review Inmotion V8 - your thoughts and Impressions ... Now with extensive review included

[Greg Spalding]

3 hours ago, HEC said:

If I may offer my point of view on your “dilemma”:

If this is your first EUC / Wheel and you’ll be using it as a learner wheel the lighter the wheel the better as it will (initially) put less strain on your legs, calves and ankles when practising riding  and most of all standalone mounts and dismounts. The second factor to consider is the safety. Inmotion has high regards for their customer’s safety and health and I’m yet to hear about any serious faults leading to rider’s accidents. While King Song / KS-16 has also fairly proven safety record it has been known for some issues leading to cut-off / folding under riders and so on.

In regards of range – again – if this is your first wheel don’t expect to be zooming around your neighbourhood for hours in one go any time soon. Even if you’d be a very fast learner and manage to ride couple of tens or even hundreds of meters first day and feel “confident” enough to wonder around in 3 or 4 days there is one factor which will take longer. Initially before you get used to it your feet will hurt after even short rides. This takes time to get used to – I’d say at least month maybe two. Also after initial training even if you’d use protection on your ankles and calves (which is highly recommended) you’ll be aching all over the place. The bottom line is that don’t expect to deplete your battery during a single ride any time soon. So if the range is your main deciding factor and you can see yourself purchasing the second wheel anyway I’d say go for V8. You’ll not be disappointed and IMO it will be a bit easier to learn on (though it has really hard ride mode but sooner you get used to that sooner you’ll be able to tide any other wheel after that).

Just my 2 cents

This is wonderful advice and i appreciate it

I have ridden a friend's ninebot one e+ for some time and have tried to ACCLIMATE myself to this new "sport" i am beginning to love. i'm a pediatrician who loves technology and "vehicles" such as these. even riding around on my ninebot miniPRO i know how much my feet STILL hurt on occasion but how long it took me to get used to that WITHOUT the real worry about balancing.  I am 5'6" tall and sadly almost 85kg at this point (yes, i desperately need to lose weight and riding on my EUC won't help that very much compared to others methods of exercise) and i just didn't know if the TALLER and THINNER V8 would be right for me. That is why i wish i could stand on both.... but, where I live that isn't possible. i suppose that the V8 would feel more like the ninebot one e+ (TO STAND ON) than the KS which is of course SHORTER and a bit WIDER.

Range is a ridiculous deciding factor in MY case... i know that. i just know that my OVERWEIGHT FOR HEIGHT situation means that "stated" range will not apply to me but the fact i live in a very FLAT area will help.

your "2 cents" is worth MILLIONS to me, without a doubt, and i cannot thank you enough for taking the time to help me.

greg

[Greg Spalding]

2 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

Your input is well stated..as always! Still referring back to your excellent V8 review. Unfortunately I have not had anytime to even play with the lights☹️ Damn..out of reps..owe you one

it was. this is a wonderful forum (and i have responded in separately above this response). folks are so helpful.

living on the west coast of florida, in area where there are 2,000,000 folks usually all that i'd want to try out and buy is within reach. this is really the first time i'm purchasing something without ever being able to touch it first. 

however, at almost (in just 2 days) 54 years of age i know that while i have "limitations" i usually adapt pretty easily.

i'm looking forward to being "on the road" (and trail) on my OWN wheel soon.

as i mentioned above, i do have some experience on a ninebot one e+ and that is how i fell in love with this "sport."

thanks to YOU, too, for all of your help and encouragement

[houseofjob]

@Sweet M For both my V8 and V5, I never had to re-launch the app, even after failed firmware update (I'm on iOS FYI); I just went back into the Firmware upgrade section and tried again. After the progress bar reached 100%, I believe there was a Firmware update successful prompt (not completely sure), to which I restarted the wheel itself, then re-connected on the still-open app.

