E-S Stealth Electric Bike Owners

[morati]

MB, your Bomber looks great. I think I will be doing the motorcycle wheel swap as well this year on a second set of wheels. What wheel/tire size combo did you go with? Have pretty much decided on a 18 x 1.85(Shinko SR241 3.00) rear with a 19 x 1.4 front(Shinko SR241 2.75).

 

[oilerlord]

MB, your Bomber looks great. I think I will be doing the motorcycle wheel swap as well this year on a second set of wheels. What wheel/tire size combo did you go with? Have pretty much decided on a 18 x 1.85(Shinko SR241 3.00) rear with a 19 x 1.4 front(Shinko SR241 2.75).

+1

It does look great. Now that the bike is lower to the ground, any issues with pedals touching the ground while going around corners? I can see that I'll be wearing out the stock Razorback rear tire within a few months. Looks like you have a good solution, and have virtually eliminated the risk of a flat tire.

 

[MexicanBatman]

I have to thank rix for all the info he's given us

I'm running a 2.75x19 Shinko sr241 on a 19x1.4 rim

So far no issues with the lower clearance, there is actually very little difference compared to the worn razorback in rolling diameter, I'll find out Monday for sure when I take it to my favorite trails though

 

[Rix]

No, its not wrong to get exicted when its -20C if anything, its harder to stave excitment for people in the northern hemisphere. From about April to November, I ride just about everyday even if only a little bit. Not the case from December to March, Get a few in a month when its not dumping or way below freezing.

Rick

Hey Rick,

Though I'm getting a killer deal on the bike, it's production #178 from 2012. The bike sat in a display window for most of it's life, and has a total of 200 miles on it. I think it's still basically "new" and they are selling it to me with full warranty (starting from the day I pick it up next month). I suppose the biggest concern would be the battery - is there a shelf life on the stock battery pack that I need to be concerned about? Is there any servicing or battery conditioning that needs to be done to a bike like this that's been sitting idle for a couple of years?

Dave

Dave, your battery may have degraded a little, but with your CA set at 65Ah, get on the throttle wide open hot off the charger and tell us what your volts drop to. If its not dropping below 71 Volts WOT hot off the charger, your battery has probably got some serious charge/discharge cycle life left in it. Lifepo4 chemistry has a theoretical battery life of 2000 cycles no more than 20% SOC and up to 7 years. But that data is for Lifepo4 rated at 3C and less. Stealth is tight lipped about our packs C rate but I am betting that its between 5 and 10 C, Stealth rates our packs for up to 800 charge cycles so following that rule of thumb, I would estimate our packs are good for 3-4 year shelf life provided we don't discharge to LVC Cut off and never charge before storage, that will ruin any battery including SLA. My pack is about two years old, I have Bomber 143, with around 300 cycles on it, and it has degraded some but it still working very well especially with the 5405. I would say I have another 1.5 years of life in it before I either need to drop my CA to about 40ah so its not hitting LVC hot off the charger, or just replace the pack. With Bomber 178, your bike had to be built some time in August 2012, so your battery is newer than mine, I am betting its good to go.

Rick

 

[Rix]

I have to thank rix for all the info he's given us

I'm running a 2.75x19 Shinko sr241 on a 19x1.4 rim

So far no issues with the lower clearance, there is actually very little difference compared to the worn razorback in rolling diameter, I'll find out Monday for sure when I take it to my favorite trails though

Very nice Bomber MB, hell I think haveing the polished spokes make your bike look better with everything else black on black. I like the tall bars too. My upsweep bends are not quite that tall, and it was a huge improvement. So, you are running some preety low PSI. With the rocky shit I ride, 20 PSI up from an about 27-28PSI in the rear work great and I haven't dented my rims yet. We are about the same size, so I Imagine if you were to ride a rocky dried out creek bed, you would want to increase your PSI. I just want to throw out a word of caution, especially for the rear, unless you have a rim lock on your bead, don't go below 20 PSI, this is to negate the possibility of having your tire slip on your rim under load and tearing the valve stem away from the tube. I haven't had it happen on my ebike, but I haven't ran below 23PSI either. You drifting like that, my comment about the SR241 lasting 5-10 times longer than the duros doesn't apply there :lol: It funny you commented on the weight gain. Before I went to the 19MC wheel tire combo on the front, I had ran the Stock 24MTB on the front and an MC on the rear. The weight gain was barely noticable when I had the MC rear and MTB front, but now running MC tires front and rear, there is a noticable weight gain. Especially when lofting the front wheel. Let us know how you like it off road.

