Should You Upgrade the Controller on Your Surron LBX?

The Surron LBX is infinitely moddable, one of the many reasons we love it here at GritShift. You can easily upgrade just the controller on your LBX, or just the battery or motor for that matter, but should you just do them all at once and be done with it? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

What does the controller do? Should it be upgraded alone?

A controller on an electric dirt bike is a computer system that takes information from various electrical components and passes it onto other components in a way that they can interpret. For example, it takes the electrical signals from the throttle and converts them into data for the motor to output the correct power.

The controller also oversees these signals to ensure it is kept within the parameters for a safe ride. Some of these parameters can be modified to suit your riding style and needs. Sports mode and Eco mode are excellent examples of this – if you need to conserve power on a daily commute, eco mode (also known as EP on the Surron) will limit power output from the battery so you can achieve further range. Sports mode will allow the most amount of power your battery can provide.

Other parameters can be modified depending on the controller. The stock controller will allow reprogramming of parameters such as regen or the power curve while some aftermarket controllers have many more options for fine tuning. These can be achieved by entering programming modes on the stock Surron by using the brake lever or kickstand and plugging in the red light indicator cable. Aftermarket controllers can be adjusted via Bluetooth to a phone app, or via a cable to a PC.

Electric Terms Explained

A basic understanding of electricity is vital if you’re considering upgrading your LBX’s controller by yourself. You need to make sure you’re comparing apples with apples regarding terminology. Otherwise, it won’t be clear if you’re actually upgrading, or swapping to something that simply sounds cool, or something that could result in damage to other components on your Surron.  The first time I came across the terminology, I was digging deep trying to remember science lessons from school (I confess, at the time, I Googled lots and asked the experts many questions!) To make this easier for you, I’ve listed below some common terms with explanations here.

Watts

A Watt is how you measure the power. You can work out Watts by calculating Amps x Volts.

Voltage

Voltage is a term that describes how much ‘pressure’ pushes electricity. Higher voltages ‘push’ more electricity flow into an electronic device. Think of electricity as a stream. It will flow from a place of higher pressure to a place of lower pressure, much like a stream flowing from the top of a mountain to the bottom. You could replace the word flow with ‘current’ and voltage with the potential energy ‘pushing’ it downstream.

A 2024 stock Surron LBX battery has 60 volts. That will push the electricity out with 60 volts of energy. You can swap out your stock battery and upgrade it with a 72-volt battery – this will ‘push’ the electricity out faster – think more speed and acceleration (in most cases, and pending other components). An interesting note is that batteries don’t drop to zero volts. When the 60-volt Surron LBX battery drops to 48 volts, it is considered ‘empty’ and will no longer be able to supply power. 

Amps

Amps is how you measure how big the stream of electricity is. It is how much current is flowing through your electrical circuit. Think of the water inside a big hose vs. a small hose. 

Amp Hours

Amp Hours measures how many amps can flow in one unit of time. It is a simple way of measuring how ‘big’ the battery is. (Think: how much gas is in your tank) For example, the stock Surron LBX battery on the 2024 model is a 60V 40Ah battery. This means the battery can supply 40Ah. Theoretically, it can supply 40Ah for 1 hour or 1Ah for 40 hours. Remember Watts = Voltage x Amps, if you’re pulling greater volts from the battery (ie twisting the throttle for faster speed), the amps will increase. This will subsequently drain your battery faster, much like putting your foot down in a car – you will use up the gas quicker.  

Phase Amps

Simply put, phase amps are how much current each winding or phase is being put to the motor.

Circuit

A system of electrical wires and components that is a big loop where the electricity current can travel through.

Torque

Simply put, torque is a measurement of rotational power and is measured in Newton-meters (Nm). It is the same in gas and electric-powered dirt bikes, but where the energy comes from is different. On the 2024 Surron X, the Nm rating at 1000rpm is 35.4Nm. Surron

What Controller Does the Surron LBX Use?

The 2024 Surron LBX runs:

In that configuration, Surron claims the bike will produce 35.4 Nm of torque at the motor shaft, hitting a top speed of 47 mph (73 kmh) and with a range of 60 miles. All on a battery you can recharge within 2.5-3.5 hours. Not bad, but let’s make it better.

