'Monster for Dummies' advice...?

[Obly]

Hi all,

I bought a new Monster from Jason at ewheel's latest shipment. I debated returning it, given Gotway's past and most recent track record for self-inflicted technical snafus, and my own recent two crashes that left me a bit shaken up (different wheel). But since no clear evidence of oscillation problems have surfaced (AFAIK), I decided to keep it and give it a go. But before jumping in (err, on) with both feet, I'd like to do everything I can to increase my chances of a safe, trouble-free experience. 

So my question is: What advice would you give for a new Monster fresh out of the box? Are there any mods or protective steps you'd take right away (I'll be adding bumper tape liberally of course)? If you have a Monster and something has gone not-so-well for you, is there anything you wish you had done right out of the box that might have helped (lessons learned)?

I'm trying to remember the most infamous hardware concerns I've read about. The fragile shell vs. the Monster's weight is one. Melting wires and unreliable connectors have been mentioned too. Anything proactive to be done about any of these? (Fair warning: I'm no engineer. But I can follow directions)

I learned how to ride on a KS14C, so I expect getting used to a 22" wheel will take serious adjustment. Any riding tips to share that others have found helpful for mastering the Monster?

Thanks in advance!!

P.S. I'm happy to be redirected to other threads, videos, etc. I know there's good advice scattered everywhere; it's just not easy to sift through every conversation to find it.

[zlymex]

Apart from the wheel, the road/traffc condition is also the most important factor to put the rider into danger.

I would say that the Monster is heavy and relatively short-pedaled (pedal length divided by the wheel diameter, which determines the max deceleration), therefore is difficult to brake and difficult to turn. Plus, bigger wheel makes the rider feel less fast.

Therefore my advice is, slow down for anything that is not very clear ahead of you.

[meepmeepmayer]

The connector issue is a thing of the past.

The wire melting issue seems much less likely to appear on a Monster.  @Marty Backe's ACM died while the Monster riding with him simply did an overheat warning and is ok (thread). [@Sven did you check for possible heat damage inside?]

So I would not worry about that unless you're very heavy (over 100kg or even more) and do long, steep hills. You can open the side panel and check the wiring looks good once a month or so, if it calms you.

[Jrkline "Wheel Whisperer"]

20 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said:

The connector issue is a thing of the past.

The wire melting issue seems much less likely to appear on a Monster.  @Marty Backe's ACM died while the Monster riding with him simply did an overheat warning and is ok (thread). [@Sven did you check for possible heat damage inside?]

So I would not worry about that unless you're very heavy (over 100kg or even more) and do long, steep hills. You can open the side panel and check the wiring looks good once a month or so, if it calms you.

I wouldn't worry about the Monster.I did a group ride with @Jason McNeil last weekend when he was riding Marty BrokeBacke's Monster and he had no problems.Although he did ride it backwards the whole time,the wheel was backward,not Jason.Maybe he knows something we don't.I also ordered a Monster from Jason and it arrives today.Enjoy your new Monster.It's a great wheel and the fastest wheel on the planet.

[meepmeepmayer]

1 hour ago, jrkline said:

I wouldn't worry about the Monster.I did a group ride with @Jason McNeil last weekend when he was riding Marty BrokeBacke's Monster and he had no problems.Although he did ride it backwards the whole time,the wheel was backward,not Jason.Maybe he knows something we don't.

Riding backwards vs riding in reverse? (or riding reverse or whatever the grammatically correct usage is)

1 hour ago, jrkline said:

I also ordered a Monster from Jason and it arrives today.Enjoy your new Monster.

Congratulations! 2400 Wh I hope; and from you, can we expect to see the first >3000Wh battery extension wheel mod?

1 hour ago, jrkline said:

It's a great wheel and the fastest wheel on the planet.

Isn't the KS18S faster, at least officially? Maybe the Monster will let you go over 50 km/h safely if you're very light while the 18S slows you down even then, but the standard Monster alarms/tiltbacks are below 50, are they not?

[Sven]

6 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

The connector issue is a thing of the past.

The wire melting issue seems much less likely to appear on a Monster.  @Marty Backe's ACM died while the Monster riding with him simply did an overheat warning and is ok (thread). [@Sven did you check for possible heat damage inside?]

So I would not worry about that unless you're very heavy (over 100kg or even more) and do long, steep hills. You can open the side panel and check the wiring looks good once a month or so, if it calms you.

I've been meaning to, maybe after tomorrow's group riding, I'll open its belly

[Marty Backe]

4 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

Riding backwards vs riding in reverse? (or riding reverse or whatever the grammatically correct usage is)

Congratulations! 2400 Wh I hope; and from you, can we expect to see the first >3000Wh battery extension wheel mod?

Isn't the KS18S faster, at least officially? Maybe the Monster will let you go over 50 km/h safely if you're very light while the 18S slows you down even then, but the standard Monster alarms/tiltbacks are below 50, are they not?

2

There's no way that any wheel is faster than the Monster. I have my doubts that the 18S can actually go 50km/h safely. The Monster has seemingly endless power. Combine its power with a 22" wheel and I can't see how it wouldn't be faster than any other wheel in existence.

[TremF]

6 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

There's no way that any wheel is faster than the Monster. I have my doubts that the 18S can actually go 50km/h safely. The Monster has seemingly endless power. Combine its power with a 22" wheel and I can't see how it wouldn't be faster than any other wheel in existence.

