Expected lifetime of a BBS02

anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
7,845
5,786
The European Union
Pack with grease.
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,381
16,878
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
the water and dirt will turn grease into sludge and the sludge gets inside the gearbox then to the ballbearings etc.
I am looking for some rubber gasket better than the one supplied by Bafang for the left hand side, also something for the right hand side.
I don't know if anyone has heard of GOSPADE. Their solution looks interesting but they use the same rubber gasket on the left side.
 

Deere John

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 13, 2015
532
580
47
EU
I guess as you filled it with grease initially you didnt reseal the motor properly.
But I greased the big gear area, secondary reduction gear. Have never opened the motor/controller before. First time this.

Maybe it is like Woosh said, water comes through BB?
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
20,917
8,533
61
West Sx RH
Hello.
I have a Bafang BBS02 350W I was wondering what is the, average, expected lifetime of this motor, does anyone know?
How many miles/KMs before it might explode or fail :)
What is the most common failure? Drop in power or speed in reaction or?
My 18a controller started to fail at 1647miles about 30 miles from home in the amongst the woods in Surrey Hills, it was intermittent but managed to get nearer home before complete failure and rode the rest unassisted.
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
20,917
8,533
61
West Sx RH
After about 2k miles I stripped mine out to check BB/axle shaft and it was as good as new, I did post pics of the procedure and found no moisture ingress.
 

wheeliepete

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 28, 2016
2,047
757
61
Devon
I've only ever stripped down the early version BBS which had a silicon washer that went behind the lock nut on BB. Rubbish attempt at waterproofing and they were always mangled on removal and completely impossible to refit. Used lots of grease as a replacement. The B version is meant to be improved, is there an oil seal in there now? I know the HD has one.
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,381
16,878
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
I've only ever stripped down the early version BBS which had a silicon washer that went behind the lock nut on BB. Rubbish attempt at waterproofing and they were always mangled on removal and completely impossible to refit. Used lots of grease as a replacement. The B version is meant to be improved, is there an oil seal in there now? I know the HD has one.
yes, they all have oil seal now, even the copies.
The Gospade goes one step further on the drive side but still uses the same oil seal on the non drive side.

Gospade drive side:
 

wheeliepete

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 28, 2016
2,047
757
61
Devon
yes, they all have oil seal now, even the copies.
Well that's an improvement over the silicon washer setup. I guess all you can do is pack plenty of grease behind it as people do on their Bosch drives, but never gonna be 100% watertight.
 

Fordulike

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 26, 2010
3,802
1,538
does anyone have any idea how to stop water getting in through the bottom bracket?
Not ideal, but I pack mine with grease. During periodic maintenance, I've noticed there's no rust on the axle, which hopefully means water is not getting in.
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,381
16,878
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
Well that's an improvement over the silicon washer setup. I guess all you can do is pack plenty of grease behind it as people do on their Bosch drives, but never gonna be 100% watertight.
didn't you mean outside the seal? you can replace the grease if it gets washed away, the seal keeps the sludge out of the motor.
 

wheeliepete

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 28, 2016
2,047
757
61
Devon
didn't you mean outside the sea
Sorry Woosh, yes, i meant both sides. Possibly think about replacing the seal at service intervals. If it's an available common size, should only cost a few quid. Maybe someone could size it up next time they do a strip down.
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,381
16,878
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,381
16,878
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
I've read these are a big of a bugger to remove. Is that the case, or has anyone managed to remove one without damaging the seal?
I use one of these:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dental-Tooth-Cleaning-Kit-Dentist-Scraper-Pick-Tool-Calculus-Plaque-Flos-Remover/282523346129

but there are proper tools for this job:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silverline-Hook-Pick-Set-O-Ring-Oil-Seal-Remover-Carpenter-Mechanics-Tyre-Tool/113539114891

if you are in a hurry, use a sharp point to create a gap between the axle and the seal then push a bent spoke into the gap to get to the other side of the seal then you can pull the oil seal out.
BTW, use two bent spokes is better than one.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Fordulike

Deere John

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 13, 2015
532
580
47
EU
Got the shaft removed. Have inspected all bearings. Feels ok, needle bearings feel maybe not top notch but that can't be the problem. I thought it was the rotor inner bearing after seeing some videos but that one is ok. Very strange. Still think it was short-circuit of the hall sensors or something. The PCB is not coated. Very odd that they don't have it coated. Made for these kind of problems. Looks like **** in there.

Well. Now I can at least see if primary gearing works ok if I just assemble it and test spin.

P1060174.jpg

P1060163.jpg
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,381
16,878
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
As I am looking into selling the Gospade mid motor, Gospade sent me some pictures of the oil seals on the drive side of their motor. The cog held by the fingers is external and drives the chainring.



You see the care taken to avoid water ingress better on this picture of the chainring driver:



Bosch should watch out, the Chinese are catching up.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: Deere John

anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
7,845
5,786
The European Union
As I am looking into selling the Gospade mid motor, Gospade sent me some pictures of the oil seals on the drive side of their motor. The cog held by the fingers is external and drives the chainring.



You see the care taken to avoid water ingress better on this picture of the chainring driver:



Bosch should watch out, the Chinese are catching up.
Interesting looking motor, 2.7 kg? Is that a 104 BCD?
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,381
16,878
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
Interesting looking motor, 2.7 kg? Is that a 104 BCD?
yes, but I guess it's easy for Gospade to use the more popular 5 bolt 130 BCD like the Tongsheng TSDZ2.

more info here:
https://www.gospadebike.com/motor

They modified the standard motor for me to test with higher torque, not quite as strong as the 48V TSDZ2 but not far off, around 90NM.
the Gospade is quicker to install than the BBSes and TSDZ2.
Price-wise, same as TSDZ2.