2019 Turbo Levo Owners Thread

[jemen]

Cool can you pls. send one to Germany? I will donat via Paypal if you like Pls. send me PN if possible

Are you joking? Its so easy to make. Cut out the paper plan and put it on a foam mat 10mm thick. Then cut it out with a scalpell.

j.

 

[jemen]

@Specialized Rider Care are you telling me that i should take my 7k eur bike, buy somewhere a sponge, somehow cut it accordingly to your drawing, and then place it somewhere inside my bike?

Are you serious?

Yes, they are serious i guess.

 

[LevoLover7]

Are you joking? Its so easy to make. Cut out the paper plan and put it on a foam mat 10mm thick. Then cut it out with a scalpell.

j.

I have no foam that is 10mm thick and PPI 30

 

[Doomanic]

Are you serious?

Yes.

 

[jemen]

I have no foam that is 10mm thick and PPI 30

Just go and buy Air filter foam in 10mm´s. You should get it in any motorcycle shop or online.

j.

 

[Gary]

Cold

hently heat the tape next time

 

[eagerly]

I completely disagree with your approach, Specialized. I bought your bike for almost 6K, immediately after the spectacular lau

 

[eagerly]

I completely disagree with your approach, Specialized. I bought your bike for almost 6K, immediately after the spectacular launch of the product. My motor was supposed to be silent, but it's not, and I know that it be replaced. Fine. After some riding, my motor compartment is completely full of dirt: pebbles, leaves, debris of all kind...Now I read here that your solution is cutting my own skid plate foam to solve a problem and that I will not get the solution you are already providing for new ebikes? Please tell me that I am dreaming....

 

[Koro]

...made it...
View attachment 7000

can you send a pic of the hole after putting it in pls?

 

[jemen]

can you send a pic of the hole after putting it in pls?

I will in the afternoon.

 

[vannibombonato]

So when I will be selling the bike I will be asked something like “is your bike one of the fixed ones or is it a homemade foam?”

It sure will be fantastic for reselling value.

Specialized must properly fix the broken bikes and fast.

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

Thanks for the motor cover/ingress questions and apologies for the wait - took a week off.

Firstly, we know that this bike is going to get really wet & muddy (in fact we hope it does) and it is designed & warrantied with this in mind. All electrical connections have suitably IP-rated rubber seals, Brose motor connectors are sealed with double O-Rings and as long as all of the plugs/connectors stay fully pushed in when the bike gets wet everything will be fine. We do not recommend unplugging any of the motor connectors unless you absolutely need to, you are more likely to get dirt and moisture inside them in the process. Wash the bike with all connectors fully in place, don’t remove the battery or disconnect the battery connector when washing – for example. (You can wash an eBike with running water or a bucket and sponge, but never with a pressure washer). You should also never block the drain hole underneath the motor deliberately – this is where any water that does get in should drain out.

Secondly, during extensive field-testing on pre-production models we did experience more debris entering this area than expected. For this reason our product team made two small running changes – 1) Adding a fourth bolt to the motor cover (both sides of the cover were redesigned to add this bolt) strengthened the cover from debris entering from below and 2) Adding a shaped sponge to the inside rear of the motor housing reduced ingress of debris from above. Several thousand bikes had already been made when these running changes were made to production – we’ll update this thread when these parts are available for service. It is absolutely fine to use custom-shaped air-filter/skid-plate/moto-cross foam inside the motor cover, just be aware that the motor will get hot (up to 95°C) and for that reason you should avoid anything domestic or adhesive. (Skid-plate foam is designed to stop mud accumulation next to motor-bike engines – you can search for it online).

To answer a handful of rider questions - whilst it may look unsightly to have small leaves or mud inside the motor cover, unless these block the drain hole completely we have no concerns. As mentioned above, we’ve taken steps to reduce the debris that does get inside but we never saw any reliability or performance issues with our test bikes prior to making these running changes. In the meantime we can see riders are increasingly asking questions about basic care/preventative maintenance for eBikes and will gather some best practice to post in the maintenance thread in the near future.

A template using 10mm thick foam is shown below along with fitting instructions.
View attachment 6976
1) Remove left crank-arm and motor cover
View attachment 6977
2) Place foam between the rear motor mounts
View attachment 6978
3) Replace motor cover and torque M4 fasteners to 1Nm
4) Replace left crank-arm and torque to 40Nm

 

[Specialized Rider Care]

I am asking myself why Specialized Rider Care stated in the post above:
"Whilst the parts are easy for us to supply, fitting the cover involves removing the motor and it's not a simple or quick job for our retailers. The sponge template above is deliberately simple to cut and retro-fit whereas the sponge part we're fitting during production is not at all easy to retro-fit."

