Fido Limited Edition Release Teaser /  by Krystal Gast

Check out this sneak peek of what we are working on. If you haven't seen it yet, head over to the Fido Model 1 LE page to learn more about the Limited Edition Fido and how to pre-order one. Put your email in the subscribe box to the right if you want to follow us on our journey.

Thanks for tuning in! We want to hear from you. What would you like to see or read about next? Post it in the comments or send me an email. Until next time, safe riding!

Scooters and coffee! /  by Nick Jobbitt

In this big, old building that Fido calls home, we've always envisioned a small cafe or coffee shop that would double as our showroom. Where visitors could enjoy a tasty beverage and watch Fido's being assembled. That is finally taking shape. Fido Motors Cafe will open later this summer. Just in time to watch the first 25 Fido's be built! 

Here's a little teaser...

The primer is up. Paint next!

The primer is up. Paint next!

Happy 4th of July /  by Nick Jobbitt

Here's to America's independance!

Stay safe out there, and remember americans eat average of 70 hot dogs a year. If you eat 35 this weekend you are halfway there! I've had 3! Bratwurst count, right?

Thanks for tuning in! We want to hear from you. What would you like to see or read about next? Post it in the comments or send me an email. Until next time, safe riding!

The Rubber Bushing Solution /  by Nick Jobbitt

Fido utilizes a damper between the rear swingarm and frame, the problem is the part does not exist. So, like most of the parts on Fido, we have to make it ourselves.

The Design

First I drew up the models for the mold in Fusion 360. The design is going to be two parts with a 10mm fill hole. Mold part A has the raised edges that lock into the cut edges on part B. The part could now be 3d printed, but in this case I decided to machine it. Back into Fusion 360 to do the tool pathing. Export to g-code and we are ready to machine.

The setup

First thing we need is a large piece of Aluminum or Plastic, good thing we have...

After cutting it down to something closer to the size we need. Machine machine machine.

And there it is, looks almost like the drawing. I did not machine the back side of the molds. This should help with clamp support and holding heat while the part is curing.

The Metal center

Unlike Oreos with a creamy center, this bushing has a metal center. Delicious. Looks ready to pour.

The Pour

I didn't get any pictures of the pouring. It was my first time through the process and with it being time sensitive, I did not want to jeopardize the final outcome of the part by stopping and taking pictures. 

The process goes like this; preheat mold, mix up parts A and B of the polyurethane, pour into mold, post heat mold, wait about 4 hours, demold, part is ready to use about 3 days later.

The Rubber bushing

There we have it, a bushing ready to dampen.

Thanks for tuning in! I want to hear from you. What would you like to see or read about next? Post it in the comments or send me an email. Until next time, safe riding!

Fido Model 1 Limited Edition /  by Nick Jobbitt

Good news everyone!

The time has come! You can now pre-order a Fido. We are very excited to take pre-orders on 25 bikes. These bikes will be a Limited Edition pre-production run, built by hand by our small crew in Kalamazoo, MI. The sale of these higher priced scooters will help us raise the funds to tool up and secure inventory for our main production run scheduled to begin in 2017.

The Limited Edition bikes will have a few exclusive features including a hand painted edition number and a handmade Fido messenger that fits on the leg shield!

These bikes will have a special warranty that goes above and beyond our production bike warranty covering any and all updates, repairs or replacements (see full warranty details and restrictions). You can even have Jeb's personal cell phone. Call whenever. He's not busy!

Owners of the first 25 Fido's will also have the opportunity to affect the production model! In other words, we want your feedback. Good and Bad! Right and Wrong! High and Low! Chocolate or Vanilla? 

These bikes will be produced in order, starting at 1 and ending with 25. Our goal is to have all 25 built by the end of the year. Owners can follow us through the journey as it unfolds. We have created an Owners Only blog that we'll update regularly until bike 25 is finished.

So, now that the wait is over, buy your Fido! 

The Future is Keyless aka Building from Scratch /  by Nick Jobbitt

The Day to Day

The Fido project, by definition, has been all about riding and ownership experience. The question in the shop is always "How will this be used and function?". A close second to that is aesthetics. This is how we want the bike to look; how do we make that happen? Me being more of a form follows function builder, it's been a challenge to say the least. Most days I say "Where do we cram all this function?", and Jeb just says "It will fit." And he's right about half the time (don't tell him I said so). 

A Challenger Appears

Look at all them key locks.

Look at all them key locks.

The key lock has been one of these "where do we cram it" problems. The Fido has to lock. The Fido has to aesthetically look like a Fido. So where do we put the lock? For those of you who don't know about motorcycle locks let me give you a quick overview. The common motorcycle lock has two functions. With a single key it controls electrical connections to the bike and uses a mechanical pin or tumbler to secure the handlebars in a turned position. So what's the problem? In short Fido doesn't have plastic fairings. Do a quick image search for "scooter motorcycle" and you will see they all have large plastic pieces covering the frame head tube area. On Fido this would look like a tumor, aesthetics would go down the tubes, and at that point... what's the point?

What is the point? Is there an answer? What is the meaning of life?

After months of getting samples, drilling frame holes, and patching those same holes, rinse and repeat, (Let me take a second to thank our vendors. Thanks!) the answer is don't use keys. Simple. Just don't do it. So we're not going to! Fido will be passive keyless. There is the key fob to the left to prove it. Approach Fido with this in your pocket and it unlocks, leave and it locks. Seamless, ready to rock (or jazz, or experimental dubstep, whatever you're into). The electrical part of the locking system is taken care of, but what about the mechanical? Fido will feature a locking center stand that locks and unlocks in the same manner. 

