motor cover full of dirt, e-connect chip exposed

[bike_ro]

Hi!

So I decided to take a quick look inside the motor cover of my haibike fullnine 8.0 2019.
I was shocked to see a lot of dirt which seems to enter from the above (it's not sealed or anything).
I also noticed that the haibike engineers decided to mount the e-connect chip inside the motor cover, thus exposing it to mud, dirt, water etc.
There is a protection for the wires but at the end, where the wires enter the chip, there is none - check the second pic.

What do you think? Is this poor design?
I'm planning on putting some duct tape where the mud and the water might enter but I'm also afraid that this might also limit the engine's cooling. What do you think?

 

[soundwave]

you could try some of this.
https://www.motolife.it/twin-air-160001-skid-plate-foam-300-x-120-x-40-mm-black.html

 

[Ballynoes]

Without sounding boring, I have covered this point several time on here before.

E Bikes are NOT waterproof, at best they are splash proof, and look where your motor is mounted, directly in the firing line of all the crap which comes off the front wheel.

You are one of the luck ones, most don't find this out until the motor bearings are knackered, and full of crud and sand.

It's an expensive lesson, but you now know what can happen, so I suggest you take the necessary steps to prevent it again.

As for motor cooling, I don't think it's a real issue, but I wouldn't seal it up like a Christmas Turkey either.

That is only the bash guard on the bottom of the motor so hopefully you will be fine, but the only way to check is to have a look at the actual motor itself, by taking it off the bike.

No need to dismantle the motor, as you are really interested in how much dirt etc has go through to it.

I know this will be met with the usual "I paid £3500 for a bike and I cant throw it around in the mud" , well NO unless you want to fill the motor with water and sand. And it's an expensive repair.

Until manufacturers make properly "waterproof" motors and electrics, caution is the name of the game I'm afraid.

Check the small print in the motor manual and see what it's IP rating is, my Bosch is IP44, Google that and be shocked.

 

[SAN]

I wouldn't be concerned about that. The box itself is probably molded in plastic and should be waterproof. The braiding is protection against rubbing of the cable itself. And the skidplate is not a motor cover but meant for protection from rocks and hard hits. What you could do is to tape or use some fishing line to prevent the braiding to stay in place and not "unwind".
Still, since I don't have E-connect myself, I wonder where do the cable exit the motor and how is that protected?

 

[georgehenry]

I have with some reservations to agree with Ballynoes. I have been using a Haibike sDuro Yamaha hard tail to commute to work on since 2015 with 10634 miles under its wheels.

The first motor was replaced under warranty after 6000 miles after play had developed and a worn bearing. The motor worked just as it always had , just the bearing had begun to wear noticeably.

This I am sure was a result of water ingress, possibly more as a result from cleaning than riding. I am now much more careful when cleaning the bike to keep water as much as possible away from any of the bearings.

However this does not mean that I shy away from riding the bike in wet and muddy conditions but try as much as possible to go round rather than through deeper muddy puddles off road.

I agree that the points where water might get in are not as water proof as they could be.

 

[Ballynoes]

I think it's all about giving people the correct information, and letting them use it accordingly.

I ride my EBike just the same as my normal bikes, as above, but avoid the worst of the mud and water, just for the sake of my motor.

But good to see that given a bit of care these bikes can still do 10,000's of miles.

 

[Barrio Barranco]

I'd noticed grass and stuff in the drain slot under my KTM Bosch "bash plate"(it's just plastic...). Just had a look under it by removing the front 3 torx screws (the 2 rear are too deep for my torx bits and the surrounding hole is too narrow for the bit). Thankfully there's no wiring so it won't need removed again but on dismantling one of the screws was hideously tight and I couldn't get it back fully in for fear of shearing it or stripping the alloy thread in the frame- someone has goofed assembling this. The 3rd higher up screw has a stupid nut that needs to slot into the frame, be turned 90 degrees and pulled against the frame while tightening....bit of a design disaster.... (I had to screw the bolt so the end was flush with the nut and put a small bit of gaffer tape on to enable this rotation or it was impossible to put back!)
I was out for 40km yesterday afternoon trying to find new trails in the area...ended up going down one that was marked as a 4 track and started as a hideous technical descent followed by a track/river which was channelling all the water runoff from above and had turned into a marshy bog...it was up to the discs half the time...not much fun- I can see myself choosing dry(ish) fire road/forest trails and flowing single tracks in the future- cursing and getting pi55ed off was what "real" mountain biking used to be about!!!

 

[Ballynoes]

For "real mountain biking", I just take my standard full sus bike and get it as dirty and wet as I want...

 

[EddiePJ]

For "real mountain biking", I just take my standard full sus bike and get it as dirty and wet as I want...

I never let mud and water worry me.