Hoot Gearbox Success Story?

xlite · Jun 25, 2009

After hearing all the horror stories about the Hoot Gearbox and promos of the expensive alternatives I'm curious if ANYONE has got reasonable use out of one.

The 4-stroke is supposed to be more reliable than the HT kits but those gearboxes, even the Grubee, seem to fail so often it looks like the opposite is true. I have 4 of them in boxes and wondering if it's worth even attempting a stock install. I'd like to hear about success stories more than tales of woe. Anybody?

HoughMade · Jun 25, 2009

Wish I could say different, but I have never heard of a long term success story with the Hoot. The engine (HS-142) seems solid, but the gearbox seems to fail in many ways: teeth broken, clutch bell came apart, etc... It's sad because that engine deserves better and the price is right. I have heard no long term reports about the newer chain drive Hoot that came out a while ago. There do not seem to be many out there.

The Grubee is a horse of a different color. Some are loud, but break in and some experiments with what you put in the box for lube can take care of that. There are reports of some parts breakage, but most involve misuse of the engager....as in trying to use it as a clutch. It is not a clutch and should never be engaged above idle when the centrifugal clutch is engaged. Use it correctly and you will have no problems with the engager. One or 2 people I have heard of have had issues with the freewheel, but nothing that is not repairable inexpensively- and those reports are infrequent.

I, for one, have never had a problem with my Grubee Skyhawk Stage II in 2 years- no one...but I do not use the engager at all.

xlite · Jun 25, 2009

Yes, I think you were the fellow that inspired me to pick up a tube of the green grease. I may try and pack some of that into a Hoot and see what happens. I also think one guy tried reworking these but ended up starting the company that make one of the upgrade gearboxs so probably no good info there.

Do you know if the Hoot has an engager? I haven't opened any of the boxes yet.

HoughMade said:
Wish I could say different, but I have never heard of a long term success story with the Hoot. The engine (HS-142) seems solid, but the gearbox seems to fail in many ways: teeth broken, clutch bell came apart, etc... It's sad because that engine deserves better and the price is right. I have heard no long term reports about the newer chain drive Hoot that came out a while ago. There do not seem to be many out there.

The Grubee is a horse of a different color. Some are loud, but break in and some experiments with what you put in the box for lube can take care of that. There are reports of some parts breakage, but most involve misuse of the engager....as in trying to use it as a clutch. It is not a clutch and should never be engaged above idle when the centrifugal clutch is engaged. Use it correctly and you will have no problems with the engager. One or 2 people I have heard of have had issues with the freewheel, but nothing that is not repairable inexpensively- and those reports are infrequent.

I, for one, have never had a problem with my Grubee Skyhawk Stage II in 2 years- no one...but I do not use the engager at all.

ocscully · Jun 25, 2009

Hoot does not have the engager.

ocscully

xlite · Jun 26, 2009

ocscully said:
Hoot does not have the engager.
ocscully

Thanks for that info.

So I'm guessing they might be a little more trouble at the stop lights. Maybe I'll open a box and slap one on a Magna just to see what the deal is with these Hoots. If it blows I'll try a CVT or something like Duanes setup.

HoughMade · Jun 26, 2009

You don't need to disengage anything unless you are pedalling for longer distances. I removed the cable from my Grubee and converted it to be permanently engaged.

xlite · Jun 26, 2009

HoughMade said:
You don't need to disengage anything unless you are pedalling for longer distances. I removed the cable from my Grubee and converted it to be permanently engaged.

Oh. I though someone last week said they were disengaged when coming to a stop so bike would not keep clutch spinning. I think there is no freewheel so bike will keep clutch spinning?

Must admit not really experienced with these automatics. Always took them off for my weedwacker friction setups.

HoughMade · Jun 26, 2009

The Grubee has a freewheel on the gearbox, but since the clutch automatically disengages when you let off the throttle, nothing more than that is needed in normal riding.

xlite · Jun 27, 2009

HoughMade said:
The Grubee has a freewheel on the gearbox, but since the clutch automatically disengages when you let off the throttle, nothing more than that is needed in normal riding.

I recall reading couple days ago about somebody having to pull in the engager everytime they stopped to prevent rear wheel from keeping clutch dragging. Several people responded that it got better after breakin. Maybe just static or I'm recalling wrong.

HoughMade · Jun 27, 2009

You are probably recalling correctly, but that is not the way iy should work. Whoever that is needs to lower the idle speed.

xlite · Jun 28, 2009

HoughMade said:
You are probably recalling correctly, but that is not the way iy should work. Whoever that is needs to lower the idle speed.

Well guess I'll find out for myself soon. Just opened one of the boxes. I really appreciate the info you've provided. Thanks.

geeksquid · Jul 25, 2009

The first bike engine kit I ever bought turned out to be the JL Hoot even though it's not what I ordered. It was a 4 stroke and got it from Bryan Semones at revolutioncycles.us. Anyway, the gear that turns the drive sprocket stripped after driving the bike less than one mile. This was about 1 1/2 years ago and I now only have a pile of parts and a brand new engine. No way I was going to take a chance and buy another gearbox for $100+. I never wanted a 2 stroke but am thinking about just going ahead and getting a kit.

