V11 vibrating noise

[reach]

Hi,

I haven't ridden my V11 much yet, just a few meters in front of my house. Waiting for the summer.

But everytime I try it, this noise makes me mad:

It's definitely NOT the knobs on the tire.

It goes away when going a bit faster, but comes back when slow and during breaking. I think it's vibration, but it could also be scratching.

Does anybody else have this and knows what it is and how to solve it? Pretty sure Id find it sooner or later, but would be great to shorten the search. 

Thx,
reach

[Ádám Szitás]

This sounds like loose motor-shell screws again, tighten it before you ride more as it gets much worse fast.

Remove the side covers and you will find them there, the deepest big 4 screws, use the included bigger allen key to tighten them.

[Rich Sam]

That would drive me nuts as well!  Thanks for taking the time to post.  I can squirrel away peoples video and reference to fix.

[EUChristian]

Same thing I had sir but mine is after I continued to ride:

 

 

Check my thread for info on the screws in question.

[EUChristian]

On 2/5/2021 at 10:44 AM, Ádám Szitás said:

This sounds like loose motor-shell screws again, tighten it before you ride more as it gets much worse fast.

Remove the side covers and you will find them there, the deepest big 4 screws, use the included bigger allen key to tighten them.

Ok actually I take it back. I just tightened mine and first time riding I'm getting a similar noise. Not the motor shell screws. 

[EUC_user]

The black plastic (metal?) spacers on the suspension rails might have worn down.

Even when they’re tight (screwed in tight) there is still play. There are four of them and they need to be redesigned. Maybe even 3D printed with a stronger material.

[Ádám Szitás]

I don't see how that could do this, it is not a part of the main body where the motor/controller is.

[mrelwood]

That sound is something moving which shouldn’t move. As a first step I would remove the saddles and tighten every single screw your see.

 If that doesn’t help, I’d go through all the bolts at the edge of the motor cover.

 I’d that doesn’t help either, it could be something inside the motor. I would contact your seller and ask for advise, perhaps even a warranty replacement.

[EUChristian]

16 hours ago, mrelwood said:

That sound is something moving which shouldn’t move. As a first step I would remove the saddles and tighten every single screw your see.

 If that doesn’t help, I’d go through all the bolts at the edge of the motor cover.

 I’d that doesn’t help either, it could be something inside the motor. I would contact your seller and ask for advise, perhaps even a warranty replacement.

Thank you. I'm just about tired of on things after another on this unit. 

[EUChristian]

On 2/5/2021 at 10:40 AM, reach said:

Hi,

I haven't ridden my V11 much yet, just a few meters in front of my house. Waiting for the summer.

But everytime I try it, this noise makes me mad:

It's definitely NOT the knobs on the tire.

It goes away when going a bit faster, but comes back when slow and during breaking. I think it's vibration, but it could also be scratching.

Does anybody else have this and knows what it is and how to solve it? Pretty sure Id find it sooner or later, but would be great to shorten the search. 

Thx,
reach

@reach you and I are going to figure this out together. I have the exact same issue. I will tear the damn thing apart again and try to figure this out. 

Edited February 7, 2021 by EUChristian

[reach]

On 2/7/2021 at 7:30 PM, EUChristian said:

@reach you and I are going to figure this out together. I have the exact same issue. I will tear the damn thing apart again and try to figure this out. 

I didn't touch my V11 since then. Instead I took my V8 apart because that also makes some noises.

I think I'll ask my reseller before I do anything. Maybe they have some experience.

[BlckRck2014]

I also have this sound at very low speeds. More pronounced on decents. The sound goes away at any other speed.  My v11 is one week old. 

[EUChristian]

On 2/11/2021 at 10:15 PM, BlckRck2014 said:

I also have this sound at very low speeds. More pronounced on decents. The sound goes away at any other speed.  My v11 is one week old. 

I know what the answer is now and it's simple. No disassembly required. When they installed the screws that go around the outside edge of the shell (next to the tire all the way down and around past the lower suspension valve up the back) they didn't tighten them. Just a little bit of looseness and the shell vibrates. If it's major vibration it's the deep seated screws under the saddle piece. 

[reach]

I found the source of the noise!

As you can see in this video, I can easily trigger the noise also without riding. Shortly before the wheel stops, there comes the noise. 
Now, if I hold the headlamp's glass, the noise is gone. I've tried holding everything else - no effect - it's definitely the glass.

I'm now waiting for the OK from my reseller to fix this without losing warranty. Maybe he also has some instructions how to take it apart easily.

I'll report here when done.

 

[Ádám Szitás]

wow, thank you so much, I will definately check for this as I also have a similar sound that I couldn't identify.

[mrelwood]

5 hours ago, reach said:

I found the source of the noise!

Sounds reassuring!

I have seen a few early V11 units with the headlight assembly attachment bolts missing from the other side, or the assembly itself cracked from overtightened said bolts. I’d check those.

[EUChristian]

5 hours ago, reach said:

I found the source of the noise!

As you can see in this video, I can easily trigger the noise also without riding. Shortly before the wheel stops, there comes the noise. 
Now, if I hold the headlamp's glass, the noise is gone. I've tried holding everything else - no effect - it's definitely the glass.

