Sakura scooter thing

[newbbike]

I had a mate appear yesterday on a horrible looking Sakura scooter bike thing.... he has bought it 2nd hand from someone that said the battery is cream crackered and wanted to know if i knew anything about it, which i dont!

I have investigated further and not been able to find a model number on the bike itself but I have tested the battery which is showing 38v .... but for some bizarre reason he has a 24v 1800mA charger.... opening the battery case there are x3 lead acid holders filled with Li-ion packs 4 in each.

Anyone any experience of this type of bike and what is best to do next? (other than chuck it away)

 

[eddieo]

I know its hard to fathom but some on here LOVE these kind of bikes

 

[newbbike]

Lol, I know, but actually I have one which is not dis-similar in look but the quality of the build is a million times better that this thing. I don't think i'd feel safe on this one!

I've been looking around and can't seem to find a 24V version of a SAKURA so i'm assuming it should be 36V, I know my 48V battery measures over 50V so i would be expecting the 36V to be measuring over 40ishV

 

[flecc]

The usual 10 cell li-ions are nominally 37 volts and show around 41 volts fully charged when new. With 12 x 3.7 volt cells that would be showing around 49 volts if fully charged and in good condition.
.

 

[Synthman]

I never really liked the looks of those Sakura bikes, and some of them look more bulky than necessary. I prefer my Ninja. The quality isn't amazing, but to be honest it has done nearly 15 months of almost daily abuse on the pathetic excuse of 'roads' we have in central Oxford, and it hasn't fallen apart yet. All the problems have been due to the battery being poorly constructed and ancient to start with.

They are 36v bikes, mine reads 41-42v fully charged, and it cuts out below 34v. The first thing to do will be to obtain the correct 36v charger, which outputs 42 volts, and see if the battery can be fully charged, then ride it to see how the battery performs. You should get an absolute minimum of 10 miles when riding with throttle only.

 

[newbbike]

Thanks for the advice guys, I dug out a 36V charger and gave it a go over night and it seems to have given it some life as the bike has now awoken! But i'll leave it to matey boy to actually test the ugly looking thing.

 

[Synthman]

I would really be interested in a review of the Ever Eco moped style bike you bought a while ago. What sort of range are you getting etc?

 

[newbbike]

It's still going strong and as good as the day I bought it, I go to work and back everyday which measures as 9.6 miles round trip in the car. I do this for a couple of days and include detours to a shop and the occasional "nip to tesco" in the evening before I charge it. I haven't run it down completely yet as I was told it can damage the LifePo4 battery so I keep it topped, I haven't noticed a significant loss in power over the 2 days cycle and it gets me up hills no problem without peddling.

My only issue is I wish I hadn't bought a rear box for it as it was a waste of time and i've removed it to allow me to attach panniers instead, the box was just too small. When I compare my bike to the one my mate has asked me to look at it is far superior in build quality, right down to the frame welds which are full of holes on his and not complete, more like spot welds. Also his plastic parts are split and poorly attached whereas mine seem much more robust and not wobbly!

Not a very technical review but I like it!!

 

[Synthman]

My bike came with a box which was bolted down to the back of the bike with 2 screws, it broke off on a pothole 2 weeks later and I haven't used it since! The space on the back is quite useful, I tie down large loads there, like today 6 litres of milk which definitely would not fit in the box!

I wish I could get the range you have, can manage about 11 miles at the moment, though not bad for a 4 year old battery, I've only found one hill which my bike can barely climb without pedalling, though it is a little close with houses rather than a hilly road.

Do you know if there's a way to deactivate the indicator bleeping?

P.S. how long does it take to charge? I'm interested in buying one for myself if anything happens to mine!

 

[newbbike]

Haha I see you've had the same thought as me about the box, mine was quite sturdy, but just too small for anything. I had the guy in the shop deactivate the beeper as it got on my .... After a day! Don't know how he did it though so can't help there, the battery charges V quick it does a boost thing at the beginning which gives it 90% charge in 15 mins and for a full charge it takes about 3 hours before the light goes green to say it's charged but I haven't let it run REALLY low first.

 

[Synthman]

I would love to try one out one day. I like the storage at the front and under the seat, and that it has a speedometer. What sort of speed do you get on the flat?

 

[newbbike]

I am getting 35kph +. The speedo only goes up to 35 and it is still accelerating after that, I'm keeping up with cars on the main road most of the time.

 

[Synthman]

I wish mine had a speedo, do you know if it is attached to the wheel somehow or if it measures the speed from the hall sensors in the motor?

A group of lads in a car estimated my speed at 23mph once, and a guy I knew followed me down a hill in a taxi and claimed I was breaking the 30mph limit. I've even hit 40mph briefly coming down a really steep section of road, the front of the bike starts reverberating! Some days it is definitely quicker than others, a smooth road and no wind really helps.

I suppose that means our bikes aren't really road legal! I've seen a similar one advertised as "road legal, for off-road use only" which is very confusing indeed!

I just don't know whether to buy a new higher capacity battery when the time comes, or scrap the bike and get one like yours instead. I can see minor corrosion already, and my dealer is completely useless, there's no way I can get parts for it unless I can get through to the manufacturer in China directly.

 

[newbbike]

Not sure how the speedo is attached, I've not bothered to look but I assume it connected to the wheel somehow, strictly speaking it's not road legal if it travels over the allowed speed I suppose but I chose to have it de-restricted so that's my call but I doubt it's a problem! The ones wi an actual off road button are totally illegal, there was someone that lives near my brother in Stoke that had his taken off him because the bike was illegal and told that the "provision to allow the speed limiter to be bypassed by use of a switch thereby allowing the bike to travel at a speed over e legal limit" but I got the impression that the guy was being a pain in the butt, on the pavement and two people on it etc, if you stick two fingers up at the police expect repercussions I say! Lol

I've seen the corrosion and poor build on my mates bike and his is too under powered, the whole thing just doesn't compare, the guy at ever Eco is very helpful and I get the impression that parts just aren't an issue, if your thinking of changing your you should go and give it a trial if they're not too far from you.

 

[pjvenner]

I am getting 35kph +. The speedo only goes up to 35 and it is still accelerating after that, I'm keeping up with cars on the main road most of the time.

Don't rely too much on the speedo - they can be wildly inaccurate. Mine reads 33KPH (just over 20MPH) cruising on flat but the GPS tells me I'm doing 17-18MPH.

 

[newbbike]

Well, it certainly isn't the most precise thing in the world, it has led list rather than an analogue needle so jumps up every 5kph but on the straight road into town I can follow cars along at the same cruising speed if I choose to but then I'm not sure what speed they are doing but if I go down the same road in my car I get to about 25-28 mph at the same time of day on quite a busy road, then overall I get further faster because the traffic keeps stopping as I stream by in the cycle lane!

 

[Synthman]

I've noticed that I can easily keep up with cars from a standing start (unless they are BMWs) until they are in 3rd gear. We've got 20mph limits on all side roads, but they've only recently started enforcing speed limits. When I'm on a clear road and I am overtaken, they don't pass me with ease at all unless they're clearly over the limit.

I'm way too far away from Eco, so can't check them out. I reckon I will end up opening my bike up one day, to override the indicator warning and to see the speed limiter, but I don't think there is one as the speed varies so wildly depending on the battery charge and it is 36v.