How to drop motor of YT Decoy?

Armeniandave

Active member
Sep 10, 2018
119
111
San Diego, California
Alright dropped the motor yesterday. It was pretty easy with the right tools.
I have to say it was not very dirty. Maybe a bit dusty but that's all. Hardest
part was the main connector, that was a pain in the butt. 20200517_151445.jpg 20200517_151438.jpg 20200517_155810.jpg 20200517_154925.jpg 20200517_153122.jpg 20200517_155819.jpg
 

Intermtb

Member
Jan 5, 2020
87
74
USA
I'll be replacing my motor this week so I'll try and take some pictures. I live in San Diego so I'm not going to have any roots or mud like there seems to be in the UK but I'm sure it will be dirty.
what happened to you old motor? how many miles? replacing E8000 with another E8000? just curious.
Also curious if the E8000 motor made in Japan? my E7000 is made in Indonesia.
 

Armeniandave

Active member
Sep 10, 2018
119
111
San Diego, California
what happened to you old motor? how many miles? replacing E8000 with another E8000? just curious.
Also curious if the E8000 motor made in Japan? my E7000 is made in Indonesia.

Shimano is sending me another new motor to replace this one for excessive
bearing movement. Motor had 1500 miles on it. Lots of hills around my area
but still it should have lasted longer than that! I'll take the opportunity to swap
out my chain, cassette, and sprocket as well as the speed sensor.
 

ziscwg

Member
Sep 18, 2019
76
32
US
Wow that amazes me that the decoy doesn't have the cover, that's one of the main areas you need to make sure no crap gets into on the Shimano, does the frame form a seal around it? Water and muck settles around those connections and your asking for trouble

No cover, the connections are hidden behind the frame. I am definitely scared to ride it in the winter.

I rode my decoy through rain and hail storms a few times when I got caught out there thinking I could get a ride in before the storm. I pulled the motor cover and battery and there wasn't any mud or debris in the motor area. So, ride in the winter. You will be fine.

One thing I did notice was the crude that got tossed into the linkage of the suspension riding in winter. I know they are sealed bearings, but it was a lot. I have modified a front mud fender to fit there and block most of it. Put that with my mudhugger and it's ugly, but it's does not collect mud in the winter
 

kre62

New Member
May 9, 2020
9
3
San Diego
Well, bad news. The motor dropped too quickly and it broke the power connector. The plastic broke off into the harness plug. Any ideas if this is fixable? There are 4 screws around this plug, so seems like maybe a swappable component? Anyone have an idea?

IMG_8106.jpg
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,185
Surrey
No idea, I think best to contact Shimano - if you are in the UK contact Madison and they should be a able to tell you.
 

Intermtb

Member
Jan 5, 2020
87
74
USA
I heard shimano USA is pretty good in responding, just google the support info.

or

Try super glue it, maybe using Sugru Moldable Glue: https://amzn.to/2GweC6H
super strong glue, I've never tried it myself, saw some youtube video about this.
this guy using it :
 

ichauchtt

Member
May 14, 2020
63
24
Switzerland
I finally replaced my speed sensor today and had to drop the motor to get to the cable. A few findings:
1) It is doable;)
2) There was no dirt or dampness at all under the frame. So, even though the constructions looks a bit "airy", it seems to be holding off the bad stuff.
3) The cables are really short, especially the main connector. So, yes, you need an extra pair of hands to hold the motor when you remove the last screw. Then you need to unplug the main connector. For me, it was enough to just drop the motor a bit, so I was able to replace the speed sensor.
4) To avoid the problem with the main power connector, I think you could actually unplug it from the front before you drop the motor. I saw it too late, but am pretty sure that it works.
 

Boros

New Member
Jul 6, 2020
20
10
Romania
I tried to drop my motor today, took aut the 6 bolts, but couldn't drop it, it was stuck. Pedals were still in. Did someone else have the same problem?
 

