Motor mounting bolts

[Beekeeper]

How easy is it to access the motor mounting bolts to check if they are loose? Cube reaction hybrid 500 (2019) version (old motor)

 

[Simps]

Easy mate. The bash guard is in 2 halfs and held with 2 metal clips in the middle that keep them aligned. That's the hardest bit, getting those to line back up when putting it together.
1. Pull the crank with crank puller tool.
2. Undo the small allen bolts on the bashgaurd on the same side, the side you have taken the crank off. Just loosen the 2 on the other side (drive side)
3. Undo the bigger allen bolts and pull the motor cover off.
4. Tighten the motor bolts x 3 and the torque head bolts x2
5. Put it back in reverse order.

You can clean the crap from out of there whilst in there. Mine was well dusty
If your bike is creaking and you have checked your seat 100 times like I did then it will the the mount bolts

 

[Beekeeper]

Easy mate. The bash guard is in 2 halfs and held with 2 metal clips in the middle that keep them aligned. That's the hardest bit, getting those to line back up when putting it together.
1. Pull the crank with crank puller tool.
2. Undo the small allen bolts on the bashgaurd on the same side, the side you have taken the crank off. Just loosen the 2 on the other side (drive side)
3. Undo the bigger allen bolts and pull the motor cover off.
4. Tighten the motor bolts x 3 and the torque head bolts x2
5. Put it back in reverse order.

You can clean the crap from out of there whilst in there. Mine was well dusty
If your bike is creaking and you have checked your seat 100 times like I did then it will the the mount bolts

Thanks, very helpful. I’ve just ordered the lock ring tool and crank puller. I had the seat post completely out of the bike and it was still creaking like hell around the motor area when I applied pressure to the pedals.

 

[Simps]

Yes that's what mine was doing (same bike, same year)
When I put pressure on with my left foot it sounded awful. They were not even that loose, quarter of a turn, if that. But it was enough to stop the creaking and have a nice quiet ride.
My cassette came loose the very next day after fixing the creak so you might want to check that too. I had 2 hours of quiet then that started making a row.

 

[Beekeeper]

Yes that's what mine was doing (same bike, same year)
When I put pressure on with my left foot it sounded awful. They were not even that loose, quarter of a turn, if that. But it was enough to stop the creaking and have a nice quiet ride.
My cassette came loose the very next day after fixing the creak so you might want to check that too. I had 2 hours of quiet then that started making a row.

Are the motor bolts you tighten on the drive side or the non drive side?

 

[Beekeeper]

Sorry for all the questions. Do I need to take both cranks off to get all the covers off?

 

[Simps]

They are on the non drive side.
You only need to take off the one side. See pictures...

 

[Beekeeper]

They are on the non drive side.
You only need to take off the one side. See pictures...
View attachment 29639 View attachment 29640

Great thanks. I’ll give it a go when the crank puller arrives. Looks like you have the same bike and colour as mine. Reaction Race 500 ??

 

[Simps]

I got my crank puller from Halfords for a tenner. It's not the best but it does the job.
The first time you take it off you have to apply a lot of pressure, I had to hit it with my hand and it came loose.
That was to fit the speedbox. I put grease on the crank and it came off easier next time when I tightened the bolts up.
Mine is the Reaction Hybrid Pro 500 Grey and orange. Not sure what the differences are but essentially the same
Good luck with it.

 

[Beekeeper]

Thanks ??
Now that you have the speedbox, did you change the front sprocket to a slightly larger one or do you find the T15 one adequate?

 

[Snoozeboy]

I changed my original 15t front sprocket to a 16t by accident when the original one wore out and I was under the impression that it was 16t.

There isn't much difference, but I think I preferred the 15t as it's hilly around here and I use the granny gear on the back more than I use the highest gear.

 

[Beekeeper]

I changed my original 15t front sprocket to a 16t by accident when the original one wore out and I was under the impression that it was 16t.

There isn't much difference, but I think I preferred the 15t as it's hilly around here and I use the granny gear on the back more than I use the highest gear.

