Motiv eCruiser 48v review

RoadWrinkle

100 W
Joined
Aug 22, 2013
Messages
288
Location
Maui, Hawaii
I purchased an eCruiser from Motiv, based in Southern California on their website http://www.motivelectricbikes.com/ for shipment to Hawaii.
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WHY DID I BUY:
I was looking for a cruiser style bike but could not find much out there with a multi speed cassette, dual disc brakes and 12ga spoked rims. The Motiv had everything I was looking for and they were being accepted and sold by bike shop "dealers" on the west coast. So they were not just being sold from a garage or website; other bike pros liked the bike and were selling them. Add to that the 2 year warranty on components and lifetime on the frame, all the color options... I was sold.

THE TRANSACTION:
I dealt with "Cameron" at Motiv through out the entire process and the level of customer service is above and beyond the norm. Their website allows you to "build" your bike with many options and colors. He went out of his way to find a great shipping option, he explained everything in detail, he sent emails, he called me, he sent an invoice, I paid through PayPal and he shipped within a few days of receiving payment. Total cost with shipping to Hawaii was $2300, so it was about $1950 without shipping and I got the color, and fat tire upgrade.

SHIPPING/RECIEVING:
The boxed and bubble wrap-entombed bike arrived safely just three days later via Air Freight. It was really packed over-kill, but arrived over 2000k journey with no problems or damage at all. Out of the box I installed the handle bar-goose neck assembly with all levers and electronic components already wired and attached. Installed the pedals and seat post, dropped in the front wheel...done deal!
The disc brake rotor aligned perfectly as soon as the rim went on. The battery was fully charged; plugged the connectors together at the throttle and had full lights and full power. Ready to ride in about ten minutes.
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THE BIKE:
48v10Ah "EVE Energy Co." Lithium Polymer, Bafang 500w geared model 12 motor, Hydro 6061 Aluminum frame, Shimano 6-peed (Tourney TX ,16-24), Tektro Novela Mech disc brakes front and rear, Schwalbe Fat Frank tires, forged alloy suspension seat post, full spring flat foot saddle. Frame is purpose built and designed by Motiv, wires and cables are concealed within the frame (mostly).
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THE RIDE:
I am 235LBS (and dropping!), rode @ 50psi tires on smooth to semi smooth roads, no rain, no wind, some 5% or less hills, one 7% grade. First, the bike feels very solid. The glide is very smooth on these hubs and it is very maneuverable and balanced. I was able to torque up about a 7% grade with out a lot of peddling effort. I was surprised how much torque this Bafang motor has given my weight. On the flats I was able to reach 22mph without peddling, about 27 mph with effort (using an inexpensive wireless OD). With the rear hub motor, battery mount behind the seat rail, and the rider on the seat, I assumed the bike would feel back-heavy, but it felt balanced. It was not a wheelie machine, the front tire has ample grip in turns and on downslopes and you don't feel like you are going to slide out in turns. The seat and bars are very comfortable, and the bars do not have the flex that most cruiser bars have. Braking was very good and no drag, no misalignment at the calipers. Basically, Motiv designed a cruiser that has a frame, wheels, components and stopping power you need for ebiking. It is a cruiser on steroids, in my opinion. (Many Pictures coming when I figure out how to resize them for ES limits)View attachment 4
 
Looks excellent. I am becoming impressed with that bafang motor. It's the larger BPM right? Based on the non pedaling speed, I think you have the slow one. I'm the guy who loves those slow windings.

They really climb the hills great.

The fit and finish of the bike looks great. Where they put the battery should balance very nice, unlike carrying it high on a rear rack. Some are going to say it cost too much, but I think you got your money's worth.

Riding in 10 min, PRICELESS. I've seen guys here on ES with their building a bike thread taking 6 months or longer many times.

Keep the review alive, with lots of real world data on your range, and how long your battery continues to dish out that range over the next two years. If you want to keep count of cycles, the easy way I did it was dropping a penny in a piggy bank every cycle.

I just put my pics into mircrosoft paint to resize them. Then click save as to rename them. That identifies the resized one, while keeping the full size picture in the archive.
 
dogman said:
.....Riding in 10 min, PRICELESS. I've seen guys here on ES with their building a bike thread taking 6 months or longer many times.......

Wow, unbox and ride in 10 mins.that must be nice. Your ride looks very nice.

My build has only lasted 4 months so far but Im not exactly done yet :oops: .
Strange thing is,I bet my next build will require even more fab, and take even longer :mrgreen:

BTW, I also have Bafang 48V 500W geared motors but we have different models. Your motor does not seem to have the side cover screws. I am running 30A max controller and the power is good.
 
