JerMc

ScootOnThis has a second battery for 125.95 plus 19.95 shipping. https://www.scootonthis.com/prod_parts.html#Batteries

CBR1100XX

Has anyone seen these bikes in stock at a Wal-Mart in Massachusetts?. Or possibly southern New Hampshire?

I really wish Wal-Mart would actually have a online stock inventory for their stores like a lot of other retailers

WJChris

Follow up to my comment about the bike weight:

Its 87 pounds with both batteries. My bag gets up to about 5 pounds with the water I bring along.

CBR1100XX:

The stock is going quickly because demand has gone through the roof!! Currie can barely keep up and they have hired several more people.

CBR1100XX

I know, this economy right now is crazy. Last week I brought my girlfriend to the motorcycle shop down the road to look at their scooters. The salesman there who I always by my bikes from was on the phone, it was a person asking about scooters. He says hello the phone rings again another person about scooters. Everyone is just sold out of anything that is fuel-efficient, the only thing they have left were mopeds. And as for regular motorcycles I have never seen that shop so empty, people are just grabbing up anything that will save them some money on commuting

donob08

Cathy
I think Mr tpreitzel may work for Currie or for other reasons has ideas not appropriate for enthusiasts. I try not to read his posts.

donob08

In the pursuit of openess, which I believe in My Name is Don E O'Brien, my Currie Customer ID is DOB10.

donob08

Mr tpreitzel

I want to apologize. My mama taught me to accept the views of people I didn't agree with. Earlier today I broke from her teachings. I'm sorry. I think your ideas are every bit as good as any one else's.

tpreitzel

donob08 -

Did I miss something?

P.S. Oh, I see. No, I don't work for Currie, and I don't mind if people ignore my posts. Someone who finds the information useful is bound to trip over my words eventually. However, is Currie a publicly traded company?

How2

Hi ckasper and welcome to the forum.

I had this same problem with my battery popping up on certain bumps and I too could not get it to lock. So I played with it a bit and found that by pushing the battery down with weight while in the rack, I can get the lock to align in the hole. I too thought about filing it so it would be easier to lock, but I like the tight fit it has. I know now that when I hit a bump, it's locked in tight. You might try this before filing.

How2

Wow.. what a bunch of hoo haa haa about batteries.

tpreitzel... do you actually own and ride an ezip on a regular basis? The reason i ask is that you seem to be offering theory and generalizations, where everyone else here is giving practical every day experience. There's nothing wrong with generalizing as long as you don't purport your generalizations to be scientific fact. What you have said about SLAs is 'generally accepted' advice, but it doesn't seem all that practical when applied to the Ezip and its ridership.

Let me just give some other real life data. I have had my ezip for 2 months now and I regularly ride it 14 miles without another charge and with pedal assist. Cathy is not an exceptional rider (although she is in much better shape than I!), she is just savvy to extending the range of her batteries, something you LEARN to do the more you ride the bike. The more I pedal assist, the further I can go. (whether rain, hills, wind resistance are factors or not.) With no pedal assist, I get about 6 miles. I have the same bike as Cathy. I am 5'7" and weigh more than... hmmm... do i want to tell this part********** I have lost 15 lbs since using this bike on a daily basis and expect to continue to improve my health.. but I am still above 225 lbs... I have also carried about 60lbs of groceries bungee corded to the back rack. I am heavy, the bike is heavy, the groceries were heavy, but all is well. I am sure to check and tighten the nuts and bolts on a regular basis and my tire pressure is checked every day to be sure I am at 60psi. (I have a cheapo air compressor that I got at Wally World when I picked up my bike which makes this super easy) I have ridden the battery down to the red only light several times (and i really get nothing from the motor except sound at that point), and it is usually when i am very close to home, and i put it on the charger right away. After a couple of months of putting this bike through its paces.. my batts are still performing very well! Currie says i should get 300 charges on their pack... I figure I have put about 130 charges on it so far, so I am about half way through its life. (sometimes I charge more than twice per day! woohooo!)

If you dont want to pedal at all.. you will get 6-9 miles on one stock 24v 10ah Currie battery pack. The reason I say 6-9 is because I weigh more and get 6 miles, but have discussed ranges with others and a 150lb rider I know gets 9-10 miles unassisted.

DONT PAY THROUGH THE NOSE TO REPLACE BATTERIES (unless you are switching away from sla's to nimh or lipo):

The Currie batt pack: open the case and you will find that it consists of 2-12v 10ah sla batteries wired in series, a BMS-Battery Mgmt System, and a fuse. You can replace these batteries for $60-70, or pay Currie or someone else double or more than double for their cute proprietary pack. If you want a 2nd standard pack to double your mileage range, then get it from Currie or someone that sells it, BUT FROM THEN ON... REPLACE THE BATTERIES YOURSELF. It is easy!!!!!! (unless you have money to burn, then you can forever pay more than double and get your replacements from Currie - if you do that, will you please let me know - send me a private message on this forum - as I would LOVE to have your used Currie case... I want another case, but I won't pay the exhorbitant double fee.)

If you want to get even more adventurous and cost cutting. Check out these links that describe some folks modifying the Currie case to fit Lithium Ion batteries inside, or ditch the case altogether and attach whatever batteries you desire easily to the nicely modifiable battery connections at the bottom of the battery rack.

