What would you say has proven to be the most reliable emtb motor?

[Bearing Man]

According my local e-bike dealer who sells e-bikes equipped with Bosch and Yamaha motors Yamaha motors are the most reliable ebike motors. All clients motor related returns and complaints are about Bosch motors and they have zero Yamaha motor related issues.

This is a very common comment across all forums but you may want to ask your LBS for some exact numbers? If you sell 10 Yamaha powered bikes and 200 Bosch powered bikes, Yamaha returns will look excellent!
If we go by these figures TranzX, Continental, FAZUA etc. would be the best motors in the world.
Don't get me wrong, I have to agree, the Yamaha is a very good motor, but there is only a small % out there comparatively speaking.

 

[Mountie]

Every motor has its own Achilles heal or week spot, for a small example:

Shimano, software issues, occasional cracked plastic drive gears, dirt ingress to open bearings just behind outer seals, electrolysis around electrical connectors.
Yamaha early, pcb failures, occasional stripped plastic drive gears (possible pedal strike failures) Water ingress
Yamaha late, PW-X plastic drive gear cracks, water ingress.
Bosch Gen 1, drive gear failure. Water ingress.
Bosch Gen 2, Main motor bearing. Water ingress
Bosch Gen 3, Ceramic seal failure. Water ingress
Bosch Gen 4 early, Overheating issues or faults.
Brose 1.2 Sprag bearing failure, occasional belt failure, water ingress etc.
Brose 1.3 Sprag bearing failure, occasional belt failure, water ingress etc.
Brose 2.1 Sprag bearing failure, occasional belt failure, occasional crankshaft failure water ingress etc.
Brose 2.1 2021 Water ingress.
Impulse 1.0 2.0 and EVO ST Freewheel ratchet and pawl mechanism failure, small drive gear bearing failure, torque sensor and ECU failure, water ingress.

Obviously we see many more issues from time to time in these motors but listed are some of the main failure points.

Well there is one way to fix all this.... we go back to struggling up hills lol

 

[Zimmerframe]

Not brose.....

I thought Bros were making a comeback ?

 

[Jimbo Vills]

I thought Bros were making a comeback ?

Certainly famous for failures ?

 

[Tobers]

We never hear much about motor failures on the Levo SL (compared to others).

 

[downhilllister]

3000KM E-8000 Motor, no problems, All i can say.!

 

[Gordon]

Just coming up to 5000kms on my 2020 Turbo Levo and I notice that while I'm cleaning the chain with the bike on a stand that the cranks don't freewheel in reverse and drag the motor backwards as well, which causes the battery to connect. On the trail I notice that the motor doesn't disengage instantly like it used to. I had the exact same thing happen on my 2018 T Levo and the motor was replaced under warranty with no questions asked. I suppose I'll soon be without my bike for s couple weeks while my lbs waits for a replacement. My main gripe is that my lbs has to ship the motor back to Specialized before they can replace it. Surely this is a common enough problem that Specialized dealers should always have a couple of replacement motors in stock.

 

[Mesa]

Go with Yamaha.
I have ridden thousand s of hours on my 2019 Giant Trance Pro+1.
. . . . In fact it is 70 degrees today and going to hit the berms right now.

 

[Jimbo Vills]

We never hear much about motor failures on the Levo SL (compared to others).

That’s cos they don’t have enough range to get out the car park ?

 

[KeithR]

That’s cos they don’t have enough range to get out the car park ?

One thing they don't lack is range.

Might take longer than an FF bike, but it balances out, 'cos the SL won't break down..!

 

[Jimbo Vills]

One thing they don't lack is range.

Might take longer than an FF bike, but it balances out, 'cos the SL won't break down..!

‘Twas a joke mate ?

 

[KeithR]

‘Twas a joke mate ?

Oh yeah, I know - my reply was in similar vein.

 

[downhilllister]

Just a thought to motor problems. How many are washing your bikes as soon as you get home.? "I don't" . Heat will suck moisture in like your undies on a sunny day. What's your habit. Is it destroying your motor.

 

[bertschb]

What variables please explain? ...if I was a professional motor repair technician I'm sure I would soon develop a sense of which brand I was seeing more of and which ones I hardly saw at all.

If you had the number of motors sold and number that failed, that would be a good start. From there you could factor in miles ridden between failures to refine the data a bit. Asking a professional motor technician or counting posts on a forum isn't helpful. If Brand A sells 1,000,000 motors and 1,000 fail, that's ten times better reliability than Brand B selling 10,000 motors with 100 failures. The service guy will see ten times more Brand A motors in for repair.

 

[bertschb]

Just a thought to motor problems. How many are washing your bikes as soon as you get home.?

I ride in dry climates (Central Oregon in the summer, Palm Springs, California in the winter) and wash my bikes once or twice a year. I recently started blowing my Levo off with an air compressor after each ride. When I used to ride in super muddy winter conditions, I rinsed the bike off after each ride. That was pre-ebike.

 

[Rosemount]

Just coming up to 5000kms on my 2020 Turbo Levo and I notice that while I'm cleaning the chain with the bike on a stand that the cranks don't freewheel in reverse and drag the motor backwards as well, which causes the battery to connect. On the trail I notice that the motor doesn't disengage instantly like it used to. I had the exact same thing happen on my 2018 T Levo and the motor was replaced under warranty with no questions asked. I suppose I'll soon be without my bike for s couple weeks while my lbs waits for a replacement. My main gripe is that my lbs has to ship the motor back to Specialized before they can replace it. Surely this is a common enough problem that Specialized dealers should always have a couple of replacement motors in stock.

Me ; Run on after stop pedaling , a gurgling sound from the motor at low speed under load.
Then a sound like ice in a blender and a blue and red light on the TCU . To Spesh dealer on a monday - new motor and riding by Friday .

Would not like that 1 week turnaround if I was a long away from home on a cycling holiday .

 

[humber44]

According my local e-bike dealer who sells e-bikes equipped with Bosch and Yamaha motors Yamaha motors are the most reliable ebike motors. All clients motor related returns and complaints are about Bosch motors and they have zero Yamaha motor related issues.

I have a Haibike fullseven 2017 yamaha pw-x which had to have a new motor just as it was out of warranty..it had never been underwater or pressure washed just out in wet weather..the electrics still need more protection in my view..offroad bikes should be waterproof to be fit for purpose..after all they can make water pump that live under for years!..most ebikes don't seem to last long...