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Maintenance


ToniG123

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Hi,

I'm wondering about the maintenance habits on the EUCs out there.

I mean regular (daily) maintenance and even long term maintenance.

¿Do you prepare somehow your EUC for the daily ride? 
¿Do you perform some type of thorough check every XXX km?

 

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I rode about 1500 miles on my kingsong and didnt have to do any serious maintenance. you might want to check once in a while that the screws are still tight, especially those that secure the foot pedals. If youve been riding in wet conditions, make sure there is no condensation inside the casing, as may be visible thru the battery indicators, and other transparent plastic.  Once in a while look to make sure the tire's bent valve doesnt stick out too much to the side as to interfere with casing during rotation, especially if youve recently changed the tire. In general make sure nothings loose. Make sure the tire is still good every 500 miles or so. In case of kingsong make sure the trolley handle is screwed in tight and is secured tightly, otherwise it will kill the thred inside the foot pedals pretty quick

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   These Wheels are not simple.  That said, there really isn't much a rider can do. You need to keep the battery charged.  Cleaning of the Wheel to make sure there wasn't anything picked up by the shell.  I watch for any difference in tire pressure.  Tighten up the pedals every now and then.  That last one is only because I don't like them flopping down while lifting it.

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Not an EUC rider yet, but will definitely need photos and instructions on how to remove the entire street tire/wheel/motor assembly to replace with a different off-road/knobby tire/wheel or ice/snow knobby with studs tire/wheel assembly depending on season for my anticipated future KS 18B/C. Being able to easily convert from one environment to another is a MUST for me, yet I don't find this information easily available.

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46 minutes ago, Donald1800 said:

Not an EUC rider yet, but will definitely need photos and instructions on how to remove the entire street tire/wheel/motor assembly to replace with a different off-road/knobby tire/wheel or ice/snow knobby with studs tire/wheel assembly depending on season for my anticipated future KS 18B/C. Being able to easily convert from one environment to another is a MUST for me, yet I don't find this information easily available.

Ive replaced the tire on 14c about 6 times and have gotten quite good at it, only to discover that kingsong suggests a different way to change it :) And it does appear faster. Dont know about the 18 inch though, but presume youd change it the same way

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13 hours ago, Donald1800 said:

Not an EUC rider yet, but will definitely need photos and instructions on how to remove the entire street tire/wheel/motor assembly to replace with a different off-road/knobby tire/wheel or ice/snow knobby with studs tire/wheel assembly depending on season for my anticipated future KS 18B/C. Being able to easily convert from one environment to another is a MUST for me, yet I don't find this information easily available.

The 18 inch tires are hard to find already, I don't think there is a place where you can buy pre-made studded tires. However, our forum legend vee73 built some last winter for his 16-inch Firewheel and has probably done one for the 18-inch Gotway. http://forum.electricunicycle.org/topic/111-i-plan-to-test/#comment-681

That thread mentions a few tricky things that he had to deal with. The tire clearance against the shell is tight and some tire/stud combinations may not fit. Also the studs may be too deep for the thickness of the tire but you could install a liner made out of an old inner tube to ensure the back of the studs don't puncture the tube. I've wondered if anyone has tried foam inserts, which eliminates the flat tire problem but means you can't adjust the ride firmness. http://www.cewheelsinc.com/flat-proof-tires.html

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Actually, I did a search for 18 X 2.50 knobby tires and found a few on-line sources for both street AND knobby tires, and on-line instructions for punching holes in selected knob centers using an awl, and screwing in steel pan head sheet metal screws coated with rubber cement from the inside of the tire, then trimming off the screw end near the tire knob using a Dremel tool or similar, as studded Ice/Snow tires are NOT available in this size. To reduce the frictional wear on the inner tube, an anti-puncture liner made of Kevlar or similar ballistic cloth can be laid out in two layers - the first layer has holes punched/burned in the liner at the screw head locations which provide a 'spacer' in the areas between the screw heads, and a second layer over the first which protects the inner tube.

Now, if planned ahead at the time of EUC purchase and included two extra wheel rims, a standard knobby tire can be mounted on one and a home made studded/knobby can be mounted on the other wheel rim which will allow a fairly rapid seasonal transition from street to normal three season off-road and winter off-road snow/ice travel for the experienced and daring of us.