 

Some more V8 observations after this morning's commute:

• It takes a bit of mustering / leaning to summon all 800 Watts of acceleration on the V8. Thus, the initial acceleration from idle for both V5 & V8 feel the same, but when the V8 gets going, you feel the extra 250 Watts nominal of power and acceleration.
• Going uphill feels steady, but not as effortless as my mkII 800W 680wH KS-18A (my only other regular 800W driver). I have a sneaking suspicion that this is due to the less number of cells of the V8 battery, despite both wheels being the same 800W nominal.
  • For comparison (I'm 75kg, and NYC hill grade is probably ~7% at best, for reference):
    • the 550W V5F+ feels like a slow initial acceleration uphill from idle, which needs to gradually build speed / momentum throughout the climb, not unlike how the 500W Ninebot One E+ climbs uphill.
    • the 800W V8 feels like a slightly more powerful version of the V5F+ climb, with more consistent power / acceleration throughout the whole climb, idle to top speed.
    • and for comparison's sake, my KS-18A 800W 680wH climbs much easier uphill than the 2, with more torque from the initial acceleration from idle, and the whole climb feels more akin to flatland acceleration, rather than a gradual momentum build.
• Again, the Kenda tire pales in comparison to the Chao Yang / Hang Zhou tire that the V5 employs; I feel bumps more easily now and the tire itself feels more hollow, as opposed to the V5's solid block of impvervious rubber feel. But to be fair, most of the big name EUCs use Kenda tires, and I imagine this was either a cost-saving measure, or a way to source a more ready supply, or both. Either way, I will be scouring AliExpress and BangGood to see if I can procure a 16" Chao Yang / Hang Zhou tire replacement. IMO, the Chao Yang / Hang Zhou tire was a big part of why the V5F+ feels so rock solid and impervious.
• Re-thinking why the side plastic protrusions don't hurt as much as previously thought, I realized that, because of the V8's increased height, these protrusions contact your leg higher and more towards the meat of your calves, rather than straight shin bone (*Oww!*) FWIW.
• Wheeling around the V8 by the trolley handle, the wheel actually makes a noticeable whizzing / whirring sound (both when either powered On or Off) that the V5 does not FWIW (or at least, if it does, it's not as loud).
• Haven't figured out a quick transition on the V8 of going from riding to walking into a building. With my V5, I can quickly go from riding, to dismounting / flicking the trolley handle up / kicking a pedal closed / and walking in the EUC through the door, all in one quick and fell swoop. The V8 pullout trolley is a bit clumsy and multi-stepped with the pullout motion (clicking button in, to then pullout handle out), so I've resorted to dismounting and carrying the V8 with wheel disengage handle button deployed.

[Greg Spalding]

10 minutes ago, houseofjob said:

@Sweet M For both my V8 and V5, I never had to re-launch the app, even after failed firmware update (I'm on iOS FYI); I just went back into the Firmware upgrade section and tried again. After the progress bar reached 100%, I believe there was a Firmware update successful prompt (not completely sure), to which I restarted the wheel itself, then re-connected on the still-open app.

 

Some more V8 observations after this morning's commute:

