Bosch crank drive whining help, please.

[Peter_F]

Hi all. My wife has a KTM Macina Race, bought used, which runs very quietly and well. I, however, have just acquired a new Haibike with a whine. I'm well aware that this can be an issue and is curable (hopefully) with a dab of grease at the appropriate point. I'm a long way from a dealer and handy with the spanners so thought I might take a look. Can anyone help with more specific info on the cure? Drive-side or other? Gear/bush/bearing? Any comments appreciated. Peter F

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I thought that there was a video specifically about where to apply the grease, but I can't find it now. Copy these codes into the Youtube search:

Q_tFgwRdUfw
hFj-q0lI8bI

or try copying and pasting thishttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_tFgwRdUfw
and thishttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFj-q0lI8bI

 

[Wander]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rElq4W7BHJY

 

[Peter_F]

Thanks for responses, but I'd seen these clips before- 2 showed someone making the noise and the others were the same clip, in German and showing a strip. As I was kicked out of German lessons at school (after being bottom
of the class and the teacher topping himself) I can't determine any reference to the grease-lacking item. Having said that the dialogue after one of the videos may be helpful and I'll read more carefully. Mine is not making clacking noises, just a whine that is proportional to load. Has anyone out there actually done the job?

 

[OxygenJames]

Thanks for responses, but I'd seen these clips before- 2 showed someone making the noise and the others were the same clip, in German and showing a strip. As I was kicked out of German lessons at school (after being bottom
of the class and the teacher topping himself) I can't determine any reference to the grease-lacking item. Having said that the dialogue after one of the videos may be helpful and I'll read more carefully. Mine is not making clacking noises, just a whine that is proportional to load. Has anyone out there actually done the job?

Martin at Crank Cycles did mine but it was not making so much of a whine as lots of popping noises. He took it in for a service greased whatever needed to be greased and no more popping.

 

[Martin@e-bikeshop]

Martin at Crank Cycles did mine but it was not making so much of a whine as lots of popping noises. He took it in for a service greased whatever needed to be greased and no more popping.

Hi James,

Thanks for the plug there, happy to help. Sorry guys been off the forum for a few days and only just seen this. Pretty manic down here at the moment.

Peter here is a servcie I offer - http://www.e-bikeshop.co.uk/Servicing/bosch-ebike-popping-noise-fix

Why not go back to the dealer you bought it from? This is what the dealer is here for - to look after you.

James read the blokes description on the second video Dave put up last night, shows the difference in CS between dealers. One email to me and I had the bike sorted within 15mins of you bringing it in FOC. The guy in the video had transferred over 100+ emails between him and James @ JusteBikes and still doesn't have his bike sorted!

Regards
Martin

 

[El Champiero]

Be assured that it is definitely fixable. I had my Bosch unit making a kind of squeak/whining noise. Turns out that the fix for the popping noise sorted mine out.

The time when you need to be really concerned is if your motor unit has excessive play in it. This happened to me in the first 3 months of owning the bike. The dealer contacted Bosch and they sent a whole new motor out under warranty. It was fitted FOC too. There were some motor units out there which suffered from premature bearing failure on the drive side. Since Feb 2013 when the new motor unit was fitted I have had no further issues with it and it gets ridden hard in de-restricted mode several times a week.

 

[Electrifying Cycles]

If the problems relates to greasing the motor it is easily fixed. Does not take long to do. If you did it yourself you would need a few tools but as Martin says the dealer who sold you the bike should do this for you, not complicated. Good luck getting it sorted.

 

[KTM Bike Industries UK]

this pdf might help....

 

[OxygenJames]

Hi James,

Thanks for the plug there, happy to help. Sorry guys been off the forum for a few days and only just seen this. Pretty manic down here at the moment.

Peter here is a servcie I offer - http://www.e-bikeshop.co.uk/Servicing/bosch-ebike-popping-noise-fix

Why not go back to the dealer you bought it from? This is what the dealer is here for - to look after you.

James read the blokes description on the second video Dave put up last night, shows the difference in CS between dealers. One email to me and I had the bike sorted within 15mins of you bringing it in FOC. The guy in the video had transferred over 100+ emails between him and James @ JusteBikes and still doesn't have his bike sorted!

