So far, 7 motors between my 2019 Levo Com and my 2020 Levo Comp.

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muzzman1

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I still LOVE the bike, but I cannot get the belt to last over 700 miles anymore.
I ride 7 days a week about 140mi climb about 20k feet.
My 2020 purchased April 3rd and yesterday the belt let go.
The ride prior the motor was squealing.
I understand the latest motors have a new belt material, so hope this resolves it.
I am kinda tired of loading the bike and going to the lbs. (1st world problems, I know)
I actually bought the '20 as a spare, literally so I am not left without a bike.
A specialized tech replaced the last motor on my '19 and he tells me the motor failure is about 7%. I find that hard to believe.
I really don't know why Im posting this, other than to let you guys know these bikes are amazing, but the motors (belts) fail WAY too much.
Here's how it sounded 1 ride before it failed.
 
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Interesting. I had 600 km on my 2018 Levo and it was perfectly fine.
What about getting the Levo SL, which is gear driven?
 
I have seen some pictures that shows the belt adjusting screw. I think you better adjust it regularly ( of course not every month ) after your warranty expires.

The question is how to adjust to the correct tension.
 
My ‘19 let loose at 480 miles which seems to be a common number based off the Facebook group levo & kenevo. My ‘18 has 2,000 miles on it without issue. Pretty bummed I’m most likely looking at 2-3 weeks for a replacement motor. Hopefully the new motor has the new belt.
 
A mates Levo comp motor went the other day , only 2 months old . Think it was the belt .
 
ryturn said:
heh Muzz can l ask your weight ? do you spin or grind hills ?
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Im 165 lbs. (75kg) I spin. I learned early on that grinding is bad for the motor. I ride hard, and a lot. I pretty much set almost every climbing KOM within 10 miles of my house. ( I live in the hills in north LA)
 
MrBrownstone said:
Heh. Why buy bikes that have proven over and over to fail. Insanity.
www.answers.com

What did Albert Einstein say about the definition of insanity? - Answers

He tells us that the definition of insanity for him is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results from it.
www.answers.com www.answers.com
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muzzman1 said:
Im 165 lbs. (75kg) I spin. I learned early on that grinding is bad for the motor. I ride hard, and a lot. I pretty much set almost every climbing KOM within 10 miles of my house. ( I live in the hills in north LA)
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well that stuffs a theory , l was told that riders over 85 kg that grind were more prone to motor issues.
 
MrBrownstone said:
Heh. Why buy bikes that have proven over and over to fail. Insanity.
www.answers.com

What did Albert Einstein say about the definition of insanity? - Answers

He tells us that the definition of insanity for him is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results from it.
www.answers.com www.answers.com
Click to expand...
I've tested other bikes, even the Decoy. I just love the Levo, not so much Brose. (I admin I am insane, no argument there)
Hopefully they will have it fixed as I'm sure the majority of owners are experiencing the same thing.
I get my bike back tomorrow. Took 3 days. (not bad) Shop manager told me I was 4th in line at the time. On the last motor of my '19 last month, I was 7th in line.
 
muzzman1 said:
I've tested other bikes, even the Decoy. I just love the Levo, not so much Brose. (I admin I am insane, no argument there)
Hopefully they will have it fixed as I'm sure the majority of owners are experiencing the same thing.
I get my bike back tomorrow. Took 3 days. (not bad) Shop manager told me I was 4th in line at the time. On the last motor of my '19 last month, I was 7th in line.
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tested Giant , Rocky Mountain , Focus, Merida came back to Specialized , love our Levo's , l hate the belts , love Specialized service yep must be insane too .Have even considered a second Levo to keep as spare for when the motors are being changed but its done in 1-3 days ,on my fourth in 7 months my partners Levo has not missed a beat , kilometres on each bike around 3000.
 
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Just want to add my comments here. Bought a 2020 Turbo Levo Comp two months ago. I have about 300 miles on the bike. The motor blew out yesterday while riding up a moderately steep hill. I took the bike back to the bike shop and the owner said that he was already ordering 2 motors for other customers and would now order three new motors for the levo comp. These motors really seem to be a problem and have a high failure rate. Does anyone know if Specialized is addressing the problem?
 
OzzieB said:
Just want to add my comments here. Bought a 2020 Turbo Levo Comp two months ago. I have about 300 miles on the bike. The motor blew out yesterday while riding up a moderately steep hill. I took the bike back to the bike shop and the owner said that he was already ordering 2 motors for other customers and would now order three new motors for the levo comp. These motors really seem to be a problem and have a high failure rate. Does anyone know if Specialized is addressing the problem?
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Would you have bought the bike knowing about this problem beforehand?
 
