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www.northeastbatterysystems.com
Freed up a few bucks, ordered the Motor Goat V3 with accessories.
- Thread starter addertooth
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www.northeastbatterysystems.com
I’m sure you saw but according to FB the full size from Goat will be around $1600 too. Heard good things about Northeast tho.
addertooth
Well-known member
Yeah, I am feeling a bit of "impatience" getting the second battery and blender from Goat Power Bikes at this point. It was ordered with the Motor Goat v3 back in March. I am now over 3 and a half months since ordering, and no shipping notice has been sent at this time. The extended range with the second battery was a major selling point for me. It was one of the two major elements why the Goat was selected over the Wired Freedom and the eCells offerings. Both of these other companies have since come out with second battery offerings, albeit smaller batteries.
There were reports of a batch of their second batteries arriving non-working, and I suspect some of the batteries which were supposed to be shipped for orders, got redirected to warranty claims. I can respect the fact they are honoring warranties.
I am considering getting a refund for that unshipped part, and just ordering the 50 Amp Hour pack from Northeast battery systems.
I recognize that shipping dates do slip with some of the more desirable eBikes, this is a simple fact in the industry. I have read similar complaints for other high-demand eBikes. So, I do try to be patient.
As for the eBike itself, so far it has had no serious problems.
I let a buddy at work test-ride the Goat, he ordered one a week later. The only problem he has had was settings in the display (from the factory), and he had his fuel tank battery come off on a hard bump while braking. There is uncertainty whether the pack was mated until the latch clicked on the lock. I think I may have gotten him past the settings issue. If not, he can ride it to work, and we can compare our settings side-by-side.
There are the usual nuts and bolts to tighten, on the factory installed elements of the Goat, but this is pretty typical. Anyone who gets an eBike and doesn't snug up the nuts and bolts on any eBike is likely making a mistake.
A YouTube poster upgraded the bolts which hold on the rear rack, I would agree the factory bolts are pretty minimal, and a 5 dollar trip to the hardware store might be in my future. This fits in my motto "Don't be afraid to spend 3 percent of the cost of the eBike to make it what you really want it to be".
After riding it nearly a month, I may go from the factory 450 pound rear shock unit, to a softer 350 pound shock. The Ebike is rated for VERY heavy eBike riders (something like a 350 pound rider), and the factory shock is sprung accordingly. Had they shipped the bike with a 350 pound spring, it would not have supported the weight of a 300 pound rider, plus the 100+ weight of the Goat. The 350 pound shock is available at a reasonable price from the vendor.
There were reports of a batch of their second batteries arriving non-working, and I suspect some of the batteries which were supposed to be shipped for orders, got redirected to warranty claims. I can respect the fact they are honoring warranties.
I am considering getting a refund for that unshipped part, and just ordering the 50 Amp Hour pack from Northeast battery systems.
I recognize that shipping dates do slip with some of the more desirable eBikes, this is a simple fact in the industry. I have read similar complaints for other high-demand eBikes. So, I do try to be patient.
As for the eBike itself, so far it has had no serious problems.
I let a buddy at work test-ride the Goat, he ordered one a week later. The only problem he has had was settings in the display (from the factory), and he had his fuel tank battery come off on a hard bump while braking. There is uncertainty whether the pack was mated until the latch clicked on the lock. I think I may have gotten him past the settings issue. If not, he can ride it to work, and we can compare our settings side-by-side.
There are the usual nuts and bolts to tighten, on the factory installed elements of the Goat, but this is pretty typical. Anyone who gets an eBike and doesn't snug up the nuts and bolts on any eBike is likely making a mistake.
A YouTube poster upgraded the bolts which hold on the rear rack, I would agree the factory bolts are pretty minimal, and a 5 dollar trip to the hardware store might be in my future. This fits in my motto "Don't be afraid to spend 3 percent of the cost of the eBike to make it what you really want it to be".
After riding it nearly a month, I may go from the factory 450 pound rear shock unit, to a softer 350 pound shock. The Ebike is rated for VERY heavy eBike riders (something like a 350 pound rider), and the factory shock is sprung accordingly. Had they shipped the bike with a 350 pound spring, it would not have supported the weight of a 300 pound rider, plus the 100+ weight of the Goat. The 350 pound shock is available at a reasonable price from the vendor.
addertooth
Well-known member
The second Battery is still not here, but I got a shipping notice (again). Hopefully on Monday it will show up.
