E-S Stealth Electric Bike Owners

[sn0wchyld]

So the verdict is in.
Looks like my little trip on the sand completely cooked the motor on my Fighter.

John and his amazing after sales support is replacing it under warranty. He's updating the terms of the warranty not cover riding on sand from now on.

Guess I learnt my lesson, I'll be keeping off the sand from now on. 8)

What do others do for temp monitoring? I was thinking some of those temp stickers that change colour as the temp increases could be useful. Of course the best measure for now is to touch the motor if I think it's getting too hot, but it would be nice to have a solution that I can monitor whilst riding. Any idea's?

John's also fixing up all the other problems I previously mentioned under warranty. Such awesome after sales service should earn this guy an award.

Cheers,

many use temp probes with digital readouts (with the probe tip as close as possible to the windings), though this does require opening the motor and running an extra set of wires, not sure how that'll effect your warranty. measuring the outer casing is not as accurate either, as its the windings that heat up first, the outer casing will generally be allot cooler. colour chaining stickers isnt a bad idea for a simple solution though...

 

[Alan B]

How is the fighter to pedal with just two gear ratios, and what are the ratios it has?

The Fighter is surprisingly easy to pedal despite the lack of gears. The ratios are 1:1.65 & 1:1. Stock gearing is 38/14 which provides a good range of input in high gear. Low gear is for highly technical low-speed or non-powered riding. My favourite bike of all.

Thanks for the info. Sounds like a great combination of gearing for 2 speeds. Does anyone know where to get a 14 tooth single speed freewheel? My understanding is that they are not made anymore, and the ones that are out there (new old stock) are not very reliable. Clearly the Fighter is not likely to be using those.

 

[Cowardlyduck]

many use temp probes with digital readouts (with the probe tip as close as possible to the windings), though this does require opening the motor and running an extra set of wires, not sure how that'll effect your warranty. measuring the outer casing is not as accurate either, as its the windings that heat up first, the outer casing will generally be allot cooler. colour chaining stickers isnt a bad idea for a simple solution though...

I'm not really keen to open up the motor at all. I might drill cooling holes down the track after my warranty has expired. We'll see.

In the mean time, I think I might try the temp stickers. Found a bunch of nice cheap one's here, but not sure what temperature range to get.
Would the +37°C to +65°C range be a good one? Or maybe the +60°C to +90°C?
I imagine if the outside of the motor is reaching ~60°C+ I should be stopping and letting it cool. Would that be about right?

Cheers,

 

[full-throttle]

Would the +37°C to +65°C range be a good one? Or maybe the +60°C to +90°C?

Why not to have both

 

[Cowardlyduck]

Why not to have both

Good point. Where would be a good point to stop and let it cool off?

 

[full-throttle]

I'd say windings shouldn't go much above 150degC, but what temperature would the covers be will depend on a lot of things and it's delayed. Try 70degC.

 

[Alan B]

Some magnets are damaged at about 80C. Do we know which ones are in there?

Winding insulation temperature capability is all over the map.

Halls are also pretty sensitive to heat.

 

[Cowardlyduck]

I decided I wanted a nice button to switch between full power and 200w mode, and since I can't ride atm without my motor I thought I'd see how I could install it.

So I bought one of these in blue.

I thought there might be a chance it could still light up with the minimal power from the CA, but it doesn't. I don't really mind that much as it should still be very functional. Anyone know if it's possible reconfigure the CA to deliver roughly 12V over the terminals used for power limiting when engaged?

I was originally thinking of drilling out a suitible hole in the frame, but didn't want to ruin the frame. Once I got the button I realised it was the perfect fit for the ends of the handle bar. I routed the wires under the grip and installed the bolt that usually holds the button snugly inside the end of the grip. This holds the button in place fairly securly. I'm very happy with it. Just gotta wait another day or 2 for my new motor to come back from the factory before I can know if my wires are in securely.

Sorry for the image quality, took these on my crappy Nokia.

Cheers

 

[Hyena]

Nice work with the button, very stealth - if you'll pardon the pun!

Anyone know if it's possible reconfigure the CA to deliver roughly 12V over the terminals used for power limiting when engaged?

I'm not familiar with the intracies of the board but the simple answer is not really. You could possibly pull 12v from the controller though if you ran a seperate line out from it.
You'd be better to use a DC-DC converter though - you could fit one inside the frame near the head tube, powered from the main pack voltage and just have 2 thin wires running up to the switch. Failing that the switch more than likely uses led illumination so the 12v requirement is probably just because the resistor inside the switch is set for that (probably around 500 ohms) Swap it out for something of lower value (around 20 ohms) and you could run it from the 5v line on the CA.

 

[Skyline]

Hi guys,

Im a long time follower of these bikes I am proud to say I received one in December.
I'm not much of a writer but I'll post plenty of vids on you tube. On my equipment I can't really figure out how to post vids or pics on this forum.
Here's my link for you tube:

Username:
Jpskyline11212122112

Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2HZh4LatrA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[veloman]

Riding in sand is like climbing a 15% grade hill.