I think they do them all the way up to 22t
I wonder how far up from a 15t you can go before you have to add an extra chain link

 

[Simps]

No I haven't changed the front sprocket. The only reason the speedbox is on there is so when I'm going down hill as speeds greater than 15mph I can pedal without it feeling like I have the brakes on lol.
I don't really want the bike to go any faster and I like the gear ratios as they are so I will be keeping it as is.

 

[Beekeeper]

Hi @Bearing Man

I’ve seen you stock Bosch motor damping film on your website. I might try that if all else fails.

My bike is making a terrible creaking noise each time I put pressure on the pedals even with seat post out (done 800 miles) and I suspect the motor mounting bolts need checking so I’m going to be removing the covers at the weekend. I’ve now obtained every tool imaginable including the C ring pliers, lock nut tool, crank arm remover, torque wrenches, Torx drivers, Bosch tacky grease.

I know I’m only concerned with the non-drive side of things here so most of the things I’ve bought will be for future work.

Any comments on the damper film? Should it be used anyway or as a last resort or would you suspect the nuts simply need tightening?

 

[Simps]

Tightening the nuts will solve it. I couldn't believe it either, just by tightening them a tiny bit would stop that god awful noise. The sound was like a penny been rubbed down a comb but louder lol
At the start of every ride I still listen for it to start but still silent a month on

 

[Beekeeper]

Tightening the nuts will solve it. I couldn't believe it either, just by tightening them a tiny bit would stop that god awful noise. The sound was like a penny been rubbed down a comb but louder lol
At the start of every ride I still listen for it to start but still silent a month on

That’s great to hear that all is still ok.
I did read somewhere the reason this happens. Apparently the motors are attached to a painted frame and over time the paint gets compressed and squashed between the motor and frame causing a slight amount of play to develop.

 

[Simps]

That sounds like pretty good explanation. Especially when all you have to tighten them is such a small amount.
I didn't find that explanation when I was researching it so thank you. I just thought they had come loose somehow.

 

[Beekeeper]

That sounds like pretty good explanation. Especially when all you have to tighten them is such a small amount.
I didn't find that explanation when I was researching it so thank you. I just thought they had come loose somehow.

Took the cover off today but all the bolts were absolutely rock solid. Couldn’t budge any of them.
The search for the creak continues ??‍

 

[Simps]

Well that is strange. Did you check the torque head nuts too Think they are T30 ?

 

[Beekeeper]

Well that is strange. Did you check the torque head nuts too Think they are T30 ?

Yeah checked them all but I did only use Allen keys for the big ones and Torx screw driver for the others. Couldn’t budge them at all. I suppose I could have used a torque wrench instead but they certainly weren’t loose at all

 

[Simps]

Well then I'm sorry I was wrong. I would have put money on it to be fair as its the same bike as mine.
I don't have a clue then sorry but will carry on watching this thread in case I get the same.

 

[Beekeeper]

Well then I'm sorry I was wrong. I would have put money on it to be fair as its the same bike as mine.
I don't have a clue then sorry but will carry on watching this thread in case I get the same.

I was pretty sure it was too from comments on other forums. I’d never removed crank arms before so I think I learned a lot from the process and there was quite a bit of dirt and dust in there which I cleaned out. I can probably live with the creaks as it only happens with hard pressure on the pedals or quick, sudden acceleration.
I’ll check the headset next. It’s real detective work this and keeps me busy ?

 

[Beekeeper]

I only used an Allen key to check the tightness. It seems all those bolts have the torque settings printed on them. Did you notice that as well?

I’ll check the headset next and if that doesn’t work I’ll give the motor bolts another go with a beefy torque wrench ?

 

[Simps]

I didn't have a torque wrench but I have a wera set of allen keys which have a long handles so could give them some welly as it were lol.
Mine were definitely loose as they turned without much pressure to start with then I gave them a bit extra to make sure.

 

[Frankieboy]

I only used an Allen key to check the tightness. It seems all those bolts have the torque settings printed on them. Did you notice that as well?

I’ll check the headset next and if that doesn’t work I’ll give the motor bolts another go with a beefy torque wrench ?

