Sdjclevland

I am looking at buying a wabash rt but the one thing I am having a major issue with is the cost to replace the battery which is close to 2500 dollars. I did see you can buy this for 1400 or so which is still insane but seriously this should be against the law for them to sell a bike that one part is pretty much equivalent to the dealer cost of the bike.

2old

It's very confusing since I just purchased a 52V, 8ah battery manufactured in the US for less than $400 (including tax), or a Dillenger 48V DIY kit, including battery for a little over $700.

Bald Paul

Just wait until you have to replace the battery in your Tesla Model S.

veganbikes

That seems off. I am not a Yamaha dealer to check the price but typically a 500wh battery is about $000-1000 and this is of course from a quality manufacturer like Bosch or Specialized. Yes you can get a really cheap battery but I wouldn't want one.

Keep in mind a battery should be more than just some cells slapped together the BMS (battery management system) needs to be really good otherwise you do get the NYC situation. A good BMS should be able to isolate a problem so it doesn't spread to other cells and go thermal. That is what you are paying for on the premium batteries from those companies.

Calsun

The Tesla and other electric cars have battery packs that should last for 10 years or more and can be recycled. My 2007 Prius hybrid's battery pack was at 95% efficiency when I sold it in 2022, 15 years later. How many 15-year old ICE vehicles do you see still in use?

The FUD factor of fear, uncertainty, and doubt, can be very effective and this approach has been used by the sugar industry and then the tobacco industry and then by the gun industry and now by the oil industry. Goes to show you can fool most of the people most of the time.

Bald Paul

A lot.
I was a professional auto tech for over 40 years. Don't go there with me.

PoweredByVeg

EV’s basically last forever too a major study just found, considering the much lower mechanical out they’ll outlast any ICE unless the ICE gets full makeovers periodically. With climate controlled batteries (all except Leaf) the battery degrades a bit initially but then very slowly drops capacity. And newer chemistries coming out all the time keep upping that bar as you’d expect, the latest Ultium chemistry basically eliminates DCFC degradation, compared to the Bolt BEV2 chemistry which does get a tiny hit. And eventually when the cars are scrapped they don’t even recycle the battery yet, they get second lives in grid storage.

Anyhow ebike batteries aren’t treated as kindly as EV’s, being air cooled, or chassis cooled at best. Proportionally the $/kWh is ridiculous. Fortunately for Bosch owners the batteries are ‘only’ around $1k.

Sdjclevland

sadly it’s true. Some sites have them for less but not man. The cheapest I found was about 1300. Their older model battery’s are like half the price.

Bald Paul

I wish someone had told my old Prius that before the assist motor in the transmission decided to crap out 4 hours from home. It was interesting seeing the "Red Triangle of Death" light up on the dash, and feel the car just sort of jerk and stumble it's way to the side of the highway like some drunken idiot. The cost of repair was more than the car was worth at the time. The batteries may last longer (they don't last "forever") but the rest of the mechanical bits in the car still break down occasionally, just as they do in an ICE vehicle.

Moe Zhoost

When I go to my regular weekly volunteer session at our local bike co-op, it's likely that half the cars in the parking lot are 25+ years old.

veganbikes

Are you in the U.S.? Also what Watt Hour rating is that battery? I am still a bit baffled by those amounts. That is double what Bosch charges for a battery so it just seems extra high. I am certainly not calling you a liar and please do not infer that from any of this, I am not at all.

I can believe a company would charge a lot for something but Yamaha is certainly not to the level of Bosch they make a fine enough product (not for those prices though) but their support could use some help and certainly would expect a lot more than a 500 or even 600wh battery for that price. I can get 2 625wh batteries from Bosch and have almost enough to buy a Nyon Retrofit Kit so something doesn't add up from Yamaha because unless they have a non-LION battery that is lighter smaller and has the same or more WH as say a 625 Bosch Powertube I cannot see those prices. A Specialized 710wh battery is still like $1200 or so.

I am all for good quality batteries with good BMSs no doubt about that, I don't want to see fires and I want advanced batteries that help prevent that and I don't mind that a battery is 1k or even a little more given the size so I don't scoff at pricing normally but something is just off.

PoweredByVeg

A Prius isn’t an EV, by being a Hybrid it’s worse than both, inheriting problems from both sides as it were and being more complicated than either. By now I think we’ve gotten straight ICE pretty well ironed out, for the most part. Right out the gate BEV’s have pretty steller track records (speaking as an owners of six years).