A different e-Zip Trailz

I've been told by a well established EV parts supplier, who I don't want to name in case I have misunderstood something, that my unmodified, stock standard Currie e-Zip Trailz 2007 is unique and that the upgrades for motors, sprockets etc for Currie bikes won't fit it.

If you are an e-Zip owner, please check out my photos and tell me if mine looks different!



Are those of us with the newer models locked out of the motor upgrade options that are commonly available for Currie owners?

Mine was purchased in Australia so perhaps it is different to comply with Australia's 200w motor limit.

Post and let me know if this looks like a familiar e-Zip Trailz or how it is different.

The motor appears to be a MY1018z.. cheap, tough and... slow. Drill it full of holes and you can run it faster.

The bracket is a bit differnt from earlier models, but same idea: motor by the lefthand freewheel. Seems they swung it to the rear to make room for the rear-rack... earlier models had a batterybox behind the seat tube.

The only planetary setup I have seen on a currie bike was on the chopper, but I may be ignorant of other currie-bikes.

FrankG said:

Scoot Mcgregor at EVDeals may still supply parts...

Click to expand...

Scott does not have any parts for this model.

FrankG said:

... your motor appears to have an interal gear reduction unit similar to the MY10xx series of Unite motors.

If it is a Unite, than you may have more options (and cheaper) upgrade path open.

Click to expand...

Sounds like I need to disassemble the motor from the gearbox to see what sort of shaft it has in comparrison to the Unite motors. I'll post pictures when I get back from work.

FrankG said:

Just wondering how the 200W motor is for spped and hill climbing??? the Electrodrive I had was a 450W unit and seemed under powered...

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It's probably a similar motor which has simply had the specs fiddled with. It has excellent torque from a stop and upto 22km/h on the flat, but then it needs some peddle assist to get to 25km/h. After 29km/h the motor is useless. Up hills I can maintain 20km/h with moderate peddling which is treat.

I think it is powerful enough but it needs to be 50 or 60% faster.

thats the same as my old setup (prior to upgrading to an x5 setup).

I would probably say if your having speed issues... run 36v on the crazy mofo.

Although recommended that you will need to use lifepo4 packs as 36v SLAs are pretty heavy (talking from experience here). You will need to ditch one of the custom battery connectors (ie remove the wiring with a screwdriver) and connect up some anderson connectors to a 36v battery pack. This option will be way cheaper and will make you more happier in the long run.

If you want to run 48v through the thing... you will need to upgrade to a higher voltage throttle / controller! This is the main reason why i ditched the original ezip/izip setup to go a x5 setup.

Running a higher voltage makes the motor more noisier too!

Check out my ride thread if you want more info.

albie said:

I would probably say if your having speed issues... run 36v on the crazy mofo...

...Check out my ride thread if you want more info.

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Albie, I've been following the progress of your ride and the 36v setup you used for your interim rig is definitely my backup plan. Thanks for all your photos.

After taking the motor to bits today it looks pretty impossible to replace.

The drive system on my ezip model is different to others in that it pretrudes to the rear instead of being position above the hub. The eZip manual calls them bicycles with rack mounted battery packs versus the other type, bicycles with frame mounted battery packs. We should give them a propper name.


My bracket fixes the motor in place with 6 screws which are easy remove if you have an allen key set, a screw driver and a small socket set.


The gearbox split open easily, luckily it didn't fall off while I was jiggling the sprocket off the chain. Luckily the gasket stays in place easily.

The large cog is metal and has a bearing on the end. The whole thing seems simple and hard wearing.

The small drive cog is directly on the motor shaft. I couldn't tell if the cog was engineered into the shaft or if it was pressed on. I didn't look replaceable if it were to wear. You would probably need a whole new motor.


This is a cross view of the the large cog and drive sprocket housed in the gearbox cover by a bearing.

The sproket is on a right hand threaded bolt. I wonder if it is a common type?




I took it one step further and detached the motor cover hoping nothing would spring out, it didn't.

I think this pic with the bolt holes etc will help you guys who know if there is any compatible motor upgrade out there. I don't think so.


Does any of this look like it is compatible with the older Currie drive parts?

What are my non-engineer options here? Maybe I can get a bigger drive cog to combine with a 36volt battery pack.

36V will probably be fine. A bigger cog will just bog down the motor more.

Try the search function.

There is loads of info here about currie, mongoose, MY1018, etc.

I know you were asking if there was a Currie replacement motor, but I was looking at the setup and started thinking.

Since it is just a mounting plate and a chain drive you could ("technically") use any motor you wanted with the right size sprocket.

I know, you have to have the right gear reduction and everything but wouldn't it be possible to just swap out the motor?

I was thinking of the Cyclone motor. They come in both 360 and 500 Watts, they already have the gear reduction, and they already rotate in the correct direction.

You may need to adjust the chain length but you should be able to just bolt it in

iberkt said:

they already rotate in the correct direction.

Click to expand...

I like the idea but the Cyclone motor seem to rotate anti clockwise direction.

I'm thinking one of these Kollmorgen motors could fit the four mounting holes on my bracket:

http://www.thesuperkids.com/450wahitocue.html

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1273&p=19346&hilit=Kolmorgen#p19346

You need a geared motor if you want to keep the stock mount. The Koll needs like a 12t/90t setup which will not fit in the space you have to work with. I would (did) try 36v and see if you are content with that, like Tyler and albie said. Pop on another lead brick as a cheap trial to see how you get along with it. When I wired mine in I just tapped the extra bat in to the fuse wires, but it looks like your bike has easier access to the controller.

