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You are going to follow everything laid out here down to the letter. If you’re not sure about anything mentioned here, then post your question to the Onyx AF Facebook group. Wait 30 days after you’ve received an Onyx RCR for the warranty to expire before making any of the following modifications. The 30-day warranty window helps ensure there are no pre-existing problems with the bike.
Sicko Mode Settings BSM screenshots from the stock Onyx RCR Kelly 7230S Controller with the Lite Speed Bikes 45ah Battery (400 Amp BMS) at 19,338 Watts & Onyx 41ah Battery (80 Amp BMS) at 17,659 Watts. 20,000 watts should be the maximum total watts output.
Nothing I will explain here will increase the top speed by much, this is all about increasing torque and acceleration. If you want higher top speeds, then look out for my next blog post where I help everyone spend thousands of dollars more to increase the top speed. We are still in the middle of working out top speeds as a constant and not as a peak on the Onyx RCR, which will require the brakes to be upgraded to Magura’s or Brembos.
Increasing the torque and acceleration of the Onyx RCR makes it difficult to manage when dialed to the maximum. With experience in power increments, the unpredictable moments become predictable. The Onyx RCR itself wants to drive straight like any other bike or gyro. So where the acceleration is applied, counts. People have told me about speed wobbles which are fixed by bearing very little weight on the handlebars.
When you dial up the Onyx RCR you will need to know to never walk next to the bike when it is on, or it will get away from you if you accidentally roll the throttle. You will need to know how to cut off the motor by using the regen cut-off, the kill switch, and not just rolling off the throttle. At 100% there is no forgiveness for not having a tight throttle feathering game and there is no mercy. You mess up once and it’s game over real quick.
Once you’ve mastered dialed-up settings, the bike is an absolute terror to ride. You’ll have complete control of yourself first which is worth it to see what this bike can do. What’s great about 100% power is that by the time you get there, you will understand that you can get the same range as stock settings because it’s all in how you throttle the bike. What generally happens is that as the power goes up, people tend to forget their throttling habits change, which will burn through more battery.
The Onyx RCR arrives dialed to 35% of it’s power potential at 7800 watts. Before the power is dialed up on the Onyx RCR, the thermals have to be addressed as so does the rider’s experience managing the bike. The Onyx RCR can be dialed up in increments, which is what I recommend to gain experience with the bike as the power is increased.
It is better to prepare the onyx RCR with the requirements below before dialing up the controller settings because dialing up the settings will generate more heat from the controller and motor. Adding vents to the side panels or adding a fan does work with cooling the controller but relocating the controller to the outside cools the controller the best.
Ensure that your rear axle nuts are as tight as they can be and that you’ve applied threadlocker. Update the rear axle plate to the new ones Ryan Dean has put out. Once you’ve done all this, then you can proceed to up the settings in the controller. I highly recommend moving your Kelly controller to the outside of the bike. At a minimum add some types of vents to the side panels if you’re not going to relocate the controller.
All of these modifications listed here are compatible with the stock Onyx 23ah battery, Onyx 41ah battery, and any Lite Speed Bikes battery. The more powerful the battery the greater the increase in power. Any of the Lite Speed Bikes battery from the 150 amp to the 400 amp battery will get you above 20,000 watts. The Onyx 41ah battery will get you up to 15,000 watts. The Onyx 23ah battery will get you to 12,000 watts.
The stock Onyx SB50 connector is rated to 50 amps which is below what the Onyx 23ah battery, Onyx 41ah battery, and all the Lite Speed Bikes batteries can output in amps once the “Bat Current Limit” setting is changed on the controller from 55 to 100. Change the stock SB50 connector both on the bike and the Onyx 23ah battery and Onyx 41ah battery to an OSE 8 connector which is rated to 200 amps. All Lite Speed Bikes batteries come with an OSE 8 connector. They also happen to come with an OSE 8 to SB50 adapter to allow an opportunity to upgrade the stock battery SB50 connector.
