First ride with the Archon X1 upgrade!

[TomW]

You do not need to touch the Bolts. And you will not budge them no matter how hard you turn them in either direction they are designed to act as mounting posts rather than bolts,
As Kurt has advised you need to take the plastic cover off I think it has 3 phillips head screw's (that covers the wiring) on the non drive side. And you will see three nuts in that space.

It is easier upside down that is for sure but,
If you are going to turn your bike upside down then get some bits of wood or something and place them under your grips to stop your display, gear pods etc getting knocked or scratched.

Edit, you will also have to remove the chainring and spider first.

 

[pushkar]

Here is a quick video someone made -

I am taking some screenshots but video will get you there faster.

 

[byunbee]

Hey pushkar, I'm trying to get the motor off my Frey CC and assuming I just need to turn these three bolts counterclockwise. They aren't budging at all. Just want to make sure I'm turning them the right direction lol.

Hey Tom, I thought you sent the motor from the CC to get the controller installed. Did you buy a completely new motor?

 

[byunbee]

Here is a quick video someone made -

I am taking some screenshots but video will get you there faster.

Not the best instructional video I’ve seen, but I guess it’s enough to get you through the process.

 

[TomD]

Hey Tom, I thought you sent the motor from the CC to get the controller installed. Did you buy a completely new motor?

Pushkar shipped my superbike motor in advance. I will ship back the motor from my CC to install in the superbike when it ships.

 

[byunbee]

Pushkar shipped my superbike motor in advance. I will ship back the motor from my CC to install in the superbike when it ships.

Ah...I see. That's pretty cool. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the motor on the CC.

 

[AdilDesai]

Pushkar shipped my superbike motor in advance. I will ship back the motor from my CC to install in the superbike when it ships.

That @pushkar does good customer service!

 

[Ayl]

I concur with @AdilDesai.

 

[TomD]

Got my old motor off and the new motor on. Holy cow, what an ordeal. Wasn't so bad figuring out what wires to plug in, but putting the motor back on while trying to tuck the wires underneath with very limited clearance involved many curse words over a span of a couple hours. I think I'd rather install Tannus Armour on a dozen bikes.

Almost there but I can't seem to get the crank arms off my old motor to be able to unscrew the chainring spider. Any tips on removing stuck cranks other than hammering them off?

 

[pushkar]

Use an isis crank puller. Park Tool CCP-44C ISIS/Octalink Crank Puller https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B001N883JS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_i0oeFb7KR27JE

 

[Ayl]

@tomdav if you have a regular crank arm extractor, just slip in a bolt in the center so the crank arm extractor has something to push against.

 

[Ayl]

I've installed my upgraded Bafang Ultra engine and took it out for a quick spin. I only went a couple of miles but never made it out of eco green PAS 3. Most of my ride was in PAS 1 and 2. The acceleration was smooth but quick and it really feels like I have a new ebike. I'm planning a longer ride Sunday and will write a review later.

 

[onlineaddy]

I love hearing all this feedback on the Ultra w/Archon. I’m more excited than ever for the superbike!

 

[Praxx62]

I got the upgrade today. Thank you Pushkar. Now I have a new bike. I went for a short, 15 mile ride, and had a blast. The power comes on so much smother. The motor seems more powerful and the UCP seems much quicker. I’m turning 70 shortly and prior to the upgrade I tended to ride at approximately 15 MPH. Today, I found myself going along at 18-20 MPH and loving it. I can’t wait to take it on a longer ride to find out how long I can maintain that speed.

I think Archon X1 is delivering everything Pushkar said it would and then some. BTW, I had my controller tuned for 1000 watts nominal, 1600 watts peak and it gives me all the get up and go I can handle and it flattens the hills in my area. If you go for 2300 watts upgrade I think you’ll find yourself sitting on a rocket and having a blast. Get this upgrade, have fun and stay safe.

Thanks for your info I'm going to start the process of sending my motor to him I have a Frey CC

 

[Praxx62]

Got my old motor off and the new motor on. Holy cow, what an ordeal. Wasn't so bad figuring out what wires to plug in, but putting the motor back on while trying to tuck the wires underneath with very limited clearance involved many curse words over a span of a couple hours. I think I'd rather install Tannus Armour on a dozen bikes.

Almost there but I can't seem to get the crank arms off my old motor to be able to unscrew the chainring spider. Any tips on removing stuck cranks other than hammering them off?

Thanks for the info I am also going to remove my motor and send it in to get the new controller

 

[TomD]

Finally got mine installed. Found a crank extractor in my Luna tool kit as well as bottom bracket tool to get the chainring spider off. Neither were ideal. The crank extractor was missing a plug so I needed to improvise inserting a long piece of metal thru the hollow spindle which I capped at the other end. The bottom bracket tool worked to get the spider off but required LOT of patience and elbow grease. Really needed a socket type tool to have more leverage without slipping off easily.. If anyone is swapping motors as opposed to swapping controllers I would definitely recommend getting the appropriate tools to remove the cranks and spider, not these:

Finally finished up at 3AM in the morning. It is raining today so won't be able to provide more impressions for now but took it out for a short ride before going to bed. My initial impression is that pedal lag is still there. I was expecting more of an immediate response when applying pressure to the pedals. Once the power kicks in it's definitely smoother, with no annoying oscillating power delivery. I could not test throttle as my throttle cable has a short (noticed this before swapping motors). I did not ride for long as it was pitch black and I could not get my lights to work. Only to realize when I came in and read the important notes before going to bed...

At the moment the controller does not support headlight or tail light output due to signal interference issues. We are working on it but this is a 2021 item.

I must have glossed over this nugget when ordering. A bit bummed about riding for the rest of 2020 without functioning brake lights. Will be easier to come up with a makeshift front light.

 

[onlineaddy]

At the moment the controller does not support headlight or tail light output due to signal interference issues. We are working on it but this is a 2021 item.

@pushkar the superbike will be released with non-functioning lights? Or, is this why you're wiring the lights directly into the battery?

 

[pushkar]

Our bikes will have supernova lights on it. Direct to battery.

The default light option will be the Lezyne battery operated smart lights or the smaller version of Supernova (mini pro) .

The hardware / stepdown converter is already on the chip - we can technically enable it but the transformer interferes with it after 5-10 minutes of running.

@tomdav I will ship you the lezyne KTV Pro rear light for the time being.

 

[TomD]

Thanks pushkar, so is this definitely resolvable? I can see this being a big issue for some.

 

[byunbee]

The hardware / stepdown converter is already on the chip - we can technically enable it but the transformer interferes with it after 5-10 minutes of running.
@tomdav I will ship you the lezyne KTV Pro rear light for the time being.

@pushkar, What does this mean in terms of when this issue is resolved in 2021? Will it just be a firmware update or will it require a new controller? It sounds like at minimum, it will require rerouting of the light's power cables to utilize the controller instead of direct connection to the battery. More insight would be appreciated.