Warning to All! - Everyone look at this!

GoldenMotor.com

Nomad

New Member
Aug 4, 2008
188
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U.S.A.
Okay, so maybe I over-reacted a bit. Now that some time has passed and I've had a chance to process the whole thing. No question, I was pushing the thing too hard. Live and learn. That is, once again, I'm glad I've lived to learn. Not the first time, probably won't be the last. But, as my idol Burt Munro put it so eloquently, "You live more in five minutes on a motorcycle than most people do in a lifetime". So, with that in mind, it's back to the drawing board.
I'm 57. I would do this kind of crazy stunt with my kids and their friends, but they're all too scared. They all think I'm just a crazy old man. :ride:

AYYYyYYUUP..... "still crazy after all these years" Me too... welcome back..... No I'm not from Maine(^)
 

brucemg51

New Member
Jul 10, 2008
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UH, helmet, finger gloves, and yeah... you dont have to drive it that fast!

I reserve the power for getting out of sticky situations, if a mopeder passes me, than oh well, an ego issue i think maybe. besides if your bike doesnt have shocks on the front and rear and YOUR GOING 30MPH on it, prepare for death anyway if you hit a bump in the road or anything else for that matter.

I live in las vegas and traffic is crazy so every time i take my bike out, I think of my funeral, but more ppl have died standing at bus stops here in the last year than have died on motorized bicycles!

dont want danger? stay home and learn to knit~! (just a joke,dont flame me)

I wonder how much ego figures into all this. My wife says I look like the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of OZ when I'm on my MB. I guess to a point, if you're going to do this, you're deciding you don't care what it looks like.
 

cameracamel

New Member
Sep 26, 2008
6
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Mesa, Arizona
I, and others in the Phoenix, AZ area are building these. of the 4 that I know here in Mesa, 2 of us now have stripped head bolt threads. We both bought all thread from Copper State Nut & Bolt . The M6-1.0 x1 zinc rod was $1.71 for a 3 foot length and we replaced all the studs with it. MUCH STRONGER, LITTLE EXPENSE, LITTLE WORK.
 

jburr36

Member
Jul 17, 2008
285
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16
Idaho
I'm not addicted to riding motorized bicycles but I'll admit that I'm addicted to oil. Drill, drill drill baby, drill!!

My boss says that I just need to stick to my guns and religion though because I'm crazy.
 
Jul 22, 2008
656
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Northglenn,Colorado
Mine sheared off on MOOP2 because it was a fabricated plate. When the bolts are used as a stressed member with the clamp not physically hugging the frame as designed that's when your gonna run into some problems. I replaced my M6 studs for high chrome m6 bolts from Ace hardware for almost 3 dollars a bolt!
Maybe it would be overall stronger if we allowed the front mount to hug the frame and extend the back by getting longer studs and washers between the clamp and the engine to compensate the extra space?
I may try this myself if the 3 dollar bolts sheer off. But so far so good. The original studs were grade 2.
 

brucemg51

New Member
Jul 10, 2008
157
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Mine sheared off on MOOP2 because it was a fabricated plate. When the bolts are used as a stressed member with the clamp not physically hugging the frame as designed that's when your gonna run into some problems. I replaced my M6 studs for high chrome m6 bolts from Ace hardware for almost 3 dollars a bolt!
Maybe it would be overall stronger if we allowed the front mount to hug the frame and extend the back by getting longer studs and washers between the clamp and the engine to compensate the extra space?
I may try this myself if the 3 dollar bolts sheer off. But so far so good. The original studs were grade 2.
Thanks for the info. I'm starting another build and, I guess it almost goes without saying, this time I'm looking for ways to make everything as secure as possible. Although, as cheesy as these things are, I won't be surprised if someday the piston comes right through the head up my arse. :eek:
 

Walter F.

New Member
Jun 4, 2008
326
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Connecticut
Thanks for the info. I'm starting another build and, I guess it almost goes without saying, this time I'm looking for ways to make everything as secure as possible. Although, as cheesy as these things are, I won't be surprised if someday the piston comes right through the head up my arse. :eek:
Sometime we learn more from our failures than when we succeed, proceed with caution "grasshopper" you'll get 'er done yet. Happy Trails Walter F.
 

