Levo Gen 2 Levo 2020 motor grinding noise

[Choc3]

I have a base Levo 2020 bought end of February this year. The current mileage on the bike is 530 miles all trail. Up to now the motor has been smooth and very silent. Now I have a kind of grinding sound from the motor as I apply pressure on the cranks and depending on the gear, more noticeable going up hill.

The motor apart form this grinding sound is working fine with no loss of power in any of the mode or other sounds. Cranks turn without any resistance. When turned off no noise or much less. One other thing that has also happened at the same time is when moving the cranks backwards there was also a grinding sound which now is much less or gone.
I have been riding lately in the wet and mud.

Things I have done:
1) Checked and tighten everything
2) I just changed the chain as I had around 0.75% of wear in the original. Same time this noise appeared or at least noticed it.
3) deurallieer seems fine.
4) shifting is fine.

Here is a link to the video of the grinding noise.


Any thoughts

Thanks

 

[Ted]

I had that noise twice. Both times it resulted in a new motor. I did not get stranded. The noise just got worse and worse. I believe it is the sprag clutch or the torque sensor. It is hard to know since the motors cannot be opened locally. Good luck.

 

[KennyB]

Suggest you remove the cranks and turn the axle by hand. You can then eliminate this being grit behind the crank and get a much better feel as the axle turns.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Warranty claim ..don't bother messing, it's not a happy motor .

 

[Blebo19]

Is this motor the last series? Is it updated?
I have a similar noise

 

[Choc3]

I was riding yesterday without problems and had a look at the new chain and the chain sticks to the teeth of the chain ring making a noise when it comes off the teeth. Notice more with mud. I saw somewhere in the internet that somebody had this problem and the bike was making some kind of grinding sound and it was the chain.

I cleaned all the drivetrain, new chain and previous chain. Then tested the bike uphill on a street, to put more pressure on the cranks and could hear the grinding noise but much less with the new chain. Changed the chain to the original one and did the same test and this time could not hear or very faint possible grinding noise, same sounds since I have the bike.

Also put the bike in the stand and moved the pedals and shifting no grinding sound from the motor, very smooth. The crank grinding has disappeared.

The new chain is KMC 11 speed not emtb specific did not want to pay more to test a none emtb chain because it is much cheaper.

Now I have doubts if it is the motor and or maybe the chain.

Is not that easy for me to take the bike to where I bought as it is at least 3 hours south in England. I will see who is a dealer for specialised in Scotland.

If it is the motor I guess it will stop working soon and then get a warranty replacement.

 

[J200George]

Is this motor the last series? Is it updated?
I have a similar noise View attachment 35141

How is the date of manufacture determined from the above? it’s the numbers after 100xxyyzz?

Where xx = year, yy= day, zz=month ?

if so then this motor was built on the 10th day of March 2020.....and it’s gone rogue with apparently the same symptoms as the earlier pre-modified motors.

This is a worry indeed, I know I know one motor isn’t statistically significant but here’s fairly solid proof of a newer motor giving up. Wait I’ve just realised, the video was blebo but the March build is chocs bike. I’ve made the assumption that chocs motor is faulty, albeit he’s saying his motor is making the same noise. Be good of both to keep us updated and the op report on their date of motor manufacture.

thank goodness the warranty is solid on these bikes.

 

[ebikerider]

It's the front chainring imo. Change that and the noise will go away. Have a close look at the chainring and the teeth will be slightly hooked/worn which will exacerbate the noise under pressure.

 

[urastus]

I've just heard this, and before reading the subsequent comments assumed it was the chain. And whatever it is, it is every link. So, the simple stuff first: thick thin chain ring - is it set right? The chain guide - is it rubbing? Note with the chain guide; you can adjust it while the bike is static and think it is OK, but when it is under load, it isn't. So try moving the guide up to rule it out. Someone here had thick thin rollers on their rear mech! They showed a video of it and you could see the roller sticking to every thin link - the dude had to reseat the chain on the rollers one link further on. Chain alignment, cable tension etc. Really with this noise you should be able to raise the rear wheel, or rest the bike upside down, turn the crank and see what is causing the noise. Ebikerider above suggested new chain ring. There's only one front chainring that is working the whole time; the same work is spread between the 11 gears of the cluster. Because of this I will replace chain ring when I replace new chain. Although I think I can reverse my current chain ring - it looks symmetrical.

 

[Eduardoramundo]

Defo new chainring. I had exactly the same problem last week. Burgtec chainring fixed it.

 

[Choc3]

Here is my motor serial number no idea when it was built but following J200George logic and if I understood correctly then my motor will be a 2019 model. This is a 2020 model bike bought end of February could it have a motor from 19/08/03?

 

[Eduardoramundo]

Here is my motor serial number no idea when it was built but following J200George logic and if I understood correctly then my motor will be a 2019 model. This is a 2020 model bike bought end of February could it have a motor from 19/08/03?

View attachment 35231

Yes of course. 2020 models came out in 2019

 

[Choc3]

Defo new chainring. I had exactly the same problem last week. Burgtec chainring fixed it.