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15 minutes ago, Donald1800 said:

Now, if planned ahead at the time of EUC purchase and included two extra wheel rims, a standard knobby tire can be mounted on one and a home made studded/knobby can be mounted on the other wheel rim which will allow a fairly rapid seasonal transition from street to normal three season off-road and winter off-road snow/ice travel for the experienced and daring of us.

Wouldn't that require to purchase two motors for the EUC, as the motors seem to be fairly firmly attached to the rim? Or can it be exchanged between rims?

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If you actually go to the trouble of making a studded tyre changing it isn't the problem, it's splitting the case to get to the tyre that takes the time, especially on larger battery eucs like the 850Wh M18 or even the 680Wh mcmv2s or 680Wh KingSong. They all have their control boards across the top of both halves with numerous wire connections going to both sides so it takes a little nerve to strip them down the first time around. 

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15 hours ago, Cloud said:

Ive replaced the tire on 14c about 6 times and have gotten quite good at it, only to discover that kingsong suggests a different way to change it :) And it does appear faster. 

Cloud,

How about showing us all how to do it - please! KingSong's instructions that came with the wheel didn't make much sense to me at all. 

From partly dismantling mine to check it over, I did wonder if all that is actually needed is to change a tyre is to remove the 4 crosshead screws above the footplates on each side and then disconnect the motor wires from the control board. It looked like the entire wheel would then pull out of the shell without any need to split it?

If that works, I might fit bullet connectors on the 3 motor phase wires as the screw terminals on the control board covered in some sort of sealant did not look easy to undo?

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8 minutes ago, Keith said:

Cloud,

How about showing us all how to do it - please! KingSong's instructions that came with the wheel didn't make much sense to me at all. 

From partly dismantling mine to check it over, I did wonder if all that is actually needed is to change a tyre is to remove the 4 crosshead screws above the footplates on each side and then disconnect the motor wires from the control board. It looked like the entire wheel would then pull out of the shell without any need to split it?

Well, i guess i can take pics next time i do it, or when i assembke my currently broken wheel, but you actually hit the nail on the head. This is the kingsong recommended way. Its a bit more involved than that though. You have to unscrew the 8 screws on the side panel on the side where your charging port is. Yes you remove 4 screws on both pedals, disconnect the 3 phase motor connection on control board, disconnect the other motor connector on the board, remove / disconnect the battery on the same side, run the disconnected wires through the battery compartment to ensure enough slack when pulling the wheel out, disconnect control board power connector. Then you can pull the wheel out and work on the tire.

my other way that i came up with before i knew the kingsong way was different and a bit more involved but in my method i didnt have to disconnect any batteries or the motor from the board, but it invokved taking the casing apart so i think the kingsong way is better

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16 hours ago, Keith said:

Cloud,

How about showing us all how to do it - please! KingSong's instructions that came with the wheel didn't make much sense to me at all. 

From partly dismantling mine to check it over, I did wonder if all that is actually needed is to change a tyre is to remove the 4 crosshead screws above the footplates on each side and then disconnect the motor wires from the control board. It looked like the entire wheel would then pull out of the shell without any need to split it?

If that works, I might fit bullet connectors on the 3 motor phase wires as the screw terminals on the control board covered in some sort of sealant did not look easy to undo?

Since these wires carry BUCU peak current, bullet connectors would be a very poor choice.  If I were faced with this decision (and I may be after trying to quickly and easily exchange tire/wheel assemblies), I would look into RC car motor connectors or other similar applications for these connectors.

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44 minutes ago, Donald1800 said:

Bullet connectors would be a very poor choice......   I would look into RC car motor connectors or other similar applications for these connectors.

Errrrr.... They are called "bullet connectors":  http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__10255__3_5mm_3_wire_Bullet_connector_for_motor_5pairs_bag_.html.

Surely you didn't think I meant those crappy things used in automobiles? The above link are good for 25A.

4mm, 5mm and 6mm are also available -the latter capable of more than the 100+ Amps I run through my model helicopter.

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"Surely you didn't think I meant those crappy things used in automobiles?"

Actually, I did.  Sorry 'bout that!  It IS the same principal, but appears to be better quality.  However, having said that, the contact 'area' still appears to be very skimpy for a 25A rating - therefore I personally suspect a relatively higher contact resistance compared to the flat RC Car motor connector contacts.

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