How many motors have you blown? 2019 levo only

mauiguy

New Member
Nov 10, 2018
4
4
Hawaii
Bike is in the shop again waiting for it’s fourth motor! I’d like to start a thread for 2019 levo owners to post in when they blow a motor. Please include as much detail as possible. How old is bike, how many miles, how long did you wait to get your motor replaced.
 

davarello

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2018
305
360
New Zealand
First motor (2019) was a noisy one so that was replaced almost immediately, the new one had done 2500km in 8 months then the drive belt blew last week. Belt replaced and back on the road two days ago, apparently a shortage of complete new motors but not too worried. I'm thinking a quick motor check every 1000-1500km might be a good idea.
 

Koo

Member
Nov 11, 2018
74
38
Finland
Bike is in the shop again waiting for it’s fourth motor! I’d like to start a thread for 2019 levo owners to post in when they blow a motor. Please include as much detail as possible. How old is bike, how many miles, how long did you wait to get your motor replaced.

can you describe what kind of failures you have had. or are all the same?
 

Maastricht

E*POWAH Master
Oct 3, 2018
646
655
M
Mine is replaced too after about 6 weeks from new as I had one of the earliest manufactured Levo's and thought it was one of the noisy ones. (at least compared to a 2016/2017/2018 model) Looking backwards I honnestly doubt if it was a real noisy one as the new one has noise too. Especially at higher cadence on small steep hills you can really hear the gearing inside the motor. Last week I have been riding with another 2019 Levo rider and he had more or less the same issue.

Besides the topic above related to noise, I have had no issues with durability. I have driven about 1100km most of the time in eco sometimes in trail and mostly hilly landscape (no mountains).

I am not sure if it is a good idea but for the people who are posting in this thread maybe you can add, in case you had durability issues, which setting you normally ride most (eco/trail/turbo) and the terrain you have been riding mostly. (Alps?)
 

Binhill1

🍊 Tango Man 🍊
Mar 7, 2019
2,574
3,748
Scotland
Question must admit concerns me a little wondering long will it last , if it goes pressume it has to be replaced by Specialized dealer or could you replace it your self.
 

paquo

Well-known member
Jul 31, 2018
463
282
usa
Question must admit concerns me a little wondering long will it last , if it goes pressume it has to be replaced by Specialized dealer or could you replace it your self.
if you look at the manual it does not seem out of the question, but it may require software to connect with battery etc
 

Rich the gasman

E*POWAH Master
May 4, 2019
178
259
North east
Mine lasted 500 mile ish, was fixed in no time by lbs so super happy with there service, it just ruined my bank holiday weekend and race ...... belt was the problem, think another local had same fault . Specialized must be aware of it by now, the last thing they want is to keep replacing the motors so wondering if there’s an updated belt going to be released as the motor was still good.

I will say the new motor seems much quieter and feels way more responsive than my previous, made me think if there al ready has been a slight change in the motor??.
 

Nifty 56

Member
Dec 13, 2018
134
74
Lytham St.Annes
I haven't been on this forum much lately as I've sort of lost interest in emtbs after riding Morzine in July and having so much fun on a 'normal' mtb.

I know about the problems with the pre-2019 Levo as 2 friends own them but didn't know there are still problems with the 2019 model.

I've got my 2018 Vitus E-Sommet for sale on here and glad I got that instead of a Levo. Will next years Levo be any better? :unsure:
 
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Binhill1

🍊 Tango Man 🍊
Mar 7, 2019
2,574
3,748
Scotland
About to pull the trigger in a 2020 s-work levo, better come with a spare Motor.
That's what I was going
if you look at the manual it does not seem out of the question, but it may require software to connect with battery etc
Probably right. Just getting th
About to pull the trigger in a 2020 s-work levo, better come with a spare Motor.
I was on the phone ordering one and dealer persuaded me to go for Expert instead happy with it but preferred the look of S Works . Youll enjoy whatever. As you say its a concern re motors but end of the day you dont know what these riders are like and what they are doing on these bikes , lot of nutters out there or should i say good riders . I know the Expert well capable of a lot more than i will ever throw at it.
 

Binhill1

🍊 Tango Man 🍊
Mar 7, 2019
2,574
3,748
Scotland
I haven't been on this forum much lately as I've sort of lost interest in emtbs after riding Morzine in July and having so much fun on a 'normal' mtb.

I know about the problems with the pre-2019 Levo as 2 friends own them but didn't know there are still problems with the 2019 model.

