Levo Gen 2 Warranty extension & Firmware Update for all 2019/20 Levo/Kenevo with 2.1 motors

[MrSimmo]

Thanks for your support @MrSimmo. In reply to your questions: -

1. All motors in our global service inventory carry the latest revisions. Additionally, all retailers will update bike firmware to the latest versions if they change a motor (standard practice).

2. The 4 year warranty is from date of original purchase for bikes specifically mentioned.

Thanks, appreciate the clarifications and speedy answers ?


Many Thanks

 

[VOOBOY]

This is good to see and about time. I'm positive I'm not alone as a slightly nervous LEVO owner with all the motor issues. My 2019 comp and wife's 2019 base are performing OK to date (purchased Nov 2019). Hopefully a little more peace of mind should any problems occur in the future. @Specialized Rider Care ....any plans for the update to be available remotely in the future?

 

[AlexF]

This announcement pushed me off the fence between a YT Decoy and a Kenevo... Just bought a 2020 Kenevo expert! Seeing as the 2021 Kenevo's appear identical I am actually very happy to have a 2020 that bike will have 4 years of warranty rather than the 2 years of a 2021!

 

[MTBGUY65]

I am very pleased and encouraged that Specialized has stepped up to the plate on this issue. It is something that all of Levo Turbo owners have in the back of our minds when we go out for a ride to think that the motor could fail and we could be pushing our bikes for miles.
I am on my 3rd motor on a 2019Levo Turbo Expert and my question is the new Specialized statement is 4 years from the date of purchase. Is the warranty 4 years from the date the last motor was replaced or is that 4 years from when the bike was purchased. Two very different dates for a lot of Turbo Levo owners.

 

[Manxbiker]

I am very pleased and encouraged that Specialized has stepped up to the plate on this issue. It is something that all of Levo Turbo owners have in the back of our minds when we go out for a ride to think that the motor could fail and we could be pushing our bikes for miles.
I am on my 3rd motor on a 2019Levo Turbo Expert and my question is the new Specialized statement is 4 years from the date of purchase. Is the warranty 4 years from the date the last motor was replaced or is that 4 years from when the bike was purchased. Two very different dates for a lot of Turbo Levo owners.

They have already said its 4 years from the date of purchase, which is still really good imo

 

[MTBGUY65]

They have already said its 4 years from the date of purchase, which is still really good imo

I was told by my LBS when my most recent motor was replaced that the 2 year warranty starts from the date the motor was replaced. So for me I purchased the bike November 2018 and current motor replacement is November 2019. Do I now have a 4 year warranty starting in November 2018 or 2019? Just making sure of the specifics.

 

[Manxbiker]

I was told by my LBS when my most recent motor was replaced that the 2 year warranty starts from the date the motor was replaced. So for me I purchased the bike November 2018 and current motor replacement is November 2019. Do I now have a 4 year warranty starting in November 2018 or 2019? Just making sure of the specifics.

No, not true, rider Care have said its from the date of purchase.
Still a really good warranty, regardless of when you got it

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

@Specialized Rider Care
amazing, I've had Specialized bikes for 20+ years and loved them, I have a 2020 Levo now and was going to (with some regret) buy my son a cube because of these issues (I had one motor replaced on a 2019 Levo) but this is really exceptional service and this announcement coupled with Marco's recent interview with Rob gives me loads of confidence and I'll be getting him a Levo.. thanks !

 

[Levo-Lon]

Just been out on my updated firmware levo.
It seems a lot smoother and quieter..it was quiet anyway.

Very happy with the update.

On a sadder note the wife's 2018 has started the pedal slip when over 16mph.
It's booked in for September 21st at Rutland Cycles, I suspect a sprag failing and a motor required.
Thankfully it's warranty runs out in November

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

Just been out on my updated firmware levo.
It seems a lot smoother and quieter..it was quiet anyway.

Very happy with the update.

On a sadder note the wife's 2018 has started the pedal slip when over 16mph.
It's booked in for September 21st at Rutland Cycles, I suspect a sprag failing and a motor required.
Thankfully it's warranty runs out in November

This is why I have asked the question in #18 which @Specialized Rider Care have not answered yet.....
I presume you are aware that if you have another motor failure on your 1.2 or 1.3 motor after November, even if it is the 1st of December you will have to pay for a motor.



I will repeat the question again and hopefully they will answer.......

It is a real shame you are not doing something for the older Levo’s and Kenevo’s. Do you have any thoughts or comments on possible future support for these guys?

 

[Zimmerframe]

 

[OldGoatMTB]

 

[gaba]

Can you please explain what the firmware update does? Does it actually decrease motor support as temperature increases as many have guessed from behavior of the replacement motors?

 

[Bigtuna00]

Can you please explain what the firmware update does? Does it actually decrease motor support as temperature increases as many have guessed from behavior of the replacement motors?

