum configuration in order to detect any major problems before going ahead and concentrating on the remaining details. I will be collecting TW560 from Andi in a ‘barely driveable’ state. This means: No fog lights […]

As TW560 cannot monopolize Andi’s business for days on end, TW560’s revival had to pause for a few days. Other TWIKEs need repairs, too! We rejoin the action for the second part of TW560’s re-build. The goal for today is to get TW560’s back on its own wheels, able to break and propel itself – […]

I was very much looking forward to this part: Finally, TW560 is going to be put back together, as a Chimera of TW560’s main parts, TW524’s outer hull and TWxxx’s hood. It will take time to get used to. But I have really missed my TWIKE unlike any other possession I’ve had in my life. […]

With TW560 reduced to a square cube meter of parts, it’s time to remove all parts from TW524 and get its Space Frame ready for transplantation to TW560’s frame. Everything else will go towards my ever-growing TWIKE spare-part collection. I’m really happy to finally have many parts in storage which can make problems (such as […]

Good news: We’ve been able to source the type of hood I was looking for: More or less new, no scratches and super-transparent (not a given for 20-year-old Plexiglas)   It has just been delivered from Germany, where it was in storage for the last decade and part of a TWIKE easy which was exported […]

With the hood and original Luran top taken care of, we can start repairing TW560. First of all, we have to tear-down both TWIKE 560 and 524. In this entry TW560’s gets taken apart: from vehicle to parts. The image below visualizes in a very simple way what we’re going to be extracting from TW560 […]

As one of the parts of TW560’s rebuild strategy after my catastrophic total loss accident with TW560, procuring a new TWIKE was a cornerstone of making it happen within the means available. As always, Karma somehow handed me the solution on a silver tablet: TW524. The serial number of the TWIKE providing the parts for […]

I have CHF 15,000 to spend. What needs to be replaced? Space Frame Hood Plexiglas front windshield Luran outer skin How do I get the parts … and from where? Buying new parts is expensive. Used parts are the way to go. However, finding larger used Luran components is near-impossible, because they are usually attached […]

After a few days back and forth, my insurance guy agreed to my suggestion of keeping the case as an accident and me signing a waiver! This is very good news – this means: TW560 will not be auctioned. TW560 stays with me. TW560 will be repaired. TW560 will live on as my partner on […]

After registering my accident – Just a few days later, I get a call from my insurance (I really like Swiss efficiency!) The appraisal had led to the conclusion that my vehicle was a total loss. Given all the money I had invested into the vehicle during the last 11 years, they were ready to […]

We pick up with me having gotten a first estimate from Andreas from Ksenotek for the repairs resulting from my recent accident. As one of the first steps, I had to register my accident with my insurance. Usually, there comes the moment where they ask which type of vehicle I own, how many kilometres I’ve […]

My accident was on a late evening driving back home from an event. I flipped TW560 whilst avoiding a neighbor’s cat, then crossed my neighbor’s front garden suspended in a flipped-over TWIKE and came to a shuddering stop at her house’s wall – all whilst suspended at 130° sideways. Since the distance back home wasn’t […]

One of the most important features of a TWIKE is it’s ability to charge its batteries when breaking instead of wasting the kinetic energy on heating brake-pads. This is why TW560 proudly sports the bumper sticker below… to tickle ICE-driver’s brains 🙂 TW560’s recuperation has been patchy lately. When pressing the recuperation-button the inverter now […]

TW560’s marathon problem fixing session finally over, Andi could get back to checking the rest of the chassis and changing the tyres.   Smiling even after a full days’ worth of work on my TWIKE. I usually get about 7000-8000km out of a set of tyres. If I would change them when they are technically […]

Fixing a broken/disintegrated clamp Whilst searching for the source of an annoying squeak, Andi, however, found a much more serious problem: A clamp holding the chassis and frame together hat all but disintegrated!   This might come from the fact that from time to time I’m driving my TWIKE slightly outside of its design envelope… […]

Fixing an annoying squeak TWIKE pilots always have a keen ear with regards to any new sound their TWIKE makes. Taking care of any problem as soon as possible not only saves money but can help preserve parts that might prove very hard to source if left to break/wear down. Following problem crept up just […]

Prior to any TWIKE adventure, I usually take my TWIKE to an official TWIKE service centre to have a general check-up. This ensures that the chance of being left stranded somewhere far away is low. After discovering a slight problem with my steering swing assembly, I had an urgent reason to go to Andi from […]

As if my TWIKE wants to be ready for TDST2017, one little thing after the other starts to manifest itself in the last few weeks (spoiler alert: another entry after this one is already lined-up…) This time it’s the central displays back-light. Unlike previous display problems, which popped-up the first time in India and which […]

One of the most important features of an electric car is its ability to capture kinetic energy by converting it back to electric energy via recuperation. (Why many electric scooters being sold still lack this feature remains a mystery to me) Only with recuperation can a TWIKE be one of the most economical electric vehicles […]

Last week I was driving at 90 km/h on the A1 motorway on my way from and to a next meeting as suddenly TW560 started losing speed. No noise, no grinding, no error messages – just no acceleration. Eventually, after changing the controller display to show raw inverter messages the inverter showed me a F06 […]