NunyaBidness

Active Member
Jun 29, 2008
1,062
2
38
memphis tn
... I won't be surprised if someday the piston comes right through the head up my arse. :eek:
that made me laugh
but only because I've thought much the same many times now.
when you realize they are cheap motors and that you need to take some precautions it can be great fun.
My buddy has purchased to of these motors and had no problems, I've only got one but have run into almost every problem I've seen people talk about.
By the time I get every single one of them dealt with I'll have a bullet proof setup. Each time I get the newest problem fixed I get more riding time than the last time and the motor bike feels like a better ride all around.
 

brucemg51

New Member
Jul 10, 2008
157
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that made me laugh
but only because I've thought much the same many times now.
when you realize they are cheap motors and that you need to take some precautions it can be great fun.
My buddy has purchased to of these motors and had no problems, I've only got one but have run into almost every problem I've seen people talk about.
By the time I get every single one of them dealt with I'll have a bullet proof setup. Each time I get the newest problem fixed I get more riding time than the last time and the motor bike feels like a better ride all around.
Agreed, with one exception. "Bulletproof" is not an adjective that will ever be used to describe these things. Upgrade all the peripheral hardware you can. But, the core of it is still made of old chewing gum and recycled Chinese newspapers. Better invest in some cast iron shorts, or make an appointment now with your proctologist to have a foreign object extracted from your rectum.
 

Venice Motor Bikes

Custom Builder / Dealer/Los Angeles
Mar 20, 2008
7,266
1,797
113
Los Angeles, CA.
WOW this is a long thread!
I'll add my two cents...
I've built almost thirty bikes now, and have never had a problem with the studs.
I've never had a problem with drilling through the frame.
I DID have the bolt that goes through the frame break once & the engine did what Bruces did. (my fault, I used a cheap bolt)
I didn't have the catastrophic failure that he did because I noticed it immediately when I heard some noise & noticed the pedal was touching the side of the engine.
I was able to ride all the way home with it like that, (I just let the engine rest against the pedal the whole way home.)

These engines are not designed to be used without the pedals.
Removing the pedals puts even more stress on the engine.

I truely think this happened because of builder/ rider error... i.e. mounting the engine that way + over torquing the bolts, removing the pedals, & riding the bike too hard without paying constant attention to the machine while riding.

I'm really glad he wasn't hurt, & I hope he fixes his bike & gets right back on it. (because they are really fun!)

I think we all need to take personal responsibility for the way we build, ride & maintain these cheesy little engine kits. (because they ARE cheesy, & can be dangerous!)

Get back on it Bruce!! (^) :ride2:
 
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Wheel Rush

New Member
Jun 21, 2008
209
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Well, Well, we have finally got down to it, very interesting our various philosophies on life and risk taking. how many persons get behind the wheel after more than (3), . . . how many die and are maimed on the roads,the answer, . . . more than any war has killed, and that is probably combined wars have killed.

Are the folks who own Bars blamed for killing all those persons who have more than three, are the persons who drive punished to the point they don't do it again, are the legislators blamed ? Is it legal to sell Alchohol, the numero uno ?

Still it doesn't make anything right to give comparisons and examples, but, . .

Those who come to this forum and have an interest in reading would know that there are strong recommendations to change those bolts, from the onset, all of mine aren't changed, and I chompped of one or two in the building process, my mount bolts haven't been changed yet, either.

In a world like we live in I think that it is up to the U.S. to have standards and stress specs and to know what they are allowing to be imported into the US, if they or we don't, who do you expect to do this ?? The moral world public!

Those bolts that you have purchased don't shear in every case, I agree that it can be dangerous, but now that we know about it, what are you, we, the, Motor Bike Buffs of the world, gonna do ?

