The rear guard is the best on the market. The way it is designed and fit really protects muck and stuff from entry into the motor cavity. Important for pre 2020 models. Look on the forum as well. Lots of discussions on this exact topic.
It looks like I am upcountry from you. I am about 88kg and with Eco at 25/35 I can do a 100km at an average of 23-24 km/h with 800m climbing. The accel response I found is one of the main culprits for draining the battery. Mine is at zero.
I have the 700Wh battery which I purchased in late 2019. After about 25 cycles it shows 96% Health when fully charged. When fully charged showing 100%, Blevo shows 674 Wh and not 700 Wh which makes sense in Blevo. Mission Control on the other hand shows 100% and 100% for the same situation.
I agree with Funkeydunk. I learned the hard way as well. Use only a damp cloth for cleaning. Also, once the TCU is completely dry, use tape and wrap it to protect the connectors from water ingress. Since I did this, no more problems.
I found Mission Control too conservative with any setting for marathon races. Assistance is too low to keep up with the racing snakes. In a race is all about the pace. I use Eco at 30/50 with Trail at 50/80 for the steeper climbs only. If you have 10kms left use Trail mode if the terrain allows...
Would it be possible to take a 2019 500Wh battery, open it up and replace the cells with higher capacity cell batteries to get maybe up to 1000Wh? Battery technology is there now, but wondering about the electronics or other issues. Any thoughts or experiences?