Rick

 

[oilerlord]

Rick[/quote]

Hey Rick,

Though I'm getting a killer deal on the bike, it's production #178 from 2012. The bike sat in a display window for most of it's life, and has a total of 200 miles on it. I think it's still basically "new" and they are selling it to me with full warranty (starting from the day I pick it up next month). I suppose the biggest concern would be the battery - is there a shelf life on the stock battery pack that I need to be concerned about? Is there any servicing or battery conditioning that needs to be done to a bike like this that's been sitting idle for a couple of years?

Dave[/quote]

Dave, your battery may have degraded a little, but with your CA set at 65Ah, get on the throttle wide open hot off the charger and tell us what your volts drop to. If its not dropping below 71 Volts WOT hot off the charger, your battery has probably got some serious charge/discharge cycle life left in it. Lifepo4 chemistry has a theoretical battery life of 2000 cycles no more than 20% SOC and up to 7 years. But that data is for Lifepo4 rated at 3C and less. Stealth is tight lipped about our packs C rate but I am betting that its between 5 and 10 C, Stealth rates our packs for up to 800 charge cycles so following that rule of thumb, I would estimate our packs are good for 3-4 year shelf life provided we don't discharge to LVC Cut off and never charge before storage, that will ruin any battery including SLA. My pack is about two years old, I have Bomber 143, with around 300 cycles on it, and it has degraded some but it still working very well especially with the 5405. I would say I have another 1.5 years of life in it before I either need to drop my CA to about 40ah so its not hitting LVC hot off the charger, or just replace the pack. With Bomber 178, your bike had to be built some time in August 2012, so your battery is newer than mine, I am betting its good to go.

Rick[/quote]

It's been a few days since I asked the dealer to confirm if Stealth honors the warranty for batteries that are over a year old (on unsold dealer demo bikes). I also sent an email to Michael at Stealth about it. I agree with you that probably isn't anything to worry about. That said, I"d feel better getting written confirmation from the dealer and/or Stealth about their policy on this.

What's the going price on a replacement LiFEPO4 battery pack these days?

 

[oilerlord]

By coincidence, I just heard back from the dealer. The warranty on batteries does indeed start from the day the dealer receives the bike - not when the customer takes possession of it. In this case, the battery isn't under warranty because the dealer bought the bike back in 2012. Definitely something to consider since the dealer quoted $2600 for a replacement Stealth battery pack. Obviously, Stealth does recognize that batteries degrade over time, and they don't want to get stuck replacing batteries that dealers have in older / unsold bikes.

 

[Rix]

It's been a few days since I asked the dealer to confirm if Stealth honors the warranty for batteries that are over a year old (on unsold dealer demo bikes). I also sent an email to Michael at Stealth about it. I agree with you that probably isn't anything to worry about. That said, I"d feel better getting written confirmation from the dealer and/or Stealth about their policy on this.

What's the going price on a replacement LiFEPO4 battery pack these days?

They are pricey, I don't know for sure, but figure between 2400-2800 bucks for the Bomber battery and 1700-2200 for the Fighter. And the way battery tech is constantly evolving, it could go up or down. It goes up if the better newer, better cells are being used for packs, it goes down if the prexisting technology is used and becomes cheaper as it becomes obsolete. Stealth warranties everything for a year, and the frame and swingarm for life, to the original owner. I am not speaking for Stealth, however, I could see Stealth honoring the warranty if it was inside the warranty period, however, I will not be surprised if they don't warranty this because its outside of the calender year time frame period, and was a demo meaning used, and you are saving mucho dinero. this does not restrict the dealer from anything they want to warranty though. Eitherway, let us know what happens.

Rick

 

[Rix]

By coincidence, I just heard back from the dealer. The warranty on batteries does indeed start from the day the dealer receives the bike - not when the customer takes possession of it. In this case, the battery isn't under warranty because the dealer bought the bike back in 2012. Definitely something to consider since the dealer quoted $2600 for a replacement Stealth battery pack. Obviously, Stealth does recognize that batteries degrade over time, and they don't want to get stuck replacing batteries that dealers have in older / unsold bikes.

You posted this as I was typing my last comment. Okay so I am in the ball park about the battery replacement price, and that they aren't covered by warranty. This is good to know info for anyone wanting to buy a Stealth Bike "used".

Rick

 

[PRW]

Be careful of this - I bought a demo bike, it only did a total of 1000km before I had to replace the battery at a cost of $2800. If you want to buy a demo Bomber, maybe discount the asking price by the price of the battery.

 

[Theodore Voltaire]

Yea, the weather turned warm today so I got a flat tire 6 miles from home. Stinkin piece of glass. Who said you don't get exercise with an electric bicycle?

