Bite the bullet

Well with hiccups all along the way, I had the bike completely assembled, everything hooked up to the best of my knowledge... Then I tried to disengage the clutch and go for a test ride but was unable to disengage it. I pull the clutch handle, the clutch actuator moves, and the back wheel still turns over the engine. I noticed that on top of the .. I don't know what to call it so how about "the thing with a hole in it that the clutch cable is threaded through with a nut on the bottom" has a nut on the bottom of it that looks like it may or not be a clutch adjustment. Just curious if that could be a solution.

(Thanks to Dax)



While asking a friend how he thought the clutch actuator worked, he squeezed the clutch and the brass piece, the spring and the spring shield shot off into oblivion never to return. Tomorrow's journey is to fix what has been lost and try again. This has been almost the most painful, time consuming, addictive hobby I have ever had. Just thinking to myself... I sold my car for this?

BTW: will a honda 250cc engine fit on one of these?

I finally called my brother in San Marcos, asked him to go by Tractor Supply, and yes the 41 Chain fits like a dream, but the chain break tool is freaking expensive. Any ideas, thoughts, or comments are welcome. Thanks for reading.

Found it. I have read every single one of the vendor installation manuals offered up that I could find, and I determined that I am an idiot. Step 25 on page 19 of the instructions for the "LiveFastMotors" says:

"Reach into the space below the clutch lever and
spin the small chain sprocket with your finger.
If it doesn't spin, it may be stuck after sitting in
the box for a time. Using gentle force, apply
back and forth pressure until the sprocket moves."

and also Step 4 from Bicycle-Engines:

"Basics of clutch operation: The clutch lever pulls the cable that moves the clutch arm. In turn the clutch arm pushes a rod through the motor that pushes the clutch plate. ( similar to a car clutch.) Releasing the clutch lever engages the engine torque to the drive chain. The clutch allows engine to start, and engage or disengage engine torque to the drive chain. When the bike is in the pedal mode the handle bar clutch lever is locked inward in the catch notch. The bike then operates in default as it would without any engine."

It makes perfect sense to me now. I really wish that I was as intuitive as the rest of you folks.

As for the 250cc, I was merely kidding, I guess sarcasm is a little difficult to see or sense through the internet. 4AM now, time for sleep.

Today is the day gentlemen. Motorized bike or bust.

I have it going, and going well it does. I tell you what though, it sure doesn't like the hills here though. Funny thing happened though. At about 30 MPH, the dern bike shakes pretty good, and the chinese guys that assembled the parts must have forgotten to properly tighten the screws on the exhaust, so the little thing (inside the exhaust muffler) came right out when I was riding. Strange thing was that the bike ran a lot better when that happened. It ran quicker, with more power, and a more responsive throttle. I know what has been said about the "lack of performance benefit but more noise" but honestly I prefer everything quiet and I was wearing earplugs when it came out so I feel that I honestly felt a performance difference. Regardless, it does feel a little bottled up with the muffler thing there so maybe I'll toy with it to make it quiet with the same feels I had previous. Something along the lines of a flowmaster internals. I am thinking some polyurethane (sp?) mount to help and try to absorb some of the vibrations. Also the bike feels like it is lunging forward sometimes throughout the ride. Could be the chain being a little loose, so I will check it tomorrow if the tornado doesn't hit tonight.

Other than that, I broke the clutch lever (the one on the handle bars) and took off the lever that was my back brakes and tried to replace it with that. I had to modify it though because there was not enough reach when the lever was pulled to disengage the clutch. After a little bit of filing and a little ingenuity, it came together... almost pretty. This thing is all kind of rigged up.

The next thing on my list is lights (hopefully powered by a dynamo+battery), storage rack in the back, and a brake lever for the back brakes.

Cheers gents, I couldn't and cannot do this without you guys constant support and willingness to help some dumb old cowboy out.

-Thomas

P.S. The 41 chain from tractor supply was the problem, not the chain break tool. It was "swedged" therefore making it difficult to remove the pins all the way with a leatherman. I finally took it to my shop and got a punch to knock those little jerks out. Just in case this happens to you.