A whole LIST of help needed :(

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NerpAngel

New Member
Sep 28, 2009
141
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Ellensburg,WA
so is that what it sounds like breaking in then?

Oh and problem is.. i got this kit like 4 months ago.. (didn't ride in the winter snow) so.. ya :(
 

Pablo

Master Bike Builder & Forum Sponsor
Dec 28, 2007
3,696
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Duvall, WA PNW
www.sickbikeparts.com
It will never sound like a Ferrari. Rattly can be normal, until you get an expansion chamber. You could do a clutch cover as well, it will deaden some of the secondary noise.
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
175
63
Littleton, Colorado
well that was different. Never had a video presentation of problems but...it does help.

1. Clutch arm position: There should be a small amount, hardly any, slack in the cable when the clutch is engaged. (handlebar lever not squeezed) The actual position of the clutch arm on the engine is not important. You want it so the cable just starts to move it as you squeeze the lever.
2. Clutch lever and handlebar:Not sure here. It appears as if the lever doesn't have enough throw to disengage the clutch as it would normally. Without actually feeling the lever and checking clutch engagement and disengagement its hard to identify your problem. Is that the lever that came with your kit? Is there too much slack in the cable?

3. Spark plug: As I told your earlier. It needs to be torqued to about 10 to 12 foot pounds to seat the gasket and keep it tight. The color looks as if your fuel to air mixture is a little lean. Unusual especially with the 'C' clip on the 2nd notch. These engines typically run rich. You're shooting for a chocolate brown color, not gray or white. That also depends on how much running time on the plug. It might just be that you have not run it enough to get an accurate plug color reading.

4. Oil: Your choice of oil is fine. if I recall you said you were running a 32:1 mix. That's a little oil lean for initial breakin but not dangerously so. You'll be good.

Check your clutch cable run for kinks or sharp bends. These will/can cause a hard to pull clutch. It can also mess up the clutch cable's ability to pull the clutch arm in correctly; which could add to that handlebar lever situation. You might try lubricating the cable with light oil or graphite. That often helps reduce the friction.
Hope some of this helped you. And thanks for the nice vid. Oh, and Pablo is right...sounds normal to me.
Tom
 
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NerpAngel

New Member
Sep 28, 2009
141
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0
Ellensburg,WA
Btw, I just tightened those 4 bolts on the top of the head. Spun them in bout half a thread with no problem really!! I used about 10 lbs of torque to get em on snug. Maybe that will help with those oil spills at the top?
 

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
5,104
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San Diego, Kaliforgnia
The "secondary" high pitched whine that I heard in the video was the straight cut gears in the transmission. That noise is perfectly normal.
Straight cut gears are inherently whiny. Have you ever heard a gear driven hot rod engine?
 

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
5,104
11
38
San Diego, Kaliforgnia
No, it will never go away completely. It's just the nature of straight cut gears.
It will quiet down some though. The best thing you can do is research the various ways folks here deaden the sound coming through the big teardrop shaped side cover.
They are all home made solutions. Some use a cardboard insert on the inside, some use rubber inside, some use rubber outside, you will get the picture.
Oh yeah, about every 100 miles or so, put a pea sized blob of quality grease on the gears, right where they meet. Only a pea sides blob or you will just make a mess of things down the road.
Actually there is a whole bunch of really simple maintenance things that these motors need to last for thousands of miles.
http://motorbicycling.com/f30/guide-bicycle-motor-preparation-care-354.html
I also recommend reading Norm's help section. If only to familiarize yourself with all the quirks and wonders that these little engines have.
 

leftywoody

Member
Aug 23, 2008
405
0
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Lagrange Indiana
That was a fun vidio and a great technique to use for troubleshooting . Very good idea . I was disappointed also by the whine and just had to get use to it . It looked like your clutch cable was not coming straight out of the hand lever and should be repositioned to have a large looping flow all the way down to the clutch arm . At least in the vidio it looked like is was pinched when it first crosses the handlebars . Just an observation .
 

NerpAngel

New Member
Sep 28, 2009
141
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0
Ellensburg,WA
Ya I noticed that too when I took a good look at it! Problem is, this clutch cable is so dang long!!! I have just one big continuous loop down to the clutch arm, but the loop is almost so low it's gonna snag something or get caught in my front wheel..? haha
 

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
5,104
11
38
San Diego, Kaliforgnia
Cut the outer housing down to an appropriate length for your bike. Just remember to pull the inner wire out enough first so you don't cut both at the same time. It's kinda difficult to re attach the inner cable to the clutch arm when it is exactly the same length as the housing... :)

P.S. A dremel took works very well. If you don't have one you can also do it with strong, sharp wire cutters and an awl to open up the hole in the end if necessary.
 
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HoughMade

New Member
Apr 15, 2008
623
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Valparaiso, IN
Did you clamp the clutch cable under the shifter? Kind of looks like it- I would not do that. That could be causing some of the hard pulling.