Creative Engineering · Jul 25, 2009

geeksquid said:
The first bike engine kit I ever bought turned out to be the JL Hoot even though it's not what I ordered. It was a 4 stroke and got it from Bryan Semones at revolutioncycles.us. Anyway, the gear that turns the drive sprocket stripped after driving the bike less than one mile. This was about 1 1/2 years ago and I now only have a pile of parts and a brand new engine. No way I was going to take a chance and buy another gearbox for $100+. I never wanted a 2 stroke but am thinking about just going ahead and getting a kit.

Would you like to sell your kit?

I would like to have one to use for design purposes...i.e. new product development.

Jim

xlite · Jul 25, 2009

It's kind of funny that people talk about the reliability of the 4-stroke kits compared to 2-stroke when in fact most of them quit after a few miles due to that gearbox. Boygofast who seems to be responsible for most sales indicates his gearbox has been redesigned. It look like the old one to me.

MotorbikeMike · Jul 25, 2009

Hi all, well xlite it might interest you to know, that the poor gearboxes are what caused us to start the most progressive Bicycle Engine company in the country.

My Hoot lasted about 50 miles! I have plenty of new (take-off) Hoot boxes for sale cheap. We build our own transmissions that do NOT break, Made in USA, tho the engine and other components are from the Chinese Motor Bicycle industry.

EZ MOTORBIKE COMPANY and my site (none of my EZ-Bikes are posted yet).

If you are interested look up the threads about EZ and start a post here in 4-stroke and we will get you some more pics and answers.

Mike
EZMotorbike Inc.

xlite · Jul 25, 2009

Thanks Mike. I've been following the progress of your product from the beginning and it is obviously far superior to anything else. Unfortunately, being Worlds Cheapest Man, I hesitate to pay twice as much for gearbox than bike/motor. Of more interest in my case are the vague references to redesign of the Hoot type because they're cheap.

MotorbikeMike said:
Hi all, well xlite it might interest you to know, that the poor gearboxes are what caused us to start the most progressive Bicycle Engine company in the country.

My Hoot lasted about 50 miles! I have plenty of new (take-off) Hoot boxes for sale cheap. We build our own transmissions that do NOT break, Made in USA, tho the engine and other components are from the Chinese Motor Bicycle industry.

EZ MOTORBIKE COMPANY and my site (none of my EZ-Bikes are posted yet).

If you are interested look up the threads about EZ and start a post here in 4-stroke and we will get you some more pics and answers.

Mike
EZMotorbike Inc.

jbcruisin · Jul 25, 2009

I've been reading this thread thinking what Mike said. I've got an EZ & it just goes & goes. There's nothing that can break. The worst thing is you might have to make an adjustment that takes an adjustable wrench & an allen wrench. Mine's never broken down. I was riding mine today. The old saying "you get what you pay for".

fasteddy · Jul 25, 2009

In the early 60s there was a machine shop supply that I passed near where I worked.
The sign in the window explained the benefit to you of buying from them. The last lines have stayed with me for all these years.

Tools are like oats. Your can buy them somewhere else after the horse has had them or you can buy them here while they are still fresh.

Steve.

tyrslider · Jul 26, 2009

The main weakness of the hoot is that there is no outboard bearing for the crankshaft, which flexes causing the gears disentigrate! The Grubee somewhat overcomes this problem by using a much larger primary gear (and better heat treat) that is less affected by this flexing.

For me it's about the "price to value ratio". The "cheapest" guy either spends the most (replacement cost) or has a lot of broken stuff. However, the "thrifty" person recognizes the value in a well made product that will far outlast the cheap product which, in this case, will cost less per mile to operate. Thus the more expensive option is actually less expensive (i.e. price:value)!

As it turns out most of the other stuff in the kit is cheap and works fine. $600-$700 for a reliable bicycle motor kit that gets over a 100 mpg and lasts for thousands of miles is a bargain in my eyes. I'll pay $.20 a mile any day to grin ear to ear picking the bugs from my teeth turning heads wherever I go on my mb.

I have < $1000 into my 4 stroke bike w/ motor kit, transmission, hydraulic rim brakes etc. Bear in mind that I've not reached the break even point, let alone profit on my transmission. So it's not like I got a discount on my transmission. I think if Quenton and Mike were to add up all the hours into their product it will be some time before it really pays off as well. Those are hours spent making successes and mistakes, working through the bugs so that you don't have to. I mention this because I'm often amazed at how much products are compared on price alone. Our Mall Wart society is readilly handing our economy over to the Chinese. I'm not opposed to international trade, I don't however wish to be involved in the global race to the bottom!

glacknoid · Jul 26, 2009

Tyrslider: I must say yours is the coolest looking 4 stroke transmission I've seen yet. It looks sleek and solid. Is that the final design. What's the gear ratio from motor shaft to the final drive gear before it runs to the front freewheel? Do you have enough power to pull the tallest gear on your casset.

Hoot Gearbox Success Story?

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