Here's all I wrote in my first inquiry yesterday:
Here's what I got back (note that I have not yet re-responded):
The first time I heard that Bafang had started offering its branded complete conversion kits in the US - battery, motor, etc - they was on eunarau's website well more than a year ago. As I remember it, eunarau claimed it had exclusive US selling rights.
That appears to have been short lived, as there have been no Bafang kits on that website dating back nearly a year. I also started noticing about a year ago that many quality bike brands - including Zen
- were using Bafang hub and mid motors as OEM on some models. Note: my estimated timing on all of that may be a bit askew thanks to pandemic-induced time warps...
Anyway, special thanks to
@Ravi Kempaiah for the offer to help clarify and resolve this directly with Bafang. (You may well know the answers already!) I'd especially love to find out whether m@Robertson's comment that the "third pin is a data path that handshakes with the battery to ensure its genuine Bafang before the battery will start accepting a charge." That of course would mean I could not use my smart charger, even if I'm able to find an adapter.
Regardless, I'd also like to know if Bafang has any North American authorized resellers of these new systems to ensure that post-warranty failed chargers, motors and/or worn out batteries can be
affordably replaced without having to wait a month to go through customs etc. If they don't, do they have plans to?
Hopefully so!