The Onyx RCR 1.5 comes with an inline (red wire) 100 amp fuse. The Onyx 23ah battery is capped at 55 amps with a peak of 65 amps, this should not trigger the fuse unless there is a short. The Onyx 41ah battery is capped at 80 amps with a peak of 90 amps but there is a small chance this can trigger the fuse. The Light Speed Bikes 35ah battery and 52ah battery are capped at 100 amps with a peak of 150 amps, which will trigger the fuse. The Light Speed Bikes 45ah battery is capped at 150 amps with a peak of 400 amp, which will trigger the fuse.
If you have the Onyx 41ah battery or any Lite Speed Bikes battery, you should remove the fuse before dialing up the settings. You would also have to carry extra fuses since they can’t be reset. Removing the inline battery fuse will require that the line be soldered together or be replaced completely.
The Lite Speed Bikes batteries, Onyx 23ah battery, and 41ah battery built-in protection mechanism, and also the built-in protection mechanism in the controller are more than enough. If you would like an inline protection mechanism, then mirror the one used in the Sur Ron which uses a legit breaker.
During hot summer days, the Onyx RCR controller and motor temperatures behave differently above 85 degrees Fahrenheit outdoor ambient temperatures. Some riders on hot days will experience what is referred to as “limp mode” which is when the controller reduces the power output of itself to the motor. This happens when the controller reaches 248 degrees Fahrenheit (120C) and or the motor reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100C).
Onyx RCR batteries that have been fully charged less than 300 times should also follow the battery balancing method described above. Unbalanced batteries can cause the battery management system to cut out the battery sooner when the charge is low.
These side panels vents will help reduce a hot controller from 194 degrees Fahrenheit (90C) down to 167 degrees Fahrenheit (75C) on a hot 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32.3C) day during moderate riding at speeds above 20 mph.
SIDE PANEL 3D PRINT FILE DOWNLOAD
Statorade will decrease the QS 205 V3 4T motors rotational speed between 30 rpm and up to 40 rpm. This translates to a decrease in a top speed of about 2 mph. The benefits of transferring the stators' heat to the hub are far worth the loss on top-end speed. The improvements in acceleration as in 0-60 mph are also worth the slight top speed bump down.
Use a drill bit that is 1/8 or smaller. Covering the hole afterward is to keep water and any debris out of the motor, a small square of black Gorilla tape works great. The Statorade will never leak out of the drill hole. Drill in the location exactly as in the picture below. It has to be towards the back of the motor towards the rear of the bike and preferably on the driver’s right-hand side as there are fewer physical obstacles.
There’s no need to worry about damaging the motor as an internal picture of the QS 205 V3 motor will demonstrate this is a safe spot away from the hall sensor wires and any other important components. The very few metal shavings that will make their way into the motor while drilling will not present a problem. Apply light pressure and medium speed while drilling.
I’ve concluded that the stock Kelly controller is great and that it is a design flaw having it internally inside the body of the Onyx RCR because it will hit peak temperatures too easily when pushed hard on hills or hot days. The only controllers that are worth upgrading to are the Sabvoton 96150 controller and ASI BAC 8000 controller as of now.
This is how all Onyx RCR stock Kelly KLS7230S controllers should be installed. If you’re in or around NYC, contact me to have your controller installed outside as it will require extending the length of the power wires (not phase wires) to accommodate the controller outside. The Kelly controller is already water-sealed and can handle the elements.
IOS XIAOXIANG BMS APP
IOS ANT BMS APP
ANDROID XIAOXIANG BMS APP
ANDROID ANT BMS APP
There are various versions of the Kelly controller app that are only available for Android. The link below is the best revision of the app that I use for tuning. If you don’t happen to have an Android phone or tablet, purchase any Android phone or tablet with a Snapdragon 635 or greater SOC. The Motorola Moto E goes for $120 and has been great for me to use for both the Kelly App and BMS apps I use.
