Cyclamatic rear hub motor servicing help

[Fordulike]

My Cyclamatic rear hub motor has had a pretty tough life so far, and has become a bit noisy and rattly.

The motor has two covers, one on either side, and I'm going to open her up this weekend to have a look.

Does anyone know which side gains access to to internal gearing?

I hope it is the side where the servo brake attaches, coz this is much easier to access than the other side, where I would have to remove the cassette.

I've a feeling it's come near to the end of its life, but as they say, nothing ventured... nothing gained

 

[shemozzle999]

Check out these pics.
Is this your motor?

Endless-sphere.com • View topic - Bafang BPM Pics and Specs - Large 3.9Kg Sensorless Geared

 

[Scottyf]

I can do a video for you on the bpm but it may not be the same as your exact motor.

 

[flecc]

Not sure whose motor they have, but the gears on these hub motors are frequently on the side opposite to the cable entry, so I think from photos that would be the brake side as you'd hoped.

 

[Fordulike]

This does sound promising. I'm just gonna open the beasty up on the brake side anyway and hope for the best.

Is it worth slapping some silicone paste on the gears, as seen in shemozzle999's picture link?

 

[flecc]

Yes it is, not too much though as most squeezes out of course.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The freewhweel's connected to the casing, not the axle. so, as long as you can get the screws out, you'll be able to slide the casing off with the gears leaving the shaft with the clutch/gears exposed.

 

[Fordulike]

The freewhweel's connected to the casing, not the axle. so, as long as you can get the screws out, you'll be able to slide the casing off with the gears leaving the shaft with the clutch/gears exposed.

Course it is, silly me. Wasn't thinking logically

Thanks for the info

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I hope we're going to see some nice photos. Good luck.

 

[Scottyf]

Hopefully it won't be like mine ;-)
With a small swimming pool inside!

 

[Fordulike]

I've posted a few pictures and a brief description of my task of opening up the hub.

I've not gone into great detail, as I feel that there is little to gain from opening it up.
Mainly because the axle is an odd length compared to the norm, and I doubt anyone could obtain replacement parts.

1) This is the side I decided to attack it from, as mentioned in previous posts:



2) Wheel removed completely:



3) Removed this nut, the normal washer and anti torque washer:



4) The servo brake assembly slides off, then there's another nut to remove:



5) Six cross head screws hold the cover plate onto the hub:



Inside it looks like yer regular free-wheel type geared motor, with the three nylon gears.

I was surprised how well built and sturdy it looked and felt, although I couldn't find any sign of branding.

There was a smattering of dirty grease on the gears, and on closer inspection, two of the teeth on one of the gears were missing.

The cause of the regular click clacky noise me thinks

I packed a load more fresh grease into the assembly, then reassembled everything.

The most difficult thing of the whole procedure was getting the wheel back into the dropouts.
Always a pain in the arse on this bike coz of the servo brake.

On a test run, the extra grease had quietened down the motor a little, but didn't cure the click clack noise

 

[flecc]

I wonder if you could get spare gears from SportsUK? They seem to have been willing to provide support so far.

 

[Fordulike]

I wonder if you could get spare gears from SportsUK? They seem to have been willing to provide support so far.

It might be worth a try, but it would probably be at a price.
I asked if they could supply a replacement controller some time back.
The original is only a poxy little thing, but they were asking for £50.
Not worth it in my eyes, so I bought a higher spec, E-crazyman controller for half the price.
God knows what they'll charge for nylon gears or a whole wheel
I haven't measured the rear drop-out exactly, but appears to be around 160mm.
Maybe some chinese supplier somewhere, can offer this size

 

[flecc]

Yes, that sort of pricing can be offputting, probably their intention since this support is well outside their normal business.

That is a monster dropout width, I thought my modified frame at nearly 150 mm with the wheel in was wide. Same problem, fairly wide motor, SB in my case, plus multi-sprocket freewheel.
.

 

[Fordulike]

Yes, that sort of pricing can be offputting, probably their intention since this support is well outside their normal business.

That is a monster dropout width (though not over 5ft I think!), I thought my modified frame at nearly 150 mm with the wheel in was wide. Same problem, fairly wide motor, SB in my case, plus multi-sprocket freewheel.
.

Knew I should have studied harder at maths
Posting amended

 

[flecc]

My comment edited out too.

 

[Fordulike]

My comment edited out too.

You should keep the cheeky comments in, it brightens up the forum.
At least we're not arguing over the legality of bikes

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The damaged gears is a bit worrying when you see the size of the gears on my Cute motor, which I was thinking of over-powering.

A couple of questions so that mine doesn't go the same way. Do you know how many amps you were drawing at the time of failure? Did it go on a bump or on a steep hill or anything like that?

If you could get the gear out and count the teeth and measure the bearing size etc, it might be a standard part. Also, any engineering company that does gear-cutting can make a replacement (in metal if you want). There are still gear-making companies in the UK that make standard and custom parts, who might be able to copy it. If you could get a price for six or more metal ones, I might split the cost with you if they're not too dear.
Gear Cutters & Makers in United Kingdom  » Yell.com

 

[Fordulike]

The damaged gears is a bit worrying when you see the size of the gears on my Cute motor, which I was thinking of over-powering.

A couple of questions so that mine doesn't go the same way. Do you know how many amps you were drawing at the time of failure? Did it go on a bump or on a steep hill or anything like that?

If you could get the gear out and count the teeth and measure the bearing size etc, it might be a standard part. Also, any engineering company that does gear-cutting can make a replacement (in metal if you want). There are still gear-making companies in the UK that make standard and custom parts, who might be able to copy it. If you could get a price for six or more metal ones, I might split the cost with you if they're not too dear.
Gear Cutters & Makers in*United Kingdom *» Yell.com

Just to clarify, the wheel hasn't failed, just that I suspect the two broken teeth are the cause of the noise.
They could have broken at any time really.
A long time back, I stupidly soldered a shorting wire on the shunt, and rode the bike a couple of miles.
The motor gears made some right unearthly noises.
It didn't like being subjected to massive amounts of amps/torque.
Also, I jump up and down kerbs under power.
Big no no, and probably a contributing factor in the wear and tear.
I'll give the little feller credit, it's had some abuse and stood up to it really well
I'm not planning on replacing the gears, as I can live with the noise. Sorry

 

[Biker44]

On a test run, the extra grease had quietened down the motor a little, but didn't cure the click clack noise

I'm deliriously pleased with my new Cyclamatic Foldaway but there is a definite click-clack coming from the rear wheel after 30 or 40 miles

Interestingly, only when it has my weight on it, not when the wheel is spun. It might be the spokes, but I've tried all of them.

Should I send it back between now and the 30th, when the extended Xmas instant-return runs out?