Aprilia Enjoy

[Samd]

Hi Carlosco, the key to torque is the amps. Not volts.
Lipo can give up a much higher current, say tenfold on nimh. And with the unpredictable cut in of the original contoller, and its burst rate when taking off from standstill, I think you will kill the gearbox.

I suspect you would need to grind back the current shunt inside the controller to stop it if you go with the original Contoller.

I still think you would be better with a throttle and new controller so you can control your own launches. Imho.

[tonyontopofabighill]

Hey Sam,

I still haven't stopped laughing about your pics of the battery types.Very warped mate.I too ,have a "sickish" sense of humour.
Great stuff.Looking forward to hearing how you go with the new parts installed.

Cheers,
Tony.

[Samd]

I shamelessly stole the idea from Hyena, couldnt find his original post.

Here it is in all its glory. I think you'll like the descriptions.
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=28713&p=414772&hilit=hyena+battery+types#p414772

[Hillhater]

Hi Carlosco, unless you are trying to keep some level of "legality" by retaining the original controller, i would change it out now before it fails like most of them seem to eventually...and replacements are very expensive !
That will also eliminate the need for the 12v control supply.
You can limit the power on any controller so if you want to "protect" the gears ..you still can.
Once you have tried a Ebike with out the interference of torque and speed sensors, i doubt you will want to go back.
Also, putting the batteries on the rear (rack ?) is a backwards step from a riding "feel" point of view. Read some of the threads, and you will understand why most keen Ebikers end up with the batteries "inside" the frame rails ..just like Aprilia did originally.
Dont over think things too much, pick a voltage ..24, 27, 50, or whatever you fancy and find a controller to match.
The Voltage will simply dictate the max speed you will achieve
Most of us are satisfied with 30 -40 volts ( 8s -10s Lipo ) and low power controllers ( 25-35A ) which will give 50 km/hr and good hill climbing.
Just be sure you are comfortable with Lipo charging and safety procedures before you commit.

[tonyontopofabighill]

Hey Sam,

Yeah I read Hyena's descriptions of the batteries and had a great chuckle.Very clever stuff indeed.

[Samd]

Thinking back on the gear wear, I am guilty of doing about 500km with the kids in the back of a trailer - prob about another 25kg total. Plus groceries at times.

The linkage between bike and trailer is a large spring - when you accelerate or brake suddenly, the jerk is really large. Bigger than the jerk on the bike (Me that is).

This is when the clicking would often start which turned out to be the metal gears skipping.

Suspect it's when my bike really started to wear out beyond the odd click...

[drekkus]

Hi Carlosco, unless you are trying to keep some level of "legality" by retaining the original controller, i would change it out now before it fails like most of them seem to eventually...and replacements are very expensive !
That will also eliminate the need for the 12v control supply.

Once you have tried a Ebike with out the interference of torque and speed sensors, i doubt you will want to go back.

When i first got my bike I wanted to keep the pedal assist system and keep things original as possible. After having to abandon that through necessity ( the controller died) I ended up being pleasantly surprised at how much better having throttle control was. You just have so much more control over how you ride. It may be coincidence but my range has increased noticeably.

Also, putting the batteries on the rear (rack ?) is a backwards step from a riding "feel" point of view. Read some of the threads, and you will understand why most keen Ebikers end up with the batteries "inside" the frame rails ..just like Aprilia did

I understand what you're saying but there may have to be a trade off for ease of installation and charging. Given I'm not the only one who will be using them I would rather err on the side of simplicity. Plug in and charge like a bought one. I'm not saying you shouldn't consider replacing the original batteries with LiPo packs but not everyone is going to be capable or comfortable doing it. Anyway lack of funds makes it a bit a moot question for me at the moment . I guess it gives me more time to consider my options and the NiMh are holding up ok for now.
But I can now see the attraction of 36v

[Samd]

A breakthough with the gearbox. Finally got the old worn gear off using the aprilia tools (had to pay a local engineering firm with a 6pack of beer to do it as my wooden workbench and vice couldnt take the torque!).

Another breakthrough. There is a star nut at the other end of the axle that appears to need tightening. The axle is travelling about 2mm in the main axial direction shown by the arrow. My spare gearbox from an old bike has none of this movement at all. Any play in this direction would allow the gears inside to skip over each other under load and create the wear that has brought my bike to a standstill. This seems to be a major factor to me in powering these bikes up to 1000W plus.

You can get a tool from aprilia to tighten the star nut but I suspect it is a standard bike tool, and i think you could make one easily by grinding a socket down into a star shape. Or just a bit of tube ground into a cross on the end.

Getting to this nut should be easy for anyone who starts to hear the motor clicking slightly under load. Just pop the crank off that side and tighten, no need to open the gearbox.

There is a circlip on the other side of this nut according to the exploded diagram, going to check tonight. I hope it is not this as it would be a bigger job.

Hope this helps.

Yanut.jpg (84.65 KiB) Viewed 612 times

[Samd]

And heres how you get the pinion out. Grid two flats on your old gear. Use the aprilia tool shown with the three bolts thru the chainwheel. It's a reverse thread. Apply heaps of torque.

Don;t bother with the other tool shown a few posts back. It is poorly desgned so the two center grub screws keep smashing off. Just grind the flats as shown in this picture and save your money.

It would be easy to make one of the tools shown in this pic to suit your chainwheel if you have some good steel and a few bolts.

