Dual Battery Homage rattles

[Alaskan]

Has anyone else with a Homage with dual batteries had issues with rattles coming from the battery and cover over rough road surface? I find it irritating for such an otherwise smooth riding bike, listening to rattles and clatters going over bumps and ruts. I have had to resort to a black elastic strap around the battery and downtube. That hold everything more firmly together, eliminating the rattles.

Also my experience with the Tenax clasp that secures the downtube battery door has not been great. It is made out of brass and the three leaves inside the female side of the socket get easily deformed if the door is not closed squarely. This makes the closure not secure. I have sourced stainless Tenax fasteners, which are used by Porsche for their convertible covers, They are much more durable than the black chromed brass ones that come on the bike.

This site is under construction.

This site is under construction.

 

[dblhelix]

Has anyone else with a Homage with dual batteries had issues with rattles coming from the battery and cover over rough road surface? I find it irritating for such an otherwise smooth riding bike, listening to rattles and clatters going over bumps and ruts. I have had to resort to a black elastic strap around the battery and downtube. That hold everything more firmly together, eliminating the rattles.

Also my experience with the Tenax clasp that secures the downtube battery door has not been great. It is made out of brass and the three leaves inside the female side of the socket get easily deformed if the door is not closed squarely. This makes the closure not secure. I have sourced stainless Tenax fasteners, which are used by Porsche for their convertible covers, They are much more durable than the black chromed brass ones that come on the bike.

This site is under construction.

This site is under construction.

Now that you mention it, I hear lout clattering over gravel/bumpy roads that I’m on. I think I will have to test with/without strap before attributing it to the downtube battery. This is a Nevo GX which must be somewhat similar in design.

Fair warning to Nevo owners. I found a trim piece from the external battery hardware dangling by one sticky dot of adhesive on my frame. It appears to provide some weather resistance to protect the cabling. It is held in place by some tiype of glue/adhesive! Not impressive. See picture for location and residual adhesive. I was lucky to see it on the road and pack the piece away, but it seems that an unsuspecting rider could easily lose it on the trail somewhere.

I looked at Homage pictures but couldn’t see if you have the same piece, as your external battery is mounte much lower.

 

[Dionigi]

I’ve had similar issues with the single battery Nevo. If your noise is coming from the piggyback battery (similar to the single Nevo mount) then there is an adjustment for the latch that seemed to solve my rattling battery issue. As for the Nevo angled cover under the battery the adhesive tape does fail with time. I replaced the tape with a few dabs of silicon flexible glue making a secure but removable bond.

 

[Alaskan]

When you get the two battery option, the 2019 Homage has a hinged aluminum door that covers the power tube battery inside the downtube. The older style power pack is mounted on that door. If you were to try designing something that, by its nature, will be likely to rattle, this is it.

Using a combination of self adhesive neoprene weather stripping where the edges of the door almost touch the downtube cavity and the Nite Ize Better Bands (2 for $4 on ebay) the bike is now quiet except for the fenders on big bumps. I think it is darn near impossible to have fenders that make no noise. The12' Nite Ize bands are just the right length and tension to wrap around the battery and downtube to quiet it down. They are thin, black and barely visible.

 

[sfnorton]

Mine does not make any noise yet but it’s only a few months old. It did come with a fairly thick high density foam cushion installed. I recently did have to tighten the two screws that hold the battery door on. The screws are on the inside of the door way down at the bottom. One screw can be tightened by a hole that passes through the frame. The other screw is a bit harder. I inserted a the appropriate hex bit into the screw head (sans handle) and turned the bit with an open end wrench. If it loosens again I’ll apply some Locktight. Fenders still quiet thank god. Rattles drive me nuts!

 

[Alaskan]

Mine does not make any noise yet but it’s only a few months old. It did come with a fairly thick high density foam cushion installed. I recently did have to tighten the two screws that hold the battery door on. The screws are on the inside of the door way down at the bottom. One screw can be tightened by a hole that passes through the frame. The other screw is a bit harder. I inserted a the appropriate hex bit into the screw head (sans handle) and turned the bit with an open end wrench. If it loosens again I’ll apply some Locktight. Fenders still quiet thank god. Rattles drive me nuts!

Thanks for the report. Where exactly is the foam cushion that came installed on your bike? Mine had a couple of 1/2"foam strips between the cover and the down tube. I have added more stick neoprene foam weather strips to quiet things down.

I also had the same issue with the screw loosening on the lower second batter mount. I have a very handy, ratcheting, low profile bit driver that gets into low clearance spots.

 

[Norm Harrris]

I had similar rattles only when the second battery was aboard. My LBS found that the screws supporting the lower mount were loose; this was obvious when I wiggled the batteries on floor sample Homages. Tightening them was about a half hour job as they are difficult to reach. But, no more rattle now.

 

[Alaskan]

I had similar rattles only when the second battery was aboard. My LBS found that the screws supporting the lower mount were loose; this was obvious when I wiggled the batteries on floor sample Homages. Tightening them was about a half hour job as they are difficult to reach. But, no more rattle now.

Hopefully they used some Loctight 242 blue thread sealant so that it won't vibrate loose again.