Lee Dove

Well-known member
Oct 12, 2018
301
268
Scotland
I tried to drop my motor today, took aut the 6 bolts, but couldn't drop it, it was stuck. Pedals were still in. Did someone else have the same problem?
I thought there was only 3 bolts. It may sound daft but did you take the right ones out ?
 

lamomie

Member
Jul 3, 2019
54
41
France
All 6 bolts were out, csble clamps were still in. Motor wasn't moving at all, like it was still held by some bolts
remove the protection under the motor held by 4 screws, 2 in front and 2 behind, be careful to hold the motor, so as not to break the battery connector when falling.
 

Boros

New Member
Jul 6, 2020
20
10
Romania
remove the protection under the motor held by 4 screws, 2 in front and 2 behind, be careful to hold the motor, so as not to break the battery connector when falling.
Of course it was ?removed. My question is if themotor is hel by somthing else as the 6 screws, and alsso the skidplate. Just the cables couldn't be so strong. Tried to pull by the kranks(bike was upside down) and didn't move at all, maybe 1mm in the back side(had to use a plastic mullet to get it back to fit the back screws back). Strange. I think it was stuck in the frame, but wasn't sure, didn' t want to brake something.
 

Gspot

Active member
Jul 28, 2019
129
22
NW
I recently swapped from an e7000 to an e8000. Battery kicks off after 10 seconds? Connected to E-TUBE and it recognized the motor and display but no battery? It as e8020 internal battery. Triple checked everything?
Any ideas?
 

ichauchtt

Member
May 14, 2020
63
24
Switzerland
Of course it was ?removed. My question is if themotor is hel by somthing else as the 6 screws, and alsso the skidplate. Just the cables couldn't be so strong. Tried to pull by the kranks(bike was upside down) and didn't move at all, maybe 1mm in the back side(had to use a plastic mullet to get it back to fit the back screws back). Strange. I think it was stuck in the frame, but wasn't sure, didn' t want to brake something.

Weird... If you removed the correct screws, it must come off. Did you remove the front chainring or how did you get to the screw under that one, because usually it is in the way?
 

Boros

New Member
Jul 6, 2020
20
10
Romania
Weird... If you removed the correct screws, it must come off. Did you remove the front chainring or how did you get to the screw under that one, because usually it is in the way?
You can get to the screwsby losening the chainguide, and the chainring is 36T, so it is just enoug space to take the screws out. That's it, i resolved it in other way.
 

VULPER

New Member
Mar 23, 2022
1
0
GERMANY
Tried to get out the motor of my Decoy today, too. I got all 6 bolts out but the motor is kinda stuck and doesn't move an inch.

I am aware that there are no other bolts to hold the Motor, but what got me curious is that there are some spacers between the frame and the motor bolt holes. What made me even more curious is that they are only on the non-drivetrain side.

Did you guys have some spacers there, too? Are they part of the motor?
20220323_171751.jpg
20220323_181054.jpg
 

vicvega

New Member
Jul 30, 2021
6
1
Sweden
I have a 2021 Decoy with EP8 motor and want to fit Di2 (RD-M8050-GS).
Easiest would be to plug it into one of the three ports on the motor
Does anyone know if there is any port available on the motor, or are all in use?
(I didn't get the motor out on the first try so haven't been able to look)
 
Last edited:

db840

Member
Sep 28, 2019
34
28
Canada
Tried to get out the motor of my Decoy today, too. I got all 6 bolts out but the motor is kinda stuck and doesn't move an inch.

I am aware that there are no other bolts to hold the Motor, but what got me curious is that there are some spacers between the frame and the motor bolt holes. What made me even more curious is that they are only on the non-drivetrain side.