This entire thread is quite interesting with lots of pics of an opened currie batt pack, and modifications:
https://www.endless-sphere.com/forums...ttery&start=15

Battery rack modification - Scroll through the pages of this thread, there are handy photographs:
https://www.endless-sphere.com/forums...d=a&hilit=ezip

Checkout this video of an ezip modification:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=F-D0DHKPSoc

Checkout the threads in this forum. The admin here has an ezip and is modifying it in many aspects:
https://www.ecoforumz.com/ecar-ebike-...c-bicycle.html

I am learning many new things, getting into shape, and having a blast! I feel like a kid again.

How2

here's some helpful tips and diagrams for Ezip enthusiasts:
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ckasper

Hi,


Ok, I'm on day 5 of E-zip bike commuting (8 miles each way). I was frustrated because the standard pannier racks would not fit, they wanted to clip on to the missing piece of the rack missing for the battery. So... I devised a low tech solution involving a wire closet basket, 4 hose clamps and a wire cutter to cut out an opening for the battery. So far so good. See attached picture if you want to see the beast

leamcorp

That's awesome!

lynnala

Thank you How2, that's great info!

How2

CKASPER -- a toast to you my friend. That is BRILLIANT!

donob08

ckasper
Nice idea! We can always use practical info to solve real problems of eZip users.

Another approach I used was to buy some racks for the front. Mine are Delta Megaracks for forks with shocks, subtitle Shocktreatment racks. I like them because they put the weight low. The pannier is 1/3 below the front axle. Some day I'm going to write about the scooter headlight I got from a scooter store, to be driven by the 24 volt batteries, the minoura front fork light mount, the place to get 40 amp fuses, the ones in the battery case. And the Power Grips to keep your foot conveniently on the pedal, the little outlet tester I carry so I can check whether publicly accessible outlets have power before unpacking, the Loghouse Rain Cape to keep a commuter dry .....

I think MR tprietzel's info has value and has a place. Maybe we should have icons identifying Theoretical and Applied separately.

vermontcathy

One comment on the issue of the battery bouncing loose from the contacts. This has happened to me. But I also found another cause for having no power all of a sudden when I needed it on a hill..... I had gone more than 5 minutes without using the motor and so it shut itself off!!!

So, now if I'm doing a good bit of flats or downhills without using the motor, I'll just give the throttle a little twist every few minutes.

Also, with regards to comments on my efficient style. Yes, it's different than just going out for fun. I am faced with a dilemma - I need at least some battery power to last the whole way to work - to get up that last hill. So I have no choice - I have to do a lot of the work myself, and pedal. Fear (of running out of power before getting up the last hill) is a great motivator. Also, I like knowing that I am getting exercise. I swear I loose a pound each time I ride the bike round trip to work.

donob08

vCathy
Not to intrude on your privacy, but I'd guess some might say you might not need to lose a pound every day you work. In the 10 or so weeks I've been commuting, at first I lost weight. Now I just lose inches off my waist and that's with eating like a horse. I just had my physical. Doc said 'whatever you're doing, keep it up'.
I do feel better than I have in a long time.

lynnala

ckasper, great idea! I just attach a plastic milk crate onto mine with bungee cords.

lynnala

VC, I discovered the same thing, unfortunately right when I wanted to start up a steep hill. I had to backtrack a bit and flip the switch again. I wish there was some way around this, but it does help when I've forgotten to turn the battery off when I go in a store. So now I give the throttle a little twist every couple of minutes too.

How2

There are probably several ways around this but here are the two I've thought of:

1) Even though you are trying to conserve batts, every so often give the throttle a little twist and the motor will not be off when you need it. (this is what I do... I also have a timer on my bike so I can gauge the 5 min if I'm ever worried about it, but sometimes... I still go over the 5 minute limit)

2) On the 2008 model the switch is in a really inconvenient place; in the control box under the rack. You could purchase another switch and some wire from an electronics shop (electronic goldmine is a good online source) and remount and rewire your new switch somewhere else on the bike. I've been thinking about doing this but haven't opened up the control box yet.. maybe I should check this out!

WJChris

I agree, getting off the bike to switch to the other batter is ridiculous.

I too will open up the controller and wire my 2 batteries in parallel and add another 12 in series with that... fun!

How2

DONOB.. please, please, please take some pics of that front rack that you have with and without the paniers attached. I was just today looking at CETMA front racks and thought I was all set to carry nice loads up front, but then found out that those racks won't work with our bikes because of the shocks. I did not want to use panniers up front, but it is looking like I'm going to have to go that route.

HOLY SMOKES!!! Take pics of that cruisin' machine asap!! And everything you've mentioned I would love to hear how and where and all the details. Please share with us.

How2

perhaps this is a silly question... but... does anyone know where i can find a nice strong milk crate. I can find the collapsible ones, and the really flimsy ones, but can't seem to find the nice strong, tough, plastic ones.

How2

Hi WJChris... I took the top off the back rack to open up the control box because I wanted to see how things are wired in there to the switch. It looks like it would be pretty easy to rewire a new switch elsewhere on the bike by tapping into the wires that are there already. But things are always easier said than done. It's a project, that will probably wait for the winter months to get started.

In regards to the batteries.. if you are wanting to add another 12volts to make 36volts, you will need to modify the existing wiring in the battery case.. and not the control box. I suppose you could ditch the battery case altogether, and rewire the whole thing (all 3 12v batts) to the connections in the control box, but so far, I have only seen others rewire to the loop screws located under the grey plug in terminals at the bottom of the battery rack. I've seen folks talk about wiring their batts to the control box, but have yet to see anyone actually make their battery connections there. The control box is pretty crowded. Check out some of the links I posted above for pictures and details. (I took some pics because I finally got my camera fixed, but now the download cable is missing... grrrrr... gotta find that!)