Finally got a ride in for the month of February. It was a whole 100 yards but it went pretty well. Even better the bike didn't fall to pieces or show any sign of cracking at any of the welds not just for the short ride but for a lot of hopping up and down in the seat testing it out.
For riding I just went down the driveway and turned around and rode back and forth a couple times but I didn't have any problems pedaling or going straight at all.

 
I am going to ride it a bit with the current setup except I will change out the trigger shifters for some thumb shifters.

 

 
The seat will drop a bit more using the bacchetta set struts and it will go up a bit too.

WTB Mountain Drop Bars (Gary Origin 8's seem to be out of circulation)

 
It is definately long for my stable. I'm going to check today but it might be longer then my touring upright with the xtracycle attachment on it. I think the weight might be too much over the front but I'm not sure if cutting say 6" off the wheel base would make that much of a difference especially if I'm going to stick the xtracycle attachment to the back of it eventually.
For now I'm looking at riding it as it and figuring out if I'm going with a hub motor or other method of support propulsion.

It was supposed to be around 65 I think it ended up being about 63.
The front takes some getting used to but it is only heavy when I try to lean it against something or walk somewhere and forget what bike I'm walking. When leaning it the front need to be against something or the front end swings about. Also since it is a swingboom I have to walk it with both hands on the front handlebars to keep it steady. On the hurricane I keep one hand on the tiller and one on the headrest to walk it around much like my road bike with one hand on the handlebars and one on the saddle.
 
Riding isn't bad and now neither is starting. Previously when the seat was so high it was hard to get my legs up onto the pedals and not feel really tipsy on the bike with just one foot down. Now it is really easy to do and to start off. I haven't taken it on any long rides though but on the old frame I hated corners and stops. Not sure I'll be diving into corners like I do on my hurricane any time soon but hopefully I'll take them a little less reluctantly.
 
I'm going in the slightly stealthier motor back to where evblazer name started but smaller than the 180lb motor my first electric vehicle had.
Someone elses but I plan on doing the same but a little lighter. Only a few seconds to add/remove and it's a normal bike.

1.5kg for motor/controller/mount/drive and then however much battery I need. Maybe just a lb or two to help me up some steep hills.

That albatross is really nice I like the shorter wheel base of it and lack of extra material to the rear. I'm really torn right now between trying to build something like that or trying a python http://www.python-lowracer.de/ . The python seems like such a neat idea and the only way to try one is to build it but they say it is more of a touring bike and not having somewhere to put my hands that had some input on handling would kinda freak me out. Even just plain USS was too drastic a change for me.
Just went out and measured my wheelbase at 58" which is 16" longer then my hurricane. Give me room for a battery or two under the seat though and maybe a nice big tailcone  

58" isn't so bad - my tica lowracer was 55.  I really like your design - how plush is the ride?

Looking good Mark!  
 
I actually started hacking mine last night.  I completed the fork surgery (went from 26' to 20'), reused some square tube off another failed design, and got it mostly laid out.  I still have to decide seat height, and head tube angle, but at least I can 'see' where I'm headed.  No time to download pics...I'll get them later.

The wheels are 559s. I think tomorrow night I am going to take it apart and paint the frame to match the rear triangle. Until I get another seat I'm done with changes and it may be a while till I get a good seat for it.
 

Surgey mostly complete, chanistays not yet welded, as BB not yet positioned:  

 
Generally how it should look, with inspiration photos all around...(man, I need to clean up!)  

OK, Mark I see that you rode this at the Catrike rally thingy...OK, let's see some pics!  Hows the ride?  Let's get some close ups!  Any thoughts or suggestions!?

Suggestions? Make sure you properly tighten your stem and well probably everything else too but oopsies. Oh and fix your brakes before a group ride. I almost sorta endoed over that sidewinder when it sorta jacknifed going down the hill from sonic but it's better then rolling over it like I would have earlier in the day before my brake adjustment   Also good I put on the pedals I had which I can instantly get out of yet can't accidently pull out of.
 
Later I was riding slowly (5mph?) along talking with one of the many catrikes out there and up a slight hill all of a sudden I thought I was going down. Handlebar went left the bottom bracket went right and it made it look from my perspective in the moment  the bike was collapsing at the head tube. I stopped and looked all up and down the frame and nothing. Ended up being a loose stem which I tightened down and no further issues. Might have been from jumping off all those curbs, of course I think most of those I ended up taking on the hurricane  
 
I went through the pics posted on the catrike board http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n110/vadn1/Texas%20Catrike%20Rally/
and found these

and the opposite of markl's weight loss thread  
 
 
To think I was 240 recently.

Took a ride on the electrified cruzbike today and I'm still wondering after all the years of wondering if it counts as riding.
Here is a cell phone video of the drive in action. It actually drops completely off the wheel when it is off and then rotates into in when turned on.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7yGzeBVYjA
Ride stats
~8 miles overall including a few laps around a parking lot.
61 watts from the batteries
17mph avg
So just over 120 watts per hour from the batteries when riding on average which is alot however I don't know the efficiency of the whole setup but it did help quite a bit on some inclines and into the heavy wind. It certainly counts as exercise I was pretty worn out when I got home but I am way more out of shape then I was 9 months ago.  But I don't know if I can count it as riding especially as miles on bikejournal  

Usually friction drives use too much pressure on the tire at all times or a roller that has too much friction enhancements to it which chew up the tire. I'm hoping to avoid both.
The motor right now has a bike tube wrapped around it and even without it is perfectly smooth and would slip if it tried to apply too much pressure. I know of two others using similar progressive pressure designs that I based mine on and they have not had any issues yet of excess tire wear but from their miles don't ride near as much as I used to and hope to again.  
 
Actually except for one schwalbe marathon plus tire I had on my fuji xtracycle I can't recall ever having a tire wear out before it was destroyed by other means   Time will tell though.  
 
The drive fully comes off the bike in about a minute turning it back into a regular bike. I'm using it only as a power assist unit only to get me back into my commute and level out a few of the tougher hills that my HR shoots up uncomfortably if I ride it solo. It should also help with a few tough sections which I have to sprint to survive otherwise the drive will never touch the tire. All which should minimize tire impact and maximize my time out getting some exercise.  
There are many options out there but after reviewing them all against what I needed this seemed not only the best match overall but the cheapest too.  Cheaper still if you take into account I"m using the lithium batteries I got for my lawnmower to power it and the controller and motor I could put in my remote control truck to run it. It's practically free  

Well, I've mostly started over.  Once I put the front end in the stand and looked, it was not straight...
 
I cut another donor fork, and have decided to use an uncut rear triangle off a 20' kids MTB.  BB already installed and true to the rear dropouts that way.  The fork will be welded in place when I determine the seat height and head tube angle.  I may make this frame out of round tube also, as I have enough to do it if I take my time  
 
I still intend to add rear suspension, although I wanted full.  I just couldn't find the right fork, or a way to mod the ones I have.  Pics to follow...