Regards
Martin

Pray please tell me where one would find these videos that Dave has put up.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Post #2 in this thread

 

[Martin@e-bikeshop]

Pray please tell me where one would find these videos that Dave has put up.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFj-q0lI8bI

 

[RobF]

I'm told the ISIS crank/bottom bracket as fitted to Bosch bikes is known to self-loosen.

The symptoms of left/right play in the front chainring are obvious to a reasonably aware rider.

 

[El Champiero]

And the frustrating thing about that ISIS bottom bracket arrangement crank is that it cannot seem to be adjusted. It looks like it is a press fit arrangement, so if excessive play develops, Bosch just send in a new motor rather than replace the actual bearing (they must have quite a few redundant motors somewhere at Bosch HQ). I don't know how long the warranty is on the Bosch motor unit - maybe 2 years?. Once mine expires and if the excessive play ever returns I am definitely going to look at replacing the bearing myself. It looks like a normal press fit arrangement - I just hope Bosch used a bearing size which is easy to get hold of from a bearing supplier.

 

[Peter_F]

Excellent responses and many thanks all round. I find the Bosch/KTM .pdf the most useful. The reason that I have yet to contact a dealer (apart from distance) is that I imported direct from Germany and am anticipating a degree of (understandable) reluctance from dealers over here. Perhaps the trade can comment on this- it often boils down to how well they are recompensed by Bosch, I suspect. The problem is not great, certainly no clicking. But I do notice a distinct friction when pushing the bike backwards.It's just that I know from our KTM just how quiet and free-running the unit can be. Is it likely that things will improve after use? Any comments on the above?

 

[Martin@e-bikeshop]

Hi,

Being well connected to Bosch makes no difference. The difference is where dealers are supposed to apply their time. UK dealers are reluctant to help people who have imported from Europe. Its obvious that if you make the sale you look after that customer. People moan that the market here is not growing fast enough. But if people are continuing to import from Europe how is the market here expected to grow? There are dealers here putting a lot of hard work into the electric bike side of things. Both time and money, I find the most valuable to me is time.

P.S - Any Bosch classic line motor will feel resistance when you push it backwards. You are also turning the wheel along with the drivetrain as well as the motor. There should be no resistance when pushing it forwards.

All the best.
Martin

 

[Croxden]

My bike is the only one in the country, ordered from Onbike where I get the best advise & service. I cant say if I could have got it for less going direct to Germany, but after my last problems, sticking with a known quality of dealer is well worth it.

 

[james@justebikes.co.uk]

Why not go back to the dealer you bought it from? This is what the dealer is here for - to look after you.

James read the blokes description on the second video Dave put up last night, shows the difference in CS between dealers. One email to me and I had the bike sorted within 15mins of you bringing it in FOC. The guy in the video had transferred over 100+ emails between him and James @ JusteBikes and still doesn't have his bike sorted!

This Haibike owner, Richard Hawley, is not telling the truth.
We offered to remedy the problem many times but he refused to return the bike to us so we could carry out the work. Instead he insists that we call in and collect and return it to his home in Bristol. We also offered to pick up and return it via Interlink at our cost - but he refused this too - because he couldn't be bothered to put the bike in a box.

 

[Peter_F]

I can fully understand the trade's view on this- I was in the motorcycle business umpteen years ago when a lot of grey imports were coming in. It's the same with eBayed Chinese bikes these days. I was really asking whether Bosch would pay for the fix via a UK dealer when bike bought abroad. Suspect that they would, but whether dealer would want to on principle is different matter entirely. I suspect that the market for the higher-end bikes is still pretty small despite my nearest shop claiming that they can sell all they get! Re. my motor I'll play it by ear, literally, and if necessary have a look myself. Thanks again. Will post a review of Haibike in next few weeks. PF

 

[EddiePJ]

this pdf might help....

Thanks for that link Col.

I have done mine this evening, and the whole job from start to finish took approx 10 mins to complete.

Rather than wedge a screwdriver between the sprocket and frame as I have seen carried out on videos, which makes me cringe. I simply applied the rear brake, wrapped a cable tie around the brake lever to stop the wheel from turning, job done.