Ultra Motor Europa

[Russell]

Now that Ultra Motor has come out with their new Hybrid and Velociti models the holdover bikes from the Tres Terra line they marketed after acquiring that company a few years back are being liquidated through various channels. I purchased the Ultra Motor Europa model on eBay this past weekend. The bike has its roots going way back to the original Iacocca E-bikes of years ago. It still has a heavy steel frame with a brushed Heinzmann motor but has been updated with a 36V Li-ion battery instead of the lead-acid batteries of old.

The bike arrived late yesterday afternoon in a BIG box. Actually it was double-boxed yet it still sustained a bit of damaged with the rear steel fender bent out of shape. I immediately unpacked the bike and got the battery on the charger while I assembled and tuned the bike. The battery voltage measured 38.5V or about half-full, right where it should be. Unfortunately the bike manual was missing so I don’t know what the specs are on the battery however I remember reading somewhere it was supposed to be built with Sanyo cells and have a capacity of 9.5Ah. It took just over 3 hours to charge with the included 2A charger, a good quality aluminum unit which runs quieter than many of its type with a small cooling fan, it even has an on/off switch and external fuse.




One reason I never bought a pre-built E-bike in the past was the one-size-fits-all nature of most of them. I was not overly surprised then to find the suspension seatpost did not raise high enough to allow me the proper leg extension. I installed another regular seatpost I had which gave me another inch but that is still an inch short so pedaling would be compromised somewhat. It was now dark out but the battery was fully charged and I wanted to try it out. The bike comes with a new headlight, taillight and computer but I tossed on two cheap-o 3V headlights I bought years ago but never used, a rear blinky light plus a spare wireless computer and hit the road. I only road 2.5 miles just to try it out. I put the battery back on the charger while I made more adjustments.

At midnight I went out for a longer ride and this time I took along a flashlight so I could see the speedometer. I haven’t ridden at night since I was a youngster but I must say it was fun. The two lights I used did little to illuminate the road which added to the sensation of speed however the claimed 20 mph top speed seemed realistic. The electrical noise was messing up my wireless speedo so I would have to use the new wired unit after all (I switched to wired on my Kona Smok-E some time ago for the same reason).

At about 13 miles the “Half” charged LED on the throttle display lit up a steep hill indicating it was time to get home. I put on 15.4 miles however I had no way of knowing how much power I actually used. The resting voltage on the battery was 35.9V after the ride which looking back at data I collected running Bosch LiMn Fatpacks suggested the battery was 75% depleted.

My initial impressions are so-so on the bike. The Heinzmann motor does make quite a ruckus and it’s too much for me (My Bafang is whisper quiet by comparison). Not sure what I’ll do with it now.

-R

 

[Russell]

Today I got to ride it in the light of day. I also snapped a few pic's;





I felt confident I could make my short 18.2 mile loop on a charge so off I went. Hmmm...the motor noise sounds just as loud during the day :?. It’s not so bad on the open road at a steady full throttle however when the motor is pulsing near its top speed or up a hill when my pedaling stroke adds power the surging sounds nasty. On the bike path I could forget about any semblance of stealth, the best I could do was cut power and pass people with normal pedaling (yes even with this bike I could pedal faster than some people on conventional bikes!). At 15 miles the “Half” battery level LED lit and from then on I had to nurse it to make the last 3 miles under power.

Before heading out I had cut the battery charger output cable and attached Anderson connectors allowing me to insert a Watts-Up meter to monitor the amount of charge put back into the battery. The Watt-hours value obtained this way should be about 5% higher than the actual Wh used on the road. The charging stats were 7.531Ah and 295.7Wh less 5% would be approximately 15.43Wh/mile. That’s not too bad though I did pedal more than I wanted to on this test trip. I will have to ride a shorter course to see how much power per mile the bike actually consumes with little or no pedaling. I will however never ride this bike as efficiently as my Kona/Bafang E-bike since I can't pedal the Europa with anywhere near the power I do the Kona. I bought it for shorter more or less "pedal free" trips therefore pedaling efficiency wasn't a primary concern.