If a simple DIY retro-fit solution would provide the same result as the new sponge part, why are they then fitting a more complicated "not at all easy to retro-fit" sponge part in production today? There must be a reason that they didn't choose for this quick fix in 1st production.

Update on this one: I checked with our product team and the factory sponge is just as easy to retrofit. Sorry for adding confusion, I've edited my original post above. The sponge we use in the factory has a small hole through the middle to keep it in place between the motor inserts during the assembly process. Once the bike is fully assembled there is negligible difference to using the cut-out vs factory part.

 

[Levo Lution]

H h

Update on this one: I checked with our product team and the factory sponge is just as easy to retrofit. Sorry for adding confusion, I've edited my original post above. The sponge we use in the factory has a small hole through the middle to keep it in place between the motor inserts during the assembly process. Once the bike is fully assembled there is negligible difference to using the cut-out vs factory part.

View attachment 7005

Spongecialized Rider Care ?

 

[LevoLover7]

Update on this one: I checked with our product team and the factory sponge is just as easy to retrofit. Sorry for adding confusion, I've edited my original post above. The sponge we use in the factory has a small hole through the middle to keep it in place between the motor inserts during the assembly process. Once the bike is fully assembled there is negligible difference to using the cut-out vs factory part.

View attachment 7005

This is never PPI30

 

[Wiltshire Warrior]

Update on this one: I checked with our product team and the factory sponge is just as easy to retrofit. Sorry for adding confusion, I've edited my original post above. The sponge we use in the factory has a small hole through the middle to keep it in place between the motor inserts during the assembly process. Once the bike is fully assembled there is negligible difference to using the cut-out vs factory part.

View attachment 7005

you might aswell cover the hole with gaffer tape as in the UK (for the next 6 months) that foam will clog solid with mud after 1 mile off road.

 

[LevoLover7]

At the moment I clarify with my lawyer which possibilities I have to return the bike to my dealer at full reimbursement. It's an absolute joke that Specialized deducts. I am now running a levo version 1, soon there will be version 2 with all the modifications. Thus, it is no longer possible for me to sell my Levo version 1 sometime, for a reasonable price. And all 8 weeks after publication. If Specialized now shows character, they would start an official callback and clear it all up to the fullest customer satisfaction.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

At the moment I clarify with my lawyer which possibilities I have to return the bike to my dealer at full reimbursement. It's an absolute joke that Specialized deducts. I am now running a levo version 1, soon there will be version 2 with all the modifications. Thus, it is no longer possible for me to sell my Levo version 1 sometime, for a reasonable price. And all 8 weeks after publication. If Specialized now shows character, they would start an official callback and clear it all up to the fullest customer satisfaction.

Really?!
Just ride the bike and enjoy it rather than worrying about a sponge ?‍

 

[r23ves]

I don't really feel compelled to do any sponge DIY myself but will just ride and enjoy the bike as is . I just hope there isn't going to be any quibbling over motor warranties in future.

 

[Maastricht]

Update on this one: I checked with our product team and the factory sponge is just as easy to retrofit. Sorry for adding confusion, I've edited my original post above. The sponge we use in the factory has a small hole through the middle to keep it in place between the motor inserts during the assembly process. Once the bike is fully assembled there is negligible difference to using the cut-out vs factory part.

View attachment 7005

@Specialized Rider Care

Thanks for your additional feedback again and don't worry about about the initial confusion. Personally I am happy with your proactive and direct feedback and a company which is not hiding itself infront of it's (critical) customers. Although it will maybe feel sometimes differently.

So I guess, the end conclusion is that you are currently working on getting the original factory sponge and the 4 bolt motor covers available within the service supply chain. I prefer not to perform any modification myself as my bike is just 4 days old.

The remaining question then is, who is going to pay the bill of the replacement parts and the costs of the labour involved to perform these mods? Earlier on you spoke about your independent retailer network who you would talk with about this subject.

Can you please inform us when you expect to be able to present a final answer and solution how to get the early 2019 Levo's to the current factory specification?

Thanks for your support and understanding in advance!

 

[LevoLover7]

Really?!
Just ride the bike and enjoy it rather than worrying about a sponge ?‍

Not interested to be a Beta tester for the full price With 50% off maybe. And you have to think what will be in 2 Years when warranty is over and the engine get fucked up due the huge amount of mud and wetness inside the housing over 2 years.

 

[Witte300]

Not interested to be a Beta tester for the full price With 50% off maybe. And you have to think what will be in 2 Years when warranty is over and the engine get fucked up due the huge amount of mud and wetness inside the housing over 2 years.

