EZip - IZip 20mph Upgrade $20!

[DrkAngel]

Do I need the DNP removal tool or is that something I could pick up locally? I'd rather get the one off eBay but it doesn't look like they have the tool..

Any of these should work, 11T requires longer reach.
$10
$7.60
$8.99

[RyanTo]

Thanks for the info DrkAngel! The Skyline has been a great bike btw. Hopefully it's also a little better with a few more miles per hour.

[anarce]

Great post! I ordered the 16T freewheel and I'm getting ready to mod my eZip Trailz. Unfortunately I couldn't find the chain link kit at the local bike shop and had to order one online, so I'm waiting for parts again. I'll try to take some pictures along the way to add to this thread.

I'm a little confused by this part of your instructions:

Two possible solutions:
1. Seal all joints, I used duct tape, to keep grinding residue out of freewheel. Grind notches down, about half way. Remove tape and install.
2.(Recommended method!) Insert a 3/8" standard washer as a spacer, clearance is very close, 1/16" might be enough, 1/8" thicker than necessary.

Do you mean 3/16" thick washer? 3/8" seems like a lot, and if I'm following you, you say that it should be 1/16" plus another 1/8" for safety, so 3/16" total. I figure once I start putting it together I can pick up a handful of different washers at Home Depot and see what fits, but I wanted to confirm.

[DrkAngel]

Great post! I ordered the 16T freewheel and I'm getting ready to mod my eZip Trailz. Unfortunately I couldn't find the chain link kit at the local bike shop and had to order one online, so I'm waiting for parts again. I'll try to take some pictures along the way to add to this thread.

I'm a little confused by this part of your instructions:

Two possible solutions:
1. Seal all joints, I used duct tape, to keep grinding residue out of freewheel. Grind notches down, about half way. Remove tape and install.
2.(Recommended method!) Insert a 3/8" standard washer as a spacer, clearance is very close, 1/16" might be enough, 1/8" thicker than necessary.

Do you mean 3/16" thick washer? 3/8" seems like a lot, and if I'm following you, you say that it should be 1/16" plus another 1/8" for safety, so 3/16" total. I figure once I start putting it together I can pick up a handful of different washers at Home Depot and see what fits, but I wanted to confirm.

1. Grind notches on old style freewheel, to allow removal tool. (One method)
Strong vise that crushes freewheel, then turn tire to remove. (Another method)
If you grind, plug all possible bearing points to prevent grinding residue infiltration!
(Tape, cotton balls etc.)
2. 3/8" washer, as in, for 3/8" bolt. ACS freewheel has removal "notches" for removing, requires slightly more clearance, between freewheel and motor mount bracket, hence the washer.

T-plug mod - highly recommended!
"Dean's" T-Plug -

[anarce]

OK, I successfully completed this mod last night! Thank you for all the great info, DrkAngel! I rode to work this morning and was running at 18-19 mph on the flats with just the motor. I'm going to try riding all the way home (17 miles) today if it doesn't rain.

I took a bunch of photos along the way, so I'm going to post them here for other newbies like myself that might have more questions. Hopefully the pictures are not too much. I used the small thumbnails so you can click for the full version. This is on my 2011 eZip Trailz bike, and I made an important discovery re: the freewheel on these newer bikes! Read on...

Unbolt the six bolts/screws holding the motor to the motor plate:


Here is the motor removed, now you can tape it to the rack:


With the motor off, remove the axle nut, another nut, and a bolt holding the motor plate on:


Don't forget to disconnect the brake so you can get the wheel off:


Remove the axle nut on both sides:


Remove the rear wheel, and then take off one more nut to get the motor plate off:


Next I took the chain apart with a chain tool and did it wrong as you can see below. You want to remove three links: two outer and one inner, like this =-=. I took off -=- and then realized my mistake when I tried to put the chain link kit on it. Don't be a noob like me!


Installing the chain link kit was a piece of cake. Unfortunately my local bike shop doesn't stock them, so I had to order online and pay 2x as much for shipping as I did for the part.


What's this? JACKPOT! My freewheel has removal notches! And they are a standard BMX size!


I got a Park Tool FR-6 remover tool from Amazon and it worked like a charm. Put the tool on the freewheel, screw the axle nut down on it, then grab a big wrench (I used an 18" breaker bar) and a 1" socket and spin that puppy clockwise. Mine was on pretty tight, so I actually put the wheel on its edge on the floor, sat on the tire, and cranked down on it. Once it is loosened, take the axle nut off and spin the freewheel off.


Here are the old and new freewheels - same notches!


Ready and waiting for the new freewheel:


Now we're in business. You can use the FR-6 tool to tighten the new freewheel down too.


Don't forget to add the washer so the freewheel doesn't rub on the motor plate:


You can just see the washer from the side here:


Assembly is the reverse of removal. Here it is back together with the new freewheel:


Time to go cruising!

