Hey everybody....I'm kinda new to the forum, but over the past week I've been reading your posts. I got a used xb-500 for 40$ from a garage sale, and at first I had no idea these things were that popular.
It does have some problems, though. It is missing the charger, but I understand it has 4 12-volt batteries, so I will look for a 12V charger or a 48V, or I'll try and order the original one from the company. It is also missing the rear view mirrors and the carpet thing, but that is it. The guys that sold it to me had no idea what was wrong with it but it didn't take me long to find out - apparently the rear axle had twisted and broken the wires to the motor. Also, the steering was off-centre but I fixed that no problem.
I tried to reattach the wires from what was sticking out, and I did, but there was too little to work with and they did not make good contact. Now, I am in the process of opening up the motor to reattach new wiring, and I took the rear wheel off and everything, but there's 3 of those small screws which JUST WON'T UNSCREW! I'm trying my best to fix that, and when I do, I'm pretty sure the scooter will be just like new.
I do have a question though - do the batteries recharge if you pedal it like a bicycle??...on some website it said they do.
I hope I'll be able to open the motor and fix it...I really want to ride it. There's some power in the battery still (like halfway) and the lights and everything work perfect :)
Got a used 500
Sun, 08/31/2008 - 22:13
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Got a used 500
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Puhsamolevski,
I suppose you have found the Xtreme web site, here is the link to where you can buy all the parts you need on-line;
http://www.x-tremescooters.com/electric_bicycles/xb500/parts.html
The charger is $59, and the mirrors are $15 each.
Fixing the motor sounds like a challenging problem. On my XB-600, I believe they used screws that stick up high enough to get a hold of them with vice-grips, have you tried that? Alternatively I suppose you can drill off the heads and then grab the remaining screw with vice-grip pliers once you have the wheel apart. If you have a digital camera, it would also be fun to see what the motor looks like inside.
You say you couldn't get a good connection to the remaining wires sticking out, does that mean you tried to twist them together, and that you did not use a soldering iron to solder new wires onto the stubs? If this is the case, you might try soldering new wires on if you can't get the wheel to come apart.
Tom
No. The pedals serve to skirt the law and make these qualify as electric bicycles. They're pretty much useless.
Charger is $53.10, mirrors are $13.50 ;)
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In the worst case, you can buy a new rear wheel. The X-Treme parts page:
http://www.x-tremescooters.com/electric_bicycles/xb500/parts.html
shows this at $149, shipping included.
You have nothing to lose by trying to repair the original motor. I would be very interested in the details of how you did it if you can replace / repair the wires. You have probably already figured out that it is critical to keep the rear axle torqued very tight so the axle cannot spin. If it does, the wires will break.
In my humble opinion, this is a serious design flaw in these scooters. It would not take much engineering to design an axle that would not spin no matter how loose the nuts get. Failing that, the motor could be designed to allow easy replacement of the wire. A replacement wire could be offered at low cost, and if you could simply open the cover of the motor and attach a new set of wires with screw terminals, I could live with that.
Even if you have to buy a new rear wheel, you will still have a bargain.
Keep us posted on your progress.
Glenn
Glenn, I came to post the very same thing!
puhisamolevski, if you do get the new rear wheel, you must also get new lock washers at a minimum. As has been suggested on this forum, use Loctite Blue to secure those nuts, which must be super, super, super tight. There's lots of reading here for you to do so just go through the XB-500 & 600 threads and many of your Qs will be answered (or it'll just give you more!)
wow...a lot of replies :)
I tried resoldering the wires to the stubs but they keep tearing apart it's just too hard to do because very little of the wire stubs is remaining. I saw the website and I think I'll order a new charger as soon as I fix this little problem
I still can't get the screws open, and they don't stick out enough to grab with pliers or grips...I think I may start drilling.
As for the rearview mirrors I don't really see use in them but I may order a pair anyway.
I read most of the threads which did answer a lot of my questions but still there's more ;)
thanks you guys I'll tell you what happens and I'll try to get a pic from the inside of the motor :)