I've got my 2018 Vitus E-Sommet for sale on here and glad I got that instead of a Levo. Will next years Levo be any better? :unsure:
I had activity holiday in Morzine 15 years ago maybe loved the cycling hired a Kona Stab for the morning brilliant . Yes i could live without the ebike over there as well
 

Nifty 56

Member
Dec 13, 2018
134
74
Lytham St.Annes
I had activity holiday in Morzine 15 years ago maybe loved the cycling hired a Kona Stab for the morning brilliant . Yes i could live without the ebike over there as well
OMG! 15 years ago! I think it will be a bit different now. I watched so many You Tube videos before I went, I still didn't ride all of the trails. I spent time just learning a few and getting used to the big jumps! :eek:
 

Binhill1

🍊 Tango Man 🍊
Mar 7, 2019
2,574
3,748
Scotland
OMG! 15 years ago! I think it will be a bit different now. I watched so many You Tube videos before I went, I still didn't ride all of the trails. I spent time just learning a few and getting used to the big jumps! :eek:
Best holiday i had great place .Stayed in Les Gets ,Via Ferratta ,Canyoning, Mountain biking fantastic it was .There were 4 downhill courses then if i remember only jumps i remember was the Kona bike park amazing how all sports evolve, you see that if you stick at something for 30 years or more haha. Im of an age now where i am not tempted by the jumping anymore but still occasionally have to say slow down pal you wont bounce like you used to if you come off .
 

sb5050

Member
Jul 25, 2019
25
33
Phoenix, AZ
I'm wondering if because specialized sells so many Levo's, if the complaints of motor failure are due to so many being sold. Perhaps other lower volume bikes and motors have problems too but the number of owners is so small that we don't often hear about their issues. I just Demo'd a Giant Trance e-2 and it stopped working in about 200 yards from the shop. Took it back and they gave me another one and rode 3 hours without any problems.
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,105
4,636
Weymouth
This thread sounds like a competition...I wonder what the point of it is. LBS are not allowed to strip the motor so it is interesting that folks seems to know what their motor issue was when the only people who would know are the Specialized warranty team. Also strange that one person can have repeated motor problems whilst clearly the vast majority have none. So is it the motor, the LBS that assemble the bike, or the user?
 

Simoto123

E*POWAH Master
Patreon
Aug 6, 2019
265
368
North west
I’m on my second motor in 2018 S-Works, new in April 19. Third battery too. First motor lasted 1k and the belt snapped. I feel like my current one has issues as the motor clicks when cold. Sounds like an issue with sprags in the clutch.
Good motor in terms of power and quiet operation.
My vast majority are hilly official cycleroute mileage with some trips to the woods and back. Some turbo used in these rides but large majority eco. Had a couple of unnasisted rides home. Frustrating 5 miles that was!
 

Alex @ PLANET3.bike

Active member
Jun 18, 2019
23
26
Zagreb
Also a snapped belt/pulley. 3000 km or so, 2019 base model, purchased in January 2019. Without a bike for 2 months now. LBS powerless since there's a global motor shortage.
 

Rainman1404

New Member
Mar 22, 2019
3
5
Massachuttes
With all the motor warranty claims I have been reading about with the mag s brose could this be a cause of the smaller mag case? They basically took the same internals and put them in a case 15% smaller. If you pull up a side by side pic of the 1.3 vs 2.1 mag there seems to be far less clearance for the belt to the case. Could this cause the motors to be far more sensitive to belt tension etc?
BROSE DRIVE S MAG.jpg
 
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Maastricht

E*POWAH Master
Oct 3, 2018
646
655
M
With all the motor warranty claims I have been reading about with the mag s brose could this be a cause of the smaller mag case? They basically took the same internals and put them in a case 15% smaller. If you pull up a side by side pic of the 1.3 vs 2.1 mag there seems to be far less clearance for the belt to the case. Could this cause the motors to be far more sensitive to belt tension etc? View attachment 17862

If it is true (and we don’t know for sure yet) that reliability of the Brose S Mag is less compared to Brose S Alu then I guess it’s more related to the increased torque of the new motor rather than the housing.

There are movies of faulty motors where you clearly hear the belt slipping over the teeth of the internal drivetrain. Again all is speculation!

I must say too that in case we all get simular failures outside warranty Specialized should also react on that. Belt should be changed at 15.000km. If we all only reach 5.000km then I am almost sure Specialized will solve the issue. (warranty or not)
 

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