RadRover 6 Plus has a max speed of 20mph since a 750-watt motor powers it. You can manually derestrict the e-bike to increase this speed threshold or install a tuning kit to alter your speed rate. Other faster-speed approaches include adjusting the speed limit, reducing the wheel size on the control panel, and installing a bigger motor.
The most recent of Rad Power Bikes’ flagship models, the RadRover 6 Plus electric bike, has excellent features and hidden menus. While the 750-watt hub-driven motor provides the e-bike with 15% more torque than the RadRover 5, some riders still crave faster speeds.
If you’ve been looking for ways to increase the maximum throttle-only speed to 25 mph or more, you’ve probably heard about the ‘reprogram the bicycle’s LCD’ solution. However, some users have reported that units bought after November 2021 do not allow for this feature change.
When I was shopping for the RR 6+, this news was a deal breaker for me so much that I started considering the Aventon Adventure, a similar bike anyway. After extra research, I discovered a few easy ways to increase RadRover 6 Plus speeds. Some of these approaches can void the warranty, but I’ve got you covered with other less-technical methods.
First of all, what’s the max speed of this e-bike, and from what threshold is it ideal for making the boost?
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What Is The Max Speed For The RadRover 6 Plus?
According to Rad Power Bike, the manufacturer of the RadRover e-bike lineup, the RadRover 6 Plus maximum speed is 20 mph. However, the rate is also influenced by how hard you pedal, your weight, and the electric bike’s tire inflation.
Sometimes, the weather and road conditions can influence the speed. For example, the RadRover 6 Plus, like most other e-bikes, tends to move faster in downhill conditions and the opposite for uphills.
However, you can’t go more than 20 mph unless you make technical modifications for throttle-only speeds. Here’s the RadRover bike specification on speed:
How Can I Make My RadRover 6 Plus Faster?
Here are the four practical areas you can look at to change the top speed of your RadRover 6 Plus bike:
- Remove the speed limiter.
- Reconfigure the e-bike’s controller LCD (It may not work for every unit.)
- Change to a more powerful motor
- Upgrade the controller to something better. (I used the Bolton bikes at 35 amps.)
Continue reading to see how these modifications can increase the speed (to a minimum of 25 mph) of your RadRover 6 Plus.
1. Remove the speed limiter.
For every e-bike, there’s a sensor that limits speed. The RR 6+ isn’t an exception. The idea is to find the wire and remove the connector. Try this mechanical method if you’re worried about voiding the warranty or breaking the bike laws.
Here’s how to remove the speed limiter on the RadRover 6 Plus:
First, you need a piece of black electrical tape and a zip tie. Once that is in place, follow these steps:
Step 1: Find the limiting wire from the control box, then use a wire cutter to remove the zip ties.
Step 2: Pull the wire connector apart and use electrical tape to cover the second pin on the connector.
Step 3: Reconnect the wire connector. (The arrows must be aligned.) Remember to hold the wire with zip ties the way you found it.
Now, you can drive your RadRover 6 Plus without a speed sensor, which places limitations of 20mph on your speed. Remember that your motor and battery will experience an increase in load when you can go as fast as you want without a sensor limitation.
This can decrease the battery capacity per ride, motor, and life.
2. Reconfigure the e-bike’s LCD controller.
Reprogramming the LCD controller is one of the popular ways many RadRover 6 Plus e-bike owners use to increase the max speed to about 25mph (40 km/h).
While there have been claims that versions manufactured after November 2021 do not allow this configuration, it still works for some, and it’s worth a try. The issue is often that people don’t do it correctly.
Follow these steps:
Step 1: Press and hold the “mode” button to activate the LCD control.
Step 2: Simultaneously press and hold the up and down arrows to bring up the settings menu.
Step 3: On the settings menu, press the “mode” button once to move to the speed limit.
Step 4: Now, press the up button to increase the current speed limit from 20 mph (32 km/h) to 25 mph (40 km/h).
Don’t forget to lock in the new speed by pressing the mode button again. If you want to reset the rate to the default of 20 mph, press and hold down the mode button.
By now, you’ve just pushed your RR 6+ to an extra speed limit. But if that doesn’t work, it’s time to move into a more technical approach—replacing the motor and controller for a higher speed upgrade.
3. Change to a powerful motor (1500 W).
The RadRover 6 Plus electric bike has a 750-watt rear hub motor in pedal assist and throttle modes. It is limited to up to 20 miles out of the box per hour. However, it may deliver up to 28 mph (45 km/h) on level ground or when traveling downhill.
But if you want higher speeds across all driving conditions, upgrading to a more robust engine is one way because the electric motor’s power guides electric bikes’ overall strength and speed.
Here are the various motor-assisted speeds you can potentially gain with different motor power in your RadRover 6Plus:
As you can see from the chart, upgrading your 750-watt motor to a higher wattage can bring more speeds. However, it inconsequentially puts more load on your battery and controller. So if you want to replace the engine, consider upgrading the battery and control.
The controller determines the amount of torque and acceleration of the e-bike and sets limits to the maximum speed possible. So even when you have a higher motor (1500 watts or even 3000 watts), you need a higher controller.
Also, a higher battery voltage can give the motor more potential power. With a 3,000W engine on your RR 6 Plus, you may never have more than 1,440W (48V × 30A) of power supplied to your controller if your 48V 14Ah battery can only produce a 30A peak current.
4. Upgrade the controller.
Since your bike’s torque and acceleration depend on the controller, you can achieve increased speeds by upgrading the controller.
Many RR 6+ owners like myself have impressive testimony about using the Bolton bikes 35-amp controller and display upgrade.
I’ve also used it on one of my other bikes, the Radwagon 4, and even under heavy load, it is an absolute powerhouse and goes 25 to 27mph.
But remember that all these modifications put your limited warranty for the RadRover 6 Plus bike on the line. So I suggest you max out your speed by pressing the headlight button in the speed program mode before delving into these technical approaches.
Keep In Mind The Legal and Safety considerations.
While you refocus on increasing the speed of your RadRover 6 Plus, you also want to abide by local laws and regulations regarding e-bike speed limits.
There’s always the replacement controller and display option for increased speed, but it comes with a law-breaking risk and a warranty voider.
The 40 kmph upgrade may work on your bike, but if you live somewhere like Canada, you won’t have the option to increase to 750 watts or more on the e-bike. Also, with a more potent motor, your Class 2 Rad Power Bike will no longer be defined as a Class 2 e-bike.
In other words, you may be limited to fewer acceptable riding locations.
So the workaround is to remove the speed limiter or reconfigure the e-bike’s controller LCD.