In the meantime, I ordered a lighter sprung rear shock for the Goat (350 pound per inch, as versus 450 pound per inch). The factory spring is sprung for a 350 pound rider on a 100+ pound eBike. I am hoping it makes for a more compliant ride. The shock got here about 1 week after ordering.
It will be adjusted for about a 20 percent compression when I sit down on the Goat, and adjust from there.
This is familiar territory for me, as the rear shock on my Zeegr had to be replaced for the same reason.
In the meantime, I ordered a lighter sprung rear shock for the Goat (350 pound per inch, as versus 450 pound per inch). The factory spring is sprung for a 350 pound rider on a 100+ pound eBike. I am hoping it makes for a more compliant ride. The shock got here about 1 week after ordering.
It will be adjusted for about a 20 percent compression when I sit down on the Goat, and adjust from there.
This is familiar territory for me, as the rear shock on my Zeegr had to be replaced for the same reason.
Hope you get your second battery this time man! I’ve been seeing all the issues people have getting it.
I got my mg3 in a couple weeks ago and loving it. Just standard battery… giving it some time to see if second battery is worth it and which one. Debating on the bag in the meantime.
The Kemimoto super73 rear rack does fit the bike tho. Been looking at the grzly 4.5”/5” tires for the gravel/off-road mix I do along with the lighter rear shock.
I’ll make a post when I get the chance but appreciate the info and update on yours!
addertooth
Well-known member
I knew early on that I would want a second pack. I ordered the Motor Goat v3 with the second pack and the rack. I ordered the basket through Amazon, as it came with the liner and elastic web cover too. I saw various people's mounting of saddlebags, and it looked like the crowded your legs (if you were so unfortunate to run your battery flat and need to pedal).
With two batteries you get a combined 45 Amp hour of capacity, with a 63.75 volt (nominal) battery. That is about 2800 Watt hour of capacity. Riding on flat ground on a light-wind day, my power draw at 20 MPH is just under 500 Watts. This would mean about 5 hours of riding at 20 MPH. That will get me anywhere I want to travel in a single riding session at 20 MPH. But, at the full 3000 Watt peak power, it would provide a bit under 1 hour of riding.
(*Post edit after second battery arrived*). It would appear that the original "tank battery" is indeed a nominal 63.75 volts, but the secondary battery is only a nominal 60.00 Volts. It did not charge up to the expected 71.4 Volts, it only charged to 68.00 volts. This leads me to believe (at this time) the secondary battery is a 16S4P battery. While the original tank battery is a 17S5P battery. This means the secondary battery does not start helping until the main battery has already sagged down to 68 Volts. I will watch this in subsequent charges, and see if the batteries just needed to be discharged deeply, and leveled back up to full charge voltage.
With two batteries you get a combined 45 Amp hour of capacity, with a 63.75 volt (nominal) battery. That is about 2800 Watt hour of capacity. Riding on flat ground on a light-wind day, my power draw at 20 MPH is just under 500 Watts. This would mean about 5 hours of riding at 20 MPH. That will get me anywhere I want to travel in a single riding session at 20 MPH. But, at the full 3000 Watt peak power, it would provide a bit under 1 hour of riding.
(*Post edit after second battery arrived*). It would appear that the original "tank battery" is indeed a nominal 63.75 volts, but the secondary battery is only a nominal 60.00 Volts. It did not charge up to the expected 71.4 Volts, it only charged to 68.00 volts. This leads me to believe (at this time) the secondary battery is a 16S4P battery. While the original tank battery is a 17S5P battery. This means the secondary battery does not start helping until the main battery has already sagged down to 68 Volts. I will watch this in subsequent charges, and see if the batteries just needed to be discharged deeply, and leveled back up to full charge voltage.
Oh I definitely want a second battery at some point, just deciding whether the 20ah from goat or if one of the larger setups (northeast or goat version) might be worth it. That’s a good chunk of change on the larger tho.
addertooth
Well-known member
I did the math, the cost per watt hour was lower on the 50 Amp hour version.
addertooth
Well-known member
Well, the second battery arrived today. I was very happy, as it was scheduled to arrive on Monday, and it arrived on a Saturday.
I have to work on a car today, so the installation has to wait till the car is happy.
The good news!
1. The box was in good shape and the battery did not appear to have any physical damage.
2. It arrived days earlier than projected, this will give me the weekend to get the second battery and the shock installed.
