New on FatTire Nomad: Jackson River Scenic Trail. We rode 20 miles from Covington to Natural Well on this scenic former C&O rail line through Virginia’s Alleghany Highlands. Video + blog now live. #GravelRide #RailTrail #bikeva #historyinthewoods #ebikeadventure #ebike #cycleva #bikelife

https://fattirenomad.com/2026/03/16/jackson-river-scenic-trail/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

Jackson River Scenic Trail: A Calm 20-mile eBike Adventure

Experience the beauty of the Jackson River Scenic Trail, where twenty miles of crushed gravel and river-hugging rail grade await your adventure.

The FatTire Nomad

Now I can test fit the indicator ligths on the top and the push buttons at the front edge -- all waterproof. It's a tight fit, but everything lines up nicely.

What's left is to complete the design of the PCB. From the limited space available, I expect there to be two PCBs stacked on top of each other: the top one for the display and MCU, the bottom one to interface with the lights, buttons, sensors, and the bike's wire loom.

#3Dprint #FreeCAD #FreeCADFriday #DigitalCockpit #HondaMT #bikelife

The next step is to drill out and clean up the holes, both from paint and deformation (the 3D print turns your circles into ovals, stretched along the stripes of the print).

After that I insert the rivnuts using a soldering iron. The larger ones are to attach the cockpit to the spoiler; the smaller ones will hold the PCB.

#3Dprint #FreeCAD #FreeCADFriday #DigitalCockpit #HondaMT #bikelife

I'm using a full system of 1K spray paints from #SprayMax here, which I apply wet-on-wet to achieve the best adhesion.

- degrease using IPA
- 2 layers of plastic primer
- 6 layers of spray filler
- some 400 wet sanding
- 3 layers of black top coat
- 2 layers of clear coat

The result is exacly what what I hoped for: a great finish without having to do a lot of sanding.
Time will tell how the paint keeps up against weather and wear.

#FreeCAD #FreeCADFriday #DigitalCockpit #HondaMT #bikelife

The second 3D print of this digital-cockpit housing for the classic Honda MT moped/bike looks really nice and fits in the spoiler perfectly.

The print is rather streaky, so let's see if we can give it a nice finish that makes it smooth while at the same time keeps some of its underlying ()industrial) texture.

#3Dprint #FreeCAD #FreeCADFriday #DigitalCockpit #HondaMT #bikelife

Waiting for the throttle.

#motorcycle #bikelife #honda