It's answered in the second post:

What firmware improvements have been made to the 2.1 motor?
Recently we identified an issue with 2.1 motor firmware that has contributed to reduced belt-life. Based on specific riding styles & terrains, some riders have experienced ultra-short periods where torque was significantly higher than component tolerance levels – accelerating belt failure. To address this we’ve released optimized motor firmware that removes these “spikes” without affecting bike performance.

Reduced motor support under high temp is "normal" behavior, my '19 has done this since day 1. I'm sure it's been adjusted over time too but I don't think it's related to this update.

 

[Andy__C]

This is great news, thank you Specialized. Still thankfully no issue on the 19' Levo (well, had and off and broke my arm today... but the bike is fine!).

Having the peace of mind for another 3+ years cover is really reassuring. Well done

 

[TheBikePilot]

This is why I have asked the question in #18 which @Specialized Rider Care have not answered yet.....
I presume you are aware that if you have another motor failure on your 1.2 or 1.3 motor after November, even if it is the 1st of December you will have to pay for a motor.



I will repeat the question again and hopefully they will answer.......

It is a real shame you are not doing something for the older Levo’s and Kenevo’s. Do you have any thoughts or comments on possible future support for these guys?

Hey Kiwi, Hope you're well mate!

I don't think that motor/battery combo suffered the same failure rate the 2019 did. 2019 was a Hero bike for Spesh and has had many more 'reported' failures than the earlier models which most accept are fairly bulletproof, in as much as an e-bike electrical system can be.

The Livestream at Spesh stated quite clearly that you're not out in the cold if you do have a failure just after your 2 years. There is always the Rider Assist program which offers a discounted rate on components after the two year period. To me it still equates to wear and tear. However, listening to Chris and other owners, they deal with each claim on a case by case basis. I've not heard Spesh walking away from anyone. Often when people have been, let's say, less than sensible.

I've had extended warranty on two cars I've owned and unless the motor or gearbox literally blows up, you're on your own still. A gearbox blew on a BMW SMG M3 I owned and they still tried to argue and blame me for a sealed unit designed to take any input. I had several heated discussions with them and the threat of legal action, with all the associated stress, before they changed it FOC... (I hadn't used the quick off the lights functions..!) Never had that issue with Spesh. In and out in 2 hours thanks to Berkshire Cycles. And Chris mocks me wildly for not really looking after my bike too well...

The 2016/2017 is now coming up on 3-4 years and we aren't hearing much noise about issues other than standard QA failure. I've not read anywhere Spesh have been difficult or unreasonable about replacing or honouring the warranty on them unless you have more data other than a few individual issues against the overall sales of the bike?

Props to Spesh for listening to riders, acknowledging a problem and coming up with a very reasonable solution. I think if there was an issue with the bikes you are mentioning they would have addressed them in the same manner. If said owners do have a problem I am sure they wouldn't be paying full price on a motor/battery. I've said it before but on Motocross bikes brand new, you'd be lucky to get 1-month warranty on anything.

I was thinking of trading mine in after the summer, It was always a long term investment for me, but the issues mentioned made it not so much.

Now I'm gonna keep it and am firmly confident Specialized do care deeply about you as a customer. I've met them all, I knew it deep down but this is really standing by your product and putting your money where your mouth is. Right from the CEO. Even if that does mean it comes at a price premium. That's piece of mind. They are on your side. Only two companies I trusted for complete honesty and customer focus these days Apple and Amazon, and now Spesh. Very rare to see these days..! Huge thumbs up...

 

[Fiord]

I have just purchased a 2021 turbo levo and was disappointed to discover that it has a 2019 motor (December 2019). Having read feedback from Specialized and others here it appears that changes were implemented early in 2020 to address a number of concerns with the motor. Should I return the bike to have a recent dated motor fitted ? Or if I keep the old motor in my "2021" bike should I expect to also receive the extended warranty ?
I am also awaiting a 2nd 2021 levo for my wife so am a bit confused on how I should be dealing with this.

 

[wepn]

I don't think that motor/battery combo suffered the same failure rate the 2019 did. 2019 was a Hero bike for Spesh and has had many more 'reported' failures than the earlier models which most accept are fairly bulletproof, in as much as an e-bike electrical system can be.

Yes although it would be great to see Specialized help accelerate the production of waterproofing solutions like MudStop to seal the crankshaft bearings on all the vulnerable Brose drives Alu S as well as Mag S. Also for other areas that are possibly susceptible like around the battery control buttons.

Specialized do care deeply about you as a customer.

Yes that rings true and I think that care becomes mutual when there is inherent heritage associated with the brand & model lineups. To see classic Levo's & Kenevo's still operating in 10 years time & beyond into the future would be a huge, essential part of building on that heritage. Easy for that guarantee with a '81 Stumpjumper, not so easy for a '19 Levo but crucial in preserving & maintaining that legacy.