Not sure of correct torque setting but I’ve been doing mine up to 20nm. You should also check the three torx screws. I did the wife’s bike yesterday, it looks to me Like the 3 hex bolts hold a bracket to the frame and the torx bolts hold the motor to the bracket. I could be wrong, but that’s what it looks like to me.

 

[Beekeeper]

Not sure of correct torque setting but I’ve been doing mine up to 20nm. You should also check the three torx screws. I did the wife’s bike yesterday, it looks to me Like the 3 hex bolts hold a bracket to the frame and the torx bolts hold the motor to the bracket. I could be wrong, but that’s what it looks like to me.

Useful info. I’ve tried holding the top tube of the bike while cycling along instead of the handlebars and peddling hard. The creak happened even then which might rule the headset out and is making me think about those motor bolts again.

If our bikes worked perfectly and never let us down then I suppose life would be rather boring ?

 

[Beekeeper]

Obviously take this with a pinch of salt As I don’t want anyone to damage their bikes but on another forum, somebody with a Cube bike contacted their dealer about the torque settings and this was quoted...

• (3) 13mm Engine Mount Bolts 25-30 Nm
• Torx T30 Front Engine Mount Bolt: 13-15 Nm
• Torx T30 Rear Engine Mount Bolt: 9-11 Nm
• Lockring 20-25 Nm

 

[Frankieboy]

Obviously take this with a pinch of salt As I don’t want anyone to damage their bikes but on another forum, somebody with a Cube bike contacted their dealer about the torque settings and this was quoted...

• (3) 13mm Engine Mount Bolts 25-30 Nm
• Torx T30 Front Engine Mount Bolt: 13-15 Nm
• Torx T30 Rear Engine Mount Bolt: 9-11 Nm
• Lockring 20-25 Nm

Not sure I’d want to go to 25-30 Nm without knowing what’s on the other side of the bolt. If its a steel nut, no problem, if it goes into an Ali section of the frame I’d be very cautious.

 

[Scott5297]

My bike is a 2018 Cube reaction hybrid race 500.

Quite soon after getting it I started to get creaking.

It turned out that the crank arm bolts were not really tight enough.

Later on, the motor mounting bolts became loose.

The enduring solution for me was to apply blue Loctite to the motor bolts and torquing them up. I have attached a table with some more torque settings.

Similarly I used blue Loctite on the crank arm bolts and tightened them up to 50Nm.

I definitely recommend using torque wrenches as 25Nm is quite a decent tightness to achieve with Allen keys.

Also, I replaced the seat post clamp with one that you tighten with a hex drive and applied copper anti seize paste to the seat post. The standard clamp wasn't quite strong enough.

I expect my bike to make no noises as I'm a bit ocd about it and these solutions have definitely worked for me.

HTH!

 

[Beekeeper]

My bike is a 2018 Cube reaction hybrid race 500.

Quite soon after getting it I started to get creaking.

It turned out that the crank arm bolts were not really tight enough.

Later on, the motor mounting bolts became loose.

The enduring solution for me was to apply blue Loctite to the motor bolts and torquing them up. I have attached a table with some more torque settings.

Similarly I used blue Loctite on the crank arm bolts and tightened them up to 50Nm.

I definitely recommend using torque wrenches as 25Nm is quite a decent tightness to achieve with Allen keys.

Also, I replaced the seat post clamp with one that you tighten with a hex drive and applied copper anti seize paste to the seat post. The standard clamp wasn't quite strong enough.

I expect my bike to make no noises as I'm a bit ocd about it and these solutions have definitely worked for me.

HTH!

View attachment 30987

Really helpful info. Thanks
I’m going to need a bigger torque wrench. My current one is 1/4 inch drive and only goes up to 24nm. I’ll get a bigger one and give those bolts another go. I used Allen keys last time so no wonder I couldn’t tighten them. Seemed rock solid with an Allen key.

I did remove both cranks and greased the threads but probably did not tighten up anywhere near 50nm. In Halfords I’ve see a 3/8 inch torque wrench for about £85. I think I’ll try that as it has a torque range of 12-60nm