Isn’t this the case for almost everything that comes out?
Never heard of any company that gives 50% discount because of possible child disease with a new model. It strikes strange to me that’s even common for spec riders to dish there own bikes.
It’s mentioned here at this forum too by some members to wait out the first release.

 

[LevoLover7]

Isn’t this the case for almost everything that comes out?
Never heard of any company that gives 50% discount because of possible child disease with a new model. It strikes strange to me that’s even common for spec riders to dish there own bikes.
It’s mentioned here at this forum too by some members to wait out the first release.

For me, the bike was not designed properly and especially what is even more dramatic, no one has apparently extensively tested under real conditions otherwise such a design flaw would have noticed immediately. Why are they breaking everything on their knees to get to the market as quickly as possible and then realize that they have been shamed only after 8 Weeks ?

 

[khorn]

As Rob are saying, We should give @Specialized Rider Care credit when they deserve it and as I understand the updated feedback regarding the issues with debris inside the motor covers, It is now clear that all gen 1 FSR's will be upgraded free of charge by Specialized. What I'm now waiting for is a fix for my wife's Levo HT

When all that is said we have to keep in mind that the motor/connections are only rated as IP56 and that means that they are only splash proof but not waterproof. Keep that in mind when you are driving back home from a wet extremely muddy winter ride with that bike sitting out back on the bike rack while it is pouring down with crazy rain. That combination of a semi plugged drain hole together with hanging outside in heavy rain could cause water to contaminate the motor/electrical connections. Worst case scenario could be an electrical malfunction so in order to prevent this, we should all prior to conditions like this, make sure that the drain hole is not congested from the ride we just completed - Best practise I guess.

Karsten

 

[jemen]

Keep cool guys. Stay cool.

j.

 

[Thomas B.]

I´m looking forward to the Levo HT "fix" as well. My bike is a 2019 Levo HT Comp 29 and I see the same big "gap" that Karsten already posted. Till now I "only" had 500km and dry conditions, but autumn is just arriving here. BTW HT´s seem to be a rare species here in the forum.

 

[ccrdave]

we have one, my wife rides it to work everyday which is 6 mile each way offroad commute, she always comes home via Dowies for those that know the trail. I will take the motor covers off tomorrow for a look .is it confirmed that these holes are there to allow cooling vents? or is there another reason?
looking at my 2018 levo the holes are not as big but I still have to clean the motor space out on a regular basis during the winter but its an easy job and as far as I know the IP rating on the 2018 models is a bit higher at least it didnt cut out on stream crossings. I would guess on my model the holes are there just for wire and cable outlets so it should not cause any overheating by blocking them up, I hope

 

[eagerly]

as far as I know the IP rating on the 2018 models is a bit higher

Well I don't think so, if that were true then Specialized downgraded the protection...for what reason?

 

[khorn]

we have one, my wife rides it to work everyday which is 6 mile each way offroad commute, she always comes home via Dowies for those that know the trail. I will take the motor covers off tomorrow for a look .is it confirmed that these holes are there to allow cooling vents? or is there another reason?
looking at my 2018 levo the holes are not as big but I still have to clean the motor space out on a regular basis during the winter but its an easy job and as far as I know the IP rating on the 2018 models is a bit higher at least it didnt cut out on stream crossings. I would guess on my model the holes are there just for wire and cable outlets so it should not cause any overheating by blocking them up, I hope

Earlier in this thread someone said that the IP rating from the very first Levo model was IP56 and that apparently continues in 2019. Why they did not up the IP rating to IP57 I cannot understand, If they did that all the extra work they have to do now would not be needed.

Karsten

 

[Lithium]

As Rob are saying, We should give @Specialized Rider Care credit when they deserve it and as I understand the updated feedback regarding the issues with debris inside the motor covers, It is now clear that all gen 1 FSR's will be upgraded free of charge by Specialized. What I'm now waiting for is a fix for my wife's Levo HT

When all that is said we have to keep in mind that the motor/connections are only rated as IP56 and that means that they are only splash proof but not waterproof. Keep that in mind when you are driving back home from a wet extremely muddy winter ride with that bike sitting out back on the bike rack while it is pouring down with crazy rain. That combination of a semi plugged drain hole together with hanging outside in heavy rain could cause water to contaminate the motor/electrical connections. Worst case scenario could be an electrical malfunction so in order to prevent this, we should all prior to conditions like this, make sure that the drain hole is not congested from the ride we just completed - Best practise I guess.

Karsten

IP56 = Water projected in powerful jets (12.5 mm nozzle) against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects.

Test duration: 1 minute per square meter for at least 3 minutes
Water volume: 100 litres per minute
Pressure: 100 kPa at distance of 3 m