Ongoing reliability of Kalkhoff/Focus Impulse 2 motors

Tim Davies

Finding my (electric) wheels
Aug 21, 2018
14
8
65

octopusenvy

Just Joined
Jul 5, 2020
3
0
Hi all, just a final update with some positive result! I actually have the Impulse RS II motor on both bikes, and after a good LBS pulled my motor and checked all the contacts for only $50, everything is working again! What they DID find is a decent crack at the back of the screen tho :( That could have been causing the comms issue, so even tho it works, I glued it and swapped it for my wifes computer. She rides very lightly and I don't! Here's hoping things work fine for a long time to come, and shout out to Northland ebikes for an honest and cheap service!

Just updating that I still haven't solved the issue on my Impulse EVO RS motor. I mistakenly labeled it and my wife's as an EVO 2.0, but they are the better/newer EVO RS. Hopefully it's just a contact, but I'm going to plug it into a diagnostic at the LBS to see if it comes up with any codes. I don't see any on the screen, but there may be something there I can't see. I will also clean the contacts on both the battery and on the bike etc. It seems to be just a comms error, but not sure where that poor connection is happening. Any other suggestions?
 

Bobajob

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 1, 2019
313
140
Cornwall
I bought a Kalkhoff Agattu Premium 3 years ago for £2695.00. The bike is excellent apart from the motor. I had a replacement 2.2 motor 18 months ago (still under warranty) and this one has started making horribly load cracking noises although so far it is still rideable. I suppose I am going to have to ask for a replacement motor again. I would not buy a Kalkhoff again and I could not recommend them. The design and quality of the bike is first class it is just let down by this wretched motor.

The problem is that when you have spent this amount on a bike you are reluctant to just give it up as a lost cause.
I wonder if it is possible to install another make of motor or am I stuck with the Impulse motor ?
Any advice as to the way forward would be much appreciated.
Don’t ask for a replacement just take the bike back to the dealer and say it want my money back as it’s not fit for purpose. They obviously will try and wriggle out of it. Explain there is nothing personal, you know it seems a manufacturers fault but you bought it from them (the dealer) and your redress in law is with them.
with evidence from this forum alone will make a water tight case if you go to court for your money to be returned.
The dealers should have returned all their bikes to kalkhoff when these issues arose in the first place.
my local dealer is brilliant but avoided kalkhoff like the plague until their act was properly into gear.
Imagine if woosh bikes on here had an issue with their bikes like kalkoff, he’d be out if business.
 

rubencarbonero

Just Joined
Oct 5, 2020
1
0
Hi dear friends,

I come late to this thread unfortunately.

In 2018 I purchased a 2nd hand Kalkhoff Agattu i7. The bike was originally purchased in April 2015 - I was handed the invoice. The odometer read 5450 km (3386 miles) when I bought it. I had no clue of what was going on with the Impulse motor at that time. The bike was dirt cheap at about eur 600 and looked, and worked, like a charm.

The original owner told me later that the bike was on her 2nd motor. A 1st motor had been changed at about 8970 km (5574 miles).

I was so happy that I bought a new 17 Ah battery and charger for about eur 650. I get about 100 km (60 miles) mileage, which is quite good.

At about 13000 km, the aluminum frame broke. The bike was registered, and Kalkhoff offers lifetime warranty on frames, so Kalkhoff via my nearest dealer honored it and agreed to supply a new frame. I had to pay for the labour cost and used the chance to renew some perishables (brakes, cables), so I spent about eur 200 + about 150 eur shipping and petrol costs, and had the bike there for about 6 weeks.

Now at nearly 15000 km (9320 miles), it is the motor that is starting to die. It still pushes but I hear strange noises, some clicking, and the crankset feels wobbly and sometimes hard to push. I have disconnected the motor and then I get no noises or odd feelings at the crankset (although the bike is indeed heavy).

Changing the motor again would set me back about eur 450 including shipping costs. And I would need to check with my dealer whether they'd be willing to do it.

So I'm doubting whether it's worth substituting the motor again + adding a bearing reinforcement kit, or sell this bike, or whether there is some way to find new pieces, or what.

'Bearing overhaul kits' are available at about 100 eur incl. shipping to Spain, but I believe they do not include the nylon parts:

Nor do I know whether this is something that would require an USB diagnose or some other unexpected difficulties. And I believe this would be useful for a new motor only.

Another alternative is to locate a 2nd hand bike and swap the motor & LCD unit, but I'm not sure this is doable without diagnosis tools.

Will keep you posted once I get some alternatives, thank you and kind regards!
 

GSV3MiaC

Pedelecer
Jun 6, 2020
211
134
Problem with your last proposal is that that any other Impulse motor you can find, s/hand, is just as likely to die as yours is.. The problem is endemic to all of them.
 
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olepro

Just Joined
Jun 11, 2017
2
4
59
Denmark
Hi all
After 18000 km on my (2016) Kalkhoff with Impulse EVO RS motor, and sometimes failing pawls, I disassembled the engine and replaced the spring which presses the pawls into engagement with a more powerful one. (This I believe is the main problem on the Impulse motor)
Since then, there have never been any problems with the engine. It now runs after 29000 km still like butter.
I have made a report regarding this change which can be seen here if anyone should be interested

 

Ciano

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 27, 2015
6
2
58
Hi all
After 18000 km on my (2016) Kalkhoff with Impulse EVO RS motor, and sometimes failing pawls, I disassembled the engine and replaced the spring which presses the pawls into engagement with a more powerful one. (This I believe is the main problem on the Impulse motor)
Since then, there have never been any problems with the engine. It now runs after 29000 km still like butter.
I have made a report regarding this change which can be seen here if anyone should be interested

Hi olepro

I found your post 'Words about my Kalkhoff Integrale 8 LTD' really helpful and informative.
I am experiencing the exact same problems as you describe and suspect the 'pawls'.
I am confident of fixing this myself in a similar way you outlined.