 

[sfnorton]

Thanks for the report. Where exactly is the foam cushion that came installed on your bike? Mine had a couple of 1/2"foam strips between the cover and the down tube. I have added more stick neoprene foam weather strips to quiet things down.

I also had the same issue with the screw loosening on the lower second batter mount. I have a very handy, ratcheting, low profile bit driver that gets into low clearance spots.

It’s sounds like the same foam yours came with so mine will probably need more foam as well. I’d like to run some around the entire inside edge of the door to make things more weather proof.

 

[Norm Harrris]

I now have a higher pitched rattle that comes from rear of the bike when riding on minimally uneven surface. It sounds like something is loose and vibrating, but I sure can’t isolate what is rattling.

 

[Alaskan]

It’s sounds like the same foam yours came with so mine will probably need more foam as well. I’d like to run some around the entire inside edge of the door to make things more weather proof.

I added quite a bit more, 1/4x1/2 black neoprene with peal off tape and adhesive on one side, adhered to the edge of the battery opening on the down tube. I did leave some gaps though, thinking that it might be best to have some ventilation and air circulation in there. If a battery ever developed a leak and started gassing off, it is likely safest for it to vent freely.

Checking in with the service folks at L.A. Fly Rides, they have another Homage that has had the top latch fail on the battery door/cover. They agreed that the Tenax stainless latch I highlighted a while back in this thread. makes more sense than the painted brass one that came on the bike (brass being so much softer and malleable). By the way these are the same latches Porsche uses on their convertible covers.

 

[davidy52]

I added quite a bit more, 1/4x1/2 black neoprene with peal off tape and adhesive on one side, adhered to the edge of the battery opening on the down tube. I did leave some gaps though, thinking that it might be best to have some ventilation and air circulation in there. If a battery ever developed a leak and started gassing off, it is likely safest for it to vent freely.

Checking in with the service folks at L.A. Fly Rides, they have another Homage that has had the top latch fail on the battery door/cover. They agreed that the Tenax stainless latch I highlighted a while back in this thread. makes more sense than the painted brass one that came on the bike (brass being so much softer and malleable). By the way these are the same latches Porsche uses on their convertible covers.

I hope that someone communicates this information to Riese & Müller. They might choose to implement the stainless steel latch on future builds.

 

[Alaskan]

I now have a higher pitched rattle that comes from rear of the bike when riding on minimally uneven surface. It sounds like something is loose and vibrating, but I sure can’t isolate what is rattling.

Check the tightness of the rear axle. I believe t
It should be tightened to 20-25 NM.

 

[sfnorton]

I added quite a bit more, 1/4x1/2 black neoprene with peal off tape and adhesive on one side, adhered to the edge of the battery opening on the down tube. I did leave some gaps though, thinking that it might be best to have some ventilation and air circulation in there. If a battery ever developed a leak and started gassing off, it is likely safest for it to vent freely.

Checking in with the service folks at L.A. Fly Rides, they have another Homage that has had the top latch fail on the battery door/cover. They agreed that the Tenax stainless latch I highlighted a while back in this thread. makes more sense than the painted brass one that came on the bike (brass being so much softer and malleable). By the way these are the same latches Porsche uses on their convertible covers.

I’m about to order some neoprene tape and wanted to check with you on the thickness you employed. The bit of tape that they included around the clasp looks to be 1/8in thick. You mentioned that you used 1/4in thick material. Would you recommend 1/4 or 1/8th? I looked at my clasp and it is indeed deforming so I’m getting a couple of those stainless steel ones you‘ve found. Thanks for the info and part sourcing!

 

[Alaskan]

1/4 is what I used. Be sure it is neoprene and not some foam that will crumble in a few months.

 

[Zaphod]

Has anyone else with a Homage with dual batteries had issues with rattles coming from the battery and cover over rough road surface? I find it irritating for such an otherwise smooth riding bike, listening to rattles and clatters going over bumps and ruts. I have had to resort to a black elastic strap around the battery and downtube. That hold everything more firmly together, eliminating the rattles.

Also my experience with the Tenax clasp that secures the downtube battery door has not been great. It is made out of brass and the three leaves inside the female side of the socket get easily deformed if the door is not closed squarely. This makes the closure not secure. I have sourced stainless Tenax fasteners, which are used by Porsche for their convertible covers, They are much more durable than the black chromed brass ones that come on the bike.

This site is under construction.

This site is under construction.

@Alaskan Do you know which length is needed for the Homage: 12mm, 16mm, 20mm, 25mm?

 

[Alaskan]

@Alaskan Do you know which length is needed for the Homage: 12mm, 16mm, 20mm, 25mm?

If you are referring to the threaded stud of the little ball that gets locked on to and passes through the cover, it is 10mm

 

[Zaphod]

I am looking at the TENAX Machine Screw Peg. I followed your link to the store selling them. It only comes in 12mm, 16mm, 20mm and 25mm sizes. Not sure how they measure it on the web site. Is it the complete length or the length of the threads? I don't know. Have you bought one and fitted it on your Homage?

 

[Alaskan]

I did install it purchased from Eagle Day. It measures 10mm but I looked up my order and it says 12mm which is the same length as the brass OEM one.

 

[Zaphod]

Thanks! That's all I needed to know. I'll order a set straightaway. I have only opened the brass one on my Homage a few times and it is already showing wear.