An e-moto has fewer moving parts than a petrol bike — no oil, no filters, no plugs and no clutch. That much is true, and it is what sells these bikes. The extended version is less true: that nothing, therefore, wears out.
Things do wear out, just differently. Full torque from zero and no engine noise to warn you about overloading mean a few components work harder than their equivalents on a petrol bike. Below is a list of what genuinely wears — and what is worth having before it does.
Group 1: always wears out
Drivetrain
Chain, sprockets and — if you still have the standard setup — the belt. These are the fastest-wearing parts on the whole bike, especially once you have raised the power.
A chain signals wear by stretching, and a neglected one takes the sprockets with it. A belt is worse — it can snap with no warning. There is more on this in the article on belt versus chain.
Worth keeping spare: a chain and a joining link, if you ride regularly.
Tyres and rim locks
At low pressures and high torque the tyre can rotate relative to the rim and tear the valve off. A rim lock prevents that — our off-road wheels come with a rim lock and rim tape in the kit.
Brake pads and discs
Once you have raised the power, the brakes work disproportionately harder. Pads are worth checking more often than the mileage would suggest.
Group 2: cheaper parts that protect expensive ones
This is the best-spent category of money on the whole e-moto — inexpensive parts that prevent bills many times their size.
Rear shock cover — the cheapest part on this list
A shock shaft is polished to hundredths of a millimetre. One grain of sand dragged under the seal makes a scratch, a scratch means an oil leak, and a leak means a rebuild or a new shock.
The Warp 9 cover in 4 mm neoprene fits with hook-and-loop, with no need to remove the shock. It fits shocks around 10.5 inches long (267 mm eye to eye) — including the Sur-Ron Light Bee, Talaria Sting, E-Ride Pro, Rawrr Mantis, Beta Explorer, RFN Apollo and 79 Bike Falcon.
Chain guide
Without a guide the chain cuts into the paint and the aluminium of the swingarm. That damage cannot be undone, and the swingarm is one of the more expensive parts on the bike — the guide costs a small fraction of a replacement. The EBMX guide also quietens the drivetrain — on a bike with no combustion engine you hear the chain slapping clearly.
Suspension linkage
The standard linkage runs on plastic washers and a bush sitting on a threaded bolt. Ride harder and that ends in play and worn-out axle bearings — and replacing bearings is already a workshop job, which costs more than the part does.
The Warp 9 V2 linkage in 7075-T6 aluminium has machined axle bolts and neoprene bearing covers. Also available in chrome.
Number plate
The Motocutz number plate in polypropylene shields the front of the bike and the headlight from stones thrown up by the wheel in front of you. Riding in a group, that isn't cosmetic — and it costs less than a headlight. Rather than cracking on impact, polypropylene flexes and returns to shape.
Group 3: ergonomics that change the ride
Seat cover
The Guts cover for the Light Bee and the version for the Ultra Bee — material with a deep diamond pattern that stops you sliding around on the seat under acceleration, braking and jumps. On a bike that delivers full torque from zero, grip on the seat genuinely matters.
Throttle tube
The standard tube on the Ultra Bee is plastic and permanently vulcanised to the grips — you cannot replace the rubber on its own. The Warp 9 tube in 7075-T6 aluminium, with two PTFE bushings, solves that and gives even resistance through the whole travel, even once sand has got in.
Footpeg bracket
Foot Lock — for the Sur-Ron LBX, Talaria and E-Ride.
Cockpit
- Warp 9 horn button — an e-moto is quiet, and pedestrians and cyclists on the trails simply don't hear you coming
- Warp 9 light switch — plug & play into the standard harness; the V2 version has a lead around 5 cm longer for taller handlebars
- Warp 9 stem lock — if your headstock bearings keep working loose, the likely cause is the standard star nut shifting. The kit includes a threaded rod running the full length of the steerer tube and four spacers: 20, 15, 5 and 3 mm
What is worth keeping in the garage
If you ride regularly and don't want to break off your season waiting for a delivery:
- A chain and a joining link
- A set of brake pads
- An inner tube and patches, if you ride off-road
- Chain lube and degreaser
- Spare axle bolts and chain tensioner block bolts — the most commonly lost small parts on the whole bike
Servicing that costs nothing
- After every wet or sandy ride — wash and lubricate the chain. Not with a pressure washer anywhere near the bearings, seals and electronics.
- Every few outings — check the chain tension and the axle torque.
- Once a season — check for play in the headstock bearings and in the suspension linkage. Take hold of the front end and try to move it — if it clicks, there is play.
- Before the winter break — don't leave the battery charged to 100% or run down to zero.
Not sure whether a part fits your model?
Most accessories come in different versions for the Light Bee, Ultra Bee, Talaria and E-Ride — and some differ between model years of the same bike. Message us on chat with your model and year, ideally with a photo of the connector or the mounting. We'll confirm before you buy — that is quicker than a return.
See: e-moto accessories, the Warp 9 collection, the full catalogue.
