Experiences riding a Yamaha eBike in the rain.

[Yamahonian]

I have a BH bike with a Yamaha PWX motor, external downtube battery.

It has no warranty coverage since it's a BH, and North America got screwed with the warranty service.

I have a trip to Acadia Park next week, and it will undoubtedly rain at some point during the day. I am fine riding in the rain, have a lot of waterproof clothing, but I am worried about the bike getting ruined.

Does anybody have experience riding this motor through the rain? Does it hold up fine? I know the manual says it is waterproof, but I would be interested in real world experiences.

I don't want to skip a day of biking because the forecast calls for scattered showers, but I will if there is a chance of damaging the bike.

@FlatSix911 @Mike TowpathTraveler @Ravi Kempaiah

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

The bike has a motor armor/shell that prevents dust/dirt from getting in and riding in drizzling rain is not an issue.
You may want to minimize riding in heavy rain. It is not the motor that causes problems in such conditions, but the electrical connection points. If I were you, I would put a small zip-lock/ transparent cover on the display and button pad.

 

[fooferdoggie]

don't worry about it cheap bikes cant handle rains but any decent bike is made for it. I ride my bosch powered bike in the worst rainy weather.

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

@Yamahonian: I agree with what Ravi says; bring along some zip-lock bags should it rain and cover the display and controller with them. Other than that, you'll be fine.

I can recall in the first few months of ownership with my Haibike Full FatSix, that I got caught out in an incredibly heavy thundershower that easily dropped at least 2 inches of rain where I was riding. As I was in the middle of NJ farmland country there was no area to pull over and hide, so I kept on riding through. No issues whatsoever with the PW system, though I did worry about shorting or grounding myself out with 36 volts dc in that super heavy downpour!

 

[PDoz]

I got 2 years of mountain bike riding on my first pwx , so rain, mud, puddles and the occasional creek crossing. After a particularly wet alpine crossing I started to get electrical glitches in the motor from a torque sensor - but we're talking a couple of hours torrential rain - 10 metre visibility.

The real issue is external plugs / connectors. If you intend to regularly expose the bike to water, it's a good investment to apply dielectric grease to every external connector.

 

[ruffruff]

I rode mine for a year through puddles, rain, mud, etc. I washed it regularly with a hose and brushes with no problems.
I actually would leave the battery on so it help seal up around the bottom connectors.