• It takes a bit of mustering / leaning to summon all 800 Watts of acceleration on the V8. Thus, the initial acceleration from idle for both V5 & V8 feel the same, but when the V8 gets going, you feel the extra 250 Watts nominal of power and acceleration.
• Going uphill feels steady, but not as effortless as my mkII 800W 680wH KS-18A (my only other regular 800W driver). I have a sneaking suspicion that this is due to the less number of cells of the V8 battery, despite both wheels being the same 800W nominal.
  • For comparison (I'm 75kg, and NYC hill grade is probably ~7% at best, for reference):
    • the 550W V5F+ feels like a slow initial acceleration uphill from idle, which needs to gradually build speed / momentum throughout the climb, not unlike how the 500W Ninebot One E+ climbs uphill.
    • the 800W V8 feels like a slightly more powerful version of the V5F+ climb, with more consistent power / acceleration throughout the whole climb, idle to top speed.
    • and for comparison's sake, my KS-18A 800W 680wH climbs much easier uphill than the 2, with more torque from the initial acceleration from idle, and the whole climb feels more akin to flatland acceleration, rather than a gradual momentum build.
• Again, the Kenda tire pales in comparison to the Chao Yang / Hang Zhou tire that the V5 employs; I feel bumps more easily now and the tire itself feels more hollow, as opposed to the V5's solid block of impvervious rubber feel. But to be fair, most of the big name EUCs use Kenda tires, and I imagine this was either a cost-saving measure, or a way to source a more ready supply, or both. Either way, I will be scouring AliExpress and BangGood to see if I can procure a 16" Chao Yang / Hang Zhou tire replacement. IMO, the Chao Yang / Hang Zhou tire was a big part of why the V5F+ feels so rock solid and impervious.
• Re-thinking why the side plastic protrusions don't hurt as much as previously thought, I realized that, because of the V8's increased height, these protrusions contact your leg higher and more towards the meat of your calves, rather than straight shin bone (*Oww!*) FWIW.
• Wheeling around the V8 by the trolley handle, the wheel actually makes a noticeable whizzing / whirring sound (both when either powered On or Off) that the V5 does not FWIW (or at least, if it does, it's not as loud).
• Haven't figured out a quick transition on the V8 of going from riding to walking into a building. With my V5, I can quickly go from riding, to dismounting / flicking the trolley handle up / kicking a pedal closed / and walking in the EUC through the door, all in one quick and fell swoop. The V8 pullout trolley is a bit clumsy and multi-stepped with the pullout motion (clicking button in, to then pullout handle out), so I've resorted to dismounting and carrying the V8 with wheel disengage handle button deployed.

thank you for all of the info above. i know that it takes a long time to formulate such a post... but, i appreciate, very much, all of your help

[Jason McNeil]

@houseofjob @HEC, Inmotion beta program to evaluate any new Wheels...  

@HEC, can you repost your masterpiece write-up in separate thread? This one is approaching the 400 mark, it might get lost in here...

24 minutes ago, houseofjob said:

Kenda tire pales in comparison to the Chao Yang / Hang Zhou tire that the V5 employs; I feel bumps more easily now and the tire itself feels more hollow, as opposed to the V5's solid block of impvervious rubber feel.

That's great feedback, I can ask that we source the CY/HZ tires in the next batch of V8s, & keep a number of these as spares.

5 hours ago, HEC said:

Actually I've had the same issue / "confusion" when performing the FW update on my V8 ... Nothing seemed to be rebooted so after a minute or two since the file was uploaded to the wheel via app I've restarted the app and it has detected the wheel with new firmware already when checked via FW upgrade screen.

Same here, I think the trick is to have the Wheel on it's side but powered on. In my case, the Wheel was completely dead after powering off, no response to power button etc for around a minute, thought I might have bricked a brand new V8, moments later it woke up & all went well. I'll ask that Inmotion provide details info on exactly what changes are made, so that maybe not all Users need/want to know, but at least the info is available. 

15 hours ago, houseofjob said:

I had to crank mine to the +8 max (came set to +2.6 out of the box) to get a more even level balance adjustment. Wondering if it's just my V8? If not, maybe a possible future firmware fix @Jason McNeil?

Just tested on the new V8, 0 is centrally balanced, +8 is quite a dip. Can you use one of the level Apps to capture the tilt angle on +8? 

[Sweet M]

Per the above suggestions re: firmware upgrade........ I now have successfully accomplished the task!  Thanks so much to all the many Brainiacs on this forum!  :-)

[Jaouad OB]

My came to me with this version, is there any new?

[HEC]

47 minutes ago, Jaouad OB said:

My came to me with this version, is there any new?

AFAIK this is the latest FW version for V8 at the moment.