[DrkAngel]

OK, I successfully completed this mod last night! Thank you for all the great info, DrkAngel! I rode to work this morning and was running at 18-19 mph on the flats with just the motor.

Nice job of documenting!

A few questions:

If you spin the removed, OEM freewheel, does it still feel like it is filled with tar.

Were you just lucky, the spokes appear to be "properly" laced?
(I've been 4 for 4, eZips, one side laced wrong)

Does your motor have the "C" insignia, or the inverted triangle?

(The C is the XYD-16, helically geared, quieter but with a lower top speed.)

XYD-16_s.JPG (22.57 KiB) Viewed 1383 times

(The triangle is the MY1018z, louder, with straight cut gears, but seems to have a (slightly) higher speed and lower heat production.)

MY1018z_s.JPG (22.44 KiB) Viewed 1383 times

Check your sprockets, are they still nicely aligned?
(My 2009 required bending the motor mounting bracket, to get proper alignment.)

Shifts easily?
(2008 is nice but 2009 shifter is almost painfully stiff)

Just trying to document the model year improvements.

[DrkAngel]

It might be possible to correct a minor sprocket mis-alignment.
The motor's 9T sprocket can be flipped, altering alignment , by nearly an 1/8"!

[anarce]

Replies to your questions:

If you spin the removed, OEM freewheel, does it still feel like it is filled with tar.

Yep! It's much harder to spin than the new freewheel.

Does your motor have the "C" insignia, or the inverted triangle?

It has the "C".

Check your sprockets, are they still nicely aligned?

Pretty close, but not perfect. I might try bending the bracket, but it's probably ok as-is. I need to adjust the motor mounting plate a little so that the chain is tighter.

Shifts easily?
(2008 is nice but 2009 shifter is almost painfully stiff)

No, the shifter is terrible and stiff. I was hoping it would get smoother with time. Has yours improved at all?

I rode the whole way home on Friday, and it improved my time by 20 minutes. I have a bike computer now, so I can keep better track of the speed and time (wish I'd had it before conversion for better comparisons). My trip was 18.1 miles and I made it in 1:11 for an average speed of about 15 mph. Not bad. I could tell that I was still getting some pedal assist from the motor at noticeably higher speeds without touching the throttle. The battery was getting weak about halfway along, so I resorted to just pedaling on the flats and only using the motor for small hills. The battery was totally dead again by the time I got home. I need to either get a second one or go lithium. I can't imagine the handling with another 15 lb lead brick on the back.

[DrkAngel]

Shifter stiffness got worse, if anything.
I am replacing the shifter and the derailleur with better.
I went to a 11-32t 7 speed freewheel and the oem derailleur is sloppy on the smaller sprockets.

Don't buy more lead!
Sounds like your last trip, likely, severely damaged your present battery. (Cycles and capacity)
SLA should never be deeply discharged!
ES-Wiki SLA article

Will be posting my 25.9V 20Ah RC Lipo build very soon - $170.
3x the usable Ah's of the OEM SLA pack ... at about 1/2 the weight ... in an eZip battery case.
Homemade Battery Packs

[DrkAngel]

I decided to try pushing the eZip motor a bit further.
My 2008 Trailz, has the older (noisier) MY1018z motor.
With the 16T upgrade, combined with my 25.9V Lipo battery, top speed is 22mph.
With some assist through 25mph, where it tapers to nothing.
Sadly, I fairly often sprint at around 30mph, the motor offering 0% assist ... so ...

The 11T motor sprocket
The closest matched upgrade, I could find, is an 11T sprocket with a 10mm double-D hole.
The eZip motor requires a 11mm hole with a 4mm keyway and an increased width.
I have a machine shop buddy working on it now.
click on picture

11T.gif (17.33 KiB) Viewed 1227 times

9T.jpg (5.16 KiB) Viewed 1209 times

My object is to push the available "assist" past the 30mph point.
I do expect that the motor only speed, likely, to decrease but I tend to pedal assist constantly so not a bad thing ... for me.
Increasing from 9T to an 11T will give me a 22% speed assist increase, from 25mph to 30.5.

Speeed!.gif (20.03 KiB) Viewed 1206 times

12T motor sprocket?
Possibly ... ?
Pushes the assist to 33.3mph!
Might be advisable ... reasonable motor HP is attained to ~80% of top, no load, speed = 26.7mph.
With fair assist right to 30mph!

PS Am now looking for 12T sprocket.

[DrkAngel]

Still waiting on my machine shop buddy to finish my 11T motor drive sprocket.