3. The charger was rated at 71.4 PEAK voltage, which is correct for a series string of 17 cells, and not 16 cells (which is used on some of the other slower Goat eBikes.
The BAD news...
1. To be ahead of the curve, I started the battery charging as soon as it arrived.
2. The charger light turned Red when the battery was first plugged in, indicating it was taking a charge.
3. The light turned green after about 1 hour, the charge was done.
4. I pulled out the Fluke multimeter to measure the voltage of the battery pack, but it was only 68 volts. My other battery pack charges to the expected 71.4 volts.
I thought it might be a charger issue, so I pulled out my other Goat 71.4 volt at 4 amp charger. Both chargers have identical rating printed on them.
I plugged my old charger into the new battery, and it did not go Red to indicate it was charging the battery. Possibly the Battery Management System (BMS) let the charger know it thought the battery was at full charge.
Summary: A full charge at 68 volts is a normally 16 series string, and NOT a 17 series string which was expected. This means a difference of about 3.4 volts between the expected voltage (71.4v), and the measured voltage (68.0v). This will result in ONLY the main battery carrying the load until it drops about 3.4 volts. This will result with less top speed after a bit of riding. (Battery voltage, when reduced, will result in a lower top speed).
Goat Power Bikes may have sent me the wrong battery, or, the BMS does not allow a full charge.
This is not the result I expected after waiting almost 5 months for the pre-paid second battery to arrive. It was ordered on March 24th; today is August the 17th.
*update* After a couple of modest discharge/charge cycles, the battery is now taking a 71 volt charge. It looks like it needs a few more cycles to get the cell voltage leveled to get to the full expected 71.4 volts. (as of 18 August)*
*update on the update* The second battery is backsliding. It only charged to 68.8 volts today 01 September 2024). A request for replacement has been made. Photos of the voltage and another showing the charger was in the "green" fully charged mode with the battery connected was provided to the vendor.
I have to work on a car today, so the installation has to wait till the car is happy.
The good news!
1. The box was in good shape and the battery did not appear to have any physical damage.
2. It arrived days earlier than projected, this will give me the weekend to get the second battery and the shock installed.
3. The charger was rated at 71.4 PEAK voltage, which is correct for a series string of 17 cells, and not 16 cells (which is used on some of the other slower Goat eBikes.
The BAD news...
1. To be ahead of the curve, I started the battery charging as soon as it arrived.
2. The charger light turned Red when the battery was first plugged in, indicating it was taking a charge.
3. The light turned green after about 1 hour, the charge was done.
4. I pulled out the Fluke multimeter to measure the voltage of the battery pack, but it was only 68 volts. My other battery pack charges to the expected 71.4 volts.
I thought it might be a charger issue, so I pulled out my other Goat 71.4 volt at 4 amp charger. Both chargers have identical rating printed on them.
I plugged my old charger into the new battery, and it did not go Red to indicate it was charging the battery. Possibly the Battery Management System (BMS) let the charger know it thought the battery was at full charge.
Summary: A full charge at 68 volts is a normally 16 series string, and NOT a 17 series string which was expected. This means a difference of about 3.4 volts between the expected voltage (71.4v), and the measured voltage (68.0v). This will result in ONLY the main battery carrying the load until it drops about 3.4 volts. This will result with less top speed after a bit of riding. (Battery voltage, when reduced, will result in a lower top speed).
Goat Power Bikes may have sent me the wrong battery, or, the BMS does not allow a full charge.
This is not the result I expected after waiting almost 5 months for the pre-paid second battery to arrive. It was ordered on March 24th; today is August the 17th.
*update* After a couple of modest discharge/charge cycles, the battery is now taking a 71 volt charge. It looks like it needs a few more cycles to get the cell voltage leveled to get to the full expected 71.4 volts. (as of 18 August)*
*update on the update* The second battery is backsliding. It only charged to 68.8 volts today 01 September 2024). A request for replacement has been made. Photos of the voltage and another showing the charger was in the "green" fully charged mode with the battery connected was provided to the vendor.
