Changing motor bearings

Evolve need to recognise that the bearings in the motors that they are using are suspect. There are clearly lots of us with this issue. Evolve support UK have suggested I can pop my motors back for repair if I can't fix it by swapping out the bearings. That's great news

 

Success! Two new ceramic bearings in the motors. So much quieter! Stoked. Thanks for the info.

 

^ Cool!

The other part that we may need at a later date is that brass bushing, that essentially is called a bearing as well. That will wear more as your ride in dusty/dirty environments since its on the unprotected side of the motor with the cooling vents..... but they tend to hold up pretty well usually. So possibly some of us may never need to replace that one.

 

There is two of those little spacer bearings right? One motor the shaft fitted through them well. The other one popped them out and I had to bang them onto the shaft which I thought may stuff them up. But all ok so far. Might be worth getting a new motor when too many parts stuff up.

Also the std motor bearings don't actually seem to be cheap bearings. See attached

 

Deep groove bearings support higher loads, the Bronson's appear to be deep grove type of bearings. They, Bronson, call it deep grove raceway, so the channel where the ball bearing goes into. I guess we'll see if those who put the non-deep groove bearings hold up as long as the groove type. The only load I see on the bearing is the side load from the belt's tension upon the motor pulley.

 

Also keep in mind an expensive bearing used in a way that it was not intended still won't last.

 

So the deep groove have a larger balls then?

Looks like I'll be smacking that motor apart quite often then! At least they are quiet now. I was getting a really loud resonance from both motors at around 12kmh. That's completely gone.

 

Essentially the balls should be slightly larger to fit deeper into the more recessed race of the 'deep groove' bearings. I also see that word used as a marketing term, so people can market a deep groove bearing when its not. The regular bearings should work fine for the motors, I wouldn't worry. in all honesty, skateboarding bearings are not the correct bearings for the wheels. The typical skate bearing does nothing for the side to side loads put to it when carving. Tapered bearings handle side loading better. The way the bearing is loaded with the motor, it'll work just fine from what I can see. But lets see how they hold up with miles and report back for the real data.

 

If you want to put in some expensive bearings
608 F1 Ceramic Bearing 8x22x7
or cheaper ones
SS608-2RS | RS Pro Stainless Steel Deep Groove Ball Bearing SS608-2RS 8mm I.D, 22mm O.D | RS Pro

I am just using the F1 normal size ceramic skate bearings, so will report back if I have problems.

 

Would these be any good? Looking for a quieter setup on my road wheels.

(with adblocker on the link gets removed)

 

They would fit, but you may be better with a different type of bearing, skf or something similar. There has been some questions raised as to the suitability of ceramic bearings in this application. I think at this point it is fair to say that the standard bearings fitted to the motors are utter tripe and anything would be an improvement. It might be worth a call to evolve, they might send you out replacements, as I am sure they are aware of the problems that people are having, and normally have good customer service.

 

Was thinking about that the other day Alex, please ask for donations before plastering adds everywhere. I'm sure people would be willing to throw in a couple bucks, I know I would.

 

Hey guys -

I attempted replacing my bearing in the motor - without any joy. I followed the guide and loosened all the torc screws and tried to hammer the shaft loose.

No movement at all, seems very strongly held in place - did I miss something?

 

You just have to accelerate with the hammering, dont be scared.
I put the motor cog inside a metal tube (with a rag on it) and used a roof tec screw drill bit peice as the flat punch to punch it out. The tube standing vertical on the ground. the shaft will then bang into the tube.
Also I think you should put a thin peice of metal between the small gap between the motor cover and the stationary part of the motor, as banging it in has done something to my motors, that gap now can be pushed in and out. Motors working fine but if you put something in that gap it would stop that happening.

 

Thanks Paul,

That clarifies - just didn't want to be damaging something I may have missed - time to get a bigger hammer then

 

I know that is asking to much, but to make things even more clear, could some one make a video with the tutorial of changing motor bearings, with the step by step, to nobody miss a important part? I think that will be very helpful to the community!

 

You shouldn't have to separate the shaft from the bell housing. Pull the gear off the shaft, remove the c-clip, pull the shaft out with the bell housing.

 

I have ordered some racestars to replace my noisy evolve motors and the plan is to replace the bearings in the original ones and keep as spares.
Reading up lots on the process (Thank you for your guide!)

What are your thoughts on using the speedball bearings that evolve supply with their wheels? I have a pile of them spare. While they are shielded but not sealed would they be ok? The bones ceramic are shielded too so i wouldnt have thought there would be too much difference ingress wise.

Thanks Again.