 

[Alan B]

Did Stealth change the warranty to be void in sand recently?

 

[dave.a]

Where are you in the world?
Dave

 

[Skyline]

Hey dave I've the first one in Ireland

 

[Justtoby]

@cowardly duck.

Is that switch a push on, then push off? It looks like a push and hold for on, if so you will only get the 250w when holding it down?

Surely you could thread the wires down through the handle bars with a tiny exit hole for exit (not sure if this would be safe on carbon fibre) you could then come down through the head tube and in under the frame to the ca? Neat?

Where is the switch from?

I have been thinking of adding one somewhere for when people try the bike for the first time as they often get a bit shocked by the sudden take off with the bomber.

 

[Cowardlyduck]

@cowardly duck.

Is that switch a push on, then push off? It looks like a push and hold for on, if so you will only get the 250w when holding it down?

Surely you could thread the wires down through the handle bars with a tiny exit hole for exit (not sure if this would be safe on carbon fibre) you could then come down through the head tube and in under the frame to the ca? Neat?

Where is the switch from?

I have been thinking of adding one somewhere for when people try the bike for the first time as they often get a bit shocked by the sudden take off with the bomber.

Switch is from here. http://australia.rs-online.com/web/p/push-button-switches/7027112/

Switch action is Latching so no need to hold on.

I had thought of making a hole in the handle bars for the wire exit. Maybe I will eventually, but for now I'm not doing anything that could void my warranty since it's been so useful to me already.

This switch is actually designed to be mounted on a flat surface with a hole cut to size. I.e. the frame would be perfect, if your game enough to drill a hole in it. Funily enough the hole for the ignition looks to be the exact size needed for this switch. I didn't try it though.

Did Stealth change the warranty to be void in sand recently?

Yes. Since my little misadventure warranty terms have now changed to be void if you ride on sand. This was only communication between me and John, so confirm for yourself if unsure.

You could possibly pull 12v from the controller though if you ran a seperate line out from it.
You'd be better to use a DC-DC converter though - you could fit one inside the frame near the head tube, powered from the main pack voltage and just have 2 thin wires running up to the switch. Failing that the switch more than likely uses led illumination so the 12v requirement is probably just because the resistor inside the switch is set for that (probably around 500 ohms) Swap it out for something of lower value (around 20 ohms) and you could run it from the 5v line on the CA.

What about the ignition line? It uses roughly 10-15V. Could I somehow configure the switch to pull power from that line only when on, without interfering with the ignition function?

Cheers,

 

[Kepler]

That is the perfect button position for street legal mode. No one would ever notice it and its still easy to get to. Nicely done, a mod I will certainly copy at some time.

You need to get hold of some small diameter flex rather then twin pair to tidy things up a bit. I presume its more about proof of concept at the moment though.

 

[Cowardlyduck]

That is the perfect button position for street legal mode. No one would ever notice it and its still easy to get to. Nicely done, a mod I will certainly copy at some time.

You need to get hold of some small diameter flex rather then twin pair to tidy things up a bit. I presume its more about proof of concept at the moment though.

Thanks Kepler.

Yeah, the wires aren't the most sightly, but they'll do the job for now...I think. After I finished I realised they might actually be too short. I put it all together with the handle bars turned to the right without realising the extra length needed to turn them to the left.

They are actually from an old USB cable I pulled apart. :lol:

Cheers,

 

[Hyena]

Actually I just looked at the spec sheet on that switch and it looks like the illumination pins go straight to the LED - so you could just put 3-4v on it and it should work. Try it, if it really is set for 12v it just won't light up.

If you really want to cut down on your wiring you could slide a single 2.4ah 18650 lithium cell up inside the handlebar to power it. With the amount the LED would draw and for the period of time it'd be on for you'd probably only have to recharge it once every 6 months

 

[Alan B]

3 AA cells might work. NiMH for recharging.

Is that one of those built in current limited LEDs? IF so it might take more than 4V.

 

[Joseph C.]

Hi guys,

Im a long time follower of these bikes I am proud to say I received one in December.
I'm not much of a writer but I'll post plenty of vids on you tube. On my equipment I can't really figure out how to post vids or pics on this forum.
Here's my link for you tube:

Username:
Jpskyline11212122112

Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2HZh4LatrA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

There you go, welcome to the forum.

[youtube]Z2HZh4LatrA[/youtube]

 

[Skyline]

Cheers for that joseph c
Just working on pedal power at the moment, battery on the way soon...

 

[Justtoby]

Thanks for the vid, you won't need to try too hard for wheelies once the battery arrives. I tend to use third to sixth for wheelies and give it a handful to get it up there.

 

[Paul_G]

Thanks for the vid, you won't need to try too hard for wheelies once the battery arrives. I tend to use third to sixth for wheelies and give it a handful to get it up there.

I thought it was kind of slow and wondered why you had to jerk the bars....lol

 

[Cowardlyduck]

Quick question.
What are others experience of how much battery AH capacity can vary on the Fighter and Bomber?

Should I be seeing relatively consistent AH usage when the battery is fully drained? Is a difference of 6AH normal?

Cheers