My Belated Introduction

GoldenMotor.com

Smallwheels

New Member
Dec 18, 2008
36
0
0
Montana
My name is Michael and my first post here was a long time ago when I needed to find carburetor parts for my Tanaka PF 3300. None were found other than the stock parts. I wanted to find and still want to find a metal velocity stack that will fit my motor.

I'm in Montana very near the capital of Helena.

My first kit was from Golden Eagle. It was fun but it kept breaking spokes. It took a while to break the first two. Then it happened again a few weeks later. This was with casual usage. This year I took a job and now use the bicycle to commute. Spokes were breaking every other week. I ordered a friction kit and it is doing OK. It has only been on three days and it isn't totally dialed in yet.

I'm mostly interested in using my moped as transportation, not just as a fun toy. I don't own a car or any other motorized vehicle. When the Golden Eagle was down I rode my other bicycle to work and everywhere I needed to go. Using the moped is so much faster and easier on my legs.

My new Staton-Inc. friction kit attached to my three year old PF 3300 (32.4 ccs) Tanaka motor OK. It is slower than the Golden Eagle kit because I ordered the one inch roller. There are some hills and strong winds here so it is geared for torque. I'm guessing my new top speed is just about 20 mph.

After three days I can clearly see the wear on my tire. There must be a sweet spot for the correct pressure the roller puts on the tire. With too little the tire slips when dirt gets on it. When the pavement is dry that amount of pressure lets the motor get up to maximum RPM. Puddles or rain make it go zing without going faster. With too much pressure the motor won't rev much and is much slower,but there is much less slipping on wet streets (only at slow speeds).

This friction drive unit reminded me of the old Velosolox mopeds. When I was little I would see them in the department store but never saw one on the road. Now I have something similar and I'm finding it quaint.

I request that a Friction Drive section be added to the forum. Most of the other posts I've read are about the Happy Time motor kits.

I hope this type of drive is more reliable than the Golden Eagle kit. By the looks of it and the solidity of the parts it should be. What I don't know is how often I'll need to replace tires and the drive roller. Will there be any detrimental effects on the wheel? If there were a friction drive section we could all get together there to discuss it.

One thing is for sure, I really want to get a four stroke motor that is bigger. The little 1.6 hp motor is not enough for hills or the strong winds here even though I weight about 140 pounds. The two-stroke motor stinks. I hadn't thought of that when I ordered it. I've never owned a two-stroke motor before so didn't know any better.

I hope to get some good information here and give some when I can. cvlt1

Smallwheels
 
Last edited: