LOL!...the eclipsamania around some parts in our state have been kind of ridiculous. I don't get it, but hey...people can enjoy what they want.
Andrew, on the Bosch motor, it's been our experience at the bike shop and from reading on forums like these that the Bosch motor doesn't have much need in the maintenance department. Unlike our dirt motor engines that you are well versed in, they have little in the way of maintenance items. Add to that the fairly well accepted durability and longevity of the CX motor, and there's not much to worry about. Eventually there will be bearing and other wear requiring service and replacement parts, and with your KTM engine business, you may actually be fully capable of it. I will probably send mine off to a reputable rebuild provider when that time comes.
One issue that seems to affect most emtb motors of all brands is water intrusion. Unlike our dirt motor engines, most of these e-motors aren't nearly as well sealed. The CX Bosch does fairly well, but frequently dunking them in stream and creek crossings isn't that healthy for them. Fortunately you and I live in TX and don't have the exposure like many in the UK and other locations are challenged with. Still, I recommend riding in dry conditions and avoid water and much as much as possible. You and I suffered through years of racing enduros where we didn't have a choice in mud and water. I don't do that anymore with my dirt motors or my emtb...LOL!
On the battery life and condition, these units will last a very long time. I learned a good bit about lithium ion e-bike batteries with that SC Bullit/Bafang mid-drive I built and rode for 3 years. I bought a very good quality battery from Bicycle Motor Works, and it has been extremely reliable. It has lasted 3 years of heavy use with little degradation in power. The recommendations for the batteries are pretty much the same for the Bosch battery in that it's best to leave them at about a half or so charge when you're not going to use them the next day. I say about "a half charge", but this isn't as critical as just attempting to keep the charge somewhere between 30-60 percent for "ideal" storage...storage meaning anything long term or just anything where use won't occur the next day. This isn't necessarily a life-or-death situation for the battery, but it is accepted that this effort will prolong battery condition and life.
Andrew, on the creaking noise, do you have the e-thirteen OEM cranks? Some report looseness and creaking from these though we have not experienced this at the bike shop. I went to 160mm e-thirteen cranks on my Rail 7, and as I always do, I installed them with a good dose of anti-seize. This issue can be like an oil discussion thread with a loud hue and cry along with much gnashing of teeth...LOL! I've been using anti-seize for decades on my crank arms of all manner of designs, and I've never had a creak or have the arm fall off...period.
Another area of looseness or noise on the Bosch motor can come from the chainring nut. This is easily fixed by cleaning the nut and threads and using something like blue Loctite with proper torque...very simple fix. As far as other creaks, they can be from all kinds of locations from seatposts, saddle rails, axle interfaces, headsets, suspension linkage, etc., etc...just like our dirt motors. I pulled every pivoting component and every metal-to-metal interface loose on my Rail before I even rode it and applied either anti-seize or grease to those locations. Not just Trek, but nearly every bike manufacturer seems reluctant to "fully" grease or lube many critical spots on their bikes when they are assembled. As far as your creak, I recommend you do what I did, or you could chase your tail quite a bit.
That's about all I got. I will mention that many, maybe most, recommend not lugging the motor on trails and climbs and instead keep a lower gear most of the time and just spin. Personally I don't think the CX motor is too fragile that requires constant downshifting to spin the cranks. Now, I'm not promoting being in way too high a gear either but using common sense in listening to the motor and feeling its power output to up and down shift accordingly. You know the drill with our dirt motors. Even without an engine tach, you can tell when we need to shift before there is unwarranted laboring with the motor. This CX motor is basically the same mechanical basis for that race motor that gets a whooping by those professional enduro racers, so as long as you don't get ridiculous with extremely high gears under load, the motor should remain quite reliable and durable over time.
BTW, I'm heading back out to Texana Ranch Thursday to continue to prepare for the enduro on the 21st...and of course ride the dirt motor and the Rail.
