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So, my 2014DS has started progressively acting weirder over the last week or so.

I suspect it could be being caused by more than one thing after some testing.

Symptom one
About a week ago I noticed that it was feeling a bit sluggish off the line. I played around a bit but couldn’t help feeling it was a bit off and even tried changing modes which I rarely do (beyond my custom).

Generally it was ok thought so I ignored it.

Symptom two.
Then a few days later I noticed occasional surging on light throttle. During my regular commute it notably surged just momentarily. After a few times I was noticing it more and could see the blip on my dash. It wasn’t all the time or regular just occasionally. A little scary.

Now, I put a new Domino throttle on about 2 months ago so I wondered if that was it. Emailed them, looked for obvious signs, went over my loom (including a very tidy adapter loom I made) and tested resistance.

My digital meter revealed an inconclusive test - generally ok, but did seem a bit touchy and erratic but that could be my meter.

Symptom three.
After a good once over I “just rode it” today and almost straight away I noticed the same symptom - but on regen! Like when the battery is full, but still happens at 68% SOC. On throttle now seems ok!?

Tried changing modes, adjusted custom, tried all sorts of things, but still surging on regen.

Symptom four
So then I tried turning all regen off in custom mode. Then all on 100%. In both cases, it made no difference!!!!! I can’t change settings in custom? !

I did get regen to wrk a bit better in eco, but still surging.

Symptom five
I think I can also detect that when I’m coasting or slowing and my hand  is off throttle, bumps make it worse.

So now I’m back to suspecting that the throttle is “rattling” in its case, throwing weird feedback to the regen. I know a loose brake lever can easily trigger a similar response right?

Help me

So, I decided to change the pulley sprocket because I want more zip off the line and because I very rarely need to exceed 130kmh. Combined with only have one point left on my lisence, this seemed like a good experiment and gave me a chance to really get in a dig around for the first time in thirty thousand kilometers. I also live not far from the coast so corrosion and sand are a constant threat.

Motor Removal
I had been warned it would be a bitch job so enlisted a mate and worked steadily. This is the rough order that seems to work well. - Remove the seat, sidecovers and controller cover to start making access easier. I also removed the tank. Cut as many zip ties on the cable loom as you can easily get to under the seat to allow you to heave the loom around. Remove the brake pedal, axle, rear wheel and bottom shock mount. Remove the rubber bungs and the swingarm bolts, allowing the swingarm to be removed. All pretty easy stuff.

Now you have easy access to the motor.

At this stage, we isolated the battery by removing the main leads, a delicate job without much room. Very easy to short the terminals, so go slow and insulate them with tape or rubber hose and ideally use an insulated spanner. We then also unplugged the motor to controller multi plug (tricky bugger with a plastic locking clip) and the three main leads that go to the controller.

We then tried to undo the 3mm grub screw on the pulley and only manage to break bits and twist allen keys. Gave it a little heat but didnt want to risk seal damage, couldnt move it. Decided to remove the whole motor and take it to a specialist. Removing teh top shock bolts is a very fiddly job with odd 15mm spanners required. Very tight space and can barely get a socket in place; lots of cursing to do that.

Removing the motor requires some long allen keys to reach through the frame and the removal of the kickstand assembly. Pretty straight forward to remove the bolts, then the adjustable space nuts. I used a car jack with a plate bolted to it to take the weight and then gently lower.

Service checks
Since I will have a week or so delay while the motor is worked on I cleaned and checked everything. As a rule, I replace the zinc coated bolts and allen screws with stainless to assist next time.

Noticed several interesting things!

My swingarm bearings are very notchy, particularly the belt side bearing. They look pretty easy to swap and standard sizes so Ill do them. 30k is pretty poor for such under stressed bearings. I also checked my rear wheel bearings and they are horrendous; lumpy, tight and a pretty fuckin far from ok. Along with the seals, I'll replace them too and I'm assuming the fronts are possibly similar.  On the rear I noticed the internal tube spacer is very tight on the inner ace, I'll measure them properly to make sure its all good but think i read somewhere else that someone discovered this could be an issue.

I've already replaced the steering head bearings (under warranty) so that makes a full swap of all 8 sets of bearings. The irony and disappointment is that compared to my ICE bike, i have a bout ten times less bearings so i kind of expected less maintenance and bearing wear. Maybe bad luck, maybe shit bearings, maybe poor assembly, certainly some environmental factors but really, I expected more.

Other than this, everything else looks pretty good. No electrical corrosion or chafing of cables and the bolt corrosion that is visible is pretty minor for three years and better than many bikes I see. I've replaced the belt once at 20k which was a speed hump related test ride by a mate" victim I think." What I dont like is the amount of water and dirt being thrown up behind the steering head where all the wiring looms connect and the same at the rear around the sock and DC to DC. Everything is holding up but some rubber or plastic shrouds would reduce the potential for future problems markedly. I also note that there is a decent layer of belt dust on almost everything. Mostly rubber I assume, but a bit of carbon too I assume. Much better than any bike Ive ever worked on for cleanliness, but again a shroud would help keep the crud away from electronics.

So, going to swap my front sprocket soon.

Amy pointers or videos anyone can point me too? Nothing in the Unofficial manual that I could see.

I'm assuming/ recalling that removing the main sprocket bolt will be the hardest bit.

How can I prevent the motor spinning while I undo? Is it LH thread ?

All advice welcome

So c'mon....

Someone out there must have found a way or a tool to actually get to the rear shock spring preload adjustment collar surely?

It just doesn't feel right using a long punch, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to make a tool work in that tight space.

And while I'm here, what's the simplest decent way to get the rear shock out? Looks like to controller has to be moved to access the bolts

Notwithstanding that we all know that a vetter is the best aerodynamic solution and as Terry has demonstrated, that range can be doubled by using one, I thought you might be interested to know the results of a real world test with small standard screen.

I was recently doing some maintenance and took my small (KTM) screen off my 14 DS for a week or so. I commute 35km each way to work every day through a mixture of roads. Around half of the route is at 80kmh, the remainder in traffic. This week I noticed that I was using around 20% of my capacity to do the trip instead of the normal 15%. I thought I had a technical/battery problem until I remembered that I had no screen - that's the only difference. I've done it in all sorts of weather now and it's pretty consistent.

So, I was quite amazed at what a difference a tiny screen that doesn't look very aerodynamic was making,  but in the real world, it is extending my range by around 5%.

So, finally got round to fitting my new charging inputs and outputs. I found some great 30A aircraft sockets and plugs that are IP65. I have a box under the tank with everything terminated; on board and 2 optional chargers. 1 socket either side for AC to optional chargers that can be sealed up when not in use. Then, 2 , AC inputs one for stock 5A and one 10A for the others  mounted inside the tank cowls. I have adapters for various 10, 15, 20A and 3phase to connect to these. I think it's neat, super compact and IP rated.

Designed for aircraft, Siemens look to have made a pretty shmick motor

http://www.gizmag.com/siemens-world-record-electric-motor-aircraft/37048/