hi guys
long time no see, since you only see me when I've got trouble nowadays :)
And trouble it is.
Last week, something snapped in my daily-use-vectrix, something in the gearbox i think, because I hear the motor revving, but not much happens.
I figured, being lucky to have a second V for spare parts, I just swap the whole back uh.. thing with the motor and the wheel..
I did so, but something is not right. I have almost no power and I hear strange noises coming from down there.
The piece was working previously, so I didn't quite expect it.
So I'm looking for a quick answer:
would it make sense that the encoder should be recalibrated after swapping the whole thing?
thx in advance guys!
turok
Nevermind, guys,
the answer was yes!
new motor bridge means recalibrating encoder!
thanks anyway!
"doing nothin = doing nothing wrong" is invalid when the subject is environment
Can you have a look inside and let us know what went wrong in there?
That would be most interesting, because I have never heard of that failure mode before.
Sounds like the sun gear has fallen off (can it?) or the motor shaft snapped - all rather unlikely, but who knows.
Maybe the cogs on the sun gear stripped?
This information may be used entirely at your own risk.
There is always a way if there is no other way!
hey Mik,
sure I will..
my first priority was being mobile again, but when I find the time, I will certainly attack the gearbox and try to repair it. and report.
"doing nothin = doing nothing wrong" is invalid when the subject is environment
Hi Guys
I think I may call myself lucky.
Twice..
1) I'm alive and unharmed
2) It's "just" some bolts that broke off
The first picture shows the motor, with it's axle. You can see 5 "holes" around the axle, those are filled with what's left of the bolts.
the second picture shows the gear assembly, and right at the bottom of it, you can see where the bolts attach the assembly to the motor.
They've just given away while I was driving 50kph or so, in a straight line, accelerating.
Lucky for me, they did'nt give in a 100kph left turn. the wheel would probably have come off completely. with all necessary consequenses :)
The only thing that was holding on to the gearbox assembly was the silly little clip that holds the middle gear in place on the motor shaft.
I'm going to try to find someone who can remove the remains of the bolts, so I can rebuild the gearbox. I think it will be fine, because I don't see any other obvious damage.
"doing nothin = doing nothing wrong" is invalid when the subject is environment
Oh yeah.
Forgot to mention:
**I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA IF VECTRIX TOOK NOTICE OF THIS!**
"doing nothin = doing nothing wrong" is invalid when the subject is environment
True, but I'd rather hear from the engineer types on V what they think of it.
A few questions:
Was there any warning of this, something that could have indicated that the bolts were loose?
Were they possibly over-tightened (without a torque wrench) at some stage?
What was this gearbox like for the 10000km? Was it a quiet one or a noisy one, with even or uneven whine?
Could this be material fatigue due to vibration/whine?
Would it be worth the effort to pull the assembly apart and replace the bolts with top quality ones on other VX-1's? Like replacing the fuse before it blows in traffic?
This information may be used entirely at your own risk.
There is always a way if there is no other way!
Normally a bolt with that sort of importance would have been locktighted into place. However i have seen this sort of thing happen in all sorts of places before.
Reasons can be (but certainly not a complete list)
1. Wrong grade bolts used (if at somepoint its been replaced my someone or in the factory they grabbed the right length but wrong grade bolt ?)
2. Over/undertorquing when fitting leading to work hardening in over time
3. Bad batch of bolts from factory
Thanks to you, i will now check and/or replace my bolts for the strongest i can find in that size when i replace the oil on my boxes.
I didnt catch what sort of mileage. However along with oil changes a few mechanics in my shop would recommend probably checking it all yearly just for kicks.
Hell the gearbox only takes about 10 mins to get apart after the bike is lifted.
Wow! I will add checking/replacing the bolts to my gearbox list. Mine has been noisy and I plan on inspecting and modding for gear lube filling.
Glad you didn't have a wreck when that came apart.
Depending on hardness of the bolts you could center drill them and use an e-z out to remove the broken bolts.
@ Mik,
well, in hindsight, my gearbox was really loud! (when compared to the spare)
But that noise grew over time, so I didn't notice it myself.
Some time ago, a collegue of mine mentioned my bike was louder than before though.
And the last few days, I could hear little "clunck" sounds as I left or (regen) braked . It felt like the back wheel was a little "loose", and it worried me, but I thought it was the totally worn out rear tyre.
So I guess some of the bolts had broken or come loose already, and I was just lucky the last one(s) didn't break at a bad time.
I was planning to take on the gearbox next week (long weekend) as I was due to change the rear tyre also. The gearbox had never been opened nor had an oil change to be honest, and because of the noise growing, I thought it would be time to do that.
the bike has only 16000 km.
I changed the back tyre before, but I have a torque wrench, and I used it properly.
I will also be checking more often in the future.
"doing nothin = doing nothing wrong" is invalid when the subject is environment
Wow, that is one nasty failure!
I would let the importer know and also write to Vectrix.
This should be investigated properly before you start drilling holes and spoil the 'evidence' and could be reason for a recall.
Good thing you have bought that spare bike, visionary thing to do as it turns out...
Once you go EV, Gas is history!
Hey, KingCharles,
I reported this to the shop that sold me the bike.
Roby Zahler from EVstart Belgium.
He took this seriously I think, and he will report this to Vectrix.
I also told him I would wait to do any work, so if Vectrix wants to see it..
Turok
"doing nothin = doing nothing wrong" is invalid when the subject is environment
As you are in Belgium. Are there a lot of cobblestones on your routine rides? Maybe this in combination with high tire pressure could have put extra stress on those bolts...
Once you go EV, Gas is history!
nope.. smooth ride all the way, except for a few little bumps..
I do push the V to its limits though, most of the time. I drive fast (but aware of traffic), corner sharp, and brake hard, because I assumed the bike could take it.
"doing nothin = doing nothing wrong" is invalid when the subject is environment
Turok,
How far had you travelled before the failure occurred? I'd agree that this is most likely due to over-torquing the bolts, be it at the factory when it was built or during some sort of later re-build when it is more possible that someone did them up a bit too enthusiastically. My V gets rattled up and down the most bumpy dirt/pot-hole ridden road every day and I'm at 27,000 miles (43.500km) now and am confident that your unfortunate experience shouldn't happen to everyone who owns a VX-1! Thank goodness it didn't lob you off!
I would be interested to hear whet Vectrix say, if they get back to you.
Best wishes, Drew
Drew
Hey Drew,
I think I must agree too, somewhere along the line, something was done not right.
I got the bike new. It had a few miles on it as expected from test/transport. I did about 15 or 16000 km on it (I'm never sure, because my dashboard has been swapped somewhere along the adventure), and only had the rear tire changed once (it was due again). I bet something wasn't put back together as it should back then.
It had been done by my local tire-supplier, who agreed to do it only after I gave him the instructions from the Vectrix manual. I wouldn't hold it against him though, I find him kind of courageous for trying it :-)
This odd snapping of 5 bolts seems so far fetched, that I don't think anyone Vectrix driver should be worried about theirs. Hence the lot of bikes with lots more kms with not the same problem.
I do recommend, though, if you hear unusual sounds from your gearbox, check it. Or have it checked by professionals.
But that sounds like common sence to anyone, doesn't it?
"doing nothin = doing nothing wrong" is invalid when the subject is environment
I've never been afraid by vectrix failures, but this problem is pretty dangerous!