KELLY CONTOLLER ANDROID APP
ANDROID DEVICE TO PROGRAM CONTROLLER
Use the Kelly app screenshots below for reference. The screenshots were taken on an Android tablet which means they will appear similar but much more condensed on an Android phone.
Change “Current Percent” from 50 to 75 which will increase the total output to 75% (changing it to 100 will max it out). Change “Bat Current Limit' from 55 to 100 which will remove the battery amp limit. Tap the arrow on the top right-hand side and change “RLS_TPS Brk Per% from 1 to 0 which will disengage full-time active regen for a true free-spinning wheel. Change “Accel Time” from 5 to 4. Accel time defines the amount of time in seconds that the bike will deliver full power. An “Accel Time” value of 1 is the bike doing a cool-looking wheelie down the road without you on it. The “Accel Time” field is the most awesome field that takes practice managing the bike. Change “Torque Speed KP” to 4000, change “Torque Speed KI” to 110, and change “Speed Err Limit” to 1100.
The Windows computer version of the Kelly controller app and its instructions are almost identical to the Android version. A Windows computer with Bluetooth is required to pair with the Bluetooth controller on the kelly controller. Do not activate “cruise control” the program. Cruise control is not programable so it is only activated when 30 mph is reached and the throttle is held for a few seconds. Do not bother activating the “boost” feature either as it can weaken the controller considering it requires other physical modifications to make it active.
Of all the settings on the Kelly controller, accel time is the most vicious of them all. Pay extra attention to accel time. Know that the accel time setting controls how fast in seconds the controller will deliver full power. Think of it as an acceleration curve. An accel time of 5 means that the bike will deliver full power in 5 seconds. An accel time of 1 means that the bike will deliver full power in 1 second. Changing the accel time from the stock 5 to 4 is noticeable.
The most serious setting is “Accel time” which tells the controller to deliver full power at a defined amount of time in seconds. The stock setting of “5” means “deliver full power in 5 seconds”. When changed to “4” that means the controller will deliver full power in 4 seconds. The lower the Accel time number, the more aggressive the bike responds to the throttle. Regardless of the mode you go for, you can choose your own “Accel time” setting that works best for you. Take your time experiencing each “Accel time” number.
TORQUE MODE (65% - 9kw)
CHAMP MODE (75% - 12kw)
PLAID MODE (85% - 15kw)
SICKO MODE (100% - 20kw)
It is okay to turn off regen braking if upgraded to Magura’s rear brake or for troubleshooting purposes.
REGEN ON
REGEN OFF
Increase or decrease the regen braking amount by increments of 5 or 10 from the stock “25”, then test it.
REGEN BRAKING AMOUNT
Calibrating the motor when replacing the motor, controller, troubleshooting, or for other technical reasons. Start by changing the “Motor Identify EN” field from 85 to 170 in the Kelly controller Windows Program and click “write” and or Android app and tap “write”. Turn off the Onyx RCR. When the bike is turned back on, it will go into “automatic motor calibration” which will cause the motor to spin up to one minute. Make sure to have the rear wheel off the ground during the entire calibration process for a whole minute. Once the minute is over, turn off the Onyx RCR. If the calibration process is successful then the “Motor Identify EN” field will have changed itself back to 85.
STOCK
CALIBRATE MOTOR
CHECK BOXES
CHECK BOXES
The Sabvoton 7230F controller might be the next generation controller for the Onyx RCR. It has variable regen to help with full batteries going downhill and field weakening for higher top speeds.
ONYX RCR 1.5 BATTERY TRAY MEASUREMENTS
ONYX RCR GEN 1.45 BATTERY TRAY MEASUREMENTS
ONYX RCR GEN 1.0 TO 1.4 BATTERY TRAY MEASUREMENTS
ONYX 41AH BATTERY MEASUREMENTS
ONYX 23AH BATTERY MEASUREMENTS
52AH BATTERY MEASUREMENTS
The “bottom length” represents the angle at the rear of the battery tray.