Can You Just Upgrade One Part of This?

Let’s start by working out why you’re upgrading your LBX in the first place. Are you looking for faster acceleration, higher top speed, or more customization options on the power delivery? Do you simply want more range without a higher top speed – in which case, you may be able to upgrade the battery only.

The question then becomes: Do you upgrade just the controller, or the controller, battery, motor and wiring loom, and can you do it at separate times for financial reasons?

To paint the whole picture, we must also look at the complete electrical side of the powertrain. That is the controller, battery, and motor (and to some extent, wiring etc.). They all need to work safely in harmony. That is why I included the definitions above. When I first learned about electric dirt bikes and Surron, I couldn’t wrap my head around how the components work together and what you needed to upgrade if you wanted more power. It makes sense to simply drop in a bigger battery or a larger motor. But it just doesn’t work that way! I didn’t stop to think about whether they were compatible and why. 

If you upgrade only your controller, you need to be aware of the limitations on your stock battery and motor. Basically, you can’t get your controller to ask too much from your battery and get it to perform above what it’s capable of. It will overheat very quickly. If it is compatible, you’ll need to be very careful and choose a tune with parameters that are safe for the battery and motor.

Do You Upgrade Just the Controller?

Upgrading your controller is a bit like putting a turbo on a car. Do you really need it? Hmm, Yes! Who doesn’t want more power, smoother acceleration, and faster top speed?! But before you jump in and watch the dollars disappear, look at what you have. If your LBX was built before February  2018, you’ve probably got the older square wave-style controller. If your LBX was built more recently, you’ve likely got the new X version Sine wave controller, which has 20% more torque on the older model and up to 10% greater top speed, with smoother control. Either way, if you’re looking for more, read on!

Like I’ve previously mentioned, if you choose to upgrade the controller, you need to consider your current battery and motor, as well as any potential upgrades you may want to make to them in the future – to avoid buying another new controller if you want something even bigger!

What is the Best Surron Controller?

In our professional opinion, LBX controllers get no better than the EBMX X9000. After many iterations and extensive testing from tracks to trails, we’ve chosen to carry the X9000 because it’s stood up to the torture that we’ve thrown at it. It’s been a critical part of Rusty’s record-setting Dragron and Bullet’s Surron Ultra Bee harescramble race bike.

We tend to push max power from our bikes, and the X9000’s operating range of 6 to 40 kW allows you to run anyhting from a bone-stock LBX setup all the way to a honking 81V configuration. We’ve personally run an EBMX X9000 on one of our shop 72v LBXs for over two years at the time of this article, and it’s shown no signs of giving up anytime soon.

Get all the customizability you could ever need from a time-proven platform. You can even get the battery, controller, and all the accessories in the EBMX Complete Powertrain Upgrade Kit for Surron LBX. Do it once and do it right, as they say.

Suggested upgrade: 

• Controller: EBMX X9000
• Battery: EBMX 81V Race Spec Battery
• Motor: EBMX XLB-60

What is the Best Order to Mod Your LBX?

This doesn’t need too much explaining, I just want you to imagine this. It’s a beautiful summer day, birds chirping, you’ve just installed a more powerful controller/battery/motor combo on your beloved Surron, and you’re flying along the trails. You can only hear the whisper of the motor and the tires connecting with the dirt. You’re going faster than you did before, with more confidence as the power delivery is perfectly to your liking. Then, as you sight a tight left-hander, you pull on your stock brakes to wash the speed before the turn and they don’t react as you’re expecting… They’re heating up to dangerous levels being used under greater pressure due to increased speed, and you’re getting massive fade. The corner is coming up faster, your front forks preload as the brakes try their hardest to pull up with the extra speed, and you feel the forks hit the stoppers… 

See where I’m going with this? I recommend looking at your controller when you have beefier brakes, or at least be aware of stopping with more power! Read this article to get in the know with all things LBX brakes. To fully get the advantage of more power, upgraded suspension would also be strongly advised. Here is an article on suspension I would recommend you check out. That way, your Surron will be fully set up and ready to receive a new powertrain, and you’ll be able to transfer the full power through the wheels to carve up the dirt.