My bad experience with RAW 80cc motor kit

GoldenMotor.com

mmzcee

New Member
Dec 30, 2008
2
0
0
San Jose
Hi, this is my first post on this forum.

Recently I bought a RAW 80cc motor kit from rawmotorsports on ebay for $150.00 back in december. The kit is advertised on the auction comes with a 60 day warranty. Anyhow, the kit worked fine for a little while but then the throttle grip plastic piece broke- this is a common issue as I am now on my 4th throttle. (this time tho I reinforced the plastic pieces with JB weld, should be pretty solid...)

anyhow, the seller sent me a new throttle no problem, free of charge but it ended up breaking anyway.

flash forward to now- I know that many people have said to swap out the stock chinese hardware for high quality american stuff but I couldn't find the engine mount thread stubs anywhere that was applicable. The studs ended up snapping at the base, rendering the motor useless, I tried drilling it out and tapping a new thread but that didnt really work.

other things that went wrong- leaking gas tank from the base of threads- fixed this w/ JB weld, so no big deal.

so I contact the seller and tell him what happened and he replied with the email "this isnt walmart you cant use the item for 30 days and then ask for a refund/exchange"

this is absolutely ridculous because as advertised on the AUCTION its 60 DAYS WARRANTY FOR EXCHANGE. Seems like the seller isn't going to offer me an exchange at all.

I just wanted to say to avoid RAW motorsports as I bought the more expensive 'upgraded' kit for $150 and it wasn't that different at all from my buddy's $125 kit. warranty is a joke if they don't honor it...
 

HPIAdam

New Member
Feb 4, 2009
14
0
0
Arizona
i bought the raw 80cc from bikeberry.com and havent had any problems with it, i did have a leaky carb (which turned out to be the carb was 90 degrees turned) but when i contacted bikeberry (6month warranty) they told me to send it in and theyd replace it. but i didnt need it.

what studs are you talking about and how did they break???
i dont want anything happening to mine.

also, i havent had any problems with my throttle but can you explain or possibly snap a picture of what broke so i can reenforce mine. thanks.
 

mmzcee

New Member
Dec 30, 2008
2
0
0
San Jose
the plastic piece where the throttle cable goes into breaks under stress. its a badly designed IMO and the material is crap. the mounting studs are the little threads coming out of the motor used for mounting onto the frame...
 

Cookie

New Member
Jul 3, 2008
51
0
0
I have found that bikeberry is a good companie to deal with as far as the mounting studs for the motor if you put to much tork on them they will break a friend did that last month backed out the stud went to auto zone and bought a couple good ones and replaces all 4 studs.

We have put several motors on bikes here and there was one problem with a bad barring , they sent us a new motor no problem and the one they replaced it with is SWEET. Just have to rember these things are cast out of cheep chinese pot metal .

cookie
 

HPIAdam

New Member
Feb 4, 2009
14
0
0
Arizona
I have found that bikeberry is a good companie to deal with as far as the mounting studs for the motor if you put to much tork on them they will break a friend did that last month backed out the stud went to auto zone and bought a couple good ones and replaces all 4 studs.

We have put several motors on bikes here and there was one problem with a bad barring , they sent us a new motor no problem and the one they replaced it with is SWEET. Just have to rember these things are cast out of cheep chinese pot metal .

cookie
ya the casting quality is horrible, but hey there cheap as dirt and if you take care of them and maintain em they should do fine.

ill brace the throttle as soon as i get my bike back (rear hub being repaired)

i didnt put alot of pressure on the mounting studs in the first place, but i definetly threw some loctite on them
 

Bikeguy Joe

Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
Jan 8, 2008
11,837
252
63
up north now
There are some things you can do to save the engine, you have come to the right place.

Thanks for the heads up on that seller, maybe you'll want to do a write up in the "Find a Dealer and Review" area here on the forum.
 

WWCherokee

New Member
Feb 11, 2009
35
0
0
Lakewood Colorado
Sounds like your problems are the same as with all these kits. They call them bolt on but they really are not. Parts are cheap and special care must be taken or they will break. Is it possible that there is something causing your throttle to be too hard to turn and that is why they keep breaking? All bolts and studs should be replaced from the beginning, but I suspect you may have over torqued the studs. That is usually the cause on any broken bolt. It's especially easy to do with these China kits, I believe that 12ft lbs. is maxumum and I use 8 to 10 with Locktite.

Thanks for the heads up on RAW's customer service.
 

Goat Herder

Gutter Rider
Apr 28, 2008
6,237
20
38
N.M.
I go about 15 foot pounds on my Engine head. Yeah torch wrench from my wrenching days I do still live by a torch wrench. In all the mechanic dada for most anything you can find torch specs . Years of hands on experience I still trust a torch wrench over my guising thats just me.One can call the bluff when there hands on experience are good I have done it . Torch Wrench good. It teaches you what your doing . I have seen the most seasoned techs run the old short cut . Sometimes the engineer give good directions not all the time. Hope this helps .
 

Goat Herder

Gutter Rider
Apr 28, 2008
6,237
20
38
N.M.
Every bit metal has its threshold! Six mm china bold its a only gonna give ya so much!? Lots of people here upgraded to some better hard ware. My motor mounts have 8 mm grade eight studs involved. Had her fall apart I me once , Thankfully it still limped home that day. Never had a prob with the stock 6 mm head bolts just used blue lock tight waited for the bolts to stretch a little and temper them selves with the engine heat naturally over time 5000 miles till it got tired. I did use orange high heat permatex gasket maker to seal it up!! Its a pretty well known hot roders trick for sealing headers etc for no leaks, the stuff does work.
 

Pablo

Master Bike Builder & Forum Sponsor
Dec 28, 2007
3,696
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48
Duvall, WA PNW
www.sickbikeparts.com
H
flash forward to now- I know that many people have said to swap out the stock chinese hardware for high quality american stuff but I couldn't find the engine mount thread stubs anywhere that was applicable. The studs ended up snapping at the base, rendering the motor useless,....
We sell complete hardware kits (under $10!) and we sell head studs.....good advice is to just replace the hardware and ride with confidence.
 

spad4me

New Member
Jan 20, 2008
472
0
0
Arizona Bullhead
Did the bolt break off flush with aluminum flange.

Use a dremel to slot the broken stud. Do not worry about slightly slotting the aluminum.
Spray the area with liquid wrench or any penetrating oil.
Use a screwdriver that is the same size as the broken stud.

I have looked at Pablo's stud kit.
You will have a hard time matching the quality and price at any hardware store.

Way to go Pablo!!!