One question I hope you may be able to answer is after taking off the crank arms there is the Impulse chainring / spider on the crank axle.

How does this come off?
Does it simply pull off the splines? or is it a lockring?

I attach a photo of my motor for reference.

Thanks.
IMG_20210908_204152.jpg
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,971
6,292
you could also ask these guys as the only place i know that still deals with these motors.


i cant even find anything on the german forum on how to remove it and with what.
 

Ciano

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 27, 2015
6
2
58
you could also ask these guys as the only place i know that still deals with these motors.


i cant even find anything on the german forum on how to remove it and with what.
you could also ask these guys as the only place i know that still deals with these motors.


i cant even find anything on the german forum on how to remove it and with what.
Hi soundwave

Peter at performancebearings gave me this info. (image below)
Thanks for your contact and reply's to my question.

I will post up how I get on with my attempts at Impulse 2.0 motor service / overhaul
for info anyone else who might be struggling.

43928
 

Ciano

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 27, 2015
6
2
58
Serviced my Impulse 2.0 motor on a 2015 Focus Jarifra. Got a bearing kit from performancelinebearings.com. First class service. All bearings replaced. No evidence of water ingress so made sure to seal the motor case. Bearing replacement (x8 bearings and 3 seals) quite straightforward. My Impulse 2.0 motor had always had a problem whereby the motor would slip )felt like chain slipping)when stepping on the pedals with force so did the 'pawl spring' mod mentioned here. Made a new spring out of 1.0mm spring wire. Everything went back ok and have had two days of testing. So far so good.


IMG_20211011_133951.jpgIMG_20211011_145423.jpg44422IMG_20211011_150326.jpg
 
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USAebike

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jul 21, 2022
14
2
Funny is everybody’s acting like Bosch is a great motor. I have a Riese and Muller. first of all the enviolo the manual shifter has been a nightmare. Then The CX gen4 Motor broke at 1800 miles. I am in the United States and purchased it from someone who moved here from France. Bosch says too bad too sad will sell your motor but we can’t guarantee it’ll work. And we won’t warranty it but it’s $1000. Talking to guy to rebuild his motors. Bosch motors fail often after 2000 miles.
 
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Reactions: flecc and Woosh

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
19,988
8,172
60
West Sx RH
A part from the German forum all the Bosh luvvies never seem to pipe up when they go wrong, yet we hear in the UK that an independant Bosch authorised repairer is snowed under with repair work.
When they go wrong I'm pretty sure most stay quiet because the warranty covers them and owners don't deem it necesssary to mention it.
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,971
6,292
if you want to see the down side to these expensive bikes just look here.


tho imo peter is fixing mostly brose motors as they like there specialized bikes at 10k a pop o_O
 

Scoot

Just Joined
Jul 21, 2021
2
0
Hi everyone. I have a Kalkhoff Integrale i8 that has only done 5000 Kms, been serviced by the dealer, and the motor seems to be broken. It still drives, but the pawls are skipping, and if you pedal backwards it will either jam, or crunch. Clearly pawls are loose and not bedding properly. I'm very annoyed because it has ALWAYS clanked and clicked under load and the pawls have obviously not been engaging. I read Olepro's excellent post as soon as I got my bike and knew I'd have to deal with this one day - I just didn't expect a total failure so soon. They dealer just says it's broken, needs a new motor, and quotes $1800 NZD to replace plus time to install. But maybe it just needs a new spring and some care. I'd like to remove the motor and look inside. Olepro has great pics of servicing inside the motor, but how do you even get it out of the bike? I'm guessing I'll need to buy specialist tools to remove cranks and belt wheel? Better to invest in tools than just give the money to the morons at the bikes shop who just want me to throw this amazing bike in the trash and buy a new one, just because Derby didn't put the right size spring in their Impulse Evo RS motors. It drives me crazy - the bike is so nice to ride. I'd even consider buying a new motor, but difficult to find them online now. Anyway, any documentation or help on steps to remove the motor would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 

AndyBike

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 8, 2020
1,124
491
Funny is everybody’s acting like Bosch is a great motor. I have a Riese and Muller. first of all the enviolo the manual shifter has been a nightmare. Then The CX gen4 Motor broke at 1800 miles. I am in the United States and purchased it from someone who moved here from France. Bosch says too bad too sad will sell your motor but we can’t guarantee it’ll work. And we won’t warranty it but it’s $1000. Talking to guy to rebuild his motors. Bosch motors fail often after 2000 miles.
Vast majority of threads on here concerning stuff failing are not bosch motor related.
 
Last edited:

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,971
6,292

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
19,988
8,172
60
West Sx RH
Problem is SW, the guy is on the other side of the world .
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,971
6,292
they have world wide distributors now so he can get the parts and advice he needs to fix it ;)

they also do courses on motor repair and have trained ppl from all over the world.
 

Scoot

Just Joined
Jul 21, 2021
2
0
Thanks, but the nearest E-Bike Performance Centre-affiliated workshop is still nearly 400 kilometres away from me here in Wellington, New Zealand.

I was initially hoping to get my fingers greasy and have a look myself and just wanted some pointers. But on consideration I'm now ramping up being a thorn in the side of Kalkhoff and seeing if they'll replace the motor free of charge - it's just insane that it should fail so early. Would you scrap the bike in this pic because it's "too old to repair?"

Let's see how I get on. I might get to keep my hands clean.
 

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