Want to know how many miles or km's your Bosch motor should last?

anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
7,845
5,785
The European Union
Is that not like saying, if you drive faster in your car you'll get there quicker and therefore use less fuel!?
As Danidl said, no such thing as a free ride. :(
It was a joke...
 

Barrio Barranco

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 24, 2018
281
99
55
At the end of the report it says " if you can keep the bearings dry by using your silicone grease regularly "?

As a newby to E-bikes does this mean removing the cranks, then greasing up the voids around the shaft and housing to keep as much water out as possible? My CX has the plastic seal fitted on the R/H side- should this be removed and greased before refitting the plastic seal?
Is the general idea to regularly clean and apply grease externally to prevent water getting to the seals as a "first line" of defence??
 

Andy McNish

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 28, 2018
303
203
Any similar studies on the new 3rd gen Activeline Bosch motors?

They aren't geared and run at lower maximum torque - so I take it we can expect even better lifespan for them?
 

Deno

Pedelecer
Jan 24, 2018
91
47
43
Dublin
Sorry for dragging up an old thread but I have had a similar experience with a high mileage Bosch CX motor failure that was fixed by Performance Line Bearings.

My motor is a delimited bosch CX. I use the bike exclusively for commuting to work and as such is spends all its life on the road, albeit year round. I do all my own servicing and have been careful to grease the motor as specified in the Bosch service bulletin. At around 15k kms i noticed a bit of play in the main crank and generally the motor was starting to feel a bit used. At 18k km I noticed a definate 'roughness' from the motor before the bearing collapsed on my way home from work. I lowered my speed and nursed the bike 5km home.

I video'd the motor operation (which showed obvious problems) and emailed it to David at Performance Line Bearings before taking the motor off that evening. David was back to me the next day and I packaged up the motor and sent it from Dublin to the UK. Once the motor arrived PLB disgnosed the following:
- Collapsed right hand side motors
- Some contamination on internal gears and crankshaft
- Worn left hand bearing
David advised a full overhaul which was fine with me.

The motor arrived 6 days later (including a weekend) to Dublin which I thought was quick. The motor was spotless - I hadn't bothered to clean it before sending it. I refitted the motor and had a bit of an issue getting it to power up. I emailed David and he came straight back to me and advised a short cycle for the torque sensor to calibrate. This worked and the motor kicked in fine. The motor initially felt very 'tight' and range suffered but within a couple of days it just felt like new and has done over 300km since.

I was very happy with the prompt communication and overall service from Performance Line Bearings. This recommendation may seem a bit glowing but I think they offer a great service - I really appreciated their help so that I could get out of the car and back to my bike commute.
 

georgehenry

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2015
1,435
1,259
Surrey
I am up to 10,800 km on my 2015 Yamaha motor. So far so good, but I wonder if Performance line bearings have any data on how far they go before they need looking at?
 

Bearing Man

Trade Member
Oct 3, 2018
115
149
59
Hampshire
www.ebikemotorcentre.com
I am up to 10,800 km on my 2015 Yamaha motor. So far so good, but I wonder if Performance line bearings have any data on how far they go before they need looking at?
Unfortunately, longevity relies on so many things... Riding terrain, weather, washing regime, bike transporting method, etc. I have seen motors with 240 km that are destroyed, and I have seen motors with 80,000 km that are still going well.
Some motors have all ball bearings and require very little maintenance, but there are a few motors out there that do need a little looking after and Yamaha is one of those motors. The Yamaha manual shows that there are several points in the motor that require greasing from time to time, but they don't tell you when? Yamaha PW and PW-SE motors have some bronze bush bearings that support the crankshaft. These bushes tend to get dry and start to wear into the crankshaft, this seems to start happening from approximately 2,400 km and eventually the wear and drag just get slowly worse.
 

Barrio Barranco

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 24, 2018
281
99
55
Thanks for that report Deno, my CX is now officially 2 years old so any repairs will be going to PLB also... I've only covered 3,000km and all seems good (fitted the crank seal and mudstop cover) although that 3,000 km is all in the Cairngorm mountains and all off road...I have noticed after it has sat a while if I backpedal the cranks there seems to be a bit of resistance initially, something to monitor(maybe it's the crank seal as it's a snug fit??). I only ever leave the batteries 40% charged too.... This is my "luxury off road bike" I still go antique road cycling and now in winter the antique hardtail comes out for safer fitness training on forest/fire roads (with ice spiker tyres too!)...
 

georgehenry

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2015
1,435
1,259
Surrey
Its counter intuitive, but less/very careful washing of the motor when washing the bike, making sure to keep water away from bearings is I am sure the right approach.

I was lucky to have my first Yamaha motor replaced under warranty when it developed play in the bearing, right on the 2 year ownership point, and I think injudicious and too frequent washing of the bike may have played a part.

I have been very careful with the second motor, and so far so good, but I am by crank drive ebike standards a high mileage user, now approaching 13,000 miles on my 2015 bike, and the first motor lasted 6,000 miles before it was replaced.

I am still using my original 400Wh battery, and when I bought the bike I was more worried about the longevity of the battery than the motor.
 

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