I checked with Roll Road, and if I'm going to upgrade the front wheel with a motor to AWD, then the front fork is going to be replaced. Adding a motor requires a stronger fork, which of course is still a double crown fork. And the fork like the one Mr. Citizencycle used can only be used for trials, and is not a proven solution for long term use. It's a long way to go.
Take a look at this. I have been doing awd bikes for years, in some cases with some big power on that front wheel.
https://talesontwowheels.com/2021/03/20/dual-motor-awd-electric-bikes-the-good-and-bad/
But you ALWAYS set that power to roll on slowly. And you never use a suspension fork. Do some research on Endless Sphere and Facebook DIY user groups to see the consequences. Mostly snapped dropouts, but you can also pull the fork clean apart as 2-piece suspension forks were never designed to be pulled on by a motor. They are made to get pushed in, instead.
With a 20" wheel, the smaller wheel diameter gives the front motor a torque advantage over and above what it gets on a bigger 26" or similar. Makes the suspension fork risk worse.
You DO see suspension forks on manufactured ebikes, but what they do to get away with it and reduce product liability risk is to de-tune the motor. So they have not found some secret sauce with the RST fork. It is for sure sturdier, but it needs lower motor power to survive long term. No free lunch in this world.
Also, you don't need a triple crown fork. Strength up top is not the issue. The issue is the dropouts surviving a spinout. For that you need steel, two torque arms and a gentle power roll-on. The Grin v5 can usually be set up so its arm uses round holes rather than oval ones so it is impossible to slip, versus the older v2 that didn't have round holes on both ends. Pic shows the V5 with an XL washer over top of it to really clamp the thing down.
For a few years, the front Bafang G060 motor has been a unicorn but they are back on the DIY market again. The controller to use for the hi-power-capable 750w series is the KT 35a controller. I recently bought two KT T12S sine wave 30a controllers which have the smaller plug for the 500w and lower motors. I have one in service and it has super smooth engagement. Ideal to give almost the same big power to the smaller output motors.
