Inverter Throttle Fault

[revoltlution]

Hold on to that business card

 

[Fod]

I appreciate that your working on this issue, but Ive been sending emails since last weds and not a single reply yet. I just got my area reps phone number and called him and he has graciously offered to come to my house saturday to plug in and run diagnostics to verify its the throttle and not the inverter.

I want my own personal mobile Alta rep!!!! Super jealous!!!

 

[WoodsWeapon]

Not only do I have my own personal mobile rep, but I also have my own personal mobile service tech too. Last year when my battery failed in my MX, Alta flew a tech to Chicago, rented a car, drove to my house and swapped batteries right in my garage.
Thats why not replying to my emails is so frustrating, theyve always been top shelf in regards to customer service.

 

[AltaKab]

Hi @WoodsWeapon, Can you resend your emails? I'm happy to help but am not seeing anything in my inbox that has not been addressed already. I can be reached at service@altamotors.co

Thank you.

 

[Mark911]

All, please note we are actively working on this issue and will come up with a resolution soon.
Don't dive into your throttles, you will waive the warranty on the motorcycle.

I'd rather waive the warranty on a silly motorcycle than waive my life because my motor shut down at the wrong time! Frankly, I think Alta has a massive lawsuit just waiting to happen.

 

[WoodsWeapon]

Hi @WoodsWeapon, Can you resend your emails? I'm happy to help but am not seeing anything in my inbox that has not been addressed already. I can be reached at service@altamotors.co

Thank you.

Thank you too, resent again.

 

[Fog 25]

I know Alta is a small company but it’s getting hard to keep promoting they’re bikes when customer service doesn’t take real life (in the field) problems seriously. I guess they feel if it works in the computer program, then they feel it’s good to go. One of the main reasons I bought the MXR was because I thought they would be all over things that went wrong on a customer bike and keep them happy. They seem to be working on things that we report but it feels like getting a tooth pull. It’s making it harder to recommend they’re bikes to friends.

 

[Mark911]

They seem to be working on things that we report but it feels like getting a tooth pull. It’s making it harder to recommend they’re bikes to friends.

The root problems are typically discovered pretty quick, it's the implementation of the fix that usually holds things up. Obviously, Alta doesn't want us owners changing parts inside the throttle. That means new throttles (assuming that's the problem). Alta now gets to fight it out with their vendor about who's fault it is an who's going to pay. The vendor will always claim they "built it to print" and if it doesn't work it's because Alta didn't spec it out correctly or completely. Alta will claim that it's workmanship, defective component or process related. Then there's cause and corrective actions to be determined, repair or replace decisions, engineering that needs to be changed, possible purging of certain part lots in inventory, parts lists updates, purchase orders that need revision and renegotiation, etc, etc. It's a huge PITA. Trust me, I know. Regardless, there's always a delay in getting the "fix" out to the customers who need it.

 

[revoltlution]

Yes, but this bug is REALLY annoying! Happened about ten times tonight just goofing off in the back yard, on the trail it's sometimes worse.
As an automation engineer, I'm convinced this could be solved with a software update. That's a reason I went with Alta - hoping for fast/convenient/upgrades via sftware, often.
Relying on our dealerships for every download will be unfortunate.

Btw, I'm not too upset. This bike is awesome and I love supporting Alta... "Makin' the world a better place.". It's fun helping out!

 

[datadog]

Thank you too, resent again.

WoodsWeapon,

I was the rep that came to your house. I'm sorry you have experienced this issue. I replied to your first request that same day asking if you could take it to World of Powersports in Decatur. I'm sorry if that reply did not make it to you. We have a firmware update in the works to correct this fault. There's a bit of testing still going on with it, but release is imminent. The moment it becomes available, we will be letting our customers know. You will need to take it to a dealer, but now you have a dealer much closer.

 

[metallic88]

WoodsWeapon,

I was the rep that came to your house. I'm sorry you have experienced this issue. I replied to your first request that same day asking if you could take it to World of Powersports in Decatur. I'm sorry if that reply did not make it to you. We have a firmware update in the works to correct this fault. There's a bit of testing still going on with it, but release is imminent. The moment it becomes available, we will be letting our customers know. You will need to take it to a dealer, but now you have a dealer much closer.

that's cool , but i have to ask why do we have to rely on the dealers which aren't very smart or have poor service in my case while some of us have engineering degrees, and or can maintain every other equipment by ourselves alta is the only company that Ive dealt with that forces you to rely on a dealer due to not selling basic maintenance software. my kawasaki had that built it where it would tell you exactly what was wrong, or component that failed, just by a blinking light, I only had to buy software to tune it. Its like the alta should just say error take to dealer, since thats the go to response from alta anytime you contact them. I love the bike but alta doesnt give me confidence that i can quickly get it fixed if or when it needs repair.