It would be good if someone, with full protective gear, pushed the Monster to see how fast it can go before it gives out. Unfortunately they aren't bulletproof as Ian managed to blow his and I don't remember him mentioning warning beeps for the temperature.

[Jrkline "Wheel Whisperer"]

4 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

Isn't the KS18S faster, at least officially? Maybe the Monster will let you go over 50 km/h safely if you're very light while the 18S slows you down even then, but the standard Monster alarms/tiltbacks are below 50, are they not?

I'm pretty sure the Monster is faster.I think the KS18s might do 25MPH and the Monster close to 30MPH.Now the only question is,which Monster is faster,red or blue?Hey @Marty Backe ,wanna race?

[TremF]

5 minutes ago, jrkline said:

I'm pretty sure the Monster is faster.I think the KS18s might do 25MPH and the Monster close to 30MPH.Now the only question is,which Monster is faster,red or blue?Hey @Marty Backe ,wanna race?

It could be purple is fastest   I can't test for a little while though.

[Marty Backe]

10 minutes ago, jrkline said:

I'm pretty sure the Monster is faster.I think the KS18s might do 25MPH and the Monster close to 30MPH.Now the only question is,which Monster is faster,red or blue?Hey @Marty Backe ,wanna race?

I'll never race the Monster - way too fast to suffer the possible consequences 

[Jrkline "Wheel Whisperer"]

1 minute ago, Marty Backe said:

I'll never race the Monster - way too fast to suffer the possible consequences 

You are afraid to race me with it after you already "Ben Hurred" me with it?

[Scatcat]

20 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

I'll never race the Monster - way too fast to suffer the possible consequences 

We need body mounted air-bags, where is the technology when you really need it?

[Pard]

5 minutes ago, Scatcat said:

We need body mounted air-bags, where is the technology when you really need it?

http://www.helitemoto.com/pages.php?pageid=5

[Marty Backe]

1 hour ago, jrkline said:

You are afraid to race me with it after you already "Ben Hurred" me with it?

You have a weight advantage. Push comes to shove I'll be the one going over the cliff 

[meepmeepmayer]

3 hours ago, Sven said:

I've been meaning to, maybe after tomorrow's group riding, I'll open its belly

Thanks, might be interesting to see if there's really no heat damage, and possibly good to do sooner than later.

[edwin_rm]

8 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

Isn't the KS18S faster, at least officially? Maybe the Monster will let you go over 50 km/h safely if you're very light while the 18S slows you down even then, but the standard Monster alarms/tiltbacks are below 50, are they not?

I hit 50 kph (31 mph) regularly while riding on my Monster, no problem, and never hear a beep (my weight is 145 lbs / 65kg) . I have the first two alarms and tiltback all disabled.

Beeping for the third (and only enabled) alarm starts at ~58 kph, and cutoff is at 77 kph (when full battery).

@Obly My wheel is from the same shipment and distributor that you got yours from. [Ours have the long mSuper style pedals.]

[Scatcat]

8 hours ago, Pard said:

http://www.helitemoto.com/pages.php?pageid=5

Fascinating, I have had a lmgtfy-moment, that was a long time ago...  

[SeaRay]

I just bought my V3s+ yesterday!! supposed to get it next week and I can hardly wait!! Good Luck to you Obly and maybe I will see you on the roads around here... I almost bought the monster but decided to go with the V3s+ that is supposed to be updated and not have the oscillation issue...

[US69]

23 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

Isn't the KS18S faster, at least officially? Maybe the Monster will let you go over 50 km/h safely if you're very light while the 18S slows you down even then, but the standard Monster alarms/tiltbacks are below 50, are they not?

nope, the Monster is the fastest wheel at the moment, perhaps together with the v3s+ .....

But with their different philosophies of "whats max speed" those two brands are hard to compare...GW is allways the winner as for them max speed is just a bit under cutout speed.

[meepmeepmayer]

Yea, I mean "certainly safe for an 80kg person max speed" where the 18S probably comes out on top.

[US69]

47 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said:

Yea, I mean "certainly safe for an 80kg person max speed" where the 18S probably comes out on top.

Who knows? When i hear the monster has a lift cut off of over 70kmh?

As i have heard....still waiting for mine ....the Ks18s has a lift cut off of a bit over 60kmh.

So with those numbers, a bigger batterie with 9parrallel 20cells system-2400wh, the monster is numberwise a lot over the 18S with its 8parallel 16cell 1680wh system. so the monster deserves its name :-)

But still i would allways prefer the better wires/mosfets/boards/general quality over the to fast-pushed out over engineered GW's

;-)

my 2 cents

[Rehab1]

On 7/7/2017 at 4:26 PM, Marty Backe said:

You have a weight advantage. Push comes to shove I'll be the one going over the cliff 

Will you now be adding a parachute pack to your protective gear list? 

[Rehab1]

On 7/7/2017 at 2:59 PM, jrkline said:

You are afraid to race me with it after you already "Ben Hurred" me with it?

@Marty Backe 'Ben Hurred' requires further explanation! Please tell me this did not happen up on BrokeBacke Mountain. 

[Rehab1]

On 7/7/2017 at 2:43 PM, TremF said:

It would be good if someone, with full protective gear, pushed the Monster to see how fast it can go before it gives out. Unfortunately they aren't bulletproof as Ian managed to blow his and I don't remember him mentioning warning beeps for the temperature.

Definitely with full protective gear! BTW how are you feeling? I'm sorry if I missed any follow up you may have posted regarding your trip to the ortho clinic.