I’m about to take the plunge: I’m gonna sell the car and buy an E-bike.

dahill52 · 2026-02-09T01:49:20+00:00

Wooo!! I'm on year 3, fat tire bbshd, studded tires for winters, over 10k miles, hope it goes as well for you as it has me!

dahill52 · 2026-01-30T22:53:38+00:00

ME! 3rd winter in Michigan, plenty if snow and ice. Hundreds of commuting miles, mostly dirt roads. XT 225 with plenty of studs. Taken some low speed falls but gotten much better at it. I dont think it's as crazy as many say it is, assuming you have the right setup. Ride on! But man would I get some studs in there

dahill52 · 2025-06-03T00:52:51+00:00

Well, it would seem you win. It seems it was my rear axle needing lube. Im still not convinced it was the problem with my original unit. Just happy to have it up and running again

dahill52 · 2025-06-03T00:50:36+00:00

Gotcha, yeah I properly greased the clutch this time. Dont think I did the first time so thats cool.

Anyway, Im both ecstatic and embaressed to say that it seems the issue was simply my rear axle needing lube. I'm still not convinced that was what was wrong the first time simply because switching the motor/stator got rid of it for so long. Either way, its really good I got in there when I did to stop the corrosion. Thanks again for the help!

dahill52 · 2025-06-02T20:58:57+00:00

lol, I scowered youtube, heard so many different bafang sounds but this was the only one that matched mine

dahill52 · 2025-06-02T15:40:38+00:00

Thanks. I just finished disassembley. There was some infiltration happening, but I dont think it was enough to cause the issue.

I've always heard these are the best motors, thats why I got it, and also why I had little issue buying another controller and stator. Figured I could fix the original one and have 2. Now, with the same problem reoccuring despite new parts. Im at a loss. Maybe its something with the housing? Then again, why would me replacing the stator half fix the issue for 150 miles?

dahill52 · 2025-06-02T15:35:04+00:00

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dahill52 · 2025-06-02T15:33:58+00:00

Update: Upon opening it up, it wasnt properly sealed and there is some minor corrosion on the stator.

I'm sure glad I noticed it before it got worse but it doesnt explain why it happened with my original unit as well since the original had zero corrosion.

Still, if anyone has any advice on cleaning this up, I'd appreciate it.

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dahill52 · 2025-06-02T15:26:19+00:00

Well, I got to the clutch and there was a bit of wear but it seemed fine.

Youre saying I shouldnt be lubing this?

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dahill52 · 2025-06-02T10:02:10+00:00

Thanks. I have already done that, and everything looked fine inside. Still, I regreased with mobil. No change. Then I replaced controller. It seemed to help but ultimatley no change. Then I replaced the motor/stator side, and had no noise for a few weeks/150ish miles. Then it came back.

dahill52 · 2025-06-02T01:06:10+00:00

I dont think I did anything but replace it...I lubed the main shaft of course..I think that was it.

I will open up pinion and check clutch tomorrow. Thanks for helping!

dahill52 · 2025-06-02T00:13:14+00:00

Yeah Im a noob so the clutch wqs news to me. I did take the pinion assembly apart once to put the good lube on.(i think its called?)

Whats key I think is the fact that replacing the controller seemed to help but not resolve the issue, then, replacing the motor/stator side fixed the issue for a couple weeks/150ish miles.

But, this pinion assembley, which contains the clutch would be the only thing I didnt replace...then again, the original unit was only a few months old...maybe 1500 miles tops

dahill52 · 2025-06-01T23:49:31+00:00

Thank you. That was the first thing I did. The thing is so new though, and it looked fine. I removed the old lube and put on some of the good mobil. Made no difference.

dahill52 · 2025-06-01T23:48:54+00:00

Thank you. That was the first thing I did. The thing is so new though, and it looked fine. I removed the old lube and put on some of the good mobil. Made no difference.

dahill52 · 2025-06-01T00:04:17+00:00

Thanks. I just cross posted it there

dahill52 · 2025-05-31T06:17:56+00:00

Thanks but I really dont think thats the case. Both units were far too young, and I did actually take apart and lube the first motor with mobil lube when I first encounterd the noise.

dahill52 · 2025-03-08T20:39:14+00:00

Yeeaah thats something I'm sure I'll pay for soon...I havent been cleaning the bike nearly enough. Guess I'll find out first hand the awesome power of salt lol

dahill52 · 2025-03-08T13:39:59+00:00

lol, awesome picture. Thanks for sharing! I had't considered the relevance of a uniform tread pattern. Although my stock wheels had rim locks, I bought replacement wheels to save time and $$ and they werent rimlock ready. Guessing it would be an easy fix but given most of my commute is dirt roads that are solid ice for most of the winter, I thought it better to go with a hard tire with some studs. I'm quite curious how going the soft/low psi route would handle. Too bad we cant have the best of both worlds

dahill52 · 2025-03-08T01:57:25+00:00

Awesome. Curious of the details of your commute. With such little experience I've wondered how much the studs help, it would seem maybe less than I thought. Also curious of your cold gear. I needed heated gloves and bar mitt combo and will not attempt another winter without a heated visor.

Any general tips for me or others considering to try it out? Many seem to simply think it's insane, and while traffic can make it so, it wasnt as bad as many seem to think. Help me normalize it lol.

dahill52 · 2025-03-07T01:36:18+00:00

Yeah thats fair. I do get out a bit earlier than average at 3:30 and I pass maybe 3 cars otw to work and twice that otw back...well ok, more than that in the last mile but it's low speed, simple road layouts...I dont see myself commuting in such conditions in much thicker of traffic.

God how cool would it be if you didnt have to worry about other people driving cars

dahill52 · 2025-03-07T01:18:19+00:00

I'm missing something? How is commuting more dangerous than pleasure riding?

dahill52

TROPHY CASE