 

[Mark911]

The day I can't ride because I need to take my bike to a dealer for a mandatory "reflash" is the day it's going on Craigslist, I don't care what brand it is. In this day and age that's simply unacceptable when 95% of the electronics sold are wifi/USB enabled. Now, if the disposition of the change is "use as is" so incorporation is optional that's another story, it doesn't keep me from safely operating the bike.

 

[WoodsWeapon]

WoodsWeapon,

I was the rep that came to your house. I'm sorry you have experienced this issue. I replied to your first request that same day asking if you could take it to World of Powersports in Decatur. I'm sorry if that reply did not make it to you. We have a firmware update in the works to correct this fault. There's a bit of testing still going on with it, but release is imminent. The moment it becomes available, we will be letting our customers know. You will need to take it to a dealer, but now you have a dealer much closer.

Rick its good to hear from you, and thanks for the reply here. Im not sure why I havent gotten any emails, and Ive checked my spam folders too, and never seen anything. You were gonna be the next guy I reached out to, but thats no longer needed. I’ll patiently await the update and get it in right away. Thanks again.

 

[strider]

that's cool , but i have to ask why do we have to rely on the dealers which aren't very smart or have poor service in my case while some of us have engineering degrees, and or can maintain every other equipment by ourselves alta is the only company that Ive dealt with that forces you to rely on a dealer due to not selling basic maintenance software. my kawasaki had that built it where it would tell you exactly what was wrong, or component that failed, just by a blinking light, I only had to buy software to tune it. Its like the alta should just say error take to dealer, since thats the go to response from alta anytime you contact them. I love the bike but alta doesnt give me confidence that i can quickly get it fixed if or when it needs repair.

The way I look it, they are damned if they do and damned if they don't. They could have followed Tesla's path and kept the sales channel in-house but that has its own problems. It's much slower to roll out company-owned stores and they have to endure the cash burn of the overhead. We don't have a Tesla store or Service Center in Oklahoma but Alta has a dealer so that's a huge plus. But the flip side is that dealers make little on sales and most of it comes from service. So they are very protective of that revenue, even if it's coming from the factory in the form of warranty work. If/when Alta starts bypassing them to do software updates OTA (over the air) they may squawk. Car manufacturers are dealing with the same stuff as 2 and 4 wheel vehicles become rolling computers, even in the ICE world. EVs are just ahead of the curve.

 

[Mark911]

I'm sure the Feds will soon be looking much closer at electric vehicles and be placing requirements similar to OBD2 for reasons not related to emissions. Now that Alta is selling street legal bikes they'll be required to comply. It's just a matter of time.

 

[datadog]

Rick its good to hear from you, and thanks for the reply here. Im not sure why I havent gotten any emails, and Ive checked my spam folders too, and never seen anything. You were gonna be the next guy I reached out to, but thats no longer needed. I’ll patiently await the update and get it in right away. Thanks again.

Thanks, Mark.

 

[strider]

I'm sure the Feds will soon be looking much closer at electric vehicles and be placing requirements similar to OBD2 for reasons not related to emissions. Now that Alta is selling street legal bikes they'll be required to comply. It's just a matter of time.

Not just EVs. Even ICE vehicles are rolling computers now. In today's vehicles, if you can't decode the CANBUS you are sunk. They need to completely revamp and come out with OBDIII and have it cover all vehicles regardless of propulsion.

I posted this somewhere else but I don't think any of this is malicious on Alta's side. They are running as fast as they can on a shoestring. They are struggling to hire people with the cost of the Bay Area (A good friend of mine was going to work there but couldn't make the comp work). Too much work and not enough people. Typical of a tech company, not typical of a vehicle manufacturer.

 

[Philip]

I think Alta Motors should relocate to Michigan.

Lots of highly qualified and inexpensive labor here.

 

[Mark911]

One of the intended consequences of OBD1 and 2 was to level the playing field between small independent repair shops/mechanics (us) and large dealerships with respect to access to the same data stored in the various onboard control modules making emission related troubleshooting and repair much easier. Less pollution is in the Feds and everyone's best interest.
Although the issue of emissions isn't directly pertinent with EVs, I'm sure with the increase in popularity will come some reason for the Feds to intervene. Since electricity is mostly generated by coal (which is polluting), I'd say there's an indirect link between EVs and emissions and therefore a federal incentive to keep them operating at peak efficiency. This could be the door that opens the floodgates of readily available information. Might take another ten years, however.

 

[bking]

This morning I got an email from Alta saying there's now a firmware fix for this issue. Back to the dealer we go!