[Hillhater]

Thanks Sam,. very useful info.
Im just off to check my nuts !! ...
I think we need to be careful not to over tighten that nut and put an axial load on the bearings . Just reduce to end play to a minimum ? Much like adjusting the bearings in a wheel hub.
PS: ..i believe the correct term for that nut is a "Castle nut" .

PPS.. has anyone managed to remove the "torque sensor" assemble from the BB gearbox ?? ..if so, how ?

[Samd]

good point re axial load. agreed on tightness. not sure if there is a standard bike tool for castlenuts?

torquesensor seems to need to come out from inside the 'box. I just cut my wires off and leave em in the case....

[Hillhater]

. not sure if there is a standard bike tool for castlenuts?...

Unlikely i suspect, usually they are "custom" for size , length etc. But easy to make from an old deep socket, or "box " wrench.
A soft drift and a hammer will also work in an emergency !

...torquesensor seems to need to come out from inside the 'box. I just cut my wires off and leave em in the case....

Same here, but i suspect they are the source of a "squeeking" sound i get when pedaling hard !

PS: .. checked my spindle end play, ..look like about 0.5 mm .... Now where did i put that soft drift ?

[Architectonic]

For any WA people reading this thread, there is one in Perth, currently at $100

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Aprilia-Elec ... 231fd0baf7

[tonyontopofabighill]

Someone got a good buy in Wa.It went for $204!

[tonyontopofabighill]

Another one in Sydeny.This one as you will read has been somewhat dismantled.I am going to try and buy this one.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Aprilia-Easy ... ing_Bikes&

Tony.

[tonyontopofabighill]

Hey Sam,

How are you going with fitting the new parts?
I got the above bike for $272 so hopefully the gearbox will be okay.

Cheers,
Tony.

[Samd]

All Done! Works fantastic. Only replaced the large pinion despite wear on the small infeed spindle from the motor.

Took photos, will put them up. Pressing a new bearing into the big gear was just a matter of tapping it lightly into place a mm or so then squeezing it in with a 100mm bench vise.

Gonna rebuild my second gearbox soon. Reckon it'll take less than an ninety mins second time round.

Although I had to take the old gear assy to an engineering firm to get it apart. Cost me a sixpack. They ground two big flats on the old gear. clamped it. then used the aprilia torque arm tool with three pins and a bar to apply huge torque. Apprentice fell right on its butt when it finally let go with three people swinging on it.

Got it all back together Fri night but couldn't ride it. Pedal kept slamming into the plastic bodywork. Went to bed 99percent done and frustrated. Flipped the bike over today and realised one of the two cranks has a dog leg bend in it. Swapped the cranks and grinned my way up to 50kph around the local lake....

2012-07-26 13.55.40.jpg

Tapped the new bearing into place

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2012-07-26 13.56.09.jpg

Used a 100mm bench vise, well sized roofing bolt and a soft nylon cutting board to squeeze the new bearing in....

(191.07 KiB) Downloaded 4 times

[tonyontopofabighill]

Well done Sam (huge clapping from all interested parties).How much did the parts end up costing?

Cheers,
Tony.

[Samd]

I think the tool was about twenty dollars (buy the torque arm one with the three bolts, forget the other tool). And the gear was about 70 dollars, and the roller bearing about twenty.

But freight was awful. I need to buy more, so PM me if you want to combine an order and I can tranship to you if interested. Will probably order this week.

Happy to loan out my torque arm tool, might pay to have a second in captivity...

[cstephen]

Hi,

My Enjoy is starting to play up (love this bike, and despite the many comments on this board, really like the pedelec). What's happening is that after I turn it on, about four seconds after the light comes on it immediately starts beeping at me. I looked in the workshop manual and have checked the values from the battery, brake switches, torque and speed sensor and all seem to be OK.

What could it be that the controller is complaining about?

Cameron

[Samd]

Hi Cameron, I know nothing about the standard controller I am afraid. A chance for you to become an Enjoy pioneer.

Some replacement controllers do have pedelec functions...

[tonyontopofabighill]

G'day Cameron,

Both of my bikes did the "beeping" thing too. This happened more and more often until in the end the bikes just would not go at all.That is when I replaced the controllers with the cheapie chinese versions and then all was okay again but minus the pedelec.Both of the chinese controllers have been working trouble free for a couple of years now.

Cheers,
Tony.

[cstephen]

I assume that the controller will have parts that can wear (relays?), but would think this problem is something to do with the inputs to the controller. In other words, I assume it's doing some sort of checks and finds something amiss, and then faulting out with the buzzer. Does anyone have a schematic of how the controller works? Or a logic diagram that would explain the sequence of checks it does? Has anyone repaired a controller?

Cameron

[Hillhater]

You MAY be correct Cameron, that the fault is outside the controller,
.. however, my self , and others who have had similar (beep fault ) issues have overcome the problem by replacing the controller with a cheap substitute ..(at the expense of no pedalec)..suggesting that the controller could well be the problem.
I know of no logic diagm for the OE controller, and since its "potted" rather well, its not easy to figure out the functions.
PC: .. i believe that most people who have converted to throttle control, are pleased they made the change.

[jateureka]

@ cstephen: Way back towards the start of this post (first few pages) I posted some links to a website where a guy was trying to reverse engineer the controller. Trouble is I think it's in Italian.