Is a jerky ride at slow speeds normal?

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goofyfoot2001

New Member
Aug 16, 2012
75
0
0
South Carolina
Just finished a build and have about 20 miles on the bike. The motor is very jerky at slow speeds, is this normal? When the bike is in its good range (20-25mph) everything seems fine.

Oh and sometimes when I'm coasting I get an audible flat ping sound and a second of hesitation like it caught on something. any ideas?
 
2door

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
175
63
Littleton, Colorado
It would help if we knew what engine/drive you have. If, it is a Chinese in-frame two stroke here's some advice.

How slow is "slow speeds"? Just like any vehicle with a manual transmission, if you try to go too slow the engine will buck. If you want to ride under about 8 to 10 MPH then you should disengage the clutch (squeeze the handlebar lever) and pedal. 10 MPH seems to be about the normal minimum speed for a chain drive 2 stroke.

Check your chain tension and alignment. Too loose and the chain can try to 'wrap' around the engine drive sprocket. This noise could also be a result of your low speed with the clutch engaged. You'll want 1/2 to 3/4" of slack in the chain. No more, no less.

Tom
 
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Racko

Racko

New Member
Jul 24, 2012
34
0
0
Wisconsin
With my two stroke I'm in the same boat, I have about 75 miles on it. At the beginning of my friends build who built it before me and I rode it and I call it piston clank going at slower speeds or persay engine braking the engine makes this noise and you can feel it almost buck. I find this to be normal because it happened to my friend as well as me until I got it broken in more. And as time goes on the ride gets smoother and smoother my friend, who has a good month on my bike I am surprised when I get on it how smooth it is, even at slower speeds. It gets a lot better!!!
 
N

nightcruiser

New Member
Mar 25, 2011
1,180
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0
USA
Before a motor is broke in they can be a bit jerky, specially at low speeds. If they are still jerky at low speeds after broken in then you might look into tuning the carb a bit. Mine used to jerk badly, after tuning the carb she runs really smooth at the slowest speeds, I can pop the clutch going a couple mph and the motor starts right up and the bike rides smooth even at slow speeds. Right now my carb is tuned a bit rich due to a change in the air filter, I haven't had time to tune the carb to match the air filter yet. I noticed when tuned a bit rich its extra smooth at slow speeds, but the top end is a little lacking...
 
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Kozlee

New Member
Jul 6, 2018
3
0
1
54
I replaced my carburetor and had the same problem as you with the new carburetor. No matter how I adjusted the carburetor, the bike would be jerky when I let off the throttle, especially at low speeds. It helped to set the needle a bit leaner but that just made it less jerky, not eliminating the problem altogether. The needle on my new carb had only four notches, but the old needle had five. I put the old needle in the new carb and it ran much better. So for what it's worth, try finding a needle that has five notches and see if that works better. The setting I used is dead middle on the needle
 
C

Citi-sporter

Active Member
Jun 16, 2014
206
43
28
North Bend, Or,
Some of this jerkiness is due to the clutch shaft sprockets being made with a lot of eccentricity in their teeth and there's really no way to get rid of it except to order a few and weed out the ones with the worst out of concentricity.
 
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