Kenevo Gen1 Lost max power / performance with brand new motor replacement on Kenevo 2018

[Longlivenduro]

Hi, just got my 2nd motor replacement (3 motors now in total) for my 2018 Kenevo last week. As I was out of warranty, I got a new 1.3 motor for less money from Specialized via my LBS.

The new motor (C97272) has firmware 7.1.1, the motor before (also C97272) had 5.0.0.
Rode it the last 3 days on very well known climbs on Turbo 100/100 and the bike feels massively underpowered. It uses around 20-30% less battery but, also lost a lot of top power and it's punchy behaviour.

As the motor came brand new from Spesh to my local bike shop, I wonder what might be the problem here?
My 2 batteries have A.17.1 and 2.17.1 firmware.
Already contacted my dealer but he hasn't heard of such a problem yet.

@Specialized Rider Care maybe you can give me and my dealer some hints what is going wrong here?

PS: Put in a spare 1.2 motor 1 week ago while waiting for the 1.3 replacement and it felt much better than the new replacement (not as good as my old 5.0.0, 1.3 though)

Any hints from anyone? Will check max current today and give feedback.

Update:

Pedalled as hard as I could for 50m uphill and did get up to a max of 17.8A current. Tried with both batteries, exactly same result.

 

[wepn]

I have a MY19 Expert which draws 20A from the battery. Is yours an Expert or Comp ? I read a old post from Specialized Rider Care & apparently the Comp was limited to ~15A. It's possible the lbs didn't reflash the Spesh firmware & you may may have the original Brose firmware which has a similar current limit. Actually not - it says 7.1.1

Another possibility is you have dirt or debris in the plug. Try cleaning the contacts and see if that helps.

 

[Longlivenduro]

I have a MY19 Expert which draws 20A from the battery. Is yours an Expert or Comp ? I read a old post from Specialized Rider Care & apparently the Comp was limited to ~15A. It's possible the lbs didn't reflash the Spesh firmware & you may may have the original Brose firmware which has a similar current limit. Actually not - it says 7.1.1

Another possibility is you have dirt or debris in the plug. Try cleaning the contacts and see if that helps.

I have a MY18 Expert. Most recent Specialized firmware as it is a new motor from them and the connections are clean.

 

[wepn]

Right well I'm sure your Spesh shop will fix it. If lockdown makes that problematic hopefully Specialized Rider Care can offer advice.

BLEvo should be able to help with current Amps if Mission Control doesn't. Pretty sure 7.1.1 prevents altering limits but should display the full range of data.

 

[Dfriz]

Fully charged Battery should do 20 amps have LBS force firmware

 

[Specialized Rider Care]

Please retune your Mission Control support settings just to be sure, but I agree with @Dfriz and @wepn - See Power smashed through the roof - EMTB Forums for info. FW versions may have updated since, but this doesn't sound like correct behaviour at all and a forced update from the retailer should fix this.

 

[Longlivenduro]

Ok cheers @Specialized Rider Care for the fast response, just to make sure I do understand correctly:

> Please retune your Mission Control support settings just to be sure

With that you mean: change the assist and max power settings to sth below 100% and then up to 100% again or sth. else?

> versions may have updated since, but this doesn't sound like correct behaviour at all and a forced update from the retailer should fix this.

Are you speaking about battery firmwares or motor firmware or both? Please keep in mind that I got the brand new motor as a replacement via my LBS last week from Specialized. See Serial numbers and versions above.

So I retune and try again. If it stays the same I will go to my LBS and tell them to update whatever you will write me. Cheers!

 

[Longlivenduro]

Tuned the assist and max power down and up again, always turning off and on in between. But same behaviour, the highest I got is 18A. Turbo on 100/100 doesn't nearly feel as strong and punchy as before. Even the 1.2 was noticably more aggressive.

@Specialized Rider Care Forced updates of motor and both batteries then?

 

[Specialized Rider Care]

Tuned the assist and max power down and up again, always turning off and on in between. But same behaviour, the highest I got is 18A. Turbo on 100/100 doesn't nearly feel as strong and punchy as before. Even the 1.2 was noticably more aggressive.

@Specialized Rider Care Forced updates of motor and both batteries then?

Forced update of the motor is the important part here yes but the batteries should be checked too. Will PM you.

 

[Longlivenduro]

Just returned from the shop. Updated the motor with the same version, 2 batteries were not upgraded ( up to date) and went straight on the parking lot to give it a test with jammed on brakes. Got over 20.4A so it worked!

Cheers everyone and especially @Specialized Rider Care for the great and fast help. I think I got my old Kenevo back!

 

[Konk211]

Just returned from the shop. Updated the motor with the same version, 2 batteries were not upgraded ( up to date) and went straight on the parking lot to give it a test with jammed on brakes. Got over 20.4A so it worked!

Cheers everyone and especially @Specialized Rider Care for the great and fast help. I think I got my old Kenevo back!

