I got a 1000W Bafang motor upgrade for my Rad Expand 5. I was planning to just do a swap into the hub of the 750W motor.

The new motor came out of it's hub with no issues. The factory motor hub seems to be sealed tight though even after I have removed the screws. I hit it on the ground a number of times like I have seen in youtube videos., but I didn't want to damage the wheel by hitting it too hard either.

Has anyone else run into this where Radpower has some sort of factory sealant on the motor hub? Any solutions?

A friend needed some cash and sold me a RadExpand for $800. They never rode it once after mostly assembling it. I figure I could either re-sell it and buy an upgrade or since I got a good deal on this one I could spend that money on mods. Not sure which way to go yet. I found this forum and figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

I saw the Area 13 controller seems to be one of the best value upgrades but that is more-so for hill climbing and acceleration. I don't ride long distances and it is mostly country roads when I do, so speed is all I really want to upgrade. Would a higher power motor be the way to go or should I look at battery/motor combos to upgrade. If I could get up close to 40mph for a top speed, that would be ideal.

Thanks for any input you folks can provide!