Searched till I found a possible 12T item!
Best of all it might require only minimal modification!
"Drive Sprocket 12 teeth for #410 Chain"
Click on Picture!
$23.99/shipped

Multiple items cheaper from fancyscooters.com.
"Drive Sprocket 12 teeth for #410 Chain"
Most important ... the 11mm ID should fit perfectly.
"Spaces" might be easily modded to the 4mm needed, for the "key".
Small file work might suffice?
Probably easier to modify "key".

Projected "no load" speed will be 33.3mph.
Placing , my target , 30mph speed (90% of no load speed), near the end of the effective power curve.

Item ordered and shipped.
Expect report-evaluation within 1 week.

[DrkAngel]

Received my 12T upgrade candidate.
The all important 11mm ID seems usable - 11.07mm - can't get much closer to perfect.

2 factors require modification.

1. Width of the body.
OEM is 9mm, the replacement is 12mm.

12T cut.JPG (25.26 KiB) Viewed 882 times

3mm removal with grinder seems easy enough.
Shaft is long enough to allow no mod.
But ... gauged resizing would allow precision sprocket alignment!

2. The inner shaft grooves are 3mm in width, the 4mm "key" requires a wider "keyway".

3mm keyway.JPG (51.06 KiB) Viewed 882 times

Solution - rather than attempt an extremely difficult internal resizing of the sprocket, I will break out my dremel tool and grind the appropriate 1mm from one edge of the key.
Should be fairly simple to accomplish.

[D-Man]

I put a $10 sram twist shifter on an ezip and it works pretty good. The original was junk. Then got wider handlebars and put normal sram grips also. Also installed a jumper wire on the battery switch inside and ran 2 packs of sla's in parallel. Wired in evp 12ah sla's. Thing did like 30 miles.

[DrkAngel]

Still waiting on my machine shop buddy to finish my 11T motor drive sprocket.

Searched till I found a possible 12T item!

Almost ready.
See - EZip 450w - Re-Gearing for 30mph w/Pedal Assist

[Shawndr23]

Yea !!! Did the 16T upgrade. Cruising at at 19mph now.

Thanks to everyone for the pictures and the info. I'd never have tried, and never succeeded without everyone's posts.

EZip Trailz 2012

"C" type motor.

Standard Freeweel removal notches on the OEM freeweel.

Yep.. Lots of muddy gue in the original freeweel. Bike coasts better now.

Sprockets out of line by a full 1/4 inch because of new freeweel being wider than original. chain made loud "grinding" sound when under power. Used grinder to shorten removal notches, leaving (hopefully) enough to get a grip again if needed. added 1/8 inch washer between motor mount and frame. Looks like is lined up perfectly now. Some - but very little - "grinding" sound remains.

Thanks again DrkAngle and everyone else. Couldn't have done it without you guys.

[happycow]

So are you basically saying that if I change the sprocket I can get this bike to hit 20 mph? I just bought an Ezip Trailz woman step thru....and yes the speed is a bit annoying cause I can pedal faster. I want more speed but I don't understand all this electrical terminology. I mean I am not mechanically dumb I can use tools but I want too know precisely what too buy and what to change...this was a great post because it was simple you showed me what too buy and how too change it...all answers given...

[DrkAngel]

Several more ways to "regear" the eZips have been found-developed.
An index is available here - Re-gearing the eZips

[DrkAngel]

16T mod is still the best 20mph mod ... but ...
Since it involves either ...
adding a washer and re-aligning sprockets
or ...
grinding off a large percentage of the removal tangs ...
I no longer rate it as the simplest higher speed mod.

The 13T motor sprocket mod is simpler and easier.
Remove motor chain,
remove 9T sprocket,
install 13T sprocket, replace, longer, chain. (1/8" x 1/2" - standard 1 speed chain)
Alignment is identical.

Downside?
Slightly less torque and ...
Gearing is slightly higher, so ... non-pedal speed is somewhat above the "legal" 20mph.
See - 13T Mod

OH! 2011 and newer eZips-iZips use removable 20T freewheel!
So no more horror stories about battles to remove!

[Cliff5119]

You guys are the best. I had my 16T installed yesterday. I'm doing 20mph easily. What's the next cheap upgrade?

[lbz5mc12]

Anybody in this thread who might be interested in buying a used Skyline battery and charger? Preferably a US resident. I just had it gone over by Ryan of unerscoreev.com. He fixed a problem with the charge port and tested it to see that it was still holding a full charge. I need money for a new e-bike frame because I just broke my Skyline frame in a really horrible curb related accident. I had a rear hub kit installed on it and am not even using any of the original electrical components. I was thinking $150.00 plus shipping. The battery was only used 5 days a week for about 4 months and charged after every use.

Question for DrkAngel: Do you know who manufactures the Skyline frame and how to get in direct contact with them? Currie wouldn't sell me a replacement frame. They tried to sell me a new Skyline for $900.00 plus tax and they said it was a discounted price, can you believe that? When I bought mine I only paid $600.00 for it on Amazon.