4G T drive bearing conversion

GoldenMotor.com

fredgold52

New Member
Dec 3, 2009
156
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0
Illinois
I've been to VXB a number of times and the price there is still $3.71. Hate to be so tight, but right now, it makes a difference.
 

cobrafreak

New Member
Feb 16, 2011
1,049
9
0
sacramento ca
I did another bearing conversion for a customers bike that I built that I had made before the bearing conversion idea came into my head. He was flipping out how much nicer it was to ride. This is the way they should have been made from the factory.
 

cdavid67

New Member
Apr 4, 2012
34
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0
Santa Cruz, CA.
Hi Cobra... or anyone else interested in this subject. dnut

I did a little research and figured a sleeve (repair sleeve) would work over the 5/8 shaft and found one which make the shaft size 16mm exactly. This would allow a needle bearing....... but..... it occurred to me. Don't needle bearings need lubrication?
I think you have nailed it with your idea but I thought I'd get some other people to brainstorm this one.
Thank you for all your good information.
I was just trying to think outside the box
 

Erich_870

New Member
Dec 4, 2009
78
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Alaska
Hi Cobra... or anyone else interested in this subject. dnut

I did a little research and figured a sleeve (repair sleeve) would work over the 5/8 shaft and found one which make the shaft size 16mm exactly. This would allow a needle bearing....... but..... it occurred to me. Don't needle bearings need lubrication?
I think you have nailed it with your idea but I thought I'd get some other people to brainstorm this one.
Thank you for all your good information.
I was just trying to think outside the box
David,

Post up what you found. I was looking at repair sleeves too, but couldn't find the right combo.

I'm still uncomfortable with the idea of grinding down the shaft.

As to your concern about needle bearings needing lubrication, you can find double sealed bearings and just repack them every so often.

Erich
 

cdavid67

New Member
Apr 4, 2012
34
0
0
Santa Cruz, CA.
Sorry. I was looking at the Daemar website. Part #'s 99058 and 99062. The problem is finding a sealed bearing, of any type, to fit in this small space between shaft and clutch bell
 

cobrafreak

New Member
Feb 16, 2011
1,049
9
0
sacramento ca
There a a lot of bearing supply houses on the web. If VXB doesn't have them i'm sure you can find them elsewhere. You could also used shielded bearings rather than sealed. It is a clean area not exposed to grime so you won't need to worry about pollutants getting into the bearings. With shielded bearings you may need to take them out once a year and degrease/clean and lube them with a sticky grease like chain wax brand chain lube, but thats the only difference between the two types of bearings. As far as bearings go, these rotate very slow and the life span for high speed bearings such as these will last for years and years. Cheers.
 
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JacK of Pavement

New Member
Jul 15, 2012
3
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0
the almighty pavment
I read before somewhere in this forum some one ask why do you have to use 13x20x4mm bearings and is it possible that you can use 15x20x4mm bearings instead efectively eliminating the need to shave off some of the shaft width. This seems to be the only direct mechanical question that was not addressed. i would love to know, thanks
.xx.
 

cobrafreak

New Member
Feb 16, 2011
1,049
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sacramento ca
Correct, the bearing you mentioned does not exist Jack. The 13x20x4mm bearings are plentiful, cheap, and work fantastic. I've done this conversion personally 3 times and I can do it in about an hour or so. It's really no big deal, just do it and you will love how it runs.
 

JacK of Pavement

New Member
Jul 15, 2012
3
0
0
the almighty pavment
It seem your right oh well, its a little of the subject but i cant seem to find any significant performance upgrades for these 4 stroke kits why are there so many for the 2 strokes, yet i think they use very similar motors for go carts
 

JacK of Pavement

New Member
Jul 15, 2012
3
0
0
the almighty pavment
right on thank bro, i seen the video you made and it was nice so i went to your Chanel on YouTube hoping to see the reworked shaft but i imagine its pretty self explatory. Anyways you got some nice videos man. i used to live on walnut and by el camino , i never heard of the crosstown bike ride , pure awesomeness.

Either way the only exp i have with motorbikes is 1 crappy nonfunctional 66cc 2 stroke i bought from motovelo for $300 ,that i never got to even use btw.
i fell for all the hype on his website to find out its purely crap. Strangely enophe i had 4 stroke in mind to begin with but i was talked down to one of those POS china motors, they look pretty nifty in picture but i always had my doubts, like how could they make a make a profit on a motor kit that they can sell for $150 with shipping and it be of any real quality. i should have trusted my gut

i just kind got the idea that im carrying on of subject but i appreciated your feedback . I am building my first kit in hopes to go cross country touring and i need to make this thing as reliable as possible i think that a lot to hope for but with the right knowledge from ppl experiened in what goes wrong with these things should keep me on the road a lot longer. sorry for probably making almost all posting mistakes possible but this is first time i have posted on anything ever. I will start a thread later about hs 4g maintenance and and tips in general for a newbie

IF YOUR GET THE CHANCE TO DO A NEW SHAFT CAN YOU MAYBE MAKE A VIDEO DETAILING THE GRINDING AND MOUNTING PROCESS .bf.
 

cobrafreak

New Member
Feb 16, 2011
1,049
9
0
sacramento ca
right on thank bro, i seen the video you made and it was nice so i went to your Chanel on YouTube hoping to see the reworked shaft but i imagine its pretty self explatory. Anyways you got some nice videos man. i used to live on walnut and by el camino , i never heard of the crosstown bike ride , pure awesomeness.

