Just like any other vehicle, eventually, your electric scooter is going to need some sort of maintenance and repair. When zooming along on E-scooters, riding with friends or even just doing the morning commute, wear and tear on your electric scooter is inevitable. But don’t worry, electric scooter repair is much easier than you’d first think and it’s even possible to do simple repairs at home by yourself.
The Benefits of Regular Maintenance
The key to ensuring your electric scooter stays in tip top shape is to make regular maintenance a priority. This tip is valuable for electric scooters, electric bicycles and the majority of electric vehicles as they all benefit from regular maintenance.
Basic maintenance for electric scooters or electric bikes consists of five simple actions that can be done at home with minimal equipment.
1. Cleaning
1. CleaningCleaning is the first and easiest step of the maintenance process. The goal of cleaning is to rid your scooter of dirt and grime that can damage its inner mechanics. The main thing to be aware of when cleaning E-scooters is that electricity and water do not mix. As such, it is best to only use a damp rag to wipe down dirty areas, and if that doesn’t cut it, introduce an all purpose cleaner spray to clean tougher areas. The goal when cleaning your scooter is to introduce as little water and liquid as possible, always ensuring that you wipe the surface after cleaning to avoid any chance of rust.
2. Lubrication
Lubrication is essential to ensure the moving parts of the scooter continue to move smoothly and avoid wear. To lubricate your scooter, simply spray a lubricant into the moving parts of your scooter, such as the wheel bearings on the front and rear wheels and the folding mechanism. For best results ensure you use a specialised lubricant such as bike chain lubricant, as other regular lubricants will only act as a penetrating fluid, freeing up stiff joints but not lubricating them. It is also best to avoid spraying any lubricant on the brake rotors if your scooter uses discs breaks as this can contaminate the brake pads.
3. Tyre Checking
3. Tyre CheckingChecking your electric scooter’s tyres is a very important aspect of maintenance that is often overlooked. Electric scooter tyres are usually either pneumatic or tubeless. If your scooter has tubeless wheels it is best to check the air pressure regularly, keeping them at the recommended levels to ensure a smooth ride.
If you have tubeless tyres you should regularly check them for damage and tread wear. If you see that your tyres have lost their tread then it’s time to replace the old tyres with a new pair.
4. Brake Adjustment
Brake pad wear is a common issue that can cause serious damage if not checked for regularly, so brake adjustment is a very important maintenance step. The best way to check your breaks is to take a photo of the pads when you buy your scooter and then use that photo as reference going forward, so you can see how much friction material has been lost. If a large portion of the friction material has worn off, it’s time to replace your brake pads.
5. Battery Checking
5. Battery CheckingRegular checking of your scooter’s battery is the most important maintenance element as it is usually the most expensive part to replace. Battery maintenance consists of ensuring you don’t overcharge the scooter or charge it too quickly, as this can result in the battery becoming damaged and not accepting charge. To achieve the best results it is always advisable to only charge your battery with a charger designed specifically for your scooter.
Repairing an electric scooter isn’t as difficult as you’d think.
What To Do When Maintenance Fails and Repairs are Needed
The sad reality of owning an electric scooter is that eventually, it will need some sort of repair, no matter how often and thorough you are with maintenance. Luckily, repairing an electric scooter isn’t as difficult as you’d think.
Given the plethora of guides and knowledge online, it’s possible to learn how to repair most elements of an electric scooter at home. This will save you some money, as the only cost will be the replacement parts, which can often be bought with free shipping Australia wide from most retailers of E-scooter accessories.
Another option is to take your electric scooter into a mechanic that specialises in electric scooter repairs and pay them to repair it for you. Despite this being more expensive than repairing your scooter yourself, this option is more viable if the repair requires specialist tools or difficult to purchase parts.
There will be some cases though where neither of these options will be viable. If this is the case, the best option is to submit a warranty claim to the retailer or producer of the scooter. If the claim goes through your broken scooter will be exchanged for a new functional model and you’ll be back scooting in no time!