Does This Have a Hoot?

GasX said:

Looks like my 3:1 gearbox - NOT A BELT DRIVE!

The good news is that your drive sprocket is fixed . The freewheel version self destructs rapidly...

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Is yours a chain drive?

Does anybody here have a genuine 5G HOOT gearbox like I do? From pictures from old, it looks like the same POS to me. Looks like they threw the trash out there again hoping some sucker like me would get stuck with it. Bikeberry was very clever in avoiding showing a picture of it. They also delete the negative reviews on this kit.

That being said, I do enjoy trying to make this gizmo work better. Most everything just flops around in there, including the clutch gear because of the uneven weld protusions in back of the bell and then slop in the bushing, with only the large gear trying to hold it all in place.

I made an interesting discovery on my HOOT gearbox today concerning the noise. I ran some valve grinding compound in there not caring if I destroyed the thing or not. That didn't seem to improve anything. On a whim, I then loosened the screws on the cover maybe an 1/8 inch or more. That did the trick. I would say more than 80% of the noise vanished and what was left was much softer. That is as far as I got with it today. I just wonder if it could be in that back sprocket that is behind of the big sprocket. It has to be an alignment issue there because the front cover only affects the shaft that those two gears ride on. Maybe I can get away with just a thick gasket if that large gear is riding the clutch gear okay.

Thought I would update because the Chicoms are still trying to peddle these things.

Fugi93 said:

They also delete the negative reviews on this kit.

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Yep, they sure do. I wrote a negative review 2 weeks ago and it was deleted within 3 days.

I don't recommend anyone buy from BikeBerry. They are dishonest and sell mostly junk. Not an opinion.

The_Aleman said:

Yep, they sure do. I wrote a negative review 2 weeks ago and it was deleted within 3 days.

I don't recommend anyone buy from BikeBerry. They are dishonest and sell mostly junk. Not an opinion.

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You got to love what Bikeberry they did to Fredgold. He specifically asked for a kit with a 4G belt drive transmission, which they agreeed to do, and he got something else and then made him pay the freight charges - both ways.

fredgold52 said:

Yeah, I didn't feel totally right about that one. But most of the time these sorts of lessons have a cost. I rode my Grubee 4g tonight for the first time. What a kick. These little four bangers are great engines. More about that in a separate thread.

Bike Berry did give me a full refund though. Could have been worse.

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Happy to hear you got her on the road! You made the right choice.

fredgold52 said:

I have read terrible things about the Hoot transmission. I found this kit from a guy in Canada. Can anyone tell me what sort of transmission this has?

Thanks,
Fred


eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

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Great Thread Guys: I believe the ad refers to a local shop here in Calgary Alberta. Was wondering if this was the dreaded hoot. I just received this motor for xmas to install in one of my 2 new bikes. It did come with all components including the rather crappy engine mount. This store is, I believe, Toys 4 Boys, in Calgary. An excellent store that I am using more and more. Really good guys and terrific deals. Highly recommended. I was told to fill the gear sets liberally with white lithium and let er rip. As I work up north as an oilfield exploration consultant and it is decidedly winter, I am busy working and have not had enough time to work on my bikes for the upcoming season but here are a few snaps of what my neighbors are going to see come spring. I don't know if I should run the 4 stroke or the china girl slant head in my Felt Slater or put it in my Nirve Kilroy ?? Any input? Will keep ya'll posted my southern brothers. Thanks for this thread... it's a good un. Regards Rockdoc.

That's not the dreaded Hoot gearbox, but it is referred to as thedreaded" Hoot chainbox". It's quieter, but even less reliable than the Hoot gearbox. You will notice that the one in the link above has 6 screws in thr cover. The one in the earlier post with double row chain and heavier case has 5 screws in the cover.

I bought the same kit. The 44t sprocket that comes with it is geared way to high, and the clutch almost never locked up.
I changed to a 56tooth and shoulda went with even more teeth than that to get the engine to wind out.

Alas, even though I converted mine to oil bath, It crapped out after 250 miles. The case wallowed out around the bearings.

wayne z said:

That's not the dreaded Hoot gearbox, but it is referred to as thedreaded" Hoot chainbox". It's quieter, but even less reliable than the Hoot gearbox. You will notice that the one in the link above has 6 screws in thr cover. The one in the earlier post with double row chain and heavier case has 5 screws in the cover.

I bought the same kit. The 44t sprocket that comes with it is geared way to high, and the clutch almost never locked up.
I changed to a 56tooth and shoulda went with even more teeth than that to get the engine to wind out.

Alas, even though I converted mine to oil bath, It crapped out after 250 miles. The case wallowed out around the bearings.