-R

 

[Russell]

I got in a couple more rides today. On the first outing I rode the bike like a moped; that is I pedaled minimally and used a heavy throttle. When I reached the bike path 4.5 miles away I had it much to myself so I set the cruise control at 100% throttle and left it there for about 2.5 miles. I knew this ride was going to consume a good deal of power therefore I turned toward home and just as I did the battery indicator “Half” full indicator was lit and it was flashing, whatever that meant (I didn’t receive a manual). Anyway there I am after just 7.5 miles with very little power, miles to go and some good hills along this return route to boot. After about a mile of pedaling I noticed the green “Full” LED was back on and the flashing had stopped. I’m guessing what happened was the motor overheated when I was zooming down the bike path at full speed and that’s what the flashing display was all about. Still the short ride had in fact used up a good deal of the battery which read 36.2V after the 13 mile trip. It took 6.91Ah/275Wh to bring the battery up to 41.8V. That’s a lot of juice for such a short ride.

After the battery was recharged I went back out to once again see how far I could get along my 18.2 mile route. This is the same route I rode the other day when the battery indicator dropped to “Half” at 15 miles accompanied by a significant drop-off in power. Today I pedaled all of the time at about a medium level but got only a little further (15.6 miles) when the power dropped noticeably. I don’t know if the power drop-off is due to battery sag or if the controller is programmed to reduce power at this point as a conservation measure. In any event the bike feels quite lethargic as soon as the green “Full” LED goes out and the amber “Half” LED lights giving the bike an effective range of 15 miles for me (195 lbs) while averaging 16.6-16.9 mph and perhaps 10 miles at a faster pace.

Now that I’ve had the bike a few days and gone on 4+ rides I find the bike a bit of a disappointment. Mostly the problem lies with the Heinzmann motor which is noisy, inefficient and prone to overheat. The bike itself also isn’t much fun to pedal without the motor and that is due to the lower than ideal seat height for my inseam and the wide pedal spacing (Q-factor). This is also my first ever bike with a front suspension (a cheap Zoom fork) and for the most part it seems to contribute minimally to ride comfort. The place I notice it most is when I hit the entrance to the main driveway into the apartment complex where it soaks up what can be a nasty hit if I’m not prepared for it on my Kona with a rigid fork.

Basically I would not recommend this bike unless someone could get it for a real steal and then only if they wanted a “moped” style bike for short trips.

-R

 

[Russell]

Today after getting my exercise riding the Kona/Bafang E-bike I hopped on the Europa for a quick spin in "moped" mode. On the 31 mile trip on the Kona I averaged 18.4 mph and used 9.77Wh/miles, I wanted to try for the same average speed on the Europa with little pedaling effort. To do this it would need to be a short ride using full throttle as much as possible but avoiding overheating the motor.

The trip on the Europa covered 8.1 miles at an average speed of 18.1 mph. Top speed out of the gate was 20.5 mph and 19.5-20.0 mph over the last flat stretch before arriving back home (the cheap speed-o supplied only reads in 0.5 increments). It took 203Wh to recharge the battery therefore assuming 95% charging efficiency (a guess based on my LiFePO4 pack) means I used 193Wh or 23.7Wh/mi.

Therefore in "moped" mode (i.e. light pedaling) the Europa consumed 142% more power than the earlier "fitness" ride (vigorous pedaling) on the Kona/Bafang E-bike. That's not fair however so for a more even comparison I looked back at the last ride on the Kona with limited pedaling input where I used 16.4Wh/mi over an 18.2 mile course at an average speed of 18.0 mph. That still means the Europa with its Heinzmann motor used 44% more power than the Kona with its Bafang motor. No surprise then that I'll be looking to replace the motor on the Europa in the near future.

-R

 

[neptronix]

Good review, thanks for the info!

was thinking about buying one here in portland as someone is selling the bikes for $550 on CL right now, but sounds like a subpar motor!

 

[kauaikit]

Hey Russell....even though you've got an older posting, thank you for your indepth review.

My interest in the Europa is that the battery pack in these bikes still in fact fit the older EV Global bikes with a minor lower battery box contact upgrade to the "computer" plug-in & losing the original installed copper posts. This way you replace the SLA with Lithium. A shame the range is not better.

