race bike, pit bike, or death trap?

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harry76

harry76

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2011
2,557
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48
Brisbane, Australia
Yeah i must admit i never enjoyed that feeling of waiting your engine to go BANG while riding.... you know its only a matter of time.


Since you are done with 2 strokes and im guessing a 4 stroke wont fit in this bike, what does the future hold for this bike?
 
harry76

harry76

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2011
2,557
47
48
Brisbane, Australia
bairdco said:
5' 7" and 135...:)

i rode it to work today, 4 miles.

sputtered, took 2 blocks to start, but made it there.

died on the way home and wouldn't fire up. got a ride home, checked the head gasket, fine, changed the cdi, nothing, changed the magneto...

fired right up in about 5'. runs great.

thats the third gt5 from this batch with a bad mag right outta the box.



gonna try to get to the track this weekend and see what else i can break.
Click to expand...
"gonna try to get to the track this weekend and see what else i can break"

Theres your problem :-||
 
M

msrfan

Well-Known Member
Sep 17, 2010
1,808
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63
Southern California
bairdco said:
a funny thing happened on the way home from the donut shop...

i woke up early and headed over to the donut shop/car show about 6 miles away. it had rained the night before, so the streets were wet, and it reminded me how nice fenders are.

bike ran good, except the foam air filter would soak up a little water, so it sputtered a little, but nothing too bad.

met up with Dale (msrfan) and wandered around looking at cars (yawn) and had a great time watching people check out my bike. everyone seemed to love it.

when i left, it was a little hard to start, but i think it was because of the wet air filter, 'cause after a few blocks it was ripping along with traffic, running like a champ.

i was 2 blocks from home when there was a loud BANG! and it died.

pulled it apart and, well, the pictures speak for themselves...

new motor, probably 25 miles on it total, running 80:1 opti. spark plug was still nice and chocolate-y, cylinder walls were nice and slick, and surprisingly, barely scratched.

another motor for the scrap pile, another strike against the Skyhawk factory.

i modified the motor mounts on my trusty old GT4 Starfire straight plug,( the same motor with about 10k miles on it, the same motor i used at the death race and at willow) to fit into my frame, so hopefully it'll be bulletproof.

i'm done with china motors. unless they get epa approval for the starfire factory, i'm not gonna waste my time.
Click to expand...


Guess you won't have to worry about a crash bar for your carb now.
 
bairdco

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
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living the dream in southern california
last week i got my old trusty GT4 mounted up. this engine seriously has a lot of miles on it. it was the first one i reversed for the "rustoration" build off (http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=13144) we had over 2 years ago.

it was on my race bike in tucson and at willow, and was my daily rider up until a few months ago. i'd estimate over 10k miles have been put on it.

sure, there's some missing chrome in the cylinder, and the exhaust studs are now 1/4-20, but it's still tight, and a baby could pull the clutch in with his pinkie.

i got some Accel shorty header plugs, which are about 1/2" shorter, and then i went to town on the motor mounts.

no more crappy slantheads with uneven combustion chambers.

instead of using a rear mounting block, i took it off completely and ground into the case itself with a drum bit, until i almost hit the engine case bolt.

then did the same to the front, basically making the U-shaped groove deeper. had to cut off a little and re-tap deeper so it'd work.

now, motor's low and tight, and running strong again.

the carb needs some tweaking, it's running lean, even with the clip on the lowest setting. i think one reason is it's sucking in too much air. i can put my hand over the foam air cleaner and it revs up better, so i'll probably build an air-deflector or something.

here's some new pics:
 

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charliechaindrive.

charliechaindrive.

New Member
Nov 20, 2011
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staples mn
Right back at you! :) I got my own china project on the middle burner, using a early 30s schwinn frame. If it turns out out ⅛ as cool as yours, I'll get fist prize at the carshow!
 
harry76

harry76

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2011
2,557
47
48
Brisbane, Australia
I'm glad you didn't give up on The Little Monster, that there is one very cool, unique ride. I love it. Quality workmanship as always and I love that tank.
 
MotorBicycleRacing

MotorBicycleRacing

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2010
5,844
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SoCal Baby!!!
www.facebook.com
etard said:
Love your bike Baird! I look forward to mixing it up with you at the next DRY race.
Click to expand...
Here are some pics comparing etards ebike and Baird's race bike,
they both use the same 16" Pirelli ML75 moped tires.

Baird's bike is the only gas bike so far to use these tires,
several ebikes are using them.
magrider is using some 17" moped tires on his 11 hp Morini.










 
bairdco

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
264
63
living the dream in southern california
got some of the bugs worked out today. last week the ring keeper broke loose, spun the ring around and busted an inch out of the transfer port.

put on another old jug and a scuffed piston, cause i ran outta new spares, and it worked, but i could feel it hurting. hoping i could at least make it around the track before it blew.

scored a brand new GT4 from MSRfan, but haven't put the works to it yet.

i was doing some research and found if you run a longer intake manifold, which i need to for the front mounted carb, it should be a smaller diameter to keep the fuel atomized properly. the old one i made was 7/8" from some old handlebars, and was way to big.

made a shorter, skinnier one (3/4" OD) and mounted up a stock carb. even with the crappy,scratched up jug, it's a freakin' rocket ship.

gps'd it at 46. you can feel the pipe come on at the end like a turbo booster. it's nuts. but... you can also feel the piston grinding around in there.

i think i'll try to blow it up tomorrow, then swap out the engine.

it amazes me what i'm squeezing out of a 36t sprocket, 20" wheels, and a bad batch of pistons...:)
 
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