Thursday, 21 November 2019

another inspection and maintenance item

Something I've done before on my Mercane Single motor is to check and if needed attend to the suspension swing arm pivot. This sounds harder than it is, because in part the Mercane is an easy scooter to work on.

The suspension arm pivots around this point


there is one on each side, and both front and rear (so 4 bolts in all)

The covers have to come off so you'll need your 2.5mm allen key (that came with the scoot) and the 4mm allen key (that also came with the scoot). I'll be using my own tools here.


with the cover off you can see the bolt that needs inspection. The scoot does not need to be raised (unless you want to, I just sat on the floor) and you can just put in your allen key and test that it does not move when you attempt to tighten it (righty tighty). Mine did on one side and so I took it out, applied some permatex and replaced it. NOTE: it will probably only be one side because of the design.

While I was there I also checked that the axle nuts were tight (with the supplied 18mm spanner) (and again, righty tighty). Some small movement of the axle will occur because its keyed in (not perfectly circular) and can turn a few degrees ... don't mistake that for looseness. You'll see the axle move if you're careful as the indicator. All my nuts were tight (no comment).



Anyway, when looking at the bolt there was no evidence that any thread locker had ever been applied, there is of course a little grease there because the pivot is greased inside.

So I applied some

The astute will notice some silicon in places, this is because I put a small dab of silicon on the inside of the covers so that the outside small bolts just hold it in place and the silicon holds and prevents the plate from rattling ... inevitably some of that gets onto the swingarm as seen below. Its of no consequence.



So with that drop in place, I snuggled it in firmly but not "strip its threads tight", knowing that the permatex will indeed do the job of preventing it vibrating loose again.



Also a drop of permatex on those small bolts makes sure they can remain just firm (not even plastic cracking tight) and won't vibrate out.

So all in all I had to tighten 2 of the 4 pivot bolts.

For the curious watching this video will make it clearer how the pivot works. Start from this point if that video starts at the start ...



Why do this? Well keeping things running right is the most important way to prevent failures. I use my scooter hard and "a stitch in time saves 9".

Lastly I have a bunch of points on maintenance on this blog post. I mention over there the type of thread locker I use (permatex) and its important to get the right strength (doesn't matter if you prefer loctite as a brand, they have one too.



Enjoy

22 comments:

ceabbott2 said...

My son just bent the rear wheel so I'm going to have to order a whole new assembly. Have you ever removed the motor from the rim?

obakesan said...

Hi
no I haven't, but many report its very difficult. I see whole wheels (with tyre and motor) on AliExpress for about $200 that may be the simplest way. Also how bad is the ding? Mine has been going fine for months with a ding like these:
https://cjeastwd.blogspot.com/2019/07/things-that-go-bump.html

Ali Dalkus said...

Hi. I have a nosie on the rearsrear or the pivot. It is similar to what you wrote, noise like plastic cracking. And also I feel like the rear suspension is too tight since the beginning. Front is much softer I can see when I get on the deck. It just makes noise and the ride a bit uncomfortable. I will try to record a short video and send you the link

Ali Dalkus said...

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CeJArUT7koCUqJCV9. This is the cracking noise.

obakesan said...

aside from the usual creaking sound there is a popping sound which I've never heard before.

My first suspicion of where to look for that is where the springs seat in the swing arm levers themselves. You can perhaps see any signs of the spring not being properly glued.

Also take off the side covers and check that the rear bolts are tight. If they don't move then they're tight enough.

Ali Dalkus said...

Thanks for the answer and sorry for the mistyping, I was writing on mobile. I already tried taking off the side covers and bolt seem to be tight. Without side covers still the same noise. Suspension is very stiff although in the video you can see it is moving enough I guess.I weigh 82 kg BTW. It's a pity suspension/springs can not be adjusted to a softer setting.

obakesan said...

Ali, with everything comes a cost. Softer springs would require longer tavel, a higher board, more mechanical stresses. Then there is the undiscussed part of "unsprung mass ratio" to play in this. Soon enough the scooter starts to look like a Dualtron and then a Suron.

In reality the scooter weighs nothing and the role of the suspension is to take off the axle breaking sharpness of impacts, not provide for a hover-board like experience. Which it couldn't because of the reality of weight differences between riders.

Myself I consider the WW like a skateboard, I bend my knees (even as I do on skis on snow) and let the scooter move around under me.

Ali Dalkus said...

Good point. Cheers!

Ali Dalkus said...

I did the same check for from one and found out that one bolt(on the left side from front) was loose. Other side was not moving. I tightened it. I ordered permatex and once I receive it I will apply it. Except from that surprisingly the main bolt nut(right side) holding the front wheel was a bit loose as well. I feel safer now

obakesan said...

I belive that its common to mistake the front axle bolt for being loose when its actually not due to the fact that the axle can move a degree or so in the mount by design. Its because the chamfer off side of the axle to "key it in" to the front suspension arm (so that it doesn't twist) is again not NASA standard engineering fit and so therefore has some play.

The nuts should have permatex red on them (I'll be surprised and worried if they don't) meaning when / if you ever get around to removing them you'll need two really good and long spanners.

Just confirm that's what you're seeing, you can trivially simply confirm this by watching if the other nut moves when you (relatively easily) move the nut forward and backwards. Some movement is actually required (but only of the axle)

Ali Dalkus said...

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dMyJgsXMiKFfhcHh6
No permatex at all, clean. It was moving just a little bit. Except from the small movement it was loose again although I tightened it last time. I don't have permatex red, so I will apply blue and tighten it up. Let's see if it will hold it.

obakesan said...

Well that's an assembly omission ... good that you checked it!

