Evergreen State biker with a brand new lemon

GoldenMotor.com

Juxtapose

New Member
Apr 20, 2009
4
0
0
Bellevue, WA
Hello. I'm Jeremy, from Bellevue (425 area code). I joined this forum because I just bought a motorized bicycle, and it is junk. I'm hoping for some good advice (or perhaps even hands-on help form someone in the Seattle area) to help me recoup some of my investment.

Bought it last Thursday from a private seller, so no receipt (first mistake), didn't do my homework before hand (second), and when I rode it to work today it threw its chain. As I pulled over to fix it, I put down the slightly misaligned kickstand, and as I fiddled with the gear the bike fell over, shearing off the lightweight aluminum clutch handle. I walked the last mile to work, pushing my new bicycle. Classy.

With some inspection help from my friend, we realized the bike chain was scuffing against the tire, leading to a possible future blowout, and whoever had assembled it had cut out part of the rear fender to make room for the chain with a pair of tin snips.

I won't sell it to a casual rider - it's unsafe and it would be immoral to do so. I'd probably sell it to someone who wanted to work on it. Ideally, though, it'd be cool to actually redeem it into a functional vehicle.

Anyway, hi. Glad this forum exists.

-J
 

Dave31

Active Member
Mar 1, 2008
11,199
47
38
Aztlán, Arizona
Welcome to the forum, glad you joined us.

You want to have 1/2"-3/4" play in the chain....... http://motorbicycling.com/f3/replace-repair-adjust-chain-1139.html

Chain rub on the tire is not out of the ordinary with these kits. Mine has been rubbing for 5 years and thousands of miles with no problem. If you have too you can space out the sprocket to get more clearance.

I have my fender trimmed, and so do many others, some need to be, some don't. Some will shim the motor and sprocket to get more clearance.
 

Clotho

Member
May 25, 2008
304
2
18
Hello,

Welcome to the forum.

We are a forum of enthusiasts so you should probably know that we love motorized bikes. In my garage I have a bike just like your 'lemon' and I love it. It has provided me with hours of fun. It too has a misaligned kickstand and a fender cut with tin snips. When I ride, I ride safely by following the rules of the road and wearing a helmet.

You say you want to recoup some of your investment. If you will not sell it then the only way to do that is to ride it. If you are going to ride it then you will have to take responsibility for it.

If my bike falls over it is 'my fault' for not making sure it was secure. If my chain comes off it is 'my fault' for not making sure it was tight enough or aligned properly.

If you are willing to take responsibility for your bike then we can probably help you. We have a great deal of experience with these and this group is very helpful. You will likely have to do all the work yourself however. Therefore you either need to be mechanically inclined or at least interested in learning.
 

Dan

Staff
May 25, 2008
12,765
115
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Moosylvania
Ahh Buddy. Ran into a bit of a chain saw, eh? Bet you wanted to take a hammer to it. We all been there, lol. Normal reaction is to just sell it and if thats what you want to do list it in the swap shop section here. Many folks here, near you who can buy it and make it safe. You would not be doing any thing wrong by selling to an experienced builder.

You actually bring up a great point. I sell complete MBs and these are much better suited for the hobbyist and not a consumer looking for a more turn-key product. You acctualy just helped me make a change in my marketing strategy. Thank you.

Any way, if you want to get her up, running and running right, we will walk you threw it. The clutch arm can be found at thatsdax.com Great guy to do biz with. And many times over, any question you have has been answered and you can wonder around here and find all sorts of stuff. Has been said but the rubbing and fender thing are common.

Might seem a great challenge, but if you decide you want to fix her up, right and tight. You can do it. Here is a link to a manual. will give you the basic idea and the rest can be found here. 2-Stroke Engine Kit Installation

Put the hammer down! lol
 

Pablo

Master Bike Builder & Forum Sponsor
Dec 28, 2007
3,696
33
48
Duvall, WA PNW
www.sickbikeparts.com
I'm in Redmond right now, live in Duvall. Pretty much anything to help a local guy - BUT you will be much better off to gain the knowledge of fixing it yourself. I just hope you didn't pay too much. Stude can help you easy as well.

Clutch lever? Cheap and easy to replace. You could even use a brake lever and a strap temporarily.

Kickstand? Too easy.

Chain stuff can be a PITA. Not much of a strap-on sprocket guy myself. I'd need to see what is going on.
 

rmeloy34

New Member
Mar 26, 2009
116
0
0
Wallyworld Conn.
jeremy,if the rear sprocket has a dish side try flipping it around,I messed up 2 tires that way before I figured it out,if I can help shout me for anything!!
 

Clotho

Member
May 25, 2008
304
2
18
I think Dan hit the nail on the head. The best thing you could do is sell it on the forum to an experienced user. Be sure to take some good pictures!

If you are still looking for a motorized bike but want more of an end-user type product then you should look at the Staton rack mount kits. You will have to install it however.

If you don't want to lift a wrench at all then a scooter or moped is a better choice.

If you don't want to lift a wrench and you want to do 60mph then a motorcycle is the way to go.

Be safe and have fun!
 

Dan

Staff
May 25, 2008
12,765
115
48
59
Moosylvania
Your very welcome J. Is a funny sort of thing. When I got into this (MBs) I really enjoyed the heck out of the concept but was new to the "forum" concept. As I got into more out of the box stuff (building a flying MB and adapting engines to run on propane) I looked around other forums for advice. In wondering around I noticed MB'ers are quicker to say things like "I got one, give me your addy and I will mail it to you" Or "..that happened to me and I fixed it by..." A lot less proving smart, but really wanting to help.

Last yr, at a MB Rally I drove in with my MB strapped to the back of the car. It had a flat and before I had it offloaded and on the ground, 6 guys were reaching to help me swap out the wheel.

Dunno why this crazy seems to attract a certain kind of person, but it does. Now your just one of the inmate's with keys, snork.

Welcome