[Rehab1]

3 hours ago, Jason McNeil said:

I'll ask that Inmotion provide details info on exactly what changes are made, so that maybe not all Users need/want to know, but at least the info is available. 

Conspiracy Theory... No real changes...IM is just tracking us

[Sweet M]

Just discovered that once you customize the light effects on the V8 you can rename, edit, or delete your DIY effects.  All ya have to do is swipe left on your effect name and make your selection.  Doesn't seem to be a way to edit the factory downloaded effects....... as far as I can tell anyway.  :-)

[houseofjob]

Per my last comments, noticed that rolling the V8 (both powered On & Off), the whirring / whizzing sound gets quieter if you push it faster.

@Jason McNeil still at +8 max for level, will snap a pic with a level soon and post it.

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

Did you try doing a calibration of your wheel?  It sounds like the gyro zero level might be off?

[houseofjob]

1 minute ago, HunkaHunkaBurningLove said:

Did you try doing a calibration of your wheel?  It sounds like the gyro zero level might be off?

Not sure what you mean. The +8 I thought was a calibration. Do you mean to say there's another way to do it on the V8?

[HEC]

4 minutes ago, houseofjob said:

Not sure what you mean. The +8 I thought was a calibration. Do you mean to say there's another way to do it on the V8?

There are two option under SCV Correction menu. The first one called "Pedal Horizontal Adjustment" is to set the offset by user preference. The second called "Car body turning and forward correction" is the actual calibration.

[houseofjob]

10 minutes ago, HEC said:

There are two option under SCV Correction menu. The first one called "Pedal Horizontal Adjustment" is to set the offset by user preference. The second called "Car body turning and forward correction" is the actual calibration.

The "Turning and Forwarding Adjustment" just returns an "Adjustment failed" error prompt for me on my V8, think the same thing on my V5. You're saying you can adjust your's with this menu?

[HEC]

33 minutes ago, houseofjob said:

The "Turning and Forwarding Adjustment" just returns an "Adjustment failed" error prompt for me on my V8, think the same thing on my V5. You're saying you can adjust your's with this menu?

I think there is a procedure to initiate the calibration - something specific needs to be done with the wheel to make it work. There is no description in  the User manual or app itself though

[Rehab1]

V8 is protected! It took longer than the V5F+ due to the intricate contours and lines. To start with I rolled the wheel around on a padded surface to view all of the contact points that might become scratched if I dropped the wheel. I then applied  3/8 " wheel well molding on 90% of the shell . I then used some  3/4" carbon style molding across the top handle regions and then staggered 2 shorter pieces over the bottom surface of each foot pedal. Then came the comfort aspect while still providing protection to the upper calf portion of the shell. 3/8" molding was to uncomfortable on the inside of my shins since it stuck out to far. I decided to add 2 strips of the 3/4" carbon molding that was spaced far enough apart so my legs would fit comfortably between the molding strips. The ankle pads that came with the V8 are not really necessary as stated by @HEC in his excellent review so I decided to integrate them into the design by fastening them directly below the 3/4" carbon molding just to finish off the bottom of the strips.  I then capped off the top of the carbon strips with a thin 1/8" red molding strip. I did not have black in 1/4" as I would have preferred.  I plan to change out the red for black next week when it arrives. In any event it is protected. There are many versions of protective auto moldings on the market. Trial and error/ mixing and matching can become expensive. Most of the protective molding I used was from the V5F + project. The V8 is more difficult trying to follow all of the contours and still have the molding lye flat.

I'm looking forward to seeing other V8 protective techniques in the future.

 

UPDATE: here is where I purchased my molding: 

Below is the site I purchased the molding. You may be able to order from Amazon as well. 

http://cowlesproducts.com/protektotrim/fender-trim/

The black 3/8" molding is product # 37-631

The 1/4" red is product #  37-525

http://cowlesproducts.com/oldcontent/wp/protektotrim/color-molding/

[HEC]

1 hour ago, Rehab1 said:

V8 is protected!