I believe blue will do well enough (especially with some regular inspections). If you do get red you'll need to clean the threads before you use that. Myself I feel that red is too much for that application, and blue is sufficient.

Make sure you give it a few hours to cure before you expose it to vibrations (of riding)

Ali Dalkus said...

Thanks for the instructions. Should I wait some time before putting back the bolts or permatex doesn't need to get dry outside? I noticed it's quite liquid. Just applied on the bolts and waited for a while and tightened the bolts. It is night time in Europe, so there is no chance I ride it, so it will have the whole night with th permatex 😀

obakesan said...

Ali

> Should I wait some time before putting back the bolts or permatex doesn't need to get dry outside? I noticed it's quite liquid

no, as you'll note in my posts I put it straight in. The waiting to cure is done after its applied, so put a decent drop on the axle and put on the nut so that it drags itself across the drop distributing the permatex along its thread as it goes, then "make sure you wait a few hours before disturbing it" for maximum benefits.

Rider-Madrid said...

Hello colleagues, I am writing from Madrid I have a widewhell pro that I need to change the tire for, however I have not found any tutorial on the net to help me get it.
If any partner of the blog had a manual or tutorial that could be shared here to be able to change the tire, I would be very grateful, thank you very much in advance. 👍👍

obakesan said...

Hi Rider
well I guess that the steps are:

1) remove wheel from scooter (including threading out the power cable if its the rear)

2) take off all the bolts holding the two halves together. It basically clamps the tyre in the middle and attaches to the motor "rotor" while the axle is attached to the stator (coils), this is a picture of the motor with both sides removed and you can see the holes around the perimeter of the rotor: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8jO_PPJsttfUHFvcHQ4d0IwWF9fRG5kYlM3Zjk3OWM0enRJ

3) the removal of the halves may take some effort as they'll likely be "stuck" a little. I would strongly suggest a rubber hammer (should be about 15 bucks) so that you can hit things without smashing or denting them.

I have not done this yet to my rim (which is dented, but I would work on a bench, I have a small folding one which makes much of this work easier (as its also a clamp and has holes too. Mine is like this https://drive.google.com/open?id=1k5xMtDWyDv3yXF6M7EOgqvgh3P0L_bQj

also cost just $20

I believe that with some tyre irons inserted under the tyre and levering up against the rim (which has spines in it to grip the tyre) and tapping the rim you can encourage it off.

please post your findings

Ali Dalkus said...

Someone had exactly the same issue as me. Permatex saves lives 😊

LookaLook the first comment:
https://scooterhut.com.au/mercane-electric-scooter-widewheel-pro-dual-motor-15a/

Ali Dalkus said...

Hi again. Today I noticed that the main screen has some loose looking, seem to me that the bolts got loose, but when I check I noticed that the plastic mounting holding the bolts were broken(all 4). Very strange that in the first month I had many loose/unprotected bolts(even a missing bolt I mentioned before) but now in the second month another issue. See the second picture and other ones clearly visible the plastic parts. I am not going to pay for a new one as it will cost a lot. For now I tried to glue it with silicone and will see if it didn't work will try something stronger for plastic. Also all 4 plastic cover on swing arms are broken in the first month. For now duck tape holding them. I think the build quality for the plastic parts aren't good enough for the vibrations
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9XNVAVMeqBCwYGGa7

obakesan said...

Shit, that's crappy ... probably the same plastic as the covers.

I've had good success with a drop of superglue when repairing them. I'd take that off and the plastic supports, invert it so that they can sit there. A drop of glue (smaller is better than oozing) and let it sit overnight, then reassemble.

I'd also reach out to the seller because frankly that's crap

I'm pretty sure there was no permatex there ;-)

BTW the permatex experiment is "passed" with no observable weakening of the plastic

Ali Dalkus said...

Yeah. It's disappointing especially in the first months to have such problem. Swing arm covers I wouldn't mind that much. But the dashboard... And you can not buy only this part.
Good that we know it's not permatex, not user's fault.

Rider said...

Thank you very much for your help, although I have not yet started to do it since I need some tools and a work table similar to yours, when I am going to do it I will share it here.
Thank you very much 😏👍

Anonymous said...

I had an obnoxious noise that sounded a lot like what u r describing!! Man it drove me nuts too one day my WWP was a stealth ninja on the road next day man literally drove me to this obsessive point of not leaving it alone till I figured, fixed, plus assured never again will I lose sleep over this.

I must of taken almost every bolt off the rear end added some medium lock tight. A good hour later feeling confident that there's no way this sound can still be around. I step onto the scooter and of course not only is it still there it's flippin worse.

Instead throwing the entire scooter across the garage like a much younger immature me would of gone about handling things in the past. I have a slight temper tantrum and jump up and down on the scooter. Well thanks to my childish behavior I could hear exactly where and why it was happening. On the rear portion of the scooter where the brake light is. You'll notice that rear wheel mud gaurd or the darker grey plastic that's mounted by four screws from above the rear wheel tire that plastic is screwed onto the lighter grey part that the rear brake light is found on. Well they use the lamest most dinky kind of double sticky super thin rubber tape that once wet even just slightly it slips out and leaves those two plastics the perfect opportunity to rub themselves together causing that obnoxious sound. What I ended up doing was taking a box knife cutting a few strips of the foam that is used around the battery and controllers about 1/4 inch thick the full length of the foam and put one on each side of the imprinted part of that darker grey wheel flap. It made getting the original screws back in slightly harder I took my purse off and told the dang thing who's boss once u started all four screws suck them in as tight as possible of course adding that blue lock tight stuff. Since then I've maintained my sanity and have not had another squeek since other than brake pads from time to time