Horwin · EK1

EK1

My actual daily-driver project: a Horwin EK1, first generation, first model year. Hardware-wise a standard scooter for its class, with a Lingbo motor controller and no pronounced OEM quirks. That's exactly what makes it so rewarding to work on: much of what meets you in the unu Pro as a unu-specific solution is the usual China-OEM variant in the EK1, and therefore well documented or at least discussed in the relevant communities.

Here's what I've changed on the scooter.

Keyless go with motion alarm

An OEM retrofit in the form of a keyless go system with a built-in motion alarm. These modules come fitted as standard in several newer Horwin variants (including the EK1 Light, and in similar form in the EK3); for the first model year of the EK1 you need to retrofit one. Works as expected: lock and unlock via key fob, and an audible alarm triggers if the parked scooter is moved.

Tracking: AirTag

Simply an AirTag, placed somewhere sensible. Sufficient for my use case ("where did I park it, in case it gets pushed away"). Anyone wanting real live tracking will find GSM-based motorcycle alarms with GPS on AliExpress and in the relevant forums; that's the next level up. For the EK1 reality (I basically always know where it is), the cost felt like overkill.

Dashcam, front and rear

A two-channel dashcam from AliExpress, wired into the existing 12 V onboard electrical system. The front camera sits on the fork, the rear camera is integrated into the license plate light arm. Cables run under the fairing into the seat box, where the main unit lives and the SD card is accessible.

Running lights

The EK1 ships with side running lights fitted from the factory, but they're disconnected for the German market. I've connected them and added orange film to keep everything legal in Germany: side marker lights may only glow in yellow/orange, not white.

Radio relay (installed, then removed)

At one point I had a radio relay fitted as an additional immobiliser. It overlapped in practice with the keyless go system, so the relay came back out. The component is too good to bin and will probably end up in a retrofit for the seat-box lighting or something along those lines.

ECU research

On the software side, I've reverse engineered the configuration protocol and update protocol of the Lingbo platform. That's the ECU family found not just in the EK1 but also in the unu Pro (and a whole range of other Chinese brands). The results aren't public yet; once something publishable comes out of it, it'll land as its own page under Motor controllers.

Status

The EK1 is my workshop scooter; the mods above are all actually installed, but none of this is a "product" for others. If you want to do something similar, a few tips are in the Discord. More details will land here over time, depending on what translates well to other setups.