yescomusa direct drive question

[chisixer6]

I have an rear 800 watts 26" drive direct kit from Yescomusa. I am still building this bike, but with the rear wheel is mounted, it is hard to rotate the wheel, seems like there is a strong magnetic force working againist rotation either way. Is this normal? I haven't had a chance to hook up power yet. I tried to crank the pedal in various gears, it was hard in all gears, I know free wheeling a direct drive is tough, this is going to be tough to ride without power. Wonder if I did something wrong. Jerry

[migueralliart]

I have an rear 800 watts 26" drive direct kit from Yescomusa. I am still building this bike, but with the rear wheel is mounted, it is hard to rotate the wheel, seems like there is a strong magnetic force working againist rotation either way. Is this normal? I haven't had a chance to hook up power yet. I tried to crank the pedal in various gears, it was hard in all gears, I know free wheeling a direct drive is tough, this is going to be tough to ride without power. Wonder if I did something wrong. Jerry

I ordered one of these kits from the same seller about 3 days ago. Now I'm a bit worried :s

Did you check your brakes ? sometimes they need adjustment on the rear specially with V brakes. If it's a wider rim then the pads may be touching already. Also check the freewheel etc etc. Does it do the same when it is taken out of the dropouts?

[chisixer6]

migueralliart;
I really dont think you have anything to worry about. this is my 1st direct drive. Bike is still not completed, v-brake in the rear have not been connected, and they are not rubbing. the supplied free wheel spins beautifully backwards, I dont think I can spin it forward without the aid of the chain and pedal, even then it was tough in hi or low gear. when push the tire either forward or backward, you feel strong resistance to turning. Maybe this weekend, I hook up power and see. so far everything is stock. I'll tried tonight to just row the bike across the fllor and see what happens. good luck on your build.

Jerry

[wesnewell]

Given a good spin by hand, mine freewheels about 3 revs and is easy to pedal by hand with the wheel off the ground. Double check your installation. Make sure you installed the spacers that are about 2 inches long on both sides without washers on the inside. Make sure the tire isn't rubbing the frame. Some closeup photos might help determine the problem. Oh, and install a strong rim tape before you use the bike. I've bought 3 of their kits and none of them had rim tape which caused several flats before I realized why.

[chisixer6]

Wesnewell;

I am glad you answer, you are the guru on Yescomusa kits. I know there is no rubbing on the frame. I think I have a washer to give me room between the included freewheel and frame dropout, I will play with that when I get home tonight. I think I know the spacers you talking about, are they really 2 " long? , it's been a while since I installed the wheel. I put rim tape on the wheel, on one of the other topics, someone recommends that a good layer of tape first ,then the rim tape. OK.. time to take that heavy wheel off.....thanks

[DAND214]

You said you didn't power it up yet.
Are the pahse wires connected or still tied together?

Just besure there are no shorts at the axle exit too.

some DD's are worse than others. Some need some runin.

If you losen the axle nuts does it turn easier? If so you have a spacer problem.

Dan

[chisixer6]

Yipee ! Everybody, I found the problem or solution. It was not the spacer or axle problem. Being an electronic illeterate, i took a guess and hit pay dirt. I have yet to connect to any power, however because I was changing the freewheel (originally I had a 1 speedfreewheel but changed to the included 6 speed freewheel ) or adding torque bars, I remove the white plastic 6 pin holder for the 5 halls wire, so the items would go thru and left the wire hanging over the top tube of the bike. The exposed wires were touching, I don't know which or it could the 3 phase wires, apparently when they touch as I spin the wheel assembly, I guess it created an internal current inside by motor(it was like the magnets got energized, giving friction, making the wheel hard to turn). when I spread the wires apart so they don't touch, wheel would spin for a couple revs. thanks everyone.

[dogman]

Bingo. Now you know how to test for shorted phase wires.

Unplug the motor phase wires, and plug in a different plug that shorts two phases on the motor side, and you have a pretty good theft proofing device. At least for riding off on the bike anyway. No thief will know how to fix it. He'll just go, "can't ride this bike" and dump it.

[chisixer6]

Dogman; good idea, it had me fooled