Thanks for tuning in! I want to hear from you. What would you like to see or read about next? Post it in the comments or send me an email. Until next time, safe riding!

A short introduction. /  by Nick Jobbitt

Hello! My name is Nick and I am new here at Fido, three months new to be exact. Since I've been the person tasked to update the Fido Blog, I'm indirectly tasked to write up my own introduction. I imagine this is how it feels to write a autobiography.

To the right is a picture of me with an awkward look after just shooting my first Fido; these things are fast! You have to sneak up on them. Really this was the best way to work on the wire mess that happened around the controller. One step closer to having a final wiring harness.

Instead of me talking about myself lets go over some of the common questions I get.

“What did you do before you worked at Fido?”

I managed the Full Blown Color side of Kalblue. They do banners and poster and trade show graphics and wall coverings. Check them out for any of your wide format printing needs.

“But, that has nothing to do with electric scooters.”

You are correct, it doesn't. What my old job doesn't say about me is I like to know how things work, take them apart, put them together; a tinker some might say. I also love anything on two wheels, motorcycles, scooters, even mopeds. Fido is something that I want to do and help create. 

“Okay, how did you get the job then?”

Not really sure, it was one of the strangest interview processes I've gone through though. 

“Do you get to ride Fido?”

Yes, here is a video of me riding Fido.

“Is it fun to work there? I bet its fun.”

Its easy to picture me riding Fido around all day "testing it". Is it fun to work here? Yes. Is it still work? Yes.

“What do you do at Fido?”

Whatever needs to be done that day. Contacting and following up with vendors and partners, finding new vendors, discussing design direction, ordering parts, working on Fido, test riding Fido, building battery packs, calling the city about the hot tub of tires behind our building (on city land), and so on. Some times I do yard work to make this place look better. 

That about wraps it up, see you next time.

-Nick

TL:DR - Hello I'm Nick I work at Fido.

Progress at Fido /  by jeb gast

Every day are one step closer to production Fido, we are trudging through paperwork and scaling mountains of regulation. A battle against electric vehicle oppression. Fido will prevail! 

In truth its hard to make paperwork sound interesting. Or any material sourcing exciting. I suppose thats why Discovery doesn't have a reality series about metal buying, or machining; that would have very narrow market appeal. 

We are road testing! and making the fine tune adjustments that will be on the production bike. Most of the tuning is digital; hooking up a computer and telling the controller to change the way throttle input is handled or how much regenerative braking to apply. But we are also tuning the suspension; finding the right shocks to give a firm comfortable ride. And lets not forget about fun, we are turning the fun up to its max position.

Other points of interest. Bones the dog loves to ride the Fido.

So if you have a dog, and plan on getting a Fido, you should also plan on giving said dog rides.

Questions? Comments? Want to know more? Send us an email or comment below. Let us know what you want to see next.

 

We need help! /  by jeb gast

No, not the sinking ship / lifeboat kind of help. The "we need people to do the things" help. Are you a EV or two wheeled enthusiast? Do you like to build things and make projects happen at all costs? Do you settle for no less then perfection, or at least a notch right below perfection? Then you might be right for Fido!

We are looking for:

Bike Builder / Shop Monkey

Supplier Relations / Office Superhero

If you are interested please email hello@fidomotors.com with your word perfect resume!

Best,

Fido Team

It’s been a great summer... /  by Alyson Cameron

Preparing for the debut of Fido at EICMA!

Since we last wrote, we've been busy not only finalizing the bike we will take to EICMA in November, but also learning more about the amazing space we've landed in, engaging in our community, doing interviews and hearing from you! We are truly enjoying every minute of it. Read on for the details...

Dyno Testing

We recently put our test bike on a dyno and are happy to say that our projected numbers were confirmed!

Fido Headquarters history

The building where our manufacturing will take place has an inspiring history, and much of it is locomotive! We've spent a good deal of time looking up anything and everything we can find about our new space and we've found ties to buggies, trolley wheels, and Gibson banjo parts to name a few. We are looking forward to continuing the history-making!

A Maker Village

With two buildings worth of extra space on our hands, we wanted to come up with a way to make good use of it; both for Fido and for Kalamazoo. We're planning to create a hub where small manufacturing, tinkering, creating, learning and inventing can take place. We plan to lease space to small businesses as well as to a maker space that will offer workshops and classes. We are still developing this idea, and are very excited about it. We're calling this village, Jericho.

In the meantime, read this article that we were included in along with three other awesome Kalamazoo businesses.

Keep in touch! We love to hear from you.
And tell your friends about us!

Cheers,
The Fido Team

We’re keeping busy /  by jeb gast

Time has flown and we've accomplished a lot in the last few years. We've tested a number of bikes and made the big decisions on Fido's vital organs. Your going to love the final product and we can't wait to get it to you. Here's what we've got going on these days: 

Fido Headquarters

We are in our new home in Kalamazoo, Michigan! The historical building needs a good amount of work, but it's solid enough to get in and keep our momentum going. We plan to do a lot of restoration to the facade as well as some retrofitting of the interior.

First things first...we've got to get the place geared up for production and make some cozy office spaces. We'll keep you updated on our progress or you can come visit us and see for yourself!

Out and About

Fido will be at EICMA in Milan. The show is November 6 - 9th at Fiera Milano. This year is the 100th anniversary of the show!

Keep in touch! We love to hear from you. 

And tell your friends about us.

Cheers,
The Fido Team

Fido is home /  by Alyson Cameron

We’ve been busy and have just moved in to our new building in Kalamazoo, Michigan! Join our mailing list on the right hand side of this page (or bottom of the page if you're viewing on a mobile device) or keep checking the site for updates as we grow.