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Hmm Looking at my photos from my iphone it looks like mine is the 5 bolt unit. Am I understanding this is the "grenade" you purchased?. Will a q/matic bolt up?. What options am I left with. Is skyhawk any good? Qmatic seems really expensive? Thanks. My brother lives in Metairie district. Visited a couple of times. Good all year cruising eh?

rockdoc said:

Hmm Looking at my photos from my iphone it looks like mine is the 5 bolt unit. Am I understanding this is the "grenade" you purchased?. Will a q/matic bolt up?. What options am I left with. Thanks. My brother lives in Metairie district. Visited a couple of times. Good all year cruising eh?

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No my box had the 6 bolts. The 5 bolt is a much better box. Don't know about the Qmatic. Might work, but the standard qmatic is for the lil honda engine with a straight shaft and no built in clutch.

Yeah, you can ride all year in motorbike fiendly New Orleans.

If you pull the gearbox off and look at the engine shaft, it'll tell you whether it's a "straightshaft" or "tapered shaft".

The "straightshaft" aka "5/8 shaft" has a metric keyway in it and is longer. That engine takes Stage III, Honda-style 4G, and Q-matics.

If it's a short shaft with clutch pressed on, it's a "tapered shaft" engine. It can take the wider version of 4G or a Dax box. Same as Titan.

About your only reliable gearbox options aside from custom.

So the "woodruff" key unit is the goodun. I guess I am done until I get back home. Thanks gang. Prices sure seem to vary on gearboxes. I do have access to a china gal with a centrif clutch. Are they pretty useless or okay?.
Thanks again guys, sorry to be a pain in the posterior but not many folks around here that are doing this or have experience with the myriad of permutations and variable models.

rockdoc said:

So the "woodruff" key unit is the goodun. I guess I am done until I get back home. Thanks gang. Prices sure seem to vary on gearboxes. I do have access to a china gal with a centrif clutch. Are they pretty useless or okay?.
Thanks again guys, sorry to be a pain in the posterior but not many folks around here that are doing this or have experience with the myriad of permutations and variable models.

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I don't think straight shaft uses a woodruff key, they are half moon shaped. They use standard square keystock.

rockdoc said:

So the "woodruff" key unit is the goodun. I guess I am done until I get back home. Thanks gang. Prices sure seem to vary on gearboxes. I do have access to a china gal with a centrif clutch. Are they pretty useless or okay?.
Thanks again guys, sorry to be a pain in the posterior but not many folks around here that are doing this or have experience with the myriad of permutations and variable models.

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The China Girls can be built up to be reliable, a far cry from what they are straight out of the box.
Here is but one thread (a very, very good one) of many on the subject:
http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=34287

GearNut said:

The China Girls can be built up to be reliable, a far cry from what they are straight out of the box.
Here is but one thread (a very, very good one) of many on the subject:
http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=34287

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Agreed! My 2nd bike has 6400 MILES on it. Simply amazing. Original clutch and all other components. Its' predecessor made 2000 of those miles until the frame cracked. I just thought I should try the 4 stroke so that is why I am trying to decide which route to go.
{Pics posted elsewhere on site}

Guess what? Almost exactly the same thing that happened to fredgold just happened to me. After looking at all the available engine kits, I decided to buy the one advertised on the SpookyTooth website. Even though I know they're now owned by bikeberry, I thought, "Hey, maybe they still have some of Roland's old stock from spookytooth..."

When I ordered it, the kit I ordered was advertised thusly:

"The brand new Flying Horse 4 Stroke 5G Hua Sheng timing belt driven motorized bicycle engine kit from Flying Horse Engine Kits & Spooky Tooth Cycles.
HuaSheng 142F 5G Bicycle Engine Kit Includes:

One HuaSheng 142F rope pull start engine
4G T-belt Transfer Case with a one way bearing pulley allows use of the 10 tooth solid drive sprocket
2.5 Liter gloss black gas tank
All steel motor mount
44 tooth drive sprocket with mounting hardware
Twist throttle with integrated kill switch
Sealed cartridge bearing pulley chain tensioner
415 3/16" x 1/2" drive chain
Assembly instructions engineered for simplicity and longevity

Seemed like an okay deal for $350... until I got the kit. The tensioner was the ****ty 1-bolt with no bearing and the gas tank was 1.5l instead of 2.5l. These two things I could live with. The Hoot chain-drive that came on it, on the other hand, is totally unacceptable. I called them and demanded either A) They send me the T-belt box I ordered, or B) give me back $140 so I could buy one elswhere. Unfortunately, the only thing they'll do is give me a refund if I send it back, same story. What a terrible way to do business,

The good news is that I flatly refused to pay return shipping, and after talking to a supervisor, they're sending me a prepaid shipping label and FedEx will pick it up at my house. So I'll call it a half-win... still out the original shipping $, so I guess it's a $60 lesson in why nobody should ever order anything from BikeBerry. If you're tempted, just take your money and set it on fire. The result is the same.