Battery Life

[trapezeartist]

Every EM owner will know that the commonest question is "How long does the battery last?" My answer is always the same, based on my personal experience: I usually finish a trial with the meter showing about 70% left.

Now 70% at the end of a trial had me a bit perplexed. That is far better than the manufacturer's claimed battery life, and when did you ever find a manufacturer who understates anything?! So yesterday I tried an experiment. I didn't charge the battery before going out for a practice, so I started on 70%. After nearly 3 hours (so slightly less than a normal trial) the battery was down to 15%. I have no complaint because two days riding on a battery seems pretty good to me. However I'm now aware that the battery reading is a bit non-linear and 70% on the battery meter really means about 45% of riding time remaining.

PS. I was watching the battery meter more closely than usual yesterday and could see the reading going up and down depending on the load I was putting on it. So at the end of the day with 15% left in, the meter dropped to 4% when gunning it up the hill back to the car park. It then dramatically lost power (but still enough to comfortably get up the hill) which seems to be a limp mode that kicks in at 5%.

[stpauls]

Additionally, battery running time will also depend on the ambient temperature.  Lower temperatures will result in less running time and higher temperatures will result in longer running times. 

Additionally, the weight of the rider will have an effect.  The lighter the rider, the longer the running time.

 

[trapezeartist]

1 hour ago, stpauls said:

Additionally, battery running time will also depend on the ambient temperature.  Lower temperatures will result in less running time and higher temperatures will result in longer running times. 

I don't  think the temperature range in the UK is enough to make the sort of difference that isn't swamped by other factors. The last trial I did was in a temperature just above freezing, and that gave me the 70% level. The practice day I mentioned in the original post was a few degrees above that.

[sectionone]

I have an Oset 24 and found that there is a difference between run time and full performance run time. Mine has 3 red LED  battery level indicators and an orange low level light. When all three reds are on all the time, I get full performance. When the top light starts flashing off under load, performance drops especially when going up a bank with a rock on top. I won't get the same quick throttle to get the front end up. I can get a lot of riding time until the orange light flashes but not as much full performance time.

There is a sponsored EM rider who rode 3 rounds of the USA Nationals in the Expert class this year and he found he couldn't complete the trial without a battery swap with a DNF on his first try. Probably one battery was enough but not at the same performance level all day.

[trapezeartist]

On 12/29/2021 at 3:52 PM, sectionone said:

I have an Oset 24 and found that there is a difference between run time and full performance run time. Mine has 3 red LED  battery level indicators and an orange low level light. When all three reds are on all the time, I get full performance. When the top light starts flashing off under load, performance drops especially when going up a bank with a rock on top. I won't get the same quick throttle to get the front end up. I can get a lot of riding time until the orange light flashes but not as much full performance time.

There is a sponsored EM rider who rode 3 rounds of the USA Nationals in the Expert class this year and he found he couldn't complete the trial without a battery swap with a DNF on his first try. Probably one battery was enough but not at the same performance level all day.

It may be all down to the controller. There's a lot of very clever electronics going on inside them. For sure I've never been short of power on my EM.

[sectionone]

I guess it depends on rider skill level and difficulty level also. The rider who rode the Nationals had won the High School and Expert class championships previously and was riding the Pro class before switching his attention to hard enduro. He is sponsored by the importer and was riding the top of the line bike. It seems in a tough muddy trial with lots of clutch slipping, 7 hours is not enough for one battery.

[nhuskys]

6 hours ago, sectionone said:

I guess it depends on rider skill level and difficulty level also. The rider who rode the Nationals had won the High School and Expert class championships previously and was riding the Pro class before switching his attention to hard enduro. He is sponsored by the importer and was riding the top of the line bike. It seems in a tough muddy trial with lots of clutch slipping, 7 hours is not enough for one battery.

Local older rider who rides an Epure Race on the Novice line, can do 4 laps of 10 sections (40 sections) and use less than 50%. He rides pretty conservatively and doesn't use the clutch.  He'll let a few other riders ride it after the trial. A couple of Expert riders playing on big stuff and using a lot of clutch.... can suck another 20-25% out pretty fast.

[HOOKYH]

Did 3 hours with 3 riders on one 2016 bike yesterday, just trying different sections on a small piece of land. Bike was on the go pretty much non stop the whole time and used 1/2 the battery.

No running between sections on full throttle though just the odd tyre clearing blast. 

[sectionone]

Here's an article about EM in the Nationals. It is basically a paid advertisement by EM and makes no mention of the DNF in the first round he rode. He is quoted with the plural "batteries" with plenty of power for a loop. In social media he stated one battery caused the DNF and better results using more than one battery. It was a prime opportunity to tout almost getting on the podium using one battery but they didn't.

https://www.on-the-pegs.com/on-the-pegs-august-2021-on-the-pegs-volume-6-issue-8-august/0599729001627386745?fbclid=IwAR00BczJTEz6lTwWUMHGMo0jO-X5SGERGADj2BRTRuDMLZmytaKJUdSSMdo

[dgshannon]

On 1/5/2022 at 10:08 AM, sectionone said:

...no mention of the DNF in the first round he rode.

Having spoken with a key insider, this was attributed to a blunder. Didn't start the event with a full charge and had no backups!

[ksv]

Surely the difference between a trial and a practice session is down to the amount of time actually riding. I would expect 4+ hours at a trial to use up considerably less battery/petrol than 3 hours when practising. 

At a trial you spend a significant period of that time walking sections and sat in queues, whereas a practice session you are on the go all the time (mostly).

 

[lotus54]

On my 2021 Escape ‘R’, the most I’ve ever gotten is 3 hours actual motor running time. 20 miles or so.

the battery is certainly bigger than the epure, but rest of bike is the same (although heavier). Nowhere near what EM claims.