Either way the only exp i have with motorbikes is 1 crappy nonfunctional 66cc 2 stroke i bought from motovelo for $300 ,that i never got to even use btw.
i fell for all the hype on his website to find out its purely crap. Strangely enophe i had 4 stroke in mind to begin with but i was talked down to one of those POS china motors, they look pretty nifty in picture but i always had my doubts, like how could they make a make a profit on a motor kit that they can sell for $150 with shipping and it be of any real quality. i should have trusted my gut

i just kind got the idea that im carrying on of subject but i appreciated your feedback . I am building my first kit in hopes to go cross country touring and i need to make this thing as reliable as possible i think that a lot to hope for but with the right knowledge from ppl experiened in what goes wrong with these things should keep me on the road a lot longer. sorry for probably making almost all posting mistakes possible but this is first time i have posted on anything ever. I will start a thread later about hs 4g maintenance and and tips in general for a newbie

IF YOUR GET THE CHANCE TO DO A NEW SHAFT CAN YOU MAYBE MAKE A VIDEO DETAILING THE GRINDING AND MOUNTING PROCESS .bf.
I'm closer to Walnut and Engle, but it's still close. Still in CA? Cross country is a bold thing to do. Are you talking coast to coast or across a State? They say to adjust the valves every thousand miles, change the oil often-I do mine every 500 because there is no oil filter. The oil still looks clean but by changing it you get the little bits out that may be floating around. (I keep a rare earth magnet on the end of my drain plug and it helps). Use 30wt synthetic. The bearing conversion really reduces the maintenance, the maintenance of having to take the clutch apart often and replacing or oiling the stupid clutch bronze bushing. Once you have bearings installed you literally just run it and forget about it till its time to replace the clutch. Never replace the clutch by driving out the pinned center of the clutch assembly. Consider the pinned center of the clutch permanent. Re-use it. Take the clutch plates off the center with the three individual bolts. Don't over torque these bolts or you will strip them! Always use loc-tite RED on every single bolt you ever use on the engine and transmission. Nothing will ever get loose if you use loc-tite. When you remove the 1mm (2mm overall) of the shaft material for the bearings remember to have the clutch already installed. The shaft needs to be reduced from the outside end just to the face to the clutch, no more. The clutch springs are the wrong tension from the factory and wont work right. If you install two washers from the hardware store to pre-load the springs (making them stiffer) they will work much much better. The problem is the clutch engages too soon and the engine isn't in it's power/torque curve and will sputter, make noise, and wear the clutch out pre-maturely. By adding two washers on each clutch bolt it usually sets the rpm speed that the clutch expands into the clutch bell just right. Remember to use loc-tite RED! The transmission belt lasts for about a thousand miles, so always carry a spare with an allen to swap it out. The tension of this belt is important. Too tight will wear out the belt quickly along with the bearings on the clutch and the transmission. Too loose and the belt will wear out by flopping around and be noisy. You want a little slack. About a 1/4" slack in the center of the belt is close to what it should be. When the belt is new it will stretch once or twice so check the tension at the first 50 miles then at the first 150 miles. One last thing. If you doubt your tech abilities to reduce the shaft size then take the engine to a local machine shop and pay them to do it for you. Cheers.
 

cobrafreak

New Member
Feb 16, 2011
1,049
9
0
sacramento ca
I don't recommend using red loctite on the 4G mounting bolts, if you must use loctite, use blue. I have never used loctite on mine and it has never come loose.

Also, if you're only getting a thousand miles out of a belt, you're doing something wrong or have defective belts. I have nearly 4000 miles on my current belt and it looks brand new. ocscully got a little over 12,000 miles out of his first 4G belt. I recommend using belt dressing or even dielectric grease to keep the belt from drying out. However, even if the belt starts cracking, it likely has a lot of life left in it. My first belt started cracking around the 1200 mile mark, I replaced it 300 miles later, now carry it as a spare.
I had a 4G rear pulley adjustment bolt back out on me and it shredded one of my belts. I have since used red loc-tire on everything. I have no problems removing bolts with red loc-tite because I don't use too much of it. If its behind a screw I use blue. If its behind a wrench I use red. I just said 1000 miles because I read on the Internet that is the average life span. If it can go farther then great! Is there a local source for the 100 tooth belt like a lawn and garden center or a Honda dealership or is it purpose built just for the 4G?