Blacklisted, I just bought what I think is a USA 2007 or 2008 model, eZip Trailz (steel frame). It's black with red, white and orange trim. I test rode it for a half hour before buying it. It was the cheapest entry level electric I found that seemed decent. SKU# EZ-TRZ8-BK. I'm not sure if my paperwork matches the bike, since the bike did not come to me with the box, and the dealer had already assembled it.

Thanks for taking yours apart and posting the pics. I was going to do the same (minus pics), but now it looks like I don't need to. Your motor assembly looks identical to mine, which is supposed to be 450 watts here. It's a shame that they don't look easily/cheaply upgradeable at this point, from your pictures.

I opened up the area with the controller inside. On my controller it says 24v DC brushless (which I don't believe is brushless at this point, but I could be wrong), and 35 amps. Since yours says 25 amps, I guess that is where there might be the US/Aus power difference. So, you might be able to get some incremental power increase from a higher rated controller.

You're right, the controller is not labelled correctly.

36v makes a big difference, after all its a 50% voltage increase, and almost that same 50% increase in power, range and max mph too. Try it, your controller might take it ok. For a few of us others it worked.

I'll soon find out if my ezip controlle handles 36v.

I have a Pingbattery custom fit for the existing battery box on the way.

Doesn't matter much if I blow the controller or burn the motor as its an excuse to upgrade!

Blacklisted,

Did the rack come with the bike? It looks like mine, which I got at a surplus place, so I don't know who made it. It has pannier locks like yours, and I'd like to know what panniers are available.

The rack is part of the Currie factory package. It has a metal box which contains the controller and other electrics, including a switch for battery 1 or 2. Each side has rails to slide in and lock a Currie battery pack. I don't know if it would be useful for panniers as I have never used them on a bike.

If you already have the rack and not a plastic battery box you could ask around here and I'm sure someone would have one to offload.

Blacklisted,

Be sure to let us know how the custom fit 36V Ping LiFePo works out. I was thinking exactly along those lines too. What A/hr rating? Was it difficult to get the correct size? Did you simply provide Ping the interior case dimensions? I assume you will be removing the center support/dividing structure of the standard currie battery case, is that correct?

Thanks.

Ping could only fit 10amp within the box paramaters.

This is the listing for the custom pack that I got:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220208941961&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:US:1123

It measures 150x210x67 mm. When it arrives I will have to work out if the BMS can also fit inside the case. There is about 25mm clearance at one end which I hope will house it. The central pillar will almost definitely need to be removed. I think the reduction in strength will be fine given the weight will be about one third of the SLA bricks!

If all goes to plan, Ping will probably get a few more orders for batteries of this dimension. Maybe another one from me for the other side and one for my friend who wants to stay at 24v but have more amps and range.

thats great... 36v lifepo4 on a ezip... that was my plan but way too slow for me lol...

I like having my average speed sitting at around 33km/h on the way to work lol.

To prepare for the stress and heat of the new 36v LiFePO4 and to pass the time, I unscrewed the motor and greased the gears. I was also hoping to make a pre-emptive strike on its noise output.

I was surprised at how little grease was used as it is not long out of the factory. Surely a few more blobs won't hurt.

It was good to see absolutely no signs of wear on the cogs even after the heavy use too.

The motor noise had been increasing but riding to work it was a lot quieter today because of the grease. It just sounded like a mosquito instead of a bee!

Blacklisted,

FYI and future reference, it does look like the brushless Cyclone 360 and 500 watt motors (only) use a similarly splined drive shaft as the newer Currie system. Hopefully they are the exact splines.

I'm just speculating, from the pictures. Look at the pictures from this web site: http://www.cyclone-usa.com/store.php?crn=200 .

If my understanding of brushless is correct, you just have to swap any two of the 3 motor wires to reverse motor direction. These motors seem to have inbuilt controllers, so I'm not sure how easy it would be to swap wires, but it should be doable.

Maybe swapping the wires is not doable. From the website:

Q:
Can I install an external controller?


A:
No. The controller for Cyclone motors is built into the case of the motor and has the hall effect sensors for motor control mounted on the circuit board. There is no easy or even practical way to rewire the circuit board to get these leads to the outside of the motor.

Somebody posted pictures of the Cyclone controller and how to take it apart around here somewhere.

It would be challenging to wire it for an external controller, but not impossible. You'd have to pull the circuit board out (half the battle), then use a Dremel or Xacto blade to snip off the traces from the hall sensors to the rest of the circuit and solder wires on to them.

If you wanted to reverse the motor, there's a good chance there's a jumper on the controller chip that can do it. You'd still have to pull the whole thing apart.

Good Morning All
Rick posted this cyclone disassembly guide on this thread. http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2809&st=0&sk=t&sd=d I believe the techs a Cyclone-USA will reverse the motors for their customers. This keeps the warrantee intact. -grant

OK, the Ping battery has arrived, now the hard part, fitting it in the currie battery box and wiring it all up.

I've already had sparks fly after using the wrong plugs on the voltmeter to measure - turns out the Ping battery has 38.6 volts even without charging. The SLAs it is replacing output 26.5 fully charged. Not sure about the Amps cos of the spark incident.

I'll attempt to do this tomorrow but not sure if the BMS has an inbuilt fuse or if I should reuse the 40 amp one in the battery box.

Here goes...

Blacklisted,

I think if you email Ping, he can tell you at what spec (how much current) the BMS will start to shut down to protect this specfic battery. I would not expect too tight of tolerances. Not a bad idea to have fuse backup anyway.