Motor doesn't engage first time board turned on

22 November 2015, 10:20 UTC

My OW still has this problem of frequently no engaging the motor when first turned on after a charge. Usually the sequence is, turn it on, try to go horizontal and board just flops over. Power cycle and retry - no further issues.

Today, all that happens. But when I am out on the street there's some construction, tight spaces and heavy pedestrian traffic. So I dismount, turn the board off and walk to the next open space.

Turn the board on, balances immediately, and I roll for a 2-3 seconds to see if it will cut out. Seems fine, so accelerate up to top (classic) speed, **bam ** I am face down on concrete. Probably from start to cutout was ~10 seconds and I'd traveled ~30m.

Fortunately I was the only person injured although there were about 20 witnesses, I rode off slowly and shamefully with blood dripping from my elbow.

Rolled at walking pace for about a minute until I was confident it wouldn't cut out again and was able to ride another km at near top speed. So the battery wasn't dead.
Had only just gotten onto the board so my foot was positioned perfectly over the sensor and I know where it is, I ride 2-3 times a week and have been for ~8 months.
The ground was the perfect OW surface, textured/roughened concrete with no cracks, gaps or anything to upset the board. Nearly perfectly flat and high grip.

.

Would have been nice to have received a response to OW three months ago in thread when I first raised this.

22 November 2015, 14:59 UTC

@Andrew is it possible you are pushing past pushback in classic? I think there is some consistency in people recommending extreme because there is more top end and it seem to discourage this (personally I am now used to audio - as I approach limits, I can hear different motor pitch).

22 November 2015, 15:06 UTC

@Andrew I think you should email them, seems like you might have an issue. It also could be getting worse as time progresses as you mentioned is been going on for 3 months. Futuremotion doesn't seem to check the forums as often, so emailing would be the best solution for direct response.

Or as @shaunabe recommended try extreme mode, I've fallen more in classic mode than extreme. Perhaps you've outgrown that mode and become too extremeeeeeee ;)

22 November 2015, 15:12 UTC

Why even mess around in classic mode?. Classic mode should be called child mode.. Anyways you definitely have a sensor issue if your falling at speed...it maybe user error but doesn't sound it.. After .5 mph you only need to be on one of the sensors..although you should stay on them both.. Are you using flat sneakers?

22 November 2015, 15:48 UTC

The're busy counting $ on their account :expressionless:

23 November 2015, 06:12 UTC

@shaunabe said:

@Andrew is it possible you are pushing past pushback in classic?

I've pushed to the limit in classic many times. This was a total dead stop where the board immediately went nose down. Classic pushback pushes the nose of the board up.

23 November 2015, 06:20 UTC

@njcustom said:

Why even mess around in classic mode?. Classic mode should be called child mode.. Anyways you definitely have a sensor issue if your falling at speed...it maybe user error but doesn't sound it.. After .5 mph you only need to be on one of the sensors..although you should stay on them both.. Are you using flat sneakers?

I don't wear a helmet, classic mode pushback reminds me to keep the speed down. If I had done this at full extreme speed I might not have gotten my hands up fast enough to keep my head off the pavement and might be in hospital with a concussion (or worse) right now. I assume anyone riding extreme mode is wearing full safety gear whereas I am not.

Was wearing flat bottom DC skate shoes "DC Court Graffik Men" at the time.

23 November 2015, 15:18 UTC

@Andrew I only ride extreme mode and never use gear.. Just my normal cloths..the pushback messes with me so classic mode is not an option

24 November 2015, 07:04 UTC

@Andrew Just like nj, I'm only riding extreme, and don't use safety gear. (Since 2.0 the name "extreme" is really misleading, they should change it to "standard" or "awesome" ;) )

Probably because I'm lazy and stupid.

But mainly because I have got extreme confidence in the board.
I've ridden wet, bumpy tarmac, in the dark, at full speed in extreme mode, wearing boots, hands on my back, no safety gear, and still wasn't afraid of, or even concerned about, getting thrown off or anything.

I don't know how much they changed beginner, since I haven't ridden that since 1.0, but that old version was horrible and dangerous. I couldn't see anyone wanting to use that.

Anyway, as @braswell said, send them an email if you haven't done so. FM has very little forum presence. See if they think it's something that can be prevented.

24 November 2015, 08:13 UTC

It may be because I'm getting old, but I feel the need to say this: Wear a helmet! You're one slip, one pothole, one board fail, one foot-off-the-sensor-at-high-speed away from a traumatic brain injury. You're riding a powered board that goes 15+ mph. You are not invincible.

Seriously, wear a helmet.