I've got two original 2000 36V (Black SX/Red LE) & 2 2000 24V (Touring Red/Stnd Black) with the same noisy underpowered German hub. The kids like to ride them.

I'm also looking @ two like New 2009 Europa bikes, one black & one white, that a local guy has for sale @ $650 each. Of course my main interest is the lithium battery packs. I'm thinking $400 range for each bike.

Kit
S.CA USA

 

[kauaikit]

Hello all.....I'm trying an attempt to update the battery chemistry of older 36v EV Global bikes by using a 2009 Europa 36V battery pack. Yes, it fits nicely, & yes you need to change the lower contact plug to a "computer" plug to go into the battery box. Will it work with the stock controller? I'll know soon enough, after I can charge the Europa battery box.

My question is, does the Europa use a simple power cord with the box having the charger, as in the earlier EVG's, or does it require an outside charger with the 3 prong microphone style plug to charge it?

And if it requires an outside 36V charger, will a cheapy $16 1.5amp Chinese scooter one work?

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-OEM-36V-Scooter-Battery-Charger-Razor-MX500-MX650-/350269731246?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item518db3f1ae

Yes, I'm also attempting to update the thumb throttle of the older 24/36V EVG's to the Europa twist & keyed power switch without having to use it's stock Europa/Callisto controller. As my goal is to retain the original lights on the EVG's. But it appears, at least on the 24V EVG controller the throttle plug will NOT work as it has 7 pins & the Europa has 9. Not sure on the EVG's 36V.....yet.

Have anyone upgraded the EVG's 36V bikes to 48V yet?

Kit
S.CA USA

 

[Russell]

Hello all.....I'm trying an attempt to update the battery chemistry of older 36v EV Global bikes by using a 2009 Europa 36V battery pack. Yes, it fits nicely, & yes you need to change the lower contact plug to a "computer" plug to go into the battery box. Will it work with the stock controller? I'll know soon enough, after I can charge the Europa battery box.

My question is, does the Europa use a simple power cord with the box having the charger, as in the earlier EVG's, or does it require an outside charger with the 3 prong microphone style plug to charge it?

And if it requires an outside 36V charger, will a cheapy $16 1.5amp Chinese scooter one work?

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-OEM-36V-Scooter-Battery-Charger-Razor-MX500-MX650-/350269731246?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item518db3f1ae

You can see the battery and the external charger in the first post.

The cheap charger you reference is for SLA's and would output around 44.4V peak while charging a 36V SLA pack. While it would probably work fine with 12-cell "36V" LiFePO4 batteries it would overcharge the Li-ion (LiMn, I believe) Europa battery which requires 42V max.

-R

 

[kauaikit]

Russell:

Thank you.

I've found an original Europa charger for $40 (new), which I'll buy tomorrow. Yes, I noticed the correct "outside" charger in your photo after I posted my question. My pack is currently showing 28V & has not been used for a while, so I'm assuming it'll charge up nicely.

Down the road I'll have to figure a way to replace the 1/2" x 6" rectangle cells as this pack will work in all the older EV bikes, once the lower power contact is changed to a "computer plug". The pack too will work with any other electric bike, including my Tidalforce!

I'm not a fan of the noisy Heinzmann rear hub & intend to do an update on all the bikes as soon as I find the easiest plug & play hub, preferably a hub with the controller already inside the hub. The idea of using my spare Tidalforce hub with dash board & throttle along with the updated battery pack on my EVG 36V SX would make a fun bike too?

I too found a 2009 Europa w/100 miles on it for $400, & attempting to buy it for $300 range, just mainly to get the battery pack.

Would like to read the post where you upgraded your Europa's hub for "stealth" riding & how it turned out.

Kit
S.CA USA

 

[carrollcollinspawn]

HI MY BATTERY CHARGER WAS STOLEN. I STILL HAVE THE BOX, JUST NOT THE CORD. ANY IDEA WHICH CORD I SHOULD PURCHASE AND WHERE I CAN PURCHASE ONE?