I'm now waiting for the OK from my reseller to fix this without losing warranty. Maybe he also has some instructions how to take it apart easily.

I'll report here when done.

 

Wow so three potential ways a V11 can vibrate. I will check mine as well. I do know the vibration I was having was eliminated by tightening my shell but I might be able to hear this on mine too. It's like 20 degrees here and ice in PA and makes me upset because even in full insulated gear it's just not comfortable to ride for long periods of time (for me)

 

Edit 1 watched video - is it the clear plastic part moving in the housing?  Or the housing itself?  

Edit 2 I checked mine I do not have this issue. 

Edited February 20, 2021 by EUChristian

[reach]

It's fixed!!

Here is what I did: I kept knocking against the unmounted headlight and disassembled it as long as I heard a vibration. Turns out that I had to disassemble it completely to find the culprit: it was the plexi-glass part that distributes the light from one LED to that sexy ring shape. It was sitting on the bare plastic and apparently had so much play that it could vibrate against that. I took black insulating tape, folded it, so it's double thick, softer and doesn't stick. Put it in the groove where the ring sits and put everything together.

Made a test ride - perfect silence! :-)

Unbelievable how such a small thing can mess up the entire wheel.

 

BTW: my reseller, Hammer International in Germany was as helpful as they could be. They didn't know the problem but would have fixed it within warranty. Of course I wasn't keen packing the whole thing again and say goodby to it for some 2 weeks. When I sent them the video showing that it must be the light, they allowed me to take it apart myself without losing warranty. When I further told them that it's definitely the light (I made a test ride without it and it was silent) but I don't want to take it further apart, they were ok to send me just the light as spare part. 
Just tonight I thought "what could possibly go wrong?" and I took things in my own hands. Luckily successfully.

[EUChristian]

1 hour ago, reach said:

It's fixed!!

Here is what I did: I kept knocking against the unmounted headlight and disassembled it as long as I heard a vibration. Turns out that I had to disassemble it completely to find the culprit: it was the plexi-glass part that distributes the light from one LED to that sexy ring shape. It was sitting on the bare plastic and apparently had so much play that it could vibrate against that. I took black insulating tape, folded it, so it's double thick, softer and doesn't stick. Put it in the groove where the ring sits and put everything together.

Made a test ride - perfect silence! :-)

Unbelievable how such a small thing can mess up the entire wheel.

 

BTW: my reseller, Hammer International in Germany was as helpful as they could be. They didn't know the problem but would have fixed it within warranty. Of course I wasn't keen packing the whole thing again and say goodby to it for some 2 weeks. When I sent them the video showing that it must be the light, they allowed me to take it apart myself without losing warranty. When I further told them that it's definitely the light (I made a test ride without it and it was silent) but I don't want to take it further apart, they were ok to send me just the light as spare part. 
Just tonight I thought "what could possibly go wrong?" and I took things in my own hands. Luckily successfully.

Thank you Reach!  I have this exact problem and will have to dissassemble. Did you have to take wheel apart to get the headlight off?

[reach]

10 hours ago, EUChristian said:

Thank you Reach!  I have this exact problem and will have to dissassemble. Did you have to take wheel apart to get the headlight off?

The headlight you need to take apart to the last screw. See the picture. Don't forget the 2 screws sitting under the Inmotion badge on the front!
Ok, that one piece marked in the picture could have stayed on I think, but even this I dampened underneath to be sure.

 

On the wheel it's not too bad:

- both saddle pieces need to go off

- the electronics cover needs to come off. For this you need to empty the air of the suspension, otherwise the frame will be in a position where you can't reach one particular screw on the side of the cover.

- the two forward "carbon" sidecovers need to come off. I took off the pedals, the frame and the metal bar but thinking back, I don't think that's necessary. See picture.
To take off the side covers there's one small Philips screw on the top, 4 allen screws on the sides and don't forget the 2 metric allen screws in the middle, see picture.

- remove those 4 silver screws on each side to loosen the light. Undo 3 plugs in the electronics compartment. Pull out the rubber plug which seals the spiral cable of the kill-switch. This will give you access to a plug where you can undo that spiral cable. You might have to knock the light unit slightly from both sides to get it off. It sits tight.

[Mike Dobbs]

Thank you so much!  I have the EXACT same issue and it's been driving me NUTS.  Did the tape affect the look of the light?  Or does it still light all the way around same as before?

[EUC Endurist]

danke vielmals  hatte dasselbe problem und wurde durch diese anleitung gelöst 

[EUChristian]

On 4/13/2021 at 6:34 PM, Mike Dobbs said:

Thank you so much!  I have the EXACT same issue and it's been driving me NUTS.  Did the tape affect the look of the light?  Or does it still light all the way around same as before?

Does not affect!  It goes behind the light.  Imagine making a soft bed for the light to rest in so it doesnt vibrate. I had exact problem - this fixed 100% thanks to @reach

[RamonatheCat]

I read through this page and seem to be having a similar, but maybe not identical issue. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

 

[reach]

Sounds indeed a bit different. Definitiely more like the tire scratching against something.
You could find out if the issue is similar to mine, by covering and slightly squishing the headlight plexi while riding. Or, more reliably, by taking out the entire headlight assembley and riding without (like shown in one of my pictures above)