After 11 Kenevo and 4 2020 Levo Expert LBS visits @ 50 miles a trip, i've given up and gone back to an Enduro. Makes a difference pedalling around, but at least i know the battery/motor/tcu/battery harness won't give up on me

In time i will likely go back to ebikes in particular specialized as the bikes are great to ride, but they have to get this reliability issue sorted. I read 5% and 7% returns due to battery/motor issues. I know there are a lot out there, but almost every spesh ebike rider i know has had warranty issues so that figure does seem on the low side. Just personal experience

Got to say Spesh warranty is outstanding, but i spent more time waiting for replacement parts than i did riding.
 
Jeffw said:
After 11 Kenevo and 4 2020 Levo Expert LBS visits @ 50 miles a trip, i've given up and gone back to an Enduro. Makes a difference pedalling around, but at least i know the battery/motor/tcu/battery harness won't give up on me

In time i will likely go back to ebikes in particular specialized as the bikes are great to ride, but they have to get this reliability issue sorted. I read 5% and 7% returns due to battery/motor issues. I know there are a lot out there, but almost every spesh ebike rider i know has had warranty issues so that figure does seem on the low side. Just personal experience

Got to say Spesh warranty is outstanding, but i spent more time waiting for replacement parts than i did riding.
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Specialized isn’t the only company producing ebikes ya know. ?
 
Your KOM's don't impress me much, but what are you doing to kill so many motors? That's impressive in it's own way, I guess.
 
Mine went after 1600 miles, been waiting for three weeks to get the warranty replacement. Not the belt but the SPRAG and bearing.
 
3 mates have had motors go in 3 weeks . 2020 Levo , 2020 kenevo exp and a 2019 kenevo exp all bikes stopped working with a loud high pitched screech ! The 2019 is on the 2nd motor !
 
So it looks like the issue has been resolved as of the motors produced since Jan 2020. I have replacement motors in both of my bikes and all is good (so far)

 
Hitorogoshi said:
Would you have bought the bike knowing about this problem beforehand?
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Probably not. I was trying to purchase a Trek Rail 9.7 because I have always ridden Trek mountain bikes, but the only Trek dealer on Maui was shut down at the time due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Plus, the Trek dealer on Maui is kind of flakey. The only bike store that was open at the time was a Specialized dealer and I liked 700 watt motor. I read a lot of reviews about the Levo comp and no mentioned the blown motor problem.
 
ryturn said:
tested Giant , Rocky Mountain , Focus, Merida came back to Specialized , love our Levo's , l hate the belts , love Specialized service yep must be insane too .Have even considered a second Levo to keep as spare for when the motors are being changed but its done in 1-3 days ,on my fourth in 7 months my partners Levo has not missed a beat , kilometres on each bike around 3000.
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I'd find another bike to love, pretty sure you wouldn't put up with a car for too long that crapped its transmission as often as Levo's do.
Seriously, how does anyone have any faith that these things are going to get you home. I ride in 44º heat in summer in the middle of nowhere with no phone reception and have faith that my Merida e160 900e gets me home every time.
 
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My 2019 Levo lasted 480 miles and I sold it last year. This year I bought a 2020 Levo and a 2019 Levo on closeout. I ride a lot so we will see what happens. I got the 2019 Levo on closeout for my daughter and to have a backup for when/if mine blows the motor. If it happens again Ill probably sell the Levo and get a Norco Sight 29er or a YT Decoy. The Shimano motors seem to be more reliable.
 
My Kenevo is on order. If it turns out to be a lemon ill send it back and get a Bosch based bike.
 
Zero said:
My Kenevo is on order. If it turns out to be a lemon ill send it back and get a Bosch based bike.
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I wouldn’t worry too much , I ain’t ! If it goes pop you get a new one then when warranty runs out you pay £250 for another 2yr warrantied motor !
 
#lazy said:
I wouldn’t worry too much , I ain’t ! If it goes pop you get a new one then when warranty runs out you pay £250 for another 2yr warrantied motor !
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I wont be paying a penny to any motor within first 5 years. :)
 
You will if it blows out of warranty unless you mates with shop owner or similar
 
I actually just posted a poll to see how many people have had belt failures. Out of our 4 Levos, 3 have had belt failures. All within 500mi. I've been told that they have a new belt which should resolve these issues (but I'm not sure if I'm being fed a line of BS). If I continue to have issues, I will most likely sell our Levos and move to another bike. It's a shame, because we love these Levos so much.

While it's true the warranty is great, it sucks being without a bike for 3-4 weeks. When I dropped off our bike today (belt blew yesterday), the owner said 3 others were in the shop for belt failure. So, I know I"m not the only one having issues.
 
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