How difficult would it be to maintain spare parts supply lines off into the future? My guess is difficult and increasingly so. Still worthwhile to do in my opinion. DIY experts will renovate them in small numbers and maybe that will be key to the high value of future classics.

 

[Javice]

To all owners of 2019/20 Turbo Levo & 2020 Kenevo featuring the Specialized 2.1 motor, here's a letter to you from Mike Sinyard - our founder and CEO.

Thanks for all of your support & feedback on this forum. We'll keep a close eye on this thread and do our best to answer any questions.

There are people who have updated and complain that there is a decrease in power in the engine and that is has to increse the assistance in eco.

It is true that the engine update involves a second reduction in power like the previous one that was made at the end of 2019?.

Can you explain what the update consists of, what has been removed?

 

[McInner1]

>>>It is true that the engine update involves a second reduction in power like the previous one that was made at the end of 2019?.
Can you explain what the update consists of, what has been removed?

Official Spesh statement (see beginning of that thread):

What firmware improvements have been made to the 2.1 motor?
Recently we identified an issue with 2.1 motor firmware that has contributed to reduced belt-life. Based on specific riding styles & terrains, some riders have experienced ultra-short periods where torque was significantly higher than component tolerance levels – accelerating belt failure. To address this we’ve released optimized motor firmware that removes these “spikes” without affecting bike performance.


Has the new firmware reduced motor power or changed the riding experience?
Motor power and bike performance is the same as before, torque spikes were too short to be noticed by the rider. The only change riders will notice is to the walk-assist function which has been reduced in power to comply with recent legislation.

 

[MrSimmo]

>>>It is true that the engine update involves a second reduction in power like the previous one that was made at the end of 2019?.
Can you explain what the update consists of, what has been removed?

Official Spesh statement (see beginning of that thread):

What firmware improvements have been made to the 2.1 motor?
Recently we identified an issue with 2.1 motor firmware that has contributed to reduced belt-life. Based on specific riding styles & terrains, some riders have experienced ultra-short periods where torque was significantly higher than component tolerance levels – accelerating belt failure. To address this we’ve released optimized motor firmware that removes these “spikes” without affecting bike performance.


Has the new firmware reduced motor power or changed the riding experience?
Motor power and bike performance is the same as before, torque spikes were too short to be noticed by the rider. The only change riders will notice is to the walk-assist function which has been reduced in power to comply with recent legislation.

A very brief analysis of the power output from the 2.1 motor with 6.1.0 -> 7.3.x basically shows the same power curves but the 6.1.0 had a lot of peaks (abrupt spike power) under high torque low cadence situations, with 7.3.x those peaks have been rounded off. So what I saw from that analysis is that the sustained power is the same.

Whether they're the only changes who knows but at least removal of those peaks will help motor life.

 

[Specialized Rider Care]

There are people who have updated and complain that there is a decrease in power in the engine and that is has to increse the assistance in eco.

It is true that the engine update involves a second reduction in power like the previous one that was made at the end of 2019?.

Can you explain what the update consists of, what has been removed?

Hi @Javice . Thanks for asking - if you check the 2nd post in the thread there's a Q&A that addresses this and other common questions specifically.

So - absolutely not true that there's any reduction in power. That was our concern too! For anyone reading this or experiencing a seeming reduction in power after an update we'd advise that you check your tuning settings in Mission Control after the update - move all the sliders once and then put them back to where you want them (including acceleration response etc) so that you are 100% confident the bike is tuned the way you like it.

If for some reason you still feel that something isn't right please find a ride that you've recorded before and perhaps re-ride that route whilst recording the ride and then compare your support/power consumption etc. If something doesn't look right then post here.

@gaba / @Bigtuna00 - Motor support begins to de-rate after 90 degrees C. Before that point you should not notice any loss of power.

 

[Specialized Rider Care]

It is a real shame you are not doing something for the older Levo’s and Kenevo’s. Do you have any thoughts or comments on possible future support for these guys?

Hi @Kiwi in Wales - sorry for missing your question earlier. We extended the warranty for specific bikes featuring the 2.1 motor due to measured field-failure rates, the simplest answer is that we haven't seen the same volume of issues with other bikes/motors so we haven't changed our warranty policy.

A few clarifying points: -

• We work closely with component vendors to ensure we keep sourcing parts far longer than a bike is sold for. We aim for 10 years, sometimes that's not possible but it is our goal.
• We have an assisted-purchase scheme for out-of-warranty bikes - it's on our website under our warranty policy. It means a retailer can purchase a part at a discounted rate and pass that discount onto a rider within a reasonable timeframe.
• We track failures per serial-number - our rider-care teams know if a bike has had multiple warranty claims and are empowered to "do the right thing" where a rider has genuinely had repeat issues that they didn't cause.
• Some repeat issues are not warranty cases (don't shoot me here). Our retailers know the difference between a well-maintained bike and one that has been abused, hacked, jet-washed, crashed etc and we trust them to make fair decisions.