Unfortunately, I'm having the same exact issue with my 18 expert Levo. New motor in my bike last week and it's noticeably down on power. Very frustrating, 7 weeks down waiting for repairs to be completed. I have no Specialized dealer in my town, the dealer I chose for repairs was in another state where I have a second home. Big mistake, service was ridiculous with many issues with the bike when returned, other than the motor. Will not return, don't believe they have a idea what there doing when it comes to their Ebike customers.
So, only pulling 17amps max.
I have another dealer 60 mi. the opposite Way from me I willing to take a chance on. Just looking for the exact phrasing I need to talk to these guys in order to restore the motor back to where it was prior to replacement.
Sounds like a "Forced update" is what I'm looking for?
Thanks to all that have responded.

 

[Longlivenduro]

Hi @Konk211,

if the shop has the newest "Turbo Studio" Software, they should just connect and in the overview you will see that you have most current firmware (7.1.1).
Then you just have to tell them that they should press "Upgrade firmware" (or sth in that direction, I saw only the german UI) (Red Button in lower part) nevertheless. Just show them this thread with @Specialized Rider Care answers if they are in doubt. That should be it. There seems to be no "Force Upgrade" in the new Studio software any more. Just the normal button is enabled and does the job.

Fun fact: After being sure the update gave me the full potential of the Specialized firmware again, I turned the peak power down to 80% for Trail and Turbo.The funny thing is that this feels much more powerful and punchy then the 17A max from whatever firmware was on there before, while only taking 16A from the battery which seems to slightly improve battery consumption but even better: for me at least also motor life:
This is now my third motor, I ride a lot and the 2 motors before my new one lasted roughly about a year each.
I use mostly Trail and Turbo, I rode the first with 100% peak power on Trail and Turbo, the second one about 2/3 of it's life with 80% peak power. The first one did 3000km sth, the second one over 7000km. I know this is not statistically relevant, but for me this means 80% peak power is the way to go.

I got the 3rd motor cheaper as I was slightly out of the 2 years warranty but now have 2 years warranty for the motor again.

Also to consider:
If you are a high frequent rider and use 100% PP on trail and turbo AND have 2 years warranty for the motor left, maybe go to 100% peak power, so it fails maybe within the 2 years warranty window, we old Levo/Kenevo users only have.

That were my thoughts as I probably extended my second motor's life just 3 months outside my warranty window. Would I have used 100% peak power maybe it would have failed within warranty. But you never know for sure. And maybe it would have failed at an awkard time.

 

[Konk211]

Hi @Konk211,

if the shop has the newest "Turbo Studio" Software, they should just connect and in the overview you will see that you have most current firmware (7.1.1).
Then you just have to tell them that they should press "Upgrade firmware" (or sth in that direction, I saw only the german UI) (Red Button in lower part) nevertheless. Just show them this thread with @Specialized Rider Care answers if they are in doubt. That should be it. There seems to be no "Force Upgrade" in the new Studio software any more. Just the normal button is enabled and does the job.

Fun fact: After being sure the update gave me the full potential of the Specialized firmware again, I turned the peak power down to 80% for Trail and Turbo.The funny thing is that this feels much more powerful and punchy then the 17A max from whatever firmware was on there before, while only taking 16A from the battery which seems to slightly improve battery consumption but even better: for me at least also motor life:
This is now my third motor, I ride a lot and the 2 motors before my new one lasted roughly about a year each.
I use mostly Trail and Turbo, I rode the first with 100% peak power on Trail and Turbo, the second one about 2/3 of it's life with 80% peak power. The first one did 3000km sth, the second one over 7000km. I know this is not statistically relevant, but for me this means 80% peak power is the way to go.

I got the 3rd motor cheaper as I was slightly out of the 2 years warranty but now have 2 years warranty for the motor again.

Also to consider:
If you are a high frequent rider and use 100% PP on trail and turbo AND have 2 years warranty for the motor left, maybe go to 100% peak power, so it fails maybe within the 2 years warranty window, we old Levo/Kenevo users only have.

That were my thoughts as I probably extended my second motor's life just 3 months outside my warranty window. Would I have used 100% peak power maybe it would have failed within warranty. But you never know for sure. And maybe it would have failed at an awkard time.

Thanks for the information, I'll put a call into shop today, try to feel them out to see if they have any experience with these type of situations before I make the trek up to see them.
This is like taking candy away from a baby, once they've had a taste of the good stuff!
Thanks, again.

 

[Longlivenduro]

@Konk211 You're welcome mate! The update is super easy, any Spesh shop with ebikes will surely have the software and the connectors. The update is just clicking a button. Don't worry too much, the support of the Specialized shops around the world and Specialized itself is truly amazing. I know by experience what I am talking about. I still love my Kenevo and the Brose motor after all. If it only would have a gearbox, than it would be absolutely perfect...but I am dreaming ;-)