Clutch cable and clutch adjusting procedures.

GoldenMotor.com

8-9-duck

New Member
May 23, 2011
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west michigan
hi guys. just getting my mb going. i thought i had a clutch problem- it aint. my small drive sprocket keeps coming loose. that makes everything weebly/wobbly and the clutch goes way out of adjustment. the clutch arm moves almomost to the carb. will locktite sprocket nut tomorrow. "quality control" what is that?
 

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
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San Diego, Kaliforgnia
I wish you the best of luck fixing that darned nut. There should be a toothed lock washer in between the nut and the sprocket to keep it tight. I am suprised that it is not doing it's job.

"quality control" what is that?
That is something that the Chinese factories really need to learn and do.
 

DWCSR

New Member
Jun 20, 2011
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Waco, Texas
I am completely new to this forum, and it is the first bike motor kit I am building. I have a problem with the clutch not engaging, and the chain intermittently binding...and the manuals were TOTALLY useless, and the youtube video they linked you to was not very helpful.
I stumbled on this forum while desperatley looking at any manufacturer I could find for a better manual.
I just reading two of the threads here I think I have found the answers already! Boy do I really appreciate the wisdom and experience some of you have shared here. Hopefully in the next day or two I will be up and riding because of it.
 

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
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San Diego, Kaliforgnia
Welcome to the forum, DWCSR!
It would be nice if you could introduce yourself in the "Introduce Yourself" thread:
Introduce Yourself - Motorized Bicycle: Engine Kit Forum
It's nice to know a little about each other, other than a screen name.

I am very glad that this forum and all of us here could help you out!
Do not hesitate to ask questions, and please feel free to use the search tab at the top of the page for answers as well. Just about everything that can go wrong with these engine kits has been asked before, and answered in more ways than I can count.
I highly recommend reading the "Classic Instructions" section:
Classic Instructions for Building and Repairing Motorized Bicycle Engine Kits - Motorized Bicycle: Engine Kit Forum
It can answer some questions and solve alot of issues before they ever become a problem for you.

I hope you enjoy this place!
 

davemangoodid

New Member
Jun 23, 2011
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San Diego, CA
Hey gearnut I will introduce myself in that forum in just a few minutes. I have built my first ever motorized bicycle and I am running into problems with the clutch engaging when there is weight on the bike. I posted a picture on "Experiences with Dax's Titan." It is a dax Super Titan on a Point Break Schwinn Beach Cruiser with hand brakes.
 

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
5,104
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San Diego, Kaliforgnia
Your setup uses an automatic centrifugal clutch. This thread was created to help out folks with a manual clutch as found in the Chinese "HT" engines. (read up on post #1 in this thread)

That said, your clutch can be adjusted to engage at a higher or lower engine RPM by changing out the friction shoe springs for stronger ones (higher RPM engagement) or weaker springs (lower RPM engagement). I am surprised that it is giving you troubles though as DAX has matched the springs to engage at a very good RPM for most all situations.
Are you having issues while trying to accelerate from a dead stop? Have you tried pedaling to get the bike going and then throttling up the engine? Is there any oil or grease inside the clutch bell or on the friction shoes? It has to be absolutely clean and dry, free of any lubricant inside the clutch assembly friction surfaces.
 

DWCSR

New Member
Jun 20, 2011
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Waco, Texas
GearNut I just wanted to follow up after you helped with the clutch problem. I am up and running!! I had to take another link outof the chain, not a biggie. I am going to be looking for a "running rough" thread. It sounds and feels like it is missing quite a bit, though it has not stalled out on me. And I think I am blowing out some left over fuel mixture at the muffler gasket but I am afraid to tighten it much more since I already snapped a bolt on the chain sprocket, fortunately I had one of almost identical dimensions.
 

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
5,104
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San Diego, Kaliforgnia
Running rough. They all seem to run rough untill after the break in period.

Try running 24:1 pre-mix ratio for break in instead of the factory recommended 18:1. That tends to help out ALOT.
Switch to 32:1 after break in.

As for the exhaust leak, chances are that the mounting flange on the exhaust pipe is not exactly flat. same with the cylinder. Check them both out with a straight edge and correct the issue before over tightening the mounting hardware. If you gotta over tighten something, anything on the bike or engine, you are actually compensating for an unfound problem. Find the problem and fix it right before it snowballs into a bigger problem.
 

gubba

New Member
Dec 29, 2008
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jacksonville, florida
dwwcsr....
thatsdax.com has a good manual for the china girls motors
bikeberry.com has a fair manual...
rawmotors.com has a good manual also
there are others.

the chineese manual provided from the factory was wrote by a chinaman over there that said "i speekee inglis, i write manual".......lol

stay dry

gubba
 

2stroker

New Member
Apr 29, 2012
168
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orlando
GearNut- What kinda bike kit do you perfer? Someone told me the clutches run really hot and its not good cause it keeps the engine hotter. Is that true?
 

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
5,104
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San Diego, Kaliforgnia
I prefer 4 strokes over 2 strokes.
Currently a HuaSheng F142 with an EZM transmission. I have a hunch that a Predator 99cc with an EZM may be coming soon.

If the clutch is slipping it can run hotter than normal due to the friction induced heat of the parts rubbing together. While not particularly good for the clutch, if it is re-adjusted soon enough it won't hurt anything but glaze the friction pads and perhaps overheat the grease inside the clutch and gearshaft/ shaft bearings.

