My e-motorcycle is a Lectra frame that has a non-stock motor and wiring. An issue all along the 1 1/2 yrs I've been riding it is the range was 10 miles while in evalbum there are plenty of similar size bikes with similar packs with 15-20 or mile range. That's been bugging me and the last month I've been looking into it more carefully than before.
I'm gonna retell this partly to demonstrate what to go through in diagnosing this sort of problem, partly to ask some questions.
First: when I was employed and had a commute, it was a 10 mile commute each way which meant the pack saw a two deep deep discharge a day (on days I rode the bike). This clearly isn't good - it's an SLA pack - but it's what I had to do for my commute. But the range was 10 miles even when the pack was new.
Second: Did a few full throttle test rides recently with a 6-8 mile loop on the expressway near my house. 40-45 miles/hr for the full distance. Idea was to see if anything got hot to see if there were any obvious pieces doing friction or otherwise hanging. Nothing much except that the motor itself (the main body of the motor) was getting pretty hot.
The motor is an Advanced DC A89 .. 6.7" series wound brushed DC. These motors can take a lot of wattage, the bike sees maybe 6kw for cruising and 12+kw on acceleration, which should be within the range of the motor. Haven't taken the motor apart to see what might be up. There are mechanical issues I'm working on first.
Second: Wheel alignment problem. What I found a couple weeks ago is the rear tire has flat spots all the way around on one side of the wheel. Obviously the wheel had been misaligned .. most likely in Feb-March 2008 when I replaced the chain and fiddled with the wheel alignment without knowing what I was doing. The Lectra wheel alignment system is pretty strange.. I understand it now but not back then.
What I don't know is what's a good way to accurately measure alignment with the bike on a lift. I've eyeballed it and it looks okay .. but that might not mean anything. The frame and swingarm don't have any obvious bends in them meaning they're probably straight.
Third: While looking at wheel alignment I also took the wheel off and looked at the bearings (how well it rolled) and the drum brake. It was possible the bearings were bad or the drum brake hanging. I didn't see any issues with either except that with the drum brake it seemed plausible the brake could get off center and start dragging. A dragging brake obviously can impact range. At the moment I have the brake adjusted to a specific way which seems incapable of dragging.
For some reason after putting the wheel back on the bike seems to coast much much better.
Fourth: Chain flexibility. I found the chain was rusty and stiff. It was recommended to put oil on it, so I did, and the chain didn't loosen up. Since I happened to have another chain in my garage, still in wrapper (essentially new) I put that on.
At the time of installing that chain (2 wks ago) it was supple, and the other half of that chain is still supple. However the chain that's on the bike is a bit stiff and inflexible.
I need to clean and relubricate the chain to see if that will help. But I'm wondering what could cause a supple chain to become stiff after just two weeks and a handful of short rides.
David,
I am wondering if your Lectra uses a standard motorcycle chain, like the sealed o-ring chains that most ICE motorcycles (that need chains) use? If Lectra doesn't use such a chain, then you might want to consider trying one. I suppose if it doesn't use one, then you might have to change the sprockets as well, but it might well be worth it for lower maintenance. Also, I assume you are using a chain lube, not oil on your chain, since oil will just sling off. The only other thing I can think of would be the chain tension, if it were too tight, then it would certainly create a lot of extra drag. Or if the chain or sprocket were excessively worn, then that would be a problem as well.
The wheel alignment issue you found could also have been causing drag, so having fixed that it might be better now.
just my thoughts,
Tom
It's a #40 chain, not "standard motorcycle chain". Yeah, switching to that other kinda chain would mean different sprockets.
I hadn't lubed the current chain, it had some kinda lube on it in the package.
The chain is pretty darn brand new, no wear. The sprockets have seen some use but look fine to me.
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
Just put the bike pack on the lift, got a straight long piece of metal, lined it up on one sprocket and found that the other sprocket was about 1" off the straight line of the first sprocket. Uh...
I have that lined up now.
Also I've got the motor hooked up to a 12v battery for a spin test just to see if there's any issue with the battery. The idea is to get a low voltage (12v) hooked up to the motor and let it spin for awhile. Make sure the motor isn't hooked up to anything. If anything gets hot inside the motor that tells me if something is up with the motor.
If it passes the spin test I'll hook up the chain and take 'er for a ride.
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
What I did was install the other half of that chain (that's still supple). Went for a 1.5-2 mile short ride around the neighborhood.
First: The bike is still hard to roll backward. I'd thought that was due to the chain being stiff, but this is the supple chain. Uh...
Second: The bike rides even better, pickup is great and it coasts very well.
Third: On returning home the motor had warmed up a bit. It was just a short ride, but it is making me worried. On the spin test the motor didn't warm up at all. After traffic dies down I'll take it for a longer test ride.
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki