The newest replacement hub motor cores compared to Bafangs original versions.

[how]

After sitting on the sidelines about upgrading my 2020 Radrover step thru from a 500W hub motor to a 750W, and watching many of the videos favorably comparing Bafangs full cased "true" 750 W hub motor cores over Radpower's original 750 W motor cores, I ordered a replacement from one of the companies that did such a comparison.
When it arrived, the new motor core surprisingly looked identical to Rad Powers's original version. When I complained about this to the supplier, they said that the core that they sent me has been specifically made for the Rad Rover plug & play upgrade and although it looks smaller, it just has more windings within it. They said this was partially done to reduce the motor's weight.
All other motor suppliers now seem to also only be offering this partially cased replacement core. Supply chain limitations, I guess.

Since all the side by side comparisons that I can find were actually between the Rad powers original motor and Bafangs fully cased "true" 750W replacement versions of the same, has anyone here tried out the new smaller replacement cores and if so, what was your impressions of it.

[JimInPT]

Altema and DickB here on the forum are among the resident experts; you might try searching their names for the threads they've posted on motor upgrades if you don't get any direct replies here in this thread.

Have you already upgraded your Rover's controller/display to the 35A version available from Area 13 and elsewhere?  If not, I suggest that as your first step, and unless you're really into tuning and fiddling (like Altema, DickB and others here, but not me), I think just the controller upgrade alone would make you very happy - the stock Rad motors can easily handle the doubled current.  That's what I installed into my 2021 MiniST2 (along with hybrid-hydraulic brake calipers) and my little ol' bike turned into a hill-leveling monster without touching the rear wheel or motor.

If you have an option to return that motor and put your money into a new controller instead, I'd recommend that to save money and a fair amount of labor.

[how]

Thanks  @ JimInPT
I upgraded with Boltons 35A controller & LED a few years ago and was quite happy about the increased performance. Today, I took out my 500W core and put in the Area13 replacement 750W core in my bike. Both cores looked identical to each other and an afternoons worth of testing, showed no difference in power or top end to each other, except that my LED no longer seems to reliably register my speed. I tried all 6 of the P2 wheel speed settings to no avail.
This contrasts pretty dramatically from just about everyone elses videos of such a motor core upgrade although those videos all seem to have been done at least a year ago when the cores supplied were much more physically robust and those installing them described them as Bafangs true 750W cores.

If this was a situation where my original motor had died, I'd probably be grateful just to have my bike back on the road again.
Instead I have spent a lot on a product, shipping, brokerage fees, taxes, a cassette & specialized tools and my time.... to end up with a bike that is now less effective than it was.

[JimInPT]

Well, after all that hassle and expense, that sucks.

I assume you still have your original motor core?  If so, Altema has written that he actually tried to burn out that OEM Rad motor core with the 35A controller running up to 1600w for very long periods of time and was unable to damage it.

So, rated "500w" or not, that original configuration should perform just fine with the power upgrade.  I've had zero issues with my upgrade, and have tweaked the settings to make it more manageable as well as more powerful. 

I think the best reason to upgrade to a more-robust motor design would be if one was completely ripping out and replacing the entire power system with higher-voltage and larger capacity batteries as well.  "Citizen Cycle" on YouTube has pretty much done this, with an absurdly-modified Rover that's now a hyperpowerful 2-wheel-drive beast - his entire saga and build is documented there in his vids, including his first try tearing the newly-powered front wheel right off the bike with too much torque.  I think what's left of his "Rover" would scare me if I tried it, but I'm getting old and my high-speed motorcycle days are in the rearview mirror now; I'm cool with putting along up to about 33mph (downhill) on my Mini and mostly around 22-25mph.

[how]

I've been a bit of a fan of Citizen Cycle and have followed his adventures until he finally had his fill of Rad Rovers and moved on to other brand favorites. I loved how he just jumped into e-bike modifications with nary a care.

I too have run over 1600W through my Rad with seemingly no detrimental effects...except for that one time when I foolishly accepted a challenge to race up a very steep & long incline, when my battery was about 1/2 full and about 30 seconds into it, the bike completely shut down for about 10 minutes.  My bike is also pretty heavy with Tanus armored tires, a wooden lock box on the rear rack, heavy duty locks, an extra battery, 35 A controller in a waterproof box, electric air pump, tool kit, cloud nine seat and a thudbuster seat stem suspension system,  not to mention my usual 195lbs. If I crack the throttle now a days, I usually only do it to make a traffic situation safer and then only for short bursts.

Citizen Cycles along with Boltons & electric e bikes have all done impressive videos showing the before and after results of up grading a Rad with a 35 Amp controller and a full 750W core change. I am still waiting for Kyle to get back to me on their new "improved" Rad Cores to see how this dismal core swapping result might be resolved. I don't know if this present cheaper rad motor core is just a temporary thing while full 750W motor supplies are in short supply. Up until this last order, I found Kyle at Area 13 to be helpful and effective. Expecting much of a response over a business busy Black Friday though will be unlikely.

[rjp]

how, keep us posted on kyle's answer and all info you run into on this subject. I was just about to pull the trigger on the same motor, but after hearing your outcome I think I'll just install new motor gears in the original motor. I've got over 10000 miles on my motor and I'm getting nervous about the condition of the internal plastic motor gears. I was going to buy the new motor so I got a new set of gears, but the new replacement motor from Area 13 doesn't even come with new gears or the outer motor case. The ad from Electro Bike World reads. Our newest version of the 750w motor will have a smaller inner core than our previous version to maximize efficiency, weight reduction and will have more copper winding to produce the same power as our previous version. I think their motor is a complete motor and includes a 14-28 tooth freewheel. I haven't seen anyone post any info on this motor power yet.

[rjp]

how,   The Electro Bike World's ad, under Rad Power upgrades shows a  picture of the two different internal motors sizes. Is the one labeled new, look like the motor you got from Area 13?

[how]

@ rjp
Yes the core marked "new" on the 48 - 60v 750w Bafang geared rear hub motor ad from Electro bike world looks
identical to the core I received from area 13.

I also wonder why no one else has posted about this if this core change has been in effect for  2-3 months.

[rjp]

I hope we'll see more info added to this post about this subject. Thanks for your answer to my question. I'm glad I held off on that motor, I do have the 35amp controller, but haven't installed it yet.  I see Electro Bike World dropped the price of that motor $20.00 since I talked to them about it on 11/24. Maybe it's a Black Friday special.

[how]

@rjp
The invoice on the area 13 box that my motor core arrived in says that it is a 750Watt Fat Bike Hub Motor Core 175mm OEM
which means it's probably not a Bafang part but a manufactured substitute by another company to address a shortage in these popular sized cores. It's been confirmed by Kyle that he sourced out this Bare core to another supplier to mate up to Rad Powers needed spec's to address a supply shortage.

My complaint about my particular replacement 750W core not being noticeably stronger than my original Rad Rover 500W core, probably doesn't apply to Electro Bike world's 750W full Bafang motor that you were thinking of buying.

[JTK77]

would suggest going straight to G062 series 1000w nominal motor (pref cassette type) with L10 motor connector.
I have modded this motor for higher power though. First to fail was the gluing of 20 neodymium magnets. I reglued them with highedt quality heat curable epoxy and no problem ever since.
I'm running it Peak 7000w at 60v battery. Peak current (battery DC) is 114A.
3.9 seconds from 0-30mph.

[JTK77]

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[JTK77]

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[JTK77]

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[rjp]

JTK77   Looks like a real fun ride, but over kill for me. I probable average 10-12 mph over the 10000 miles I have on my bike and I'm happy with that. 20 years ago I'd be riding next to you. What tires are you running, I really like the white walls.  Do they come with a less aggressive thread pattern? I like quite tires