Fantastic job! Though I'd probably left a bit of space somewhere on the front and rear fenders to place the reflective stickers ... I've put mine at the bit of fender below the headlight and speaker - white in front and read at rear. Still can't find any acceptable spots on the sides though to not cover the LEDs and to avoid disturbing the perfect look.

[Rehab1]

13 minutes ago, HEC said:

Fantastic job! Though I'd probably left a bit of space somewhere on the front and rear fenders to place the reflective stickers ... I've put mine at the bit of fender below the headlight and speaker - white in front and read at rear. Still can't find any acceptable spots on the sides though to not cover the LEDs and to avoid disturbing the perfect look.

Thanks! Always room for improvement. Hurry up and get yours done! Are there reflective stickers that came with the V8? ?

[HEC]

Just now, Rehab1 said:

Thanks! Always room for improvement. Hurry up and get yours done! Are there are reflective stickers that came with the V8? ?

No - I've just purchased two 5m rolls od 25 mm reflective tape (white and red) and have been using it since then on all my wheels. Though it would cost nothing if the manufacturers or even distributors like @Jason McNeil would get a big roll and include 2 or 4 pieces of about 10 cm each ...

[Rehab1]

Just now, HEC said:

No - I've just purchased two 5m rolls od 25 mm reflective tape (white and red) and have been using it since then on all my wheels. Though it would cost nothing if the manufacturers or even distributors like @Jason McNeil would get a big roll and include 2 or 4 pieces of about 10 cm each ...

Oh nice! I was concerned I left some fancy, laser cut, awesome looking reflectors in the box.

[Greg Spalding]

4 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

V8 is protected! It took longer than the V5F+ due to the intricate contours and lines. To start with I rolled the wheel around on a padded surface to view all of the contact points that might become scratched if I dropped the wheel. I then applied  3/8 " wheel well molding on 90% of the shell . I then used some  3/4" carbon style molding across the top handle regions and then staggered 2 shorter pieces over the bottom surface of each foot pedal. Then came the comfort aspect while still providing protection to the upper calf portion of the shell. 3/8" molding was to uncomfortable on the inside of my shins since it stuck out to far. I decided to add 2 strips of the 3/4" carbon molding that was spaced far enough apart so my legs would fit comfortably between the molding strips. The ankle pads that came with the V8 are not really necessary as stated by @HEC in his excellent review so I decided to integrate them into the design by fastening them directly below the 3/4" carbon molding just to finish off the bottom of the strips.  I then capped off the top of the carbon strips with a thin 1/8" red molding strip. I did not have black in 1/4" as I would have preferred.  I plan to change out the red for black next week when it arrives. In any event it is protected. There are many versions of protective auto moldings on the market. Trial and error/ mixing and matching can become expensive. Most of the protective molding I used was from the V5F + project. The V8 is more difficult trying to follow all of the contours and still have the molding lye flat.

I'm looking forward to seeing other V8 protective techniques in the future.

 

what will you charge for us to send you OUR V8s to have this done?

i don't even think i'm kidding 

[Rehab1]

20 hours ago, Greg Spalding said:

 

what will you charge for us to send you OUR V8s to have this done?

i don't even think i'm kidding 

Would love to.? Wished I had some time. Getting burned out at work. 

[Greg Spalding]

1 hour ago, Rehab1 said:

Would love to.? Wished I had some time. Getting burned out at work. 

i can surely appreciate that... but i love what i do and am happy to do it

and.... if i didn't do it.... i'd be hanging out at the "how to turn rocks into toys" forum 

[genialmaniac]

Hi from abroad, I'm new there, currently got a small 14" no-name wheel, thanks a lot for all those great information about the v8. I like customs protections but why don't you use official one:
http://s.aliexpress.com/3mQ7n6fq
(from AliExpress Android)

By reading all your comments, I'm eager to receive mine!