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So my battery can only contain around 16kWh and 333V maximum while the later models can hold around 18 kWh and 342V
Any difference in battery chemistry or is it purely Firmware unlock ?

I would love to unlock more capacity.

Which bike are we talking about..??

Ego, Ribelle/Eva or SS9..??

The later model bikes have a 21.5kw/h battery...of which ~18kw/h is useable.

The Experia has a 22.5kw/h battery of which ~19kw/h is useable.

Smithy.

Hi All,
Have passed through 13,000km on the belt setup on my way to work this morning....all still going well, belt is showing no signs of major wear etc... I has a few marks on it from normal wear & tear but nothing I would call noteworthy, no nicks or tears in the wear fabric, teeth are looking normal with no deformation etc. The pulleys are showing no signs of undue wear either. I have a good look at the belt and pulleys each weekend and I've not had to adjust it other than when I have the wheel out to change tyres etc...very satisfying to see it all working as well as it does..
 
I ride in all types of weather, wet, dry, hot, cold...it's nice not having to worry about whether the chain is clean, adjusted & lubed enough to ward off excessive wear or corrosion etc.....I suspect I'd be looking for a new set of chain & sprockets by now if I hadn't changed to the belt...

I'm guessing the cost of the belt setup vs normal chain & sprockets will eventually pay for itself...not having to make new pulleys at each belt change will be a big plus. I still have no real idea of how long the belt should last, The belt is from a BMW F800GT and judging by the BMW F800 forums, they often see in excess of 50,000km, The Experia has substantially more hp & torque than the F800 but I don't ride very fast, nor do I accelerate at 100% everywhere, so I guess the belt should last a similar distance.

I have found a dealer/seller in "Latvia" of all places, who will sell me the correct size Continental/BMW belt for $177 AUD which is just under $130 USD, (free shipping if I buy 2 or more)...which is less than the cost of a good quality DID, RK or EK chain...let alone the cost of replacing sprockets on top of that.

I'm well chuffed.

Smithy.

@ Bear-Tiger...I have no words...other than:

"BRILLIANT"..!

Well done Sir.

Smithy.

Looks like a great job!

Do you plan to get it officially approved by the German TÜV?
I am convinced with a nice paintjob this modification will not rise questions, but you will need a killswitch like for the sidestand. The TÜV guy will definitely test this.

Just saying, because I currently have a problem with that, too. We need to find out how the thingie operates and connects to the bike's controls.

I don't know of any bike that has a kill switch on the centre stand....only on the side stand.

Smithy.

If you really care a lot I will suggest coasting down a hill and seeing how fast you get going.  If you have a timing system and a few eyes/sensors one could get more exact doing no chain vs the other ways.   See if worn sprockets and chain is different from new ones.  What do  you guys run on Energica bikes x ring chains?  It is 1/4 inch wide sprockets 525 not 530 without looking it up.

I don't really care that much TBH...I just go on "real world seat of my pants" results....If at the end of my normal trip I see my SOC is similar or better...I don't complain. I've been running the same route to work and back since I bought the bike in early 2023...the SOC difference between when I ran chain and sprockets vs the synchronous belt and pulleys is negligible. There is a difference of +/-5% when running in winter vs summer...but this is unrelated to the chain or belt drive.

The Experia runs a 520 chain and sprockets...the other Energica bikes, SS9, Rebelle and Ego run a 525.

Smithy.

Hi Don,

Just to follow up on our conversation re fitting a belt drive to an Experia:

Not an simple operation I'm afraid unless you're handy with tools, lathe, mill etc... Minor modification to the inside-left of the swingarm is required where the pulley comes very close, not too much, just enough for rear pulley clearance, otherwise the pulley will hit the swingarm. The rear pulley and belt are from a BMW F800 GT and the rear pulley is 80T, I fitted/bolted it to one of my old Experia rear sprockets, I used an old Vortex sprocket for this as it has 5 main spokes which marry up to the BMW pulley well, then the sprocket must have all the teeth machined off to the correct diameter to fit inside the BMW pulley with a little clearance....and then the pulley be spaced correctly to get it as close to the swingarm as possible for the belt to line up and the centre lines of both pulleys as close as possible....in the end, a space of only ~1mm between the pulley and swingarm is the best you can do, not perfect but very doable using spacing wahsers between the pulley mount face and the sprocket. I used 10mm A2 stainless shoulder bolts and stainless "nyloc" nuts to mount the pulley to the sprocket. The bolts are plenty strong enough with tensile strength ~5x the required sheer torque loading.

The front pulley is a different matter though...finding a pulley to fit and have the correct drive spline & tooth count is nigh-on impossible...so one must be made. I initially used a 26T hardened cast iron pulley from a Yamaha T-Max 560/Kymco 560 muscle scooter, the centre of which has to be machined out to form a nice flat rebate for the sprocket to be mounted and the width also has to be reduced, this pulley is originally for a 40mm width belt...however this will not fit the Experia, a 34mm wide belt is the widest that will safely fit....then, a front sprocket from an Aprilia Tuono/RSV has to me modified to fit inside the pulley, the teeth machined off and holes drilled through both the pulley and sprocket so they can be bolted together...the countershaft splines for the Aprilia and Energica are the same. The completed pulley must be fitted as close as possible to the motor to help bring the centerline of the pulleys as close as possible.

Ideally a 24T front pulley would be perfect, however a 24T pulley made from cast iron or steel is just not available unless custom made and as I have found....unless you get a minimum batch of 500 done, it's just not cost effective, there isn't even 500 Experias in existence world wide. I did find a source of 7075-T6 aluminium pulleys in 24T & 25T made for drag racing superchargers, spendy but available...I modified one of them to see if it is useable....It is, and I have used one for several thousand km.... and although they are hard anodised 7075-T6, I suspect wear of the aluminium will be an issue when longer distances are covered. Time will tell.

As mentioned previously in other posts, the swingarm must be removed to fit the belt, surprisingly it's not a difficult job and only takes ~1/2 hour or so to remove, I removed the chain protection rubbers from the swingarm as it's not needed with the belt as it kinda gets in the way.

Here's a pic below with the swingarm removed from my bike whilst fitting the belt/pulleys etc...I took the oportunity to re-lube/re-grease the swingarm pivot bearings and shock linkage bearings whilst I had the swingarm out. Surprisingly the needle bearings and spacers were in very good condition and well lubed from the factory.

Smithy.

OIC, I was just looking at my 2020 SS9- and my Experia swingarm.   I really cannot tell much buy looking, but it didn't look any more difficult than on the Experia, but it's one of those things I will not know unless I try to do the job. t. I cannot tell if the swing arm can be lifted to make room for a belt, as on my 2017 Zeros.


Perhaps the 2020 SS9-  is different than the Plus bikes?


-Don-  Auburn, CA

As far as I'm aware, the early SS9 swingarm is the same as the later ones. Pic below is of a 2018 model. As you can see, the chain goes through the swingarm.

Smithy.

Nice neat installation you have there...Bear-Tiger. How many km on your Experia..??

I found my Experia liked to eat chains & sprockets, I'd had 3 sets in the ~40k km that they were fitted....before fitting the belt drive.

I was just a bit tired of the constant cleaning, adjustment & replacement etc...

Smithy.