Known Issues & Problems with Motiv Products + Help, Solutions & Fixes

[Ann M.]

No ebike is perfect, this is a thread dedicated to sharing known issues or problems with electric bikes from Motiv as well as any help and solutions you know of. Sometimes that means a DIY fix and other times it can mean a recall, software update or part replacement by a dealer.

Please be respectful and constructive with feedback, this is not a space for hate speech. In many cases, representatives from the company will see feedback and use it to improve their product. In the end, the goal is to enjoy riding and help each other go further and be safer.

 

[RoadWrinkle]

Have owned a motiv cruiser since 2014, have about 500 miles on it. The BMS geared hub motor is pretty durable and the 48 volt/10Ah battery is still charging full and with the rated output. A better chain, chain ring and cassette is needed to avoid two reoccurring problems: chain slip and chainsuck. When you have to peddle a bit harder to get up a hill, even with careful shifting and cadence, these problems occur (this with a chain at the correct tension).

 

[Forever Blue]

I'd like to share my harrowing experience my fiance' & I have had the last year w/ the Stash model. With these Motivs, bought them (2) from a bike shop (not online) & we hadn't even had the bikes 1 year, but starting about 3-4 mos into buying them, we started having trouble & must have returned them to the bike shop 8-10x's to get repaired. The shop won't do anything except keep fixing them. We've contacted the Motiv co. directly & got a very brief, flippant, nonempathetic reply stating & I quote, "Any refunds have to be sorted out with dealer" when we explained in lengthy detail what's happened (faulty wires, throttle stopped working, bike doesn't accelerate, crank issue, strange noise, power cutting in and out, etc.)

Now, this is the latest that's happened:
So when we had to bring our bikes in for the latest time to get them fixed on Thursday, Feb. 17th and they were ready for pickup, which we went back the following day, the 18th. One of the bikes stopped working 3xs' all in a matter of minutes...the first time merely seconds from walking out of the bike shop BEFORE we even left the shop, so we left it there for additional repair, which took more days. Even a shop employee saw how we had to keep walking back in there too. That means we'll have to drive back a THIRD time over the course of 5 days.

This is not what we paid $3K total for...to have our bikes stop working every few weeks and we have to waste our time, gas money, and wear and tear on our car to bring them back repeatedly in 2+ hrs of round-trip fwy traffic. That's not the solution. It's like putting a band-aid on a gushing, open-infested wound. We never rode our bikes anywhere close in a rough way. It's casually on trails/in the park (never off-road, in the streets). They've stayed in the car when not riding them surrounded by pillows & folded blankets for cushioning, never out in the elements/rain, etc.

So it's pretty much guaranteed that every 2nd or 3rd ride, the bike(s) isn't/aren't going to start. The bike shop & the brand co. keep passing the responsibility to each other. No one wants to take responsibility. This was a total waste of VERY hard-earned money being that we're stuck with 2 lemons.