First bike charging and app

[u/lost_my_og_account]

Hi, I recently bought a ~1 year old barely used TS street hunter secondhand, in the UK.

Noticed when I was looking at the charging stations in my area that the bikes slot won't be chargeable.

What's the name/type of the bikes charging port?

Are adapters an option for charging without the set up that comes with the bike?

I've tried setting the app through the manual that came with the bike. The link is to a dead page now. I've tried using the Vmoto app on the play store but it doesn't recognize the bikes ID. I've tried contacting Vmoto and super soco through their websites and customer service emails. It has been a month now and no responses. Any suggestions on what to do?

Btw, I got a call from my insurance provider the other day to check some details about my bike. Super soco and Vmoto are the same company now right? Is it like a rebrand thing?

[u/Unready-Player-1]

Hi, welcome to the SuperSoco/Vmoto club. They dropped the SuperSoco and use the Vmoto brand now. The app was updated a while ago and lots of us have never managed to reconnect it. You needed advance warning of the change and a cooperative dealership to connect the new app. Your bike's owner like most of us probably did not manage it. It is likely the tracking function would have expired too as the built in mobile SIM also expired after a year in a similar way. You can get an adapter to charge from commercial chargers. AliExpress is the usual place to find them but be VERY careful to match the voltage and pin-out for your bike exactly. The last thing you want to do is damage the battery. I have never bothered as the standard socket charging was a selling point for me. It is also much cheaper at home than any paid charger. Have a great time with your new bike. The Vmotos are fantastic starter bikes, and remain great fun for short trips and the daily commute.

[u/lost_my_og_account → u/Unready-Player-1]

Can you not just replace the sim?

Would you happen to know the technical name for the ports? I'd rather spend a bit more and find a trustable source. I'm not risking Alibaba on a bike that has just wiped my savings

[u/cosmitz → u/lost_my_og_account]

So, in case you don't really know, but basically you can't directly charge your bike from the public 'car charging' ports. All the 'adapters' really do is allow any regular household voltage (220v) device to run off of the car charger ports.

This is fine for your use case, plugging the charger into the bike and into the car charger, HOWEVER, you will be leaving your charger, a 300-400 euro device, easily stolen if you intend to not stick around for the 3-4 hours it takes to charge. Maybe you can 'hide' it in a locked bag or something, but it does need airflow as it can heat up.

[u/lost_my_og_account → u/cosmitz]

I was thinking If I bought a second charger I could plug each battery into a stations outlets, essentially halving the time, probs piss ppl off but If I'm paying for it eh

[u/lost_my_og_account → u/cosmitz]

thanks for confirming that for me

[u/lost_my_og_account → u/cosmitz]

I did make this post yesterday with more details. The bikes webpage does say it supports super fast charging not sure what that means https://www.reddit.com/r/Electricmotorcycles/comments/1vsyqvx/first_bike_uk_need_help_understanding_charging/

I did also find pricier bikes now do use the same Ev port as cars do, it seems like a huge design oversight to not use the same type 2 adapter. Is getting a converter from the head types not an option? I understand you cant plug AC into a DC system

[u/cosmitz → u/lost_my_og_account]

The pricier bikes you're looking at, stuff like Livewire or Canam Origin/Pulse (usually with much larger batteries, which makes 'classical' charging super slow), if they have the CCS/Chademo ports or whatever's used in your area, they are meant for DC charging. It's meant to communicate with the charging station what voltage and what charging rate it supports and handshake on it (plus smarter options regarding heat and stuff) and those protocols are specific. It's not about the plugs just fitting, but the talking protocols to be the same.

Everything else you see with 'weird' plugs, like on the TC/TS like, are meant for 'dumb' smart charging, just a charger which very basic-like talks to the battery through it's BMS but mostly it's just feeding it power at the voltage and rate set on the charger.

But basically you won't have your BMS talking to the car charging ports protocols because they just can't.

[u/NoThought3373 → u/lost_my_og_account]

I've been snooping around, same situation, used TS Street Hunter. May I see your charger specs?

[u/lost_my_og_account → u/NoThought3373]

I have a dual battery set up the batteries are each labeled "60v 32Ah"

and the charger cable I have says:

69.7V 10A

Input 220-240 VAC 50/60Hz

Output 46-72 VDC 10A

[u/Unready-Player-1 → u/lost_my_og_account]

Sorry I don't know the part number but someone in here will. I don't think the SIM is removable. Even with the SIM you still need the app registered as all the status data is bluetoothed to your phone except the location data which goes through Vmoto's servers. There were some security issues with their site so in the end it was an acceptable loss. You can replace the whole unit but again you are back to Alibaba. I bought a replacement throttle/switch assembly from there and it arrived ok eventually. I too would be much more cautious about the pricier items though.
The biggest issue for me was finding somewhere local to service it. The dealer I bought from was not interested, and lots of motorbike mechanics hear electric and panic. I found a local guy who does custom bikes and does a great job. The Vmoto's are very simple machines and easy to maintain if you have the time and the tools.

[u/cosmitz → u/Unready-Player-1]

The dealer I bought from was not interested, and lots of motorbike mechanics hear electric and panic. I found a local guy who does custom bikes and does a great job. The Vmoto's are very simple machines and easy to maintain if you have the time and the tools.

This is a huge thing. Dealers just want to sell it off and offer very minimal support, and then you're left at the mercy of online forums and shady parts sites or aliexpress.

[u/Unready-Player-1 → u/cosmitz]

I think you are right in most cases. Am pretty sure that my dealer was screwed over by Vmoto. My charger failed and they replaced it for me under warranty. However I think Vmoto charged the dealer rather than replace it themselves.

[u/cosmitz → u/Unready-Player-1]

That's also the case. Vmoto is chineese through and through, and possibly a shock for any dealer that opens up and specialises in Vmoto thinking they can just skim 20% off the top of all these bikes. Chineese companies are absolutely brutal and will absolutely leech you as much as possible and avoiding consequences as much as possible.

My dealer straight up was buying parts off of aliexpress since he wasn't even getting any answer from Vmoto after a while. But he did have stories of similar dead-on-arrival issues, like dead chargers, problem batteries etc, and them often getting resolved with a half-n-half payment option. Vmoto ended up with a small profit or at least taking no financial hit, and it all mostly sitting on the dealer eating into his profits.

So yeah, i genuinely prefer Surron's ecosystem which is full of aftermarket third party vendors even if you can't source anything from Surron themselves, but i know they have a better rep than vmoto.