Kaishan K500W e-bike review

Hmm interesting thread.. not only due to the model of e-bike (i just recently bought a 500WS) but the fact most of the folks in the thread live near where I live.
I live just north of Victoria over the other side of the Malahat.. and at the time I first considered an E-Bike/Scooter, was living near the actual summit..
I did first email "scooterunderground".. saying , essentially, 'i have money , want a scooter, don't live in victoria, please send some info or a reply".
Although i emailed them 3 times, i never gat any sort of response, so I bought one elsewhere...

So I bought one from Bob Saunders.. just recently (yellow, a bit like the one in the photo here)
It only goes (according to the speedometer) 20 KMpH, though.. and the "manual" such as it is, is no help..
i.e. "please escape to use at a rainy day. Defend lightning strike. please cannot open the crust with charger if not a career man. Othewise. easiness mangle"
Er.. OK..
So firstly, where is that 'Economy switch' that limits the speed to 20KMpH, in case I've accidentally hit it?

Also.. has anyone else solved these problems?
1- It needs two different keys to open the glove compartment and the back carrying unit, and a different one to start it up and open te battery case.. the seat also lifts up, but I cannot get the key to work there , it will not turn.. so why not one key for everything, as the manual clearly states? and is the seat lock broken?
2 - even small bumps cause the most horrendous "Clunk" from the front forks, as though the springs are set much, much too soft. I worry that they're going to break and lose all their
fluid, as that's the normal outcome when the fork springs/shocks are set too soft.. and that can be expensive..
3 - As mentioned before, the top speed is Much too slow, at what actually appears to be 15 KMpH. although the speedometer says 20.. It tends to speed up going uphill, for some strange reason, but not smoothly, but rather in surges, sounding like 'Vroom vroom" (sorry for my lacking in descriptiveness) ) at 2 times per second..
4 - the pedal gears are too low to be of any practical benefit.. you simply can't pedal fast enough to even keep the bike upright, but as an alternative to removing the pedals (which most people do after buying tem ,as they only need to be on the bike at purchase time), but instead of removing them, has anyone found a way to either increase, or asdd higer ratios to the pedal gears , so that a practical assist may be made of?

I also sent these questions to the "scooter underground", but my reply consisted of *only* "no, pedal gear is fixed", and how much their service rates were ($60 PerHr)..
Anyone else have better ideas?

Thanks Doc...

Yup.. that's the Saunders in Colwood.. i expect it was new.. it still had plastic on the seat.. apparently they were part of some promotion they'd had, and this one apparently belonged to Bob's daughter the one who works there..
I never inquired about what kind of warranty they would have had.. as when I we were down there was when we saw it, but we bought it by phone..and thankfully they delivered it (i had no idea how heavy they would be)..
Definitely took off the pedals.. after my dad nearly broke an ankle from them.. they're attached so flimsily anyways I wouldn't want to ever use them, now I know how they're bolted on ..
Sounds like the basket needing a different key, is indeed because it was added as an option, I believe it's the bigger one.
Got the seat up.. just how you describe.. I had no idea about Scooter Underground closing.. I was going to ask if they knew about these Tomos "e-classic' model bikes ( http://www.tomoscanada.com/default.aspx?id=6&ProductId=41 ), which I would have gotten instead had I not run into the Kaishan..
It's a good starter for getting used to electric scooters.. I think though that the fact that Canada has the most restrictive regulations on power, regarding electric bikes is not going to help promote them.
Because of the hills around here i only get 12 KM before needing to recharge.. meaning I cant use it for any practical purpose..
Hope the forks don't break.. they're already pitted with rust spots..
I'll check with you about that fella ytou know tho..
Cheers

Here's a really interesting one I found.. I haven't yet tyaken advantage of this..I think the Tomos are nice.. but these have  a way to get around the 500 watt maximum here in BC..
Let me know what you think..

~Also.. my accelerator got stuck and the biike got away from me and crashed into a cement pillar, trashing the plastic bodywork.. also, the battery melted into a limp of wothless junk after leaving the recharger on overnight.. The persom at the battery repair shiop was SHOCKED when I told him .. at first he looked at it and saifd thats a years wortgh of damage, but I told him I had only had the bike for 2 months, and the melt happened aftre just ONE overcharge.. He couldn't believe how shabby the battery was.. The new battery turned out much better, but thyen it crashed into that cement pillar. As it is I need major repair to the lights, throttle and bodywork, and frankly don't know who is qualified to do this... ;-(

Well, Magic.. I have a duplicate of your model for parts for sale.I thoughht of you as I live nearly next door.... battery went again and I can't afford another 400$.. The bodywork is not good, but all the parts are good and little wear.. send a PM if interested..

I wouldn't think of them so much as my next ride but as a convient, close source of parts...some of which appear compatible.

The hub motor died in my Kaishan and I was able to swap in a hub motor from a GIO. The plug was the same. The brakes were the same. The only difference was the cable was on the other side but this was easily overcome by rerouting the power and hall sensor cable.

I was able to get a brand new hub motor with a new brake unit for $199 and was up and running again after working on the the bike for an afternoon...removing the old tire and tube etc.

I think an X treme 508 has the same seat and the same body parts, so with a bit of work you should be able to keep the Kaishan running for a long time.

Take a look at the parts for a 508:

http://www.x-tremescooters.com/electric_bicycles/xb-508/parts.html

I did have one for sale, but turned out it was an easy fix.. the battery had not gone, it was a short. They checked the battery for free , and fixed the short for $50, as it had been only a year, and the battery was still under warranty. The store is "AllBattery" , just south of the bridge in Duncan, and they also do repairs on e-bikes.
You shouldn't need any tech skills to switch the battery, depending on the bike, your battery should just drop in a square cavity under your foot rests, just plug it in, and drop it in the cavity. What's more of a concern is that not only should they not have been able to access the battery, as they usually secure with a lock, but they are really really heavy, 60 to 70 pounds (30 Kilos) so this would have had to be planned by any thieves in advance. Certainly that is the case with the Kaishans .
PS anybody have any body parts such as a fairing and front fender? As I mentioned previously, my accelerator got stuck, and it got away from me and into a concrete pillar.. smashing the front end.. Shop said that if they find a used Kaishan they only pay about 50 bucks as they're not worth anything.. so I told them to go ahead and buy one for that $50 if they get the opportunity, and I'd pay them double for it for parts. Trouble is, there doesn't appear to be a lineup of folks wanting to sell their old Kaishan bikes for 50$ ;-), so I haven't been able to replace the bodywork yet.. It's currently my only mode of transportation so it would be nice to have that fixed

The bikes are very much made with standardized, interchangeable parts.

Locally, you might have to visit a few shops before you find a perfect match among battery packs from other brands, but you should be able to find a perfect match.

An important thing to remember is that your bike was 48 volts with 4 12 volt, 20 amp batteries. The battery parks from the 12 amp bikes will probably be smaller and won't match.