The first shakedown ride for my bike was for 16 miles and by the end of the ride, the engine, Grubee 66 GT5, was running better than at the beginning, but it would bog down once it reached 3/4 throttle and had a little trouble on hills.
I then made 3 changes:
1. Changed stock plug to NGK
2. Removed the small black hose from the carb (CNS V2)
3. Drilled holes in the red air cleaner cover
The engine started right up and would climb hills now that it couldn't before and it no longer bogged down.
So I took it for its second ride. 3 miles into the ride I started losing power, and the engine quit and would not start. There was an odd noise when it quit and whenever I would try to restart it. I can only describe it as a leaking hissing noise.
When I got back home, I pulled off the head and found that the head gasket was blown (on the side closest to the carb, if it matters). Two of the bolts where loose when I took off the head. See photo.
So, why does this happen (I did check the head bolts before riding) and how can this be prevented and is this a common occurrence and the reason why they supply extra gaskets with the kits?
One other thing is that I checked the NGK plug (only 3 miles on it) and the color of the plug was white-ish gray. The original Chinese plug was a chocolate brown. Does this mean that the engine is running too lean or is it too soon (only 3 miles) to tell? If it's lean, which way is the throttle clip moved, UP towards the cable end or DOWN to the tip to make it richer?
Thanks for any help.
Chuck
I then made 3 changes:
1. Changed stock plug to NGK
2. Removed the small black hose from the carb (CNS V2)
3. Drilled holes in the red air cleaner cover
The engine started right up and would climb hills now that it couldn't before and it no longer bogged down.
So I took it for its second ride. 3 miles into the ride I started losing power, and the engine quit and would not start. There was an odd noise when it quit and whenever I would try to restart it. I can only describe it as a leaking hissing noise.
When I got back home, I pulled off the head and found that the head gasket was blown (on the side closest to the carb, if it matters). Two of the bolts where loose when I took off the head. See photo.
So, why does this happen (I did check the head bolts before riding) and how can this be prevented and is this a common occurrence and the reason why they supply extra gaskets with the kits?
One other thing is that I checked the NGK plug (only 3 miles on it) and the color of the plug was white-ish gray. The original Chinese plug was a chocolate brown. Does this mean that the engine is running too lean or is it too soon (only 3 miles) to tell? If it's lean, which way is the throttle clip moved, UP towards the cable end or DOWN to the tip to make it richer?
Thanks for any help.
Chuck
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