Half my EM3ev Order Arrived Today... + Insurance Stuff

[Jaded]

Howdy y'all. I ordered a Bafang BBSHD mid-drive motor kit & 14s7p 1200wh rectangle battery from EM3ev about two weeks ago & was astounded when UPS said my package was in the states already a few days ago & set to arrive today. Well it just got here & now I'm realizing why it made it to me so quickly -- this package contains just the motor & accessories; no battery!

Well, I suppose that figures. really thought that 20lb box would have a battery in it - but nope! Got another 12-13lb brick comin' my way (dang eBike stuff is heavy! lol). Of course I've reached out to EM3ev directly to ask about when my battery should be getting here or if it's even been sent yet, but as they're super busy & taking a little bit to respond on average I figured I'd reach out to the community here & ask what other folk's experiences have been with this in the states, especially recently what with Covid & our whole postal situation being what it is right now. Also just in general, to those of you who've ordered both your motor & battery kits from EM3ev: Did your motor & battery ship separately also? And if your motor arrived first, how much longer were you waiting before the battery arrived?

Thanks


EDIT: Oof...looks like they also sent me a 30A/1000W motor when I ordered a 25A/750W for legal reasons (mainly the option of purchasing insurance...eBike insurance won't cover a motor above 750W). I do plan to use this on the road but besides the insurance thing I'm not so concerned about technically being above the legal watt limit since I don't plan to be doing anything crazy or actually running it at that output 99% of the time. this seems like it might be a long ride if they're gonna make me ship this back to China y'all lol.

 

[Jaded]

Well, I haven't heard back from EM3ev yet but my original query seems to have been answered. I just got a tracking link for the battery & it says it'll be here in a few days.

However the motor situation is kind of a downer. Not that I'm opposed to more power really, but I would really like to be able to get insurance for my bike & feel confident that I'm not going to run into legal issues (specifically motor related) if I wind up in a crash or something. I guess this just feels especially pertinent right now since my (regular human-powered) bike was semi-recently totaled in an accident where someone opened their door into me & flung me into oncoming traffic. I was lucky to get good lawyers who specialize in bicycle laws on my case, but the whole thing really threw me for a loop & made me more strongly consider the value of insurance on a bike I intend to use daily & on very long distance trips. I also find myself wondering if I'd even have been able to get legal recourse from that recent accident had I been running a motor that's technically illegal, even if I plan to run it mostly at low power.

Does anyone have any thoughts or advice?

 

[PRW]

looking at EM3EV's website - they offer a 1000W BBSHD or a 750W BBS02. Where did you see a 750W BBSHD?
https://em3ev.com/product-category/e-bike-kit-motor/middle-motor-kit/
The motor could be programmed to a max of 25A, if you get a cable and download the software
https://electricbike-blog.com/2015/06/26/a-hackers-guide-to-programming-the-bbs02/

 

[Jaded]

looking at EM3EV's website - they offer a 1000W BBSHD or a 750W BBS02. Where did you see a 750W BBSHD?
https://em3ev.com/product-category/e-bike-kit-motor/middle-motor-kit/
The motor could be programmed to a max of 25A, if you get a cable and download the software
https://electricbike-blog.com/2015/06/26/a-hackers-guide-to-programming-the-bbs02/

I do have a programming cable, however I'm not sure that's going to satisfy an insurance company or law enforcement.


From EM3ev's order page for the BBSHD


From my order summary after it was placed/confirmed

 

[2old]

Since em3ev screwed up, can't they send you a 25 amp controller?

 

[fredfire]

The 750w vs 1000w is all about the programming, it is the same controller just set with a 25a limit in the software. You can easily modify it with the usb programming cable.

 

[Jaded]

Yeah, that all makes sense/I figured I could do that. That's less my concern. I'm just wondering how an insurance company will handle it if the documentation says it's >1000W. I'm realizing now that even if the label the motor came with says 1000W my receipt says 750W, so I wonder if this might be a non-issue.

Well, looks like I'll have my eBike built next week. I'm definitely very excited. This hiccup with the motor is mildly frustrating, but overall my experience with EM3ev has been pretty positive & I still have a lot of confidence in the products they sent me. We'll see how this goes.

 

[call-151]

FWIW, I also have a current order of a BBSHD and battery from EM3EV, I have received the motor & stuff and the battery is coming seperate (I'm in Canada). I think my last order was like that as well.

