how much better is this?

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thine82

New Member
Nov 26, 2010
115
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0
kingston ny
how fast do you actually go with a gear box?
how fast do you go with the shifter kit?
would a eight tooth front sprocket on the motor make you go faster?
how do i port my intake and exhaust stuff to make it quicker? pics please..
how do i quiet down the intake noise? for sale or to make...proof?
what is the best way to quiet down the clutch gear noise?
what is the best chain tensioner i can buy to quiet it down?


i have made some mods and posted pics on my albums found at my profile..
MotoredBikes.com: Motorized Bicycle Forum - thine82's Album: check out the bikes i have built .. A RIDING PACK..
 

Nashville Kat

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2009
1,501
55
48
Jacksonville, Florida
You may get more answers addressing each issue individually with a thread-

or using the search function- a lot of your many questions have been discussed extensively at one time or another-

not to discourage- keep writing!
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
175
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Littleton, Colorado
Thanks guys for helping point the man in the right direction and directing his questions to where they have all been asked and answered time and again. Now if we could just get every newbie to do the same when it comes to 'chain tensioner' questions we would all sleep better.
Tom
 

Comrade Alfonzo

New Member
Jul 15, 2009
143
1
0
Whidbey Island, WA
After being a new guy with tensioner issues, I finally had to settle for putting a screw through, and into the frame. BTW its a steel Mountain Bike with Geometry issues for the chain. I think the chain tensioner threads should be put in one spot on the top of the main page to keep folks safe and keep money for wheels and spokes in their pockets, just my opinion.
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
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Littleton, Colorado
Sorry, Goat, but I failed to find any documentation, photos or otherwise that show this to be true. Can you copy/paste the post you're talking about?
Tom
 

Goat Herder

Gutter Rider
Apr 28, 2008
6,237
20
38
N.M.
Drilling holes in the frames and screws in the tiny trailing arms are not great Ideas!!!

Now I fear a newbe with a Wallmart Huffy Cranbrook is gonna try this:rolleyes::eek:

It has been proven over and over again and there is documentation that shows broken frames!!
http://motorbicycling.com/f11/chain-tensioner-suggestions-11815.html
Perhaps I should have worded better there are plenty of other options !!
IMHO don't ever drill the frame!!There was a going consensus for a while this was a no no .. I just think with so many cleaner ways to go about it it is not necessary. Some folks weigh 130 pounds wet. You want me to test a bike I am at more than six foot tall weigh in at 240 pounds. I carry cargo with me all the time too. I am just not going to be drilling my frames.. While it can be argued that that particular trailing arm may be less load bearing? It does not appeal to me. I humbly would not dare go against the God Father

My first bike was a proving ground and I did not care much about it I got away with some silly stuff. Two wrongs don't make a right...I drilled my frame!

And no I could not find documentation directly to that particular trailing arm.. Folks are springing up with cracked frames from drilling their tubes for motor mounts..

Last with the ever going ensemble of cheaper Wallmart style bikes and inferior steel involved well?

http://motorbicycling.com/f38/bike-i-built-12936.html
 
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2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
175
63
Littleton, Colorado
Goat,
Thanks for the links. There were a couple that I had missed and made for interesting reading. Nevertheless, as you discovered there wasn't, and to my knowledge never has been photographic evidence, or otherwise of a failure of the chain stay due to mounting a tensioner bracket with a screw or bolt.
Yes, I've not used the method on any of my later builds preferring instead to fabricate and weld a bracket that spans the seat and chain stay but I do have one bike, my first in fact that has roughy 1800 miles on it and I've never experienced any problem with the 3/16" hole that I drilled to bolt the tensioner in place. I've even gone so far, prompted by these discussions, to inspect the area, removed the bracket and examined the hole and surrounding metal and to date there is no evidence of stress fatigue or cracking.
And, yes, I'm a lightweight and I never abuse my bikes but I've hit a few bumps and at speed. I'll also admit that the bike in question is an older, 90s vintage, U.S built Roadmaster that might be a little heavier made than some of the currently available department store bikes. Especially the aluminum framed ones.
The biggest area of concern is obviously the down tube at the front engine mount area. Now...here's where we'll agree. I will never advocate drilling a frame to mount an engine. That's simply asking for trouble and most likely getting it, again, especially if the frame is alluminum (alloy). I've also seen holes drilled in the seat stay to mount brakes. I wouldn't do that.
I simply maintain that the tensioner bracket, if used, must be secured by some method additional to clamping, to keep it from eventually being pulled inward with the predictable results. If that means drilling a small hole in the chain stay and bolting the bracket in place, I'll stand behind my opinion that it does not compromise the frame integrity.
Tom
 
