Norco Scene 3 BBSHD conversion

[NALF]

I finished the conversion of my Norco Scene 3.

I'll post some details here because I had specific needs and when I was searching for information I really liked when people posted their conversion stories. This is what helped me pick the Norco Scene 3 as a donor bike. I would never have risked such a pricey investment without actual success stories/proof of concept.

Goal: I wanted to be able to ride outside of the 3 streets of my neighbourhood. I live at the top of a mountain + I have severe health problems. There is a massive steep slope. My RadRunner 2 (500W hub motor) wasn't fit at all for the task. So I needed a very powerful motor + high torque + comfortable + step-through (a must!). Nothing on the market was available to fit my needs at a reasonable price.

Bike: Norco Scene 3 (new, bought from Norco web site)
Motor: Bafang BBSHD 1000W, 160 Nm torque (Golden Motor)
Battery: 52V 16ah (Golden Motor)
Price: ~2800$ CAD (~$2050 USD)

It was a first for me but I used to install and repair stuff on my bikes. Overall it wasn't very difficult.
I had to cut (with a Dremel) about 1.5cm of the wire channels at the bottom for be able to insert the motor. Also I decided (purely esthetic) to enlarge the hole (with a drill) at the top of the channel to pass the main wire inside the bike tube. The main difficulty was to remove the pedals! Despite having the right tools these things were extremely tight!

I am SUPER happy with the result! The motor is so strong that I don't even need to touch the pedals to climb my big slope!

The behavior of the bike is very different from my RadRunner though. I cannot stop in the middle of a slope and restart easily with the throttle while pressing the brakes. Also the throttle isn't as smooth as my Rad. Some adaptations are required but nothing dramatic.

Overall super happy!

 

[NALF]

Someone told me that my chain may be too small... I'll check this out...

 

[Mongo]

Thanks much for the build info, especially for/on a road-orientated step-thru frameset.

For slope start-ups, it may be your brake lever motor inhibitors are holding off the motor. and delaying the throttle input. You might try a hill stop ride test with one or both unplugged. As for calming down the throttle, there are several write-ups around.

 

[NALF]

Thanks much for the build info, especially for/on a road-orientated step-thru frameset.

For slope start-ups, it may be your brake lever motor inhibitors are holding off the motor. and delaying the throttle input You might try a hill stop ride test with one or both unplugged. As for calming down the throttle, there are several write-ups around.

Yes indeed it is by design. When I brake it stops the motor which is a good thing but has its downside. I might try to unplug one of the brake as you suggested. I'll also check for the posts about the smoother throttle. I'm not really used to it yet, I'll give it more time before modifying anything though.

 

[E-HP]

I might try to unplug one of the brake as you suggested.

Be sure it's the front one.

 

[Kottbullar]

For our US brethren, just a reminder to convert those costs away from metric dollars.

thanks for the conversion experience share - I'm hoping to do on this winter.

 

[E-HP]

That's such a simple clean build, I can't stop looking at it. I've pulled up this thread a couple times today to look at the pictures again lol.

 

[NALF]

That's such a simple clean build, I can't stop looking at it. I've pulled up this thread a couple times today to look at the pictures again lol.

Thank you very much! Pretty proud yes of the cable management and the cleanliness. I have decades of experience with computer cables, I guess it's showing! lol!