 

[E-HP]

FWIW, I also have a current order of a BBSHD and battery from EM3EV, I have received the motor & stuff and the battery is coming seperate (I'm in Canada). I think my last order was like that as well.

They may be saving you shipping costs by not included non-hazmat items with the batteries.

 

[999zip999]

maybe it's safer to pack the battery in its own box all by itself let's chant to something banging into it where to get slapped around and thrown around in the shipping container.
plus you got a ride your bike like everyone's going to turn right in front of you and was going to turn left in front of you and everyone is going to jack their door into you. And that dog on the leash is going to jump up and bite you

 

[PRW]

haha - if your insurance company understands electricity and looks at your order, they may say 48v x 25A = 1,200W!

You are then into an argument of continuous vs peak...

I am not sure which state you are in. https://peopleforbikes.org/our-work/e-bikes/policies-and-laws/

 

[Jaded]

They may be saving you shipping costs by not included non-hazmat items with the batteries.

I hadn't considered that! My battery is on the way now & should be here in a few days according to the second tracking link I was sent by EM3ev.

maybe it's safer to pack the battery in its own box all by itself let's chant to something banging into it where to get slapped around and thrown around in the shipping container.
plus you got a ride your bike like everyone's going to turn right in front of you and was going to turn left in front of you and everyone is going to jack their door into you. And that dog on the leash is going to jump up and bite you

Oh believe me, I already ride like that after one too many close calls on a regular bike...

haha - if your insurance company understands electricity and looks at your order, they may say 48v x 25A = 1,200W!

You are then into an argument of continuous vs peak...

I am not sure which state you are in. https://peopleforbikes.org/our-work/e-bikes/policies-and-laws/

You make some very cogent points. Thanks for the link!

I was planning to open an insurance policy with a company like Velosurance. I don't own a car (& don't think I'll ever plan on it!!) so getting insurance for my ride is actually pretty new to me.

 

[Tommm]

They may be saving you shipping costs by not included non-hazmat items with the batteries.

I hadn't considered that! My battery is on the way now & should be here in a few days according to the second tracking link I was sent by EM3ev.

maybe it's safer to pack the battery in its own box all by itself let's chant to something banging into it where to get slapped around and thrown around in the shipping container.
plus you got a ride your bike like everyone's going to turn right in front of you and was going to turn left in front of you and everyone is going to jack their door into you. And that dog on the leash is going to jump up and bite you

Oh believe me, I already ride like that after one too many close calls on a regular bike...

haha - if your insurance company understands electricity and looks at your order, they may say 48v x 25A = 1,200W!

You are then into an argument of continuous vs peak...

I am not sure which state you are in. https://peopleforbikes.org/our-work/e-bikes/policies-and-laws/

You make some very cogent points. Thanks for the link!

I was planning to open an insurance policy with a company like Velosurance. I don't own a car (& don't think I'll ever plan on it!!) so getting insurance for my ride is actually pretty new to me.

Easy, show the insurance company the invoice. They will never know.

 

[Jaded]

Easy, show the insurance company the invoice. They will never know.

I think I may just do that. Since I intend to actually run the motor at lower power than that most of the time and 100% of the time when I'm on the road I can't even feel wrong about it.

Some people may think I'm being overly cautious since it's not that hard to "fly under the radar" & run a bit more power than is legally allowed. I would have agreed until recently. Road laws & enforcement are very often biased against cyclists...I'm currently rebuilding my whole bike from the ground up (but electrifying it this time) after a car door opened into me from the side & threw me into oncoming traffic, where I was hit by another car travelling full speed. Paramedics peeled me out of the street, steel downtube was bent like a pretzel, doctors said I was lucky to be alive, cops wrote on the police report that I was distracted. Not the person who was arguing with their child in the back seat when they blindly opened their door into an active bike lane, but the cyclist who was nearly flattened by a pair of 5000lb air conditioned living rooms on wheels. I was extremely fortunate to get good legal experts on my case, but I can only imagine how differently that could have gone if my bike was technically illegal. I think even if the car was doing 35mph in a 25mph zone they'd still be more likely to get away in that instance than if the bike was running a 1000w motor instead of a 750w motor, even if the motor was currently only running around 300w. It's an insane thing to have to consider/prepare for, but here I am, ever bowing to the almighty automobile...lol.

 

[999zip999]

I'm with Tomm show them the paper for what to be insured and they should copy for $ loss and other info. And get theft protection as I've had to ebike stolen from me.good luck let us know what's up especially the insurance because not many of us have ever gone through that.