Welcome, here are some maintenance and cleaning tips for your Black Hawk Electric Skateboard.
Cleaning
Overall, our boards are designed to be mostly maintenance free due to the hub drive technology. Usually only requiring a regular check of the fasteners, while checking for wear and tear on the various wearable components (wheels, bushings, bearings and grip). It is recommended to check all fasteners on the board every couple of rides, depending on how often you're riding and on the surfaces you're riding.
Cleaning the board is quite simple; Just dry wipe off any dust around the deck, trucks and wheels.
Warning: Do not use a hose or any high-pressure device to clean your board. No moisture should be exposed to the board at any stage.
Bearings
The board has two sections that contain different bearings (model dependent). The front wheels and the rear wheels. For street boards, the front wheels are generally standard longboard wheels with standard skateboard bearings (ABEC-9). These can be swapped out if you notice an increase in sound or rolling resistance at any stage quite easily. There is a lot of information in various online locations regarding the cleaning or changing of these style bearings. We do not currently have our own video of this process, though we have located a great 3rd party YouTube video that explains the process quite simply, located here.
The rear wheels, however, contain the electric hub drive motors which are slightly more complicated. Depending on the model, the bearing could be sealed away or have small sections visible from the outside of the motor. These bearings generally don't require too much checking or maintenance, unless they are exposed to large amount of dust, debris or moisture. If they do require replacement, they can usually be replaced/checked when completing a wheel skin change. Replacement wheel skins and bearings are available from our website. Depending on the age of the motor, if you require wheel skins and bearings, it may be worth considering replacing the motor entirely to make the process more simple. It is recommended that you contact support regarding the wheel skin changing process if you are uncertain or encounter any issues along the way.
Trucks
Once again, the trucks are relatively maintenance free when the board is kept clean. Over time, the trucks will begin to squeak, this is due to excess friction between the bushings and the other truck parts. Check out these photos of the parts of a truck to better understand which parts we are referring to.
If your trucks begin to squeak, the solution is quite simple. Use your truck tool to remove the kingpin nut, remove the roadside washer, cone bushing, truck hanger (careful with the motor cables), barrel bushing and final washer. Clean each part with a dry cloth, wiping away any debris that might be present. Apply a small amount of paraffin wax or lithium/rubber safe grease (for example, Innox MX6) to each part along the kingpin shaft and pivot cup. Reassemble the truck one piece at time, following the pictures as a reference. Wipe away any excess grease/wax and you will be good to go. Don't forget to take your time on the first ride to tune your trucks to suit your riding style.
If you think there anything we should add to this, please let us know.
Thanks for reading.
- Black Hawk Team