Which burgtec chainring did you buy to know what fits on the Levo. Thanks.

 

[Eduardoramundo]

Which burgtec chainring did you buy to know what fits on the Levo. Thanks.

Not sure, I bought it from LBS

 

[Choc3]

Yes of course. 2020 models came out in 2019

On the subject on motor, yes you are correct forgot that the new models come out year before. So basically I have a motor that is more than a year old since manufactured and what I have read there has been changes done to the motor from January 2020 onwards for all the problems it has had before. Hope for the best that this motor does not fail and I know is under warranty but is all the extra hassle of sending the bike, not able to ride etc.

 

[J200George]

On the subject on motor, yes you are correct forgot that the new models come out year before. So basically I have a motor that is more than a year old since manufactured and what I have read there has been changes done to the motor from January 2020 onwards for all the problems it has had before. Hope for the best that this motor does not fail and I know is under warranty but is all the extra hassle of sending the bike, not able to ride etc.

Unless of course Blebo19's motor has likewise turned to butter, in which case motors built in March this year might also be suspect. Hoping in his case that the motor is not the root of the issue though. That wouldn't be good news for all.

 

[eagerly]

Same noise mine, got to warranty replacement. The grinding noise got worse but never reached this level before the motor blew

 

[Choc3]

Today went for a ride and the motor died. The motor has a high pitch whinning noise, cranks just spin. When trying to moving backaward the wheel is locked.
Tomorrow start the warranty process with LBC. Hopefully they will replace the motor quickly.

 

[Blebo19]

It's the front chainring imo. Change that and the noise will go away. Have a close look at the chainring and the teeth will be slightly hooked/worn which will exacerbate the noise under pressure.

It is not from chainring , trust me

 

[J200George]

Gotta feel a degree of sympathy here for Specialized. Brose have dropped a bollock on this one. hopefully not only are lessons learned in motor development here but also testing and approval of motors to go to full production. Must be costing them a few bucks this and reputational damage.

 

[congerball]

Yes of course. 2020 models came out in 2019

You can check when your bike was built too by looking at the Manufactured Date on the sticker under the frame.

 

[Bigtuna00]

Just noticed the same noise on mine today. Never noticed it before because just the sound of the tires on the road is enough to hide it. Sounds like a dry and worn bearing to me. But I admit it could be drivetrain related, will need to pop the chain off and see if it persists...

 

[Bigtuna00]

It is not from chainring , trust me

This isn't the same noise as the OP IMO. This sounds more like a loose crank or some other loose fitting. This is more of a creaking sound than a grinding sound.

 

[urastus]

Gotta feel a degree of sympathy here for Specialized. Brose have dropped a bollock on this one. hopefully not only are lessons learned in motor development here but also testing and approval of motors to go to full production. Must be costing them a few bucks this and reputational damage.

And yet so many people defend them. It isn't just specialized of course.

 

[Blebo19]

Specialized buyers are like a religion.

Let's do a class action.

 

[J200George]

Specialized buyers are like a religion.

Let's do a class action.

I was trying to remain positive, I think though if I had a Levo failed or not I would probably be less charitable. Were it not for the fact they simply aren’t available just now I’d probably have purchased already but coming on here to do my Pre-purchase research has probably made me look to Scott or trek.

I’m hoping before the market recovers that the new motors prove to be more reliable Or that specialized “do the right thing” and initiate a recall. People could end up in not just inconvenient situations, but downright dangerous ones.

 

[Choc3]

I would say with the experience I have had up to now, few months with the Levo I don't know if I would buy again. Don't get me wrong I have truly enjoyed riding the bike and more so after the fork 35 Gold was replaced (Warranty) and changed to a Lyrik and new SLX 4 piston brakes, transformed the bike performance. Now I have the motor problem, which will need replacing. in my thoughts now, will I need to replace the new motor in the future, who knows. Everything is under warranty but is all the annoying process that you have to go through and most important you are missing out on riding. I would probably have had the same or more satisfaction with any other emtb without all the problems. I would also advice to buy the a bike from LBS or very near from one lives as in my case all problems become more difficult as the bike shop I bought the bike is 4 hours away. After the motor is replaced I will check if the warranty can be transferred to a specialized dealer in Scotland.

 

[Viper9559]

Is this motor the last series? Is it updated?
I have a similar noise View attachment 35141

March 10, 2020 is the date for your motor... Not sure then the new upgraded motor was phased in.

 

[Bigtuna00]

Just noticed the same noise on mine today. Never noticed it before because just the sound of the tires on the road is enough to hide it. Sounds like a dry and worn bearing to me. But I admit it could be drivetrain related, will need to pop the chain off and see if it persists...

Turns out for me it was drive train related. Once I cleaned and lubed everything this particular noise stopped.

 

[Viper9559]

I had a small stone caught between the chain ring and motor cover, it made a grinding noise, I first thought the motor was fucked, removed the stone, noise gone.

Glad to hear you found the source and it was not the motor ?