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WildAlaskan

New Member
Sep 30, 2010
578
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alaska
my 90s huffy has a couple holes drilled into the frame from my newb days but had held up well even with the rust but it is a use made steel bike so idk
 

skiball83

New Member
Nov 18, 2010
136
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41
Chicago
For drilling the chain tensioner in place I found a very good alternative. Replace the mounting hardware with better nuts and bolts. Get an old inner tube and cut to size where you will mount. Put on the inner tube cutting and then mount your tensioner with the new nuts and bolts, then tighten the heck out of it. This thing is solid. I put it on and then realized it was a little bit off so I tried to kick it into place. It turns out I had to KICK the S(bad word) out of it just to make it budge. Works for me. Might be bad down the line as the rubber wears out, but thats why your checking your bike all the time right?
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
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Littleton, Colorado
If you rely only on the clamping force of the kit supplied tensioner bracket, no matter what you put around the frame to keep it in place or what quality of fasteners you use, eventually it WILL loosen and rotate inward. Sandpaper, innertube, duct tape or Heaven forbid, JB Weld, the bracket will at some point loosen enough that the tension of the drive chain will pull it into your spokes. When it does, remember, you read it hear.
As for constant checking to be sure it is tight, that will keep you out of trouble but keep in mind that what can happen, will happen and usually when you're riding, not sitting in your driveway looking at the bike
Tom
 

Goat Herder

Gutter Rider
Apr 28, 2008
6,237
20
38
N.M.
If you rely only on the clamping force of the kit supplied tensioner bracket, no matter what you put around the frame to keep it in place or what quality of fasteners you use, eventually it WILL loosen and rotate inward. Sandpaper, innertube, duct tape or Heaven forbid, JB Weld, the bracket will at some point loosen enough that the tension of the drive chain will pull it into your spokes. When it does, remember, you read it hear.
As for constant checking to be sure it is tight, that will keep you out of trouble but keep in mind that what can happen, will happen and usually when you're riding, not sitting in your driveway looking at the bike
Tom
IMHO So your saying to avoid all the alternatives that it is imperative we drill holes in our frames? If rattling can make things come loose like foul mounted engines that crack frames then? This is the very thing I question?

To be clear I don't like the kit supplied teinsioner I managed to maintain one with no mods at all except a skate board wheel. Personally I will never run one that way again especially after all the alternatives that have showed up on the forum! I had to check it to see if it got loose periodically. I actually went for a while with out checking it once it did have looser fasteners then but I never got in trouble with it. Now we will have a meat heads that prolly think tightening the bujeebers out of everything will make it all better until a bolt snaps.

So in light of that nobody will be able to get a handle on anything what so ever? Perhaps they should all drill their frames to mount the kit supplied teinsioners then mandatory stuff? lol eek
My preference for as suggestions goes to folks at least read everything here. http://motorbicycling.com/f11/chain-tensioner-suggestions-11815.html for ideas.

There is only one mount idea I liked for the most part. Its the one that joins the teinsioner with both upper and lower trailing arms . But I still think it would be a bad idea for folks to drill holes in both of them..........
 

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
264
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living the dream in southern california
the only solution to the tensioner problem is to get rid of it entirely. this can be done with shims at the rear motor mount (like Norm at Venice sells) or by changing pedal side sprockets to equal the drive side.

there are some bikes where there is no solution, and your chain will drag across your frame, and will eventually eat through it unless it's elevated with a tensioner. (it may take awhile, but it'll happen.) if you can't space the frame out enough, the only cure is to get a different frame.

in my opinion, the only proper placement for the kit-supplied tensioner is in the trash.

drilling holes, tightening it till it crushes the chainstay, JB welding, rubber, or anything else is just a band aid, and like a band aid, it's gonna rip your skin off when it comes off.

i think the real problem is when it becomes a "chain guide." if your chain isn't aligned true from motor to sprocket, bending the tensioner isn't the answer. chains don't turn sideways. the torque is what will pull it into the rim.

i don't use any tensioners on my builds, and have removed them from other people's bikes. about ten different frames in all, and i've always found a way to make it work without one.

this is a "debate" that won't go away, as long as those spoke-killers are still included in kits.
 

wayne z

Active Member
Dec 5, 2010
1,743
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louisiana
DSC_1389.JPG

DSC_1390.JPG

here's a very easy way to stabilize the tensioner without altering the bike frame in any way.
I used a large crescent wrench below the adjustment slot to tweak the bracket to parrallel to the chain.

I was going to use the shim method instesd of the tensioner, but with the curved front downtube,the engine mounts only fits the frame right in just one place.

Wayne Z