Hey Deac and Shoes, ChainSaw?

Okay, so i got the 42 chainsaw mocked up and test driven. I'll post some pics when i get back to my shop. I have never driven a friction drive let alone anything on 2 wheels less then 600cc, but it was still a fun test ride. Granted i was riding with one hand on the handle bars and one on the Saw throttle.

I still have to mount the pulley setup for the brake lever lift to release the drive from the tire. I used a 7/16 door spring direct from the back of the mount to the bike, Im not sure if it is putting enough pressure onto the wheel but it feels pretty heavy when i lift it by hand and it pushes the roller about 1/8" into the tire. I stretched the spring at a distance i thought was suitable then cut it to length before mounting and bent the last ring to fit through the predrilled hole on my engine mount. I have yet to pick up a turn buckle for fine tuning adjustment.

Anyways, i used a 3/4 nipple for the roller, welded a couple of washers at the end, choppped the original threaded Saw Clutch to fit into the nipple, and welded a nut ontop of it to grab with a socket. Worked out good and its all pretty straight and not lop sided, thats the hard part... Until i dropped it onto the concrete floor and it landed right on the edge of the roller which made it lop sided, DUH! So I tapped it with a hammer on the oppisite side of where it hit the floor and all is straight now.

I took it for a test drive with the smooth nipple so i can get a visual of where the contact point is and if the mount is moving under load. The mount turned out fine but way to much slippage on the roller. i took the roller off and tack welded a bunch of tacks where the contact point is. I can still feel some slippage, not sure if it is from the roller or the spring not being tight enough. The 26x1.95 $20 a piece tires have a smooth street tread in the center and a Knobby tread on the outer edge which the roller doesnt contact. Im going to try another roller with the tacks a little further apart, hopefully it might help with the grab.

Im concerned that using the brake cable to lift the engine might be to much tension on the cable with the tension of the spring.Also, has anyone ever busted a spring?

I didnt have my speedometer setup so i couldn't tell you how fast i was going but i would say a definite 25mph with some slippage on the roller. Im afraid to put more tension on the roller to try and sit tighter on the tire as to the strength of the spring. The engine is 42cc so i know i can get some more kick out of it once the engineering is tweaked right. I did tuned it up the best i could so the rest is down to the mount setup.

Oh yah, I still have to figure out where to mount the gas tank. Yesterday at Sears i saw a 32fl. oz. 40:1 premix round gas can with a plastic screw top for $4.99. prefilled with gas. Its made of thin steel but could be a good reusable tank to use once mounted correctly.

How many Oz. of gas are in a typical weed eater plastic tank and how many estimated miles could one get with the plastic engine tanks or lets say 32fl. oz.?

Sorry so Long...
I'll post some pics in about an hour so check back.

K, Got pics. Mount isn't that pretty but its just a prototype. I'm thinking of using an aluminum plate to lighten things up but its not that heavy as is. Im going to try using a 1.5" peg roller to see the difference in performance as compared to the 3/4 pipe. The peg i have is smooth so im going to add some tacks for grip.

One more thing on if my roller is not set tight enough. Being that there is no current engine release cable clutch, I tried peddle starting it but it slip a bit, turn over, slip a bit, turn over but never enough to crank start it. We had to run and pull the rope to get it going. I stepped up the spring from 7/16 to 9/16 and i picked up a turn buckle so i will let you know how things turn out.

Thanks Deac, I'll give a follow up soon.

Well Im kinda disappointed today. I decide to look up a cubic Inch to Cubic centimeters converter today and relized that my chain saw which has a sticker that says 2.0 CI is not the 42cc that i thought it was. It is actually 33cc. On the back of the Saw there is another sticker that reads some Model #, Serial Number and some State info. It also says Diplacement which reads 42cc. I took that as the actually size of my engine. I was hopeing to get a motor with 40cc or more to get me up some hills with least amount of effort but it is still a good lil motor for a first prototype.

I'll have to hit C'list for a bigger CC motor.

Hey Deac, did you have any problems mounting the throttle cable on the saw back. Im probably going to mount it on the side with the clutch lever but not sure how to connect so i can still make it adjustable if i have to give slack or make tighter?

Sorry about that, I meant the choke lever on the carb. My carb has 2 attaching levers to the throttle on both sides of the carb. I ended up picking up a throttle connection at Ace for $3, kind of pricey for my taste, but i wanted something i could easily adjust and that pivots.

It looks like i might be riding home today so i will let you all know how things worked out tomorrow.

Thanks

Okay, I took her for a test ride. Kinda scary being that i have no head light but she ran prtty good. I put on a 1.5" peg that i welded some tacks for traction and it did very well. I got up to 32 mph but i think she can do better if it wasn't for the engine bouncing off the tire.

My throttle setup worked great, but the pulley setup didn't do to well. The engine would bounce on the tire when i hit a bump and the cable would come off the top pulley. I tried hitting up the bracket to tweak it a bit to line up better with the cable stop but i forgot that the bearings in the pully have a plastic housing which eventually fell of while cruising down the road.

I tightened up my turn buckle all the way but there is still to much play on the spring. It feels heavy on the lift cable but I think im going to have to step up to a heavier spring. It would be nice to solod mount it but thats a whole other engineering project.

I did feel alot of vibration on the seat while hitting 20-30mph, i'll have to put some rubber padding between the mounts to see if it lightens up a bit.

For the gas tank I used the 32fl. oz. Prefilled and premixed can i bought from Sears for $4.99. I put a couple of grommets on the cap an it worked great.

My bike feels a pretty light while at higher speeds and from my motorcycle experience it could easily become unstable. Its an aluminum frame and im pretty sure a cheap bike but i might talk to friends for a used motorcyle stabilizer to try and stiffen it up a bit.

All and all, it was a fun ride. Have to work on the vibration and get the other kinks but it should be a good little commuter.

Thanks for everyones advice and tips. I while post updates soon.

Monrovia, my shop is in Irwindale. PM me and i'll give you my number.

King Bolt is on Grand between the 10 and 210 freeway. Coming from Monrovia off the 210 its right after Arrrow Highway on the Left side. Big Sign "KING".