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Some chargers will turn off while the cells or cell groups balance then turn back on to refill...rinse repeat it does until 71.4
at least that is what one of my 60v (73.4 full charge) does.
at least that is what one of my 60v (73.4 full charge) does.
addertooth
Well-known member
Picture of the Motor Goat v3 with the second battery added, and the new lighter rear shock. The new shock is a "progressive coil" with winding further apart at one end. The original was non-progressive with the same winding rate end to end. The new rear shock seems to compress about 20% of the total travel range when I sit on the bike, so that is "in the ballpark of ideal". It will be a good starting point. The original shock didn't move when I sat on the Goat, I had to bounce in the seat to make it more; it was too stiff.
I decided to mount the battery underneath the main battery, rather than on the down tube connecting to the headset. This position allowed for better cable management and what appeared to be a better balance of mass fore and aft. It also allowed me to keep the battery fairly low as well.
Also included is the picture of the connections under the seat. I decided to move the battery blender forward to get more air on the heat-sink. It will still be covered by the seat to keep any rain directly off it. (seen bottom left in second picture). For those who are curious, those are XT90, and not the smaller XT60 connectors on the battery and blender.
I decided to mount the battery underneath the main battery, rather than on the down tube connecting to the headset. This position allowed for better cable management and what appeared to be a better balance of mass fore and aft. It also allowed me to keep the battery fairly low as well.
Also included is the picture of the connections under the seat. I decided to move the battery blender forward to get more air on the heat-sink. It will still be covered by the seat to keep any rain directly off it. (seen bottom left in second picture). For those who are curious, those are XT90, and not the smaller XT60 connectors on the battery and blender.
addertooth
Well-known member
I listened to the experience in your advice. I also remembered my other two eBikes had a higher "fully charged voltage" after a few discharge and charge cycles. Your advice made sense.
I took the goat out and put some miles on it, and ran the battery down some, then charged it again. After only ONE discharge/charge cycle, it now sits at 70.9 volts. This is just a half-volt below the desired 71.4 volts. I will repeat this a few more times and see if this will "condition" the battery to the expected voltage. But, it is looking promising.
addertooth
Well-known member
Took the new battery down 25%, recharged, now reads 71 volts... moving up. I suspect I need to do a deeper discharge to move the needle up any real amount. I will target a 50% or more discharge for the next discharge/charge cycle.
addertooth
Well-known member
Yes, some are discovering that some Super73 mods work on this eBike. I have already seen some handlebar and rear rack swaps with Super73 components.
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low and slow bro
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I've had peoople tell me that sometimes sitting on a cargo ship for months will have that effect on our batteries and they will need
some tender care waking back up properly..I think you're doing great
addertooth
Well-known member
Well, the yesterday the battery would only charge up to a peak voltage of 68.8 volts. Progress is going backwards at this time. I reached out to the seller and have started the process to get a replacement battery. For those unfamiliar with a series string of 17 groups, the terminal charge voltage should be 71.4 volts. I think the pack is just unhealthy. At the cost of the pack, I feel unwilling to flex on this. I did my due diligence to remediate the problem.
Also, a level 3 inspection to get a VIN for the Goat has been scheduled for the 12th of September with the DMV. We will see how that goes. If successful, the Goat will be sporting road-legal tags with no speed limitations. I will probably get one of those "alternative fuel tags", as the state reduces tag fees for alternative fuel vehicles. There is no additional fees for personalization on the tag. So, it will say something which sounds cool to me but will likely be quite lame.
Also, a level 3 inspection to get a VIN for the Goat has been scheduled for the 12th of September with the DMV. We will see how that goes. If successful, the Goat will be sporting road-legal tags with no speed limitations. I will probably get one of those "alternative fuel tags", as the state reduces tag fees for alternative fuel vehicles. There is no additional fees for personalization on the tag. So, it will say something which sounds cool to me but will likely be quite lame.
Yeah strange it’s just not blatantly bad but you’ve done your part so hope they take care of you. I ordered the 350 lb shock and 2nd 20ah battery last week.
Been enjoying mine a lot. Couldn’t find any bags/racks I liked so got some molle panels mounted to the side and smaller slim bags to attach. Dove season opened yesterday and was going to a place just few miles away so while I was messing with things I just kept adding. 4 boxes of shells (only shot a box but never know), shell bag/gear, folding chair, cooler full of beer, and shotgun all mounted. Still hit 40 on pavement and 30 on gravel.
I did order the grzly tires, went with both 20x4.5 since I had the tubes and was already adding weight…. But they sent one 4.5 and one 5. End of last week but haven’t responded to any of my emails or contact yet so we’ll see.
