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Run into the ground or replace?
get it repaired at one of the repair places. Best done before you get further damage I guess. Depends a bit on what the noise is but my guess is bearings
Ok now the Forum has started playing nice ! My 3 year old Orbea Rise , Shimano EP8 motor I've noticed is starting to get a bit noisy , I'm guessing bearings . Going to a shop later for them to have a listen .They said Shimano have been quite helpful to original owners 12 to 18 months out of warranty with the cost of a replacement motor.
I still think 3 years and just 2,800 miles is a bit rubbish can only imagine if electric cars played up like that !
Anyone just carried on until the noise got really bad as I can't think it'll just fail suddenly?
Just had it plugged in and all's fine .
@tjagain I don't think any of the repair places touch Shimano motors ?
I know they are more difficult to get spares for for sure. dunno if anyone has managed to repair them .
I don't believe they can be repaired. Bearing man has always said No when asked.
Will a Shimano service centre service it for you?
That's something I plan on asking depending what the shop says today.
You can get bearing kits for Shimano motors, I think the issue is that no one has diagnostic software, so if you take it apart when it was working but just the bearings were knackered, and when you put it back together again it doesn’t work , there is naff all a shop can do (I would love to be told otherwise)
Other trouble with EP8’s is that from new they have play in the cranks, so how the hell are you supposed to tell when they are worn ?
I had the EP8 motor replaced on my Rise last month (a week inside the warranty period) as it was sounding like a bag of spanners.
None of the independent places I contacted were able to service or rebuild Shimano motors. The local Leisure Lakes Bikes were great and contacted Shimano who in turn asked for the motor to be send to them for assessment. They agreed the motor was wrecked and replaced it free of charge.
Strangely though, Shimano didn't identify it as a warranty exchange but as a discounted customer replacement sale where the discount was 100%.
Good luck getting yours sorted, @oldfart.
Thanks all , just spoke to a Shimano service centre near the bike shop I'm going to . They reckon it needs sorting sooner rather than later for 2 reasons. Obvious one it will only get worse and the earlier you do it the more sympathetic Shimano will be ?
Shouldn't really be will they won't they but ?
I had the EP8 motor replaced on my Rise last month (a week inside the warranty period) as it was sounding like a bag of spanners.
Thats interesting, maybe I should book my 2 year EP801 motor replacement service with LL now 18 months before its due 🤣
It really isnt good that Shimano are basically saying they are single use, none serviceable items.
What also worries me more is that Shimano are not coming to the market with an updated motor yet as everyone else is chasing more power. That to me makes me think they are about to launch or new completely different design motor, or get out of the motor market.
Having said that nothing in the ebike industry appears to be backwards compatible ie you cant mount a new EP801 motor in an old Orbea Rise frame. The market needs proper standards where mount points are the same you can at least swap motors over time
It really isnt good that Shimano are basically saying they are single use, none serviceable items.
Standard shimano
Given they all shimano motors get sent back to madison does anyone from madison care to elaborate if the old motors and casings are sent back to shimano or if they are landfilled? can STW towers do any investigation?
If they weren't sent to landfill, wouldn't they supply a resfurbished unit as warranty replacement? AFAIK everyone just gets a brand new unit. It's difficult to see any finanacial sense in reusing any internal components given the cost/hassle of removing the motor and sending back again if they go wrong.
I feel like they are pushing the idea of emtb's as disposable items. There's no official way of buying a motor other than via a shimano if you want to get a warranty on the motor, and they are entirely in control of the pricing. Outside of warranty you don't know if it'll be free due to good will or 1000 pounds or anywhere inbetween until you return it.
If you have to spend 1k on a 3 or 4 year old bike with worn battery and other bits, i guess many people would write it off.
I had an excellent service from https://www.ebikemotorcentre.com/ on my yamaha cargo unit.
new bearings throughout and and new drive gears where worn. Basically returned factory fresh. no idea if they do Shimano service, but they list shimano parts. Perhaps give them a call.
I had an excellent service from https://www.ebikemotorcentre.com/ on my yamaha cargo unit.
new bearings throughout and and new drive gears where worn. Basically returned factory fresh. no idea if they do Shimano service, but they list shimano parts. Perhaps give them a call.
They do not.
no official way of buying a motor other than via a shimano
shimano/madison in this country yes. in other countries you can buy them from a shop like buying a mech.
I cant remember the reasoning for the madison only thing - probably brexit!
it would be better if they were serviceable. but i guess that would only be applicable after warrenty - and lets be honest id rather have a warrenty for an eeb motor. regardless of manufacturer. servicing costs would likely be in the order of the cost of the replacement unit.
obviously servicing and less waste/landfill is better though.
servicing costs would likely be in the order of the cost of the replacement unit.
From what I can tell servicing is approx £300, a new motor £1,000 so not comparable