XB-600 Questions

I must admit I really didn't know what to put in the subject line here...

I just wanted to first state that I am extremely impressed with the knowledge that some of you have regarding electric vehicles...well the scooters we're all riding (extreme XM2000, etc.) I am amazed at how much you all know as well as the extent to which you all (and you know who you are...usatracy, jd???, etc.) go to figure these machines out! I really have learned alot from what you post so please keep on posting!

Also, I appreciate the posts from "mountain chen" who apparently is integral in at least the export of these scooters from China. It's great to actually hear from someone who is at the other side of these innovative products.

Now, finally, what I hope is that maybe we could get some info posted for those of us who have other than the XM2000....the xtreme XBs...myself having the XB600. I know you all probably think those should be in the bicycle section...but to me my XB600 is a "scooter." But anyway....

I must say thus far I'm still very pleased with my XB600. I'd like however to know ideas on how to make the seat go all the way down tighter. There is apparently no adjustment on the latching mechanism mounted to the frame. Guess I could file out the holes and make some??? The seat is tight when you have your weight on it...except the back is still loose a bit so this isn't a big problem if I don't get it fixed. But, I'd like to tighten it up a bit and maybe some of you have ideas.

Oh, almost forgot this story. A few weeks ago I'm riding my scooter and I see down the street another one go by with two kids (college students) on it. I chase it down and lo and behold the one kid just got his XB500 put together enough for him and his girlfriend to try it out. What a sight though! The handlebars were severely out of alignment and other stuff was not right. Don't know how they were riding it! So anyway, I told them I had several eclectric scoots and could help them get everything right if they wanted to stop by my house sometime...I'd be glad to "fix" their problems. I just couldn't let these kids be riding around with way low air in tires...handlebar way crooked, etc. The kid that owned it brought it over a couple of days later and I spent 3 hours "fixing" everything. First, apparently unlike my XB600 (I seem to recall it's just welded to the down shaft), the handlebars actually have a vertical bolt in them like many bicycles so you can loosen it and adjust them to be aligned correctly with the front wheel. I corrected this on the 500. Then, the very opposite problem from my 600 on the seat. It was way difficult to get it to lock. I fixed this though by stretching the spring on the latching mechanism a bit...and worked great. I then removed all the goo that was left where the owner decided to remove the stickers...used carb cleaner once I tested it in hidden area to make sure it wouldn't remove or melt the plastic. And then I aired the tires up to the proper inflation. Then I had to wrestle with the front lower fender piece trying to get it to clear the tire when installed. Seeing that it just wasn't going to do that for whatever reason...I put a couple of washers (nuts) in between the two front mounting screws on the upper part of the fender housing where it mounts to the forks...thereby causing the entire fender to "tilt" a bit backward which made it fit perfect without rubbing the front of the wheel. Also, the kid apparently lost the small axle spacer when he was installing the front tire...so i cut one from a piece of pipe I had and fixed that. And I just did a few other things like put some velcro tabs on the carpet so it wouldn't slide around, etc. Anyway, the kid was appreciative and I'm glad could help him out. And I know that's the same spirit of you guys on here and again I as well am appreciative.

And last but not least...don't know where all the criticism I've read about the XB500 comes from. It looks good...and the ride was pretty good to. It's a bit slower than my 600 and but certainly worth the $599 price. The only thing I couldn't fix was the fact that if that kid (I told him) had ran into me before ordering I could have directed him to ArticFox and he would have gotten the best customer service...and maybe even saved the extra $70 he paid for driveway delivery!

But other than that...things are fine thus far...but I'd really like to understand as much as possible about my XB600 like what exactly is happening with the front brake when applied....to the rear wheel. I'm wondering if the design is switching the polarity in the motor so it puts drag on the rear wheel as well as just mechanically stopping the front wheel. It's doing something and I like the action. Makes for excellent braking. I'm just very curious of what it is actually doing on that motor???

Anyway, keep on posting guys....I for one really appreciate the knowledge and help you all provide!

Much thanks,
Gushar