Would it cause the engine to run hotter as in chancing an overheat situation with the piston and cylinder? No way.
 

2stroker

New Member
Apr 29, 2012
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orlando
I didn't think that it would blow up the engine. I was curious if it would just warp the engine faster than without or if it would heat up the crank shaft going into the bearng on the u channel kits.

Thats a sweet kit to. How fast does it go and what are those going for? I seen some pictures it looks pretty slick.
 
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KCvale

Well-Known Member
Feb 28, 2010
3,966
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Phoenix,AZ
Running rough. They all seem to run rough untill after the break in period.

Try running 24:1 pre-mix ratio for break in instead of the factory recommended 18:1. That tends to help out ALOT.
Switch to 32:1 after break in.
I know this is the Clutch thread but that is the mix I run as well, well 25:1 non-sysnthetic (2/3 cup) for breakin, then 32:1 (1/2 cup) synthetic per gallon after that.

Here in the states you can get a whole set of plastic measuring cups at the dollar store. I go through a lot of both kinds of mix and my two little exact size measuring cups (2/3 and 1/2) make mixing a new batch a breeze so I thought I'd share ;-}
 

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
5,104
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San Diego, Kaliforgnia
I didn't think that it would blow up the engine. I was curious if it would just warp the engine faster than without or if it would heat up the crank shaft going into the bearng on the u channel kits.

Thats a sweet kit to. How fast does it go and what are those going for? I seen some pictures it looks pretty slick.
Warp the engine? No.
Heat up the crank shaft? No.
Heat up (overheat) the transmission shaft? Remotely possible only on very long rides. The clutch hub bearings would get taxed first. Overheating the grease in the case bearings would take months and months of long ride clutch slipping abuse. I think that the clutch would give out completely first.

Thank you for the compliment on my EZM build.
So far I have had it up to 31 MPH (measured by a cheap Schwinn speedo) and I was not trying to go fast, just cruising along the road.
I think the current kit prices are around $550- $600, and worth every penny.
I am not an EZM dealer so I recommend contacting one for current pricing.
 

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
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San Diego, Kaliforgnia
Nice video, zaviii. Thank you for sharing it in this thread!
Your recommendation for not using the cable adjuster at the hand lever is a nice touch.
Those things are notorious for being poorly threaded and can easily strip and pop back into the hand lever even under "normal" use.
 

xenodius

New Member
May 23, 2012
150
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Spokane, WA
Question for you guys after the procedure, if you would be so kind... I have a noisy clutch, and I just found out the whole thing wobbles. When it's pulled in, or let out at ~10 or ~25-30mph its almost as loud as the motor. I took the whole thing apart, blasted it with carb cleaner, regreased it, adjusted it, and put a dampening insert in the outside of the clutch case. It's quieter now, especially when starting, but the problem-- if it is one-- isn't solved. The case had so much grease in it that the lower 1/4 or so was literally filled solid with grease. It was disgusting, and a pain to clean-- I got a nice big handful of it out, probably a couple ounces.

I feel like this is bad, but what do you guys think? My chains aren't hitting anything, and I don't have a tensioner.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp6A3sqpEqQ&feature=youtu.be
 
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GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
5,104
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San Diego, Kaliforgnia
A wobbly clutch is obviously not good. Not only will it cause vibrations but it also will not allow the teeth of both gears to mesh together cleanly and quietly.
The noise you are hearing is most likely this bad gear meshing. That said, another notorious noise maker is a dry clutch bucking bar and bearing.
If you remove the sprocket cover you will see a round bar sticking out of the end of the sprocket shaft. That is the clutch bucking bar. Further up inside the hollow sprocket shaft, behind the bucking bar, is a single steel ball bearing.
The inside of the hollow shaft, the ball bearing and the bucking bar all need to be well coated with grease at all times.
The last somewhat common cause of noise are the sprocket shaft bearings. If they do not have enough grease inside them they can howl like a banshee.
On page 2, post #12, of Bradwood's thread "Heavy drag when pedaling"", MarkSumpter shares an excellent way of greasing the transmission shaft bearings. It also ensures that the internal clutch spring assembly is adequately greased as well.
Click here for MarkSumpter's post


FWIW, you have waaay too much wobble in the clutch. The question is... is it a bad clutch or a bad shaft?
 
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xenodius

New Member
May 23, 2012
150
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Spokane, WA
Thankyou GearNut. I thought the bucking bar was the half-cylinder clutch arm... but it turns out, the bar that arm pushes is actually the bucking bar. I wouldn't have realized that if you hadn't explained it well. I'll make sure it's all greased properly. =)

It sounds like I need to replace the clutch plate or shaft... or both? The parts on BikeBerry should fit a generic 66cc HT engine like mine, right? The "Clutch Base" and "Clutch Shaft"... I guess I have to take it apart, I'll post pictures if I can't see anything wrong.

I really don't have any vibrations except when idling neutral, then I get a rattling sound. While I don't like the sounds, I'm really only concerned about this thing destroying itself, and the aftermath of that mess. But it would definitely be nice to quiet this thing down, because the engine and chain are like a whisper when it's idling around at ~10mph... if you ignore the clutch noise. And I like putting around!!

TL;DR: will take apart and check state of clutch, probably replace shaft/base.
 
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