Thanks all, not sure slapping the seat, pedals and front rim on the bike qualifies as a build, but it was pretty much ready to go out of the box. I will follow-up with range and quality-over-time reports.

One "CON" I have noticed is the battery charging terminal 20130909_110542.jpg, does not seem to hold the charger's plug very well. Most of the batteries I have seen with this design have the three-prong (insert correct lingo). There are several higher Ah batteries with this design available from EVE and others at a lower cost than Motiv's 10Ah replacements.

This bike is sturdy enough for longer rides, but with the smaller frame and gearing, it is really good for cruising around the beach areas and paths, because it is very maneuverable when you are sharing the paths with riders and Peds. It does have considerable torque. I am trying to be careful to not tackle steeper hills as I do not want the gears to get too hot, but it had no problem taking my 235LBS up a 7% grade (half-mile) hill near my house. I have my ears bent towards the motor for the dreaded clicking sound, but so far so good.


BTW this photo was sent to me by Cameron at Motiv before he shipped the bike; the bike in the background is their new PAS only "Stromer" type bike.
 
RoadWinkle - you are reviewing my bike!! That is the same exact combo I got down to the bone. Screw you !! :D

Hope you enjoy it. Seems like you got it for a nice price, unfortunate for the shipping, but it is Hawaii and you gotta pay to get anything on that island.

I agree that the charger port is RCA and everyone have switched to using canon port. But like I said, after you get tired of the battery, upgrade to those 16 or 20Ah on eBay and you'll be set.

Now, I have climbed about 3-4% grade with this for about 2 miles and I touched the motor and it was room temperature. So really, no overheating at all. I'm 155lbs.

Remember, I had a motor problem and Cameron took care of me well. Got me a new wheel and motor in 1 day. Love the 2 year warranty that I now can say is legit! I put about 300 miles on the bike now, 150 with the new motor.
 
Ya Nuke, originally ordered green with brown tire upgrade (partially due to your recommendation re the bike)...then you posted the photo of your all red machine...Your a BAD influence! :lol:
 
spinningmagnets said:
I've seen guys here on ES with their building a bike thread taking 6 months or longer

*Ron slowly back out of the room and then drinks himself to sleep in the middle of the day, while softly whimpering...


:lol: :lol: Sounds like what I will be doing if/when this prebuilt breaks down... :cry:
 
Well I have now completed 40 charge cycles and logged about 700 miles on my new Motiv. So far everything is holding up well. This is a solid piece of equipment from top to bottom. Did a tune up, adjusted disc calipers, spoke tension, chain lube, derailleur adjustment, etc.

I cannot say enough good things about this Bafang model 12 geared motor running at 500watts with a 20amp controller. It has a lot of torque and it does not get too hot. Have not abused it at all and know not to stall it out on the really steep hills. It will also do 25mph+ on the flats. BTW I now weigh 225LBS, down from 250LBS since the beginning of August. I always pedal and use just enough throttle to match my pedaling so I have had 25 mile range without full discharge regularly.

The locking/ignition key mechanism on the battery is quite testy, does not want to go back into ignition setting after unlocking and removing the battery. A little oil in the key insert and all is well. I also use a bit of foam to shim the battery against the frame where it slides in to prevent the battery from moving when I hit bumps.
 
I just picked up one of these bikes, used, from craigslist. I like it pretty well but the battery seems to be pretty weak. I test rode the bike around the seller's neighborhood and it seemed fine with only my own weight on flat streets. However, when i got it home, put my large Yuba Baguette saddlebags on it and hooked up the trailer with the kiddo in it, it just about gives up on the hills. Seems like either the battery (48v 10ah) has major voltage sag and/or the motor is wound too fast and is stalling out. My other ebikes pull much harder on the hills.

I'm not sure how to diagnose the problem. I've noticed that the 3-stage (red, yellow, green) battery status lights on the throttle dip a stage or two when under heavy throttle. Also, i swapped on a battery (50v 10ah EM3EV) from a different bike and the bike climbed noticeable better, though still not as well as my others.

It seems like maybe i need to get a new battery for it.
 
I recommend a suspension seat-post, either a Thudbuster or a Suntour NCX...both work great.

When the battery finally wears out, you have an opportunity. If you want more power, you don't necessarily need to upgrade to alarger motor, you can add an identical motor to the front, which will double the bikes copper mass. You would have to add a seond controller too, and the battery would have to be upgraded to one that could support the higher amps needed to feed two of those motors.

Just a thought...
 
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