kc8hps
10 µW
E+ Beach Cruiser Information
First off I am Bryan from Denver Colorado USA.
Pardon me if this gets to be a long thread but I sense there is much that needs to be consolidated , and also much still to be known
about these bikes made by Electric Motion Systems.
I have taken the last few days to read the forums and threads/links about the E+ bikes in general.
I thought I would complie what I do know (or think I know) about them into one thread. Given the amount of time spent trying to learn
what I have found thus far, I thought it might be helpful to put a great share of it in one place and let the additions, conversations, and
corrections go on from there.
1. EMS = Electric Motions Systems is no longer in business, Date of closer I do not know.
2. No schematics were released and no parts lists with outside manufactures is available.
3. For what I know there is not owners manuals available on line for the E+ Beach Cruiser or other E+ bikes. If someone has them
and possibly in PDF form it would be nice to make them available for what information they contain.
4. There have been problems with the 36vdc front hub batteries. The Nickle Metal Hydride cells fail on some level and need to be
tested and replaced, ( a complicated but not impossible process). These batteries are known as the "A" battery pack on the controller.
5. The Lithium batteries known as the "B" pack which attach behind the seat at the aux connector were recalled due to several fires
and potentially dangerous charging/ usage possibilites.
6. There has been some question as to if the A & B packs work in a seperate mode or if they function as a pair in a parallel
configuration. Due to lack of solid information about the hardware/firmware and software functions I'm not sure there is an absolute
answer. My guess is they are interdependent to keep the controller alive but function seperately as they feed power to the brushless
motor on the rear wheel.
7. I inquired of Lyen about using one of his controllers and bypassing the EMS equipment for the most part. He informed me in an
email the following and I quote " Anyway, unfortunately the motor it a non-standardized design with 7 motor phases. Where as most
motors are three phases only. Therefore, the controllers we offered are incompatible."
8. The power connectors for the battery/charger hookups are a Delphi project series called Metri pak 480, you will find them on
ebay.com they can be a bit pricey but it beats buying in bulk when not needed. (I thought originally that they were the weather pak
series, and they are NOT).
9. I have read in the forum (SOMEWHERE) that there maybe a jumper wire that can be added to the controller to make some part of
the system function on some level. I can not seem to find it again. I also do now know if that was for the E+/EMS controlle or for the
Tidalforce controller, (Tidalforce , also defunct, was the designer of the motor that was later sold and used by E+/EMS) I know the
system are not identical but are similar in some respects.
10. Lastly it would appear the idea of this bike series was well intended. It worked well but after the failure of the company, and the fact
that is on some levels over engineered, small problems have now become big ones for those who still have the product and do not
want a large/costly white elephant sitting on the apartment balcony or in the garage/basement.
Anyone who has solutions that might be buried in the bowels of these previous post, please put your updates in this thread of one of
your own. I hope this will consolidate most of what we know and don't know.. thanks Bryan
First off I am Bryan from Denver Colorado USA.
Pardon me if this gets to be a long thread but I sense there is much that needs to be consolidated , and also much still to be known
about these bikes made by Electric Motion Systems.
I have taken the last few days to read the forums and threads/links about the E+ bikes in general.
I thought I would complie what I do know (or think I know) about them into one thread. Given the amount of time spent trying to learn
what I have found thus far, I thought it might be helpful to put a great share of it in one place and let the additions, conversations, and
corrections go on from there.
1. EMS = Electric Motions Systems is no longer in business, Date of closer I do not know.
2. No schematics were released and no parts lists with outside manufactures is available.
3. For what I know there is not owners manuals available on line for the E+ Beach Cruiser or other E+ bikes. If someone has them
and possibly in PDF form it would be nice to make them available for what information they contain.
4. There have been problems with the 36vdc front hub batteries. The Nickle Metal Hydride cells fail on some level and need to be
tested and replaced, ( a complicated but not impossible process). These batteries are known as the "A" battery pack on the controller.
5. The Lithium batteries known as the "B" pack which attach behind the seat at the aux connector were recalled due to several fires
and potentially dangerous charging/ usage possibilites.
6. There has been some question as to if the A & B packs work in a seperate mode or if they function as a pair in a parallel
configuration. Due to lack of solid information about the hardware/firmware and software functions I'm not sure there is an absolute
answer. My guess is they are interdependent to keep the controller alive but function seperately as they feed power to the brushless
motor on the rear wheel.
7. I inquired of Lyen about using one of his controllers and bypassing the EMS equipment for the most part. He informed me in an
email the following and I quote " Anyway, unfortunately the motor it a non-standardized design with 7 motor phases. Where as most
motors are three phases only. Therefore, the controllers we offered are incompatible."
8. The power connectors for the battery/charger hookups are a Delphi project series called Metri pak 480, you will find them on
ebay.com they can be a bit pricey but it beats buying in bulk when not needed. (I thought originally that they were the weather pak
series, and they are NOT).
9. I have read in the forum (SOMEWHERE) that there maybe a jumper wire that can be added to the controller to make some part of
the system function on some level. I can not seem to find it again. I also do now know if that was for the E+/EMS controlle or for the
Tidalforce controller, (Tidalforce , also defunct, was the designer of the motor that was later sold and used by E+/EMS) I know the
system are not identical but are similar in some respects.
10. Lastly it would appear the idea of this bike series was well intended. It worked well but after the failure of the company, and the fact
that is on some levels over engineered, small problems have now become big ones for those who still have the product and do not
want a large/costly white elephant sitting on the apartment balcony or in the garage/basement.
Anyone who has solutions that might be buried in the bowels of these previous post, please put your updates in this thread of one of
your own. I hope this will consolidate most of what we know and don't know.. thanks Bryan