 

[MAFIA]

How many cycles you got on the battery?
Could be that one of the cells is dragging down the total power(and capacity), do you notice increased voltage drop when you go on with full throttle?

my battery have 89 cycles and yes i check and if i go full throttle suppose start at 4500w then keep dropping to 4280w,4079w,3790w,3610w so what i suppose to do?

 

[Allex]

No not wattage drop, that's normal that it drops, but what voltage do you see at your maximum power usage(4500W)
Like Rix said, it should not go below 71V

 

[dh-paule]

@MB , your bomber looks strong,
but the relation of seat and handlebar looks a bit strange

 

[Rix]

@MB , your bomber looks strong,
but the relation of seat and handlebar looks a bit strange

Paule, Keep in mind that MB and I are what I would call, extra large Bomber riders at 110-120KG body weight. Having our handle bars high and our asses low keep our stomachs off of our knees when we pedal :lol: Yah, that's it. No for real, even though my seat is raised a little higher than MBs, this set up forces us to ride standing up and weighting the more off road. Since you are a former offroad motorcycle rider, this set is Kind of like the equivalent of weighting the foot pegs and riding with out the ass on the seat of your motorad.

Rick

 

[Theodore Voltaire]

When my bike has been sitting in a cold garage and I ride off with a battery temperature probably about 50 degrees my bike hits the LVC for a while when first riding. After about 10 miles it stops doing it, and only gets down to 71-72v. It is not exactly hot off the charger though. More like sitting for a week or two in cold weather on a full charge and with about 85v starting out.

Does this seem normal?

 

[Allex]

It should be normal.
When you start to ride the battery is cold and can perform sluggish (higher internal resistance?), after a few miles the battery starts to warm up and this impacts positively on battery performance.

 

[Theodore Voltaire]

It should normal.
When you start to ride the battery is cold and can perform sluggish (higher internal resistance?), after a few miles the battery starts to warm up and this impacts positively on battery performance.

Thanks Allex, that's what I was thinking was probably the case. Since I started riding my bike in December there hasn't been very many days warm enough to avoid that. The weather here in North Texas is finally starting to improve.

 

[Theodore Voltaire]

Seems like when you consider voltage sag you also have to think about the temperature if it's winter. You can't just say with x amount of sag means your battery is getting weak.

 

[oilerlord]

Does anyone know what conditions are required to meet a valid warranty claim for the Stealth's battery? The dealer is giving me a 90-day warranty on the battery for this demo bike. I'm probably being way to anal about this but since a replacement battery is $2600, I want know what does constitute a valid warranty claim. Rick, as per your advise, I asked the dealer to set the CA to 65Ah, do a WOT run, and tell me the voltage number. Hopefully, I should have that result by Monday and proceed with the purchase.

I read PRW's experience with his demo purchase, and feel for him. I can't help but wonder if his being caught in the rain, and the subsequent bike failure had something to do with the battery's total collapse. I'll be sure to seal every nook & cranny on the bike to protect it from water damage. I know that PRW's bike was an older vintage, but you'd think they would have weather-proofed his bike better than it was right from the factory. These are supposed to be MTB's, and able to be ridden in all conditions, right? I'd hate to think that getting caught in a rainstorm could cause total failure on a $10,000 e-bike.

EDIT:

The dealer got back to me with this:

"David,

I appreciate you doing your research. We set the circuit board at 65 amps and dropped to 78.4 volts after 30 seconds."

Rick, does this mean the battery is fine, and that I'm green light on pulling the trigger on this bike?

 

[Allex]

78.4V how?
Did they do a WOT with the wheel in the air? If so, do it again and do it right this time. Because you will never have that high figure when you test the bike with load - really driving it.
You need to test the capacity also. How much Wh/Ah can you get from a full charge.
If my battery would brake I would not buy a original anyway... cost way to much, for about 1700USD you can have better choices, still a lot of money but...

BTW, no the bike is not waterproof so you have to be careful or waterproof everything.

 

[courcheval]

Stealth Fighter number 99 stolen after fighting for two month to get a fully functional battery. End of the South American dream. Depressed.

Sorry for bothering

 

[Allex]

Omg, how did they stole it, did you have a lock?

 

[courcheval]

Yep and 3 cameras were watching, on the parking lot in front of the shop who sold the bike. Professionals, they did as if they were usual by passers, no panic, no rush, so the night guards didnt react. They pushed the bike with the locker still on, but on the video, it s almost invisible. I spent 35 days camping on that parking lot (no eta given for repairs arrival).

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10202656826637393&set=vb.1099856061&type=2&theater

 

[rp3]

Why was it outside at night in a public place like that?