 

[Spagnol]

Hi @Kiwi in Wales - sorry for missing your question earlier. We extended the warranty for specific bikes featuring the 2.1 motor due to measured field-failure rates, the simplest answer is that we haven't seen the same volume of issues with other bikes/motors so we haven't changed our warranty policy.

A few clarifying points: -

• We work closely with component vendors to ensure we keep sourcing parts far longer than a bike is sold for. We aim for 10 years, sometimes that's not possible but it is our goal.
• We have an assisted-purchase scheme for out-of-warranty bikes - it's on our website under our warranty policy. It means a retailer can purchase a part at a discounted rate and pass that discount onto a rider within a reasonable timeframe.
• We track failures per serial-number - our rider-care teams know if a bike has had multiple warranty claims and are empowered to "do the right thing" where a rider has genuinely had repeat issues that they didn't cause.
• Some repeat issues are not warranty cases (don't shoot me here). Our retailers know the difference between a well-maintained bike and one that has been abused, hacked, jet-washed, crashed etc and we trust them to make fair decisions.

Hello Specialized , after replacing the motor and making the last software upgrade the walk mode is completely useless.

I had already read that is to be inline with new regulations but yesterday just making a side by side comparison with a Yamaha motor and a Bosch motor ( both last version so PWX-X2 and a gen 4 ) the specialized walk mode is really unusable in terms of speed but even worst in term of power.

Before the upgrade I do admit that was more powerful of the two motors I mentioned , but right now is just impossible to use it in any technical trail where you must need to get out of the saddle.

Are we sure that had been calibrated correctly?

 

[Reap3r]

I have just purchased a 2021 turbo levo and was disappointed to discover that it has a 2019 motor (December 2019). Having read feedback from Specialized and others here it appears that changes were implemented early in 2020 to address a number of concerns with the motor. Should I return the bike to have a recent dated motor fitted ? Or if I keep the old motor in my "2021" bike should I expect to also receive the extended warranty ?
I am also awaiting a 2nd 2021 levo for my wife so am a bit confused on how I should be dealing with this.

This is disappointing. As a recent 2021 buyer, I assumed that I’d have a newly manufactured motor when my bike arrives.

 

[Jsmithjr732]

@Specialized Rider Care As a couple other 2021 new owners also mentioned, I have a December 2019 motor in my new Levo Comp. I was expecting a much newer build for the motor and it looks like mine is in the zone where issues could be seen. As mine is a 2021, I don’t have the longer 4-year warranty. The FAQ and letter talks about all 2021s having their updated motor and parts, but is that accurate for my bike and others who have a 2019 motor build?

Why do 2021s like mine have a motor from last year? Does my motor have the older belt/other parts that were the cause of failures? Should I go back to the LBS to have them update the motor to a newer version under warranty?

 

[Specialized Rider Care]

@Specialized Rider Care As a couple other 2021 new owners also mentioned, I have a December 2019 motor in my new Levo Comp. I was expecting a much newer build for the motor and it looks like mine is in the zone where issues could be seen. As mine is a 2021, I don’t have the longer 4-year warranty. The FAQ and letter talks about all 2021s having their updated motor and parts, but is that accurate for my bike and others who have a 2019 motor build?

Why do 2021s like mine have a motor from last year? Does my motor have the older belt/other parts that were the cause of failures? Should I go back to the LBS to have them update the motor to a newer version under warranty?

@Jsmithjr732 / @Fiord / @Reap3r - thanks for the question here. Need to dig a little deeper so please give me a few days. I may PM you for some bike serial numbers, hold fire for now.

 

[Dpickin1]

I just got my motor replaced in 1.5 days by my awesome dealer as well as the update to the software. I blew the motor in the exact same scenario that was mentioned above, high support low gear and it was hot outside. Anyway, I am going to test the walk mode in a few but everything feels smooth and fine for now. Much respect for the great people at specialized for taking ownership and treating customers the right way. This kenevo is already my favorite bike I have ever owned and I have even more trust in the brand as a result of the motor failure because of thier consumer response if that makes sense......

 

[VOOBOY]

@Specialized Rider Care can you tell us when we can expect to be able to do the firmware update over mission control? Bike shops are super busy and it seems to me that this would certainly help owners if it could be done in the comfort of our own homes.I

 

[gmurad]

@Specialized Rider Care can you tell us when we can expect to be able to do the firmware update over mission control? Bike shops are super busy and it seems to me that this would certainly help owners if it could be done in the comfort of our own homes.I

Great question. I have no reason to visit the bike shop and would much rather apply the update myself