Did you guys have some spacers there, too? Are they part of the motor?
View attachment 84488 View attachment 84489
Yes , my Decoy has these shims as well. They make a nice tight fit for the motor in the frame.
 

flowinh2o

New Member
Feb 16, 2023
4
0
San Diego
Unfortunately I just had to replace my motor after about 2500 miles on a 2020 YT Decoy. I was running the speedbox 1.2b delimiter on it for about 1000miles before it had a melt down in very wet conditions so not sure if it was water or the more just had enough of a beating. During the ride it threw an E10 error twice and then finally wouldn’t power on the last time I tried it. I have had to drop the motor a few times now and have found the easiest way to drop this motor is:
1) mount it on a rack if you have one and take off both rims
2) remove chain from the front chainring
3) remove battery
4) in the battery compartment remove the one screw for the bracket that holds down the wires so you can get some slack on the cables. This will make removing the motor waaay easier
5) remove the chain guide so you can access one of the six motor bolts behind it
6) remove the four bolts holding on the bash guard underneath the motor
7) if you want to completely drop the motor just remove all 6 bolts. If you want it to sit nicely in the frame and not just fall out first remove the 4 on each side towards the front of the bike and then just loosen the two remaining ones at the lowest point near the rear. This will allow you to pivot the motor in the frame and get access to the wires without pulling the whole thing out. You can see below how it can just sit in the frame with just the back two bolts.
A2BAF316-636C-4B6F-910C-091494DD85CA.jpeg
 

flowinh2o

New Member
Feb 16, 2023
4
0
San Diego
Oh and another thing to note if you buy a new motor you will probably have to bring it into a shop (without the speedbox of course) and have them program it for you to the correct speed, chainring, and wheelsize. When I got mine it was in uk mode and was all out of wack for wheel size so it thought it was going twice as fast as it was. Here in the states my local shop has to attach the etube software with a dongle and setup a call with Shimano so they can log into the computer remotely to directly change these settings since they are very strict about unlocking these.
 

Sapientiea

Active member
Jul 12, 2019
296
192
Netherlands
I have contacted YT here in Europe and they also said they need to adjust some software stuff in the motor to make it work. That means either send it back to YT or find an approved Shimano service center. Question is will the motor work without the adjustments if I buy one from Ebay?
 

Chrysaor

Active member
Apr 12, 2021
111
100
Switzerland
I have contacted YT here in Europe and they also said they need to adjust some software stuff in the motor to make it work. That means either send it back to YT or find an approved Shimano service center. Question is will the motor work without the adjustments if I buy one from Ebay?
Curious to hear about that as well.
If it’s only setting the motor angle, wheel circ and gearing this could be done in stunlocker
 

flowinh2o

New Member
Feb 16, 2023
4
0
San Diego
I have contacted YT here in Europe and they also said they need to adjust some software stuff in the motor to make it work. That means either send it back to YT or find an approved Shimano service center. Question is will the motor work without the adjustments if I buy one from Ebay?
Technically the motor will work but it probably need an adjustment. The one I received off ebay was set to Euro mode (not sure about any of the others settings) and was registering twice the speed it was actually traveling. I just looked at the stunlock manual and looks like it does everything the shop mentioned including the chainring size but I saw a lot of comments about firmware compatibilty and had upgraded to the latest 4.9.4 so didn’t want to spend the money just to figure out it wouldn‘t work. My local shop only charged $35 dollars to figured it was just easier to have them do it. Once I got it back from the shop I threw my Speedbox back on and had my first ride yesterday on the new unrestricted motor! Good as new.

Stunlocker manual
 

Sapientiea

Active member
Jul 12, 2019
296
192
Netherlands
[/QUOTE]
Technically the motor will work but it probably need an adjustment. The one I received off ebay was set to Euro mode (not sure about any of the others settings) and was registering twice the speed it was actually traveling. I just looked at the stunlock manual and looks like it does everything the shop mentioned including the chainring size but I saw a lot of comments about firmware compatibilty and had upgraded to the latest 4.9.4 so didn’t want to spend the money just to figure out it wouldn‘t work. My local shop only charged $35 dollars to figured it was just easier to have them do it. Once I got it back from the shop I threw my Speedbox back on and had my first ride yesterday on the new unrestricted motor! Good as new.

Stunlocker manual

That is exactly what I was thinking, the motor will work they only need to adjust some settings. That open up a lot more possibilities for me and potentially cost and time saving. Thanks for answering, much appreciated.
 

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