Don't laugh but...

GoldenMotor.com

Toothy

New Member
Mar 25, 2014
181
1
0
San Diego
How do you ride one of these things? I've ridden stick shifts, dirt bikes etc. but before I take my build out I want to make sure I have the basics down. If there is a sticky let me know.
I’m guessing you ride till about 7-10 mph then drop the clutch and off you go...but....when you slow down / come to a stop what then? Do you pull the clutch let it run, peddle and then drop the clutch again?
Sorry if this sounds as green as I think it does.
 

dodge dude94

New Member
Jun 8, 2012
1,017
1
0
East Texas
You got the first part right, second part is dependent on the rider. When coming to a stop, I pull the clutch, coast then brake. Leaving a stop I pedal, gas up and slip the clutch and I'm off.
 

massdrive

New Member
Oct 3, 2013
454
3
0
Las Vegas
No problem... I assume you have a 2 stroke engine. When you go to slow for the engine to run just pull in the clutch and pedal. Same thing when you stop. I usually shut the engine off when waiting for a traffic light, but than again I live in the Mojave Desert. Your clutch lever should have a lock position if you don't want to hold the clutch lever in. When the engine bogs down while ridding up hill simply start pedaling to assist the engine, it's called "pedal assist". When coasting down hill and when decelerating in general pull the clutch lever in and let the engine slow to an idle. When decelerating your engine is running high RPM's, but since you are off the throttle it is starving for fuel... fuel is lubricant... insufficient amount of fuel + high RPM's = broken engine

I suggest you go to the newby thread and learn how to maintain your bike. A well maintained bike is a safer more reliable bike to ride.
 

allen standley

Well-Known Member
Oct 22, 2011
1,126
238
63
Bangor, Maine
No laughing, All is good! Here's what I give to new riders.

This is a motorized bike.
Unlike a Motorcycle with a clutch, gears and kick or electric start. Unlike a motorcycle the clutch is not featherable. Meaning you cannot start from a dead stop by slowly releasing the clutch. To start a motorized bike you must pedal up to speed and release / engage the clutch lever on left side handlebar of bike. Once the engine starts you will manipulate speed with the twist grip throttle control on right side of handle bar. In order to stop safely at a stop light or stop sign you must disengage the clutch (Squeeze) to prevent stalling the engine.
You must Disengage (Squeeze) the clutch at every stop.
You must pedal your bike up to speed then release / engage your clutch to be on your way again.
There is a clutch lock button on the clutch lever which you can depress should you wish to leave the engine running while stopped.

Sorry to be redundant everyone. I just used this to help another new rider understand. It was rite here on my desktop.
 

CTripps

Active Member
Aug 22, 2011
1,310
1
38
Vancouver, B.C.
No worries, we were all new once. (Something that seems to get forgotten many other places out there).

Follow the advice above and you shouldn't have any problems. I'll add my 2¢ worth.. practise a couple of times before you get out there to get the hang of it before you stall in traffic. ;)
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
175
63
Littleton, Colorado
No one is laughing at you, Toothy.

We older guys sometimes take for granted that everyone knows how to use a clutch when coming to a stop. That's because we learned to drive in standard (manual) transmission cars. We need to keep in mind that there are a couple of generations out there who have never driven one and their only experience is with automatic transmissions.

Sort of like asking one of the youngsters how to change channels on the TV without a remote.
Thanks for all the good answers guys. That's why we're here.

Tom
 

Toothy

New Member
Mar 25, 2014
181
1
0
San Diego
Thanks for all the info....I hope to drop the clutch this weekend. I'm sure I'll be asking a lot of fine tuning questions after that.
 

dodge dude94

New Member
Jun 8, 2012
1,017
1
0
East Texas
Just a word of advice for the first start: If you're riding it without the engine on, about to pop the clutch and something feels ......"off", don't do what I did...STOP! lol

I about tore my rear wheel apart when my chain idler took a dive into the spokes on my first start, and I had had a weird feeling before it did that too.
 

mapbike

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2010
5,502
109
63
Central Area of Texas
Excellent advice here guys....

Tom you are so right, we should all take a step back many timea and remember that there was a time when we were all inexperienced and ignorant of some things and because someone else cared enough to share their knowledge we were educated about the things we didn't know.

This is b far the best forum I've ever had the privilege of being a part of and the reason it's the way it is and so great is because of all the great people that are here and most of all because of the excellent first class Moderators and of course the best Administrator.

Your in the midst of a great group of people here Toothy and we will help you any way that we can to help you create a safe and reliable motorized bicycle, read read read, and remember the only dumb question is the one not ask especially when it comes to things that can determine safety.

Best wishes on your bike.

Map
.wee.
 

maniac57

Old, Fat, and still faster than you
Oct 8, 2011
4,484
22
0
memphis Tn
I think the best advice I have would be to remember at all times that you are riding a BICYCLE with extreme (for a bike) speed potential and are far outstripping the original design envelope for the machine.
You need to ride as though it could explode at any second when you're doing more than 10-15 mph....
Look ahead and ride SUPER defensively. Cagers will look you in the eye and pull right out on you 90% of the time. You are invisible to drivers even when they DO see you because you are moving so much faster than a normal bike.
Take it easy your first few rides and try things out to see how your bike does at hard braking, swerves, etc. Go find a smooth grassy field to practice on if you're worried about dumping it while learning.. Grass hurts far less than pavement.
Since you have dirtbike experience, it won't take you long to get the hang of it.
Think slow single speed dirtbike with skinny knobby tires on pavement and you're fairly close...
 

Tyler6357

Well-Known Member
Mar 15, 2012
1,293
294
83
Santa Barbara, CA
My advice is to avoid accelerating while going down hill. There is no need to rev it up when going down hill, you won't gain that much extra speed and you will burn your engine out. It's better to just disengage the motor and maybe peddle once or twice and let the weight of the bike accelerate you down the hill. When you want to re-engage the engine just adjust the throttle depending on your speed and release the clutch handle, you will get the hang of it after a while. Also, ride under the assumption that nobody else on the road can see you because most of the time, they don't.
 
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Toothy

New Member
Mar 25, 2014
181
1
0
San Diego
My advice is to avoid accelerating while going down hill. There is no need to rev it up when going down hill, you won't gain that much extra speed and you will burn your engine out. It's better to just disengage the motor and maybe peddle once or twice and let the weight of the bike accelerate you down the hill. When you want to re-engage the engine just adjust the throttle depending on your speed and release the clutch handle, you will get the hang of it after a while. Also, ride under the assumption that nobody else on the road can see you because most of the time, they don't.
Thanks for that.... I was wondering about riding down hill. Great tips guys / gals.
 

Techbiker

New Member
Oct 27, 2009
164
2
0
DFW, Texas
I rode my Thatsdax Happy Time 70cc for 350 trouble-free miles. When I sold the bike, the engine still ran without issue.

I actually really enjoyed having a clutch on my happy time. It was much more fun than the auto clutches on my Huasheng 50cc or GT50R. Feathering the clutch was not too much of a problem for me. I always pedaled to around 7mph before releasing the clutch though.

Finally, the HT clutch really made me feel more comfortable about driving and shifting a manual car.

Enjoy the happy time!