bikeman242
Active Member
Completely agree about parts availability in our country or Canada for that matter for the Yamaha ebike drive system. It's totally unsatisfactory.
Most everything about US ebiking is making the sale of the complete ebike. But when it comes to repairing your drive system, you have to invest alot of internet time looking for that ONE dealer who might carry the particular part you need. Chances are, you won't find it cause it's just not there. And should an internal motor or battery issue pop up, the drive component becomes a static piece of a paper weight.
No battery re-celling available for this drive; no BMS replacement part, no torque sensors, no internal motor circuitry boards to be had. People in the United States should not have to go to an European online bike supply dealer for a part that should have been long, long ago stocked by US Yamaha ebike drive dealers. Rant over.
Good news, I am able to access that bolt on the drive side hiding under the chainring without having to remove the chainring, and the little plastic clip that the sensor wire feeds through is in fact split, so once I get the replacement cable I should be able to feed it through the clip.
I now have to source the cable. With shipping, buying it from Europe will cost $80 USD, which is rediculous.
After an extensive google search that produced few results, it appears this cable comes in a few lengths, as per Raleigh:
And the length I need for the PW-X is 650mm, which is sold at the RideIt shop that Mike linked too in Italy, and also here:
Yamaha E- bike Speed sensor without
✔ Yamaha electric bike speed sensor without magnet ➤ online shop
I bought the bike from Crazy Lenny's less than two years ago, I will call them tomorrow to see if they can get a replacement from Yamaha. This will be interesting to see how their support is after the sale.
If they don't help, I will try local Giant dealers, as this should be the same cable on their SyncDrive Pro motors from a few years ago.
Worst case, I'll have to pay up and import from Europe. My next eBike will be a Bosch for the replacement parts issues that I now realize are endemic to eBiking in the USA.
In the meantime, is anybody aware of any YouTube videos for dropping a pw-x motor? I can find videos for the pw and pw-se, but not pw-x.
On the drive side of the bike, there is an 11nm bolt hiding under the chainring, another 11nm bolt just below the battery terminals, and five 3mm bolts around the skid plate.
On the non-drive side, there is a 22nm bolt near the back of the motor (by the rear wheel), another 22nm bolt under the battery terminal, and two 3mm bolts around the skid plate. There are also three bolts surrounding the part containing the Yamaha logo.
I am not sure which bolts require removal, but I believe I will do a better job taking my time than a local dealer will, and plan to do the job myself.
On a side-note, Mike, you mentioned that to remove the chainring from the spider I will need a special nut for taking out the PW-X crank. At some point that chainring will need replacement, as I am at 3000 miles on the bike.
I have never removed a chainring myself (on any bike), and am not sure how it disconnects from the spider, but if I need a proprietary part for the pw-x to replace the chainring, then this sounds like another guaranteed problem for down the road.
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