Have you been dreaming of making your Surron LBX faster? If you’re brand new to the world of e-moto and want to upgrade your motor to achieve a faster top speed, keep reading. It’s true, e-motos are much more easily upgradable than traditional dirt bikes. Most of the time, it’s something that you can do yourself with some quick purchases online, and by using basic tools to fit yourself, in your own house.
However, it’s not quite as simple as replacing the motor with a bigger one to get a higher top speed. There are three components that need to be considered before you’ll be topping out at a lightning-quick speed.
Three components you need to know about:
- Controller
- Battery
- Motor
Think of the controller as the brains of your LBX. It will tell the battery when and how much power to send to the motor. The motor just does what it’s told by the controller.
The battery can only send up to its max limit. Likewise with the controller – it can only send up to its max allowed limit. So, let’s say you hypothetically put a larger motor in your Surron. If you can’t get any more power from your controller or battery, the motor won’t be able to run at its max.
That being said, there are advantages to upgrading just your motor. It all depends on what you’re looking for. Keeping the stock controller and battery, if you upgrade the motor to something such as the EBMX XLB-60 Motor, you’ll find the biggest difference being a smooth throttle response, and no chance of your motor overheating. Will it give you a faster top speed without changing the other elements? No. So what can you do to make your Surron faster?
Can I make my Surron LBX faster without upgrading the motor?
Yes! You can make your Surron go faster without upgrading the motor. It is simple – when you know what to do. Providing you have everything stock, you can look at unlocking the top speed if you haven’t done so yet. This article goes through all the details of unlocking the top speed.
Next, you need to ask yourself, what top speed are you looking for and how much are you willing to spend? To be smart about upgrading, you need to work out what you want to achieve, and what you may need to mod in the future to save yourself from doing multiple upgrades to the one component. What does that mean?
LBX Motor/Battery/Controller upgrade process explained
It is your motor and battery and controller that provides the power you need. They all need to talk to each other. If you’re like me and most of us, you won’t be upgrading all at once due to costs. Here is a rundown on what to expect when you upgrade components individually.
If you upgrade your LBX’s motor first:
- No overheating problems
- Smoother throttle control
- No noticeable increase in top speed
- Most aftermarket motors can operate at a range of voltages, giving you the option to upgrade to 72v or more in the future.
If you upgrade your LBX’s controller first:
- More control over your power delivery, such as when and how quickly the throttle responds
- Most aftermarket controllers can operate at a range of voltages
- Can get up to 7.5kw from a stock battery, giving you more top speed
- Need to be careful not to ask for too much power from your battery or motor.
If you upgrade your LBX’s battery first:
- More range for longer rides and more time between charges
- Unless you upgrade your controller also, you won’t get many other differences
- You will need to stick with a 60v battery unless you also upgrade the controller at the same time.
How to upgrade your Surron’s motor
This list isn’t exhaustive, it’s just to give you a rough idea of what you would need to do in order to change the motor. If you have any other aftermarket parts installed, this process may look slightly different.
The easiest way to do this work is to flip the bike upside down. Which you can do because electricity! Be careful of scratching the displays etc on the handlebars.
- Remove battery
- Remove residual power to let capacitors discharge
- Remove the controller by removing the screws and bash plate
- Unplug the wiring loom
- Remove the bolt to the chain drive
- Remove the bolts on the motor. Keep track of where you’ve taken them from!
- Take out the stock motor
- Put the new motor back into the frame using the bolts, washers, etc, following the manufacturer’s installation instructions
- Replace the chain drive and fastenings to the proper torque specs
- Replace the wiring loom with the new loom
- Tension the chain correctly
- Join up the wiring to the controller and replace the controller onto your Surron
- Replace the bash plate
- Check all fastenings
If you have an aftermarket controller installed, now would be the time to update all the settings and calibrate your motor.
When you get back from your first ride, go over all the fastenings and check to see if anything has come loose.
Watch the video with EMBX here for install instructions.
What motor is the best for my Surron LBX?
GritShift Recommends: The EMBX XLB60 motor.
This tried and tested motor is a go-to for most of us here at GritShift. Check out the ‘DragRon’ on GritShift’s Instagram to see what this motor is capable of when paired with a serious battery and controller!
The EBMX XLB60 motor is rated at 35kW, but remember what I said about the battery and controller – you’ll need to upgrade these too if you want to use the full 35kW. However, that is really a huge amount of power, and isn’t usually needed in most circumstances! The point is, this motor is built tough and will stay cool under huge loads.
Part of that reliability comes from the fact that the EMBX XLB60 Motor has encoder sensors instead of hall sensors, which allows great power stability over the full power band.
Random facts so you sound cool when talking with mates
How does an electrical motor actually work?
Watch this:
This video explains how a simple electrical motor works. The motor that is in your Surron is designed slightly differently, but the theory remains the same. The stock Surron motor is a PMSM and many aftermarket motors are IPM. Let me explain…
What does IPM mean?
IPM = Interior Permanent Magnet. It is a type of motor that uses permanent magnets on the rotor surface. This can create higher power density and higher torque density over a wider speed range than when compared to other types of motors.
PMSM = Permanent magnet synchronous motor. A simplified explanation is PMSM motors are an older version of the IPM motor. The permanent magnets on the rotor surface are positioned differently to the IPM.
Rotor and Stator – the simplified meaning
This explains the internals of a standard motor. The rotor, which can also be called an armature, is spun using permanent magnets and electromagnets inside a housing called a stator.
Difference between a hall sensor and an encoder sensor
Long story short, an armature (rotor) is spun inside the stator. Sensors monitor where this magnet is in its cycle, and can adjust the amount of ‘pull’ the electromagnets have. If this doesn’t make any sense, watch the video I linked above for a visual description.
Hall sensors rely on the estimation of rotor positions, and are usually used to provide information during startup to approx 2000rpm. Encoder sensors use precise angle measurements of the rotor position. This is beneficial when sudden power changes occur and changes need to be made instantly. Wheel spinning, sudden deceleration, and rapid throttle adjustment are some of the situations where this could occur.
Encoder sensors track the motor position at all speeds, so they can deliver a smooth response throughout the full powerband, whereas hall sensors could result in a current spike as they’re not always monitoring, which could lead to a loss of throttle power.
If you have any other random facts that you would like explained in a simplified way, comment below or send us an email at info@gritshift.com and we’ll add it in an upcoming article.
Why do I need to upgrade my Surron LBX motor?
Have you answered the question: Why do I want to upgrade? And if you say because you want a faster top speed, then the motor is only part of the answer. Upgrading the motor first will give you smoother throttle control and no overheating issues, but it won’t give you more speed.
There is nothing wrong with upgrading only the motor, just make sure you understand why you’re upgrading. Think about the whole powertrain. What is more important to you to upgrade first? Everyone has a different answer depending on their riding style and budget, but upgrade smartly, don’t waste your money on something only to upgrade it again in the near future.
The EMBX XLB-60 is an awesome motor that will tick all the boxes both now and in the future for further upgrades. Check them out here at GritShift, and if you have any questions about upgrading, get in touch with our team who can talk you through the steps specific to you and your e-moto.
Leave a Reply