Manufacture an engine kit that everyone thinks is a fantastic price in the US ? Get a grip, that is what foreigners learn about capitalism ! They learn that is what we want, . . . when the smelters of metal use slag, for there metal it is because this is what is passed through the marketing system to them, specs and importation belong to the capitalist !

But thanks for the Realism of it all you have warned us, . . I thank you, . . but until we find out that all those Asian Consumers who ride these bikes are riding with better bolts that we have, we should give some considerations to how this is happening.
 

tyrslider

New Member
Sep 26, 2008
958
2
0
RainCity
Thanks for the heads up. It doesn't change my mind about strappin' a motor to my bike but it's good to know. We should all be aware of the inherant risks of our activities and of life in general. I've ridden M/Cs since 88 or so, bicycles since 76. I've wadded a chain (< 200 mi. on it) into my crankcase at 60-70 mph. I threw a rod at 70 mph on Ducati 350 single (southbound Alaskan way Viaduct for those familiar to Seattle). Neither time did I wreck, but I could have. Had stuff fall off, lockup, get stuck, caught, etc on bicycles. Sometimes I wrecked other times not. I've been in countless bicycle accidents. At age 7 I ran a stop sign and t-boned a car and landed in the bushes across the street. I hopped a curb one time and my front wheel came off. We didn't even have helmets when I was little [maybe an occasional wobbly football Helmet(for big stunts)]. In Seattle riding a bicycle is dangerous. If your gonna ride, you better know what your doing (AKA expert rider). The same would apply to strapping a motor to it. An expert rider knows how to stop from 30+ mph, in a rear wheel skid, or not. If you don't or you think you might not know how to stop from 30+ mph then you probably should not have a motor in your bicycle. To me it's a calculated risk; To you it may not be.
 
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Cabinfever1977

New Member
Mar 23, 2009
2,288
1
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Upstate,NY
wow all this over $1 mounting bolts,and you thought that would hold at 30mph on a cheap bike with you building it,you knew what the parts are made out of before putting them on there,if you wanted a motorcycle,you should have upgraded your parts to atleast moped quality.me personnaly i build my stuff to hold up and check my stock parts often.i go on short trips to the store and travel around 15-20mph,any more than that and i would have to upgrade all parts to solid steel and get a new bike.but just like evryone said if a bolt breaks on a ford,everyone that owns a ford is not going to stop driving,there just going to replace what broke and keep going.But just incase the bolts were faulty(im not sure if they were,because we have so many people not properly installing there engines,im not saying that youre one of them or anything)but thanks for the heads up.but im not going to stop riding,its my only transportation.
 

Cabinfever1977

New Member
Mar 23, 2009
2,288
1
0
Upstate,NY
i looked at the pics again:
one more comment,wheres your muffler clamp,that would have held the engine to the frame.but it looks like you threw a chain and it got caught in the sprocket and ripped your engine off the frame.
 

Shadeslay

New Member
Feb 25, 2009
119
0
0
Arroyo Grande, Ca
No offense, but you just realized these things are dangerous. You put a motor on a bicycle, how is that not dangerous? It's like strapping a rocket pack to your back and not figuring out it's dangerous until you crash. Me, I'll keep riding mine and trying to foresee anything that can go wrong to prevent it from happening. Even though it is my main mode of transportation, I have one more for the tinkering aspect.


Edit: I really should look at the date before posting. .duh.
 
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Egor

New Member
Jan 30, 2008
714
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0
Hurricane Utah
I guess the only reason that this post is being entertained is the fact that by generalizing all of us into a group of boobs that can only dig through the manual and by chance get one of these kits going, we need to be warned! There is a simple explanation to the break down, (poor workmanship) it is simple to see. One thing I have to say is the the drive sprocket on a lot of the kits are the worst. There is the best chance that the chain got jammed up as a result of the poor fit to the chain and the sloppy build. On every one of my kits I had to put proper shape in the teeth or it would pop and snag the chain. Not everyone would have the ability to do this mod and for that there should be a warning. The teeth on the driven sprocket are correct so why not the drive? I know we will have fun, Dave