I did a bad thing.

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deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
I bought a 42cc chainsaw engine last night of ebay. I have a 31cc ryobi and now a craftsman chainsaw engine on the way to me. I do have two bikes I want to build so I guess it could be worse.

I just couldn't pass up the chainsaw. It didn't have a bar or chain so it was pretty cheap. Most likely I'm going to be cussin' it like I was the poulan but we will see.

I know one thing for sure, I will not be prying on the carb controls. This could be the ultimate friction drive diy engine, if I get lucky. The 33cc is almost perfect in that it pulls most of the hills around here under power. A couple, which would cause the china to strain, need help with the 33 friction drive. I would like to see this one climb those without the help except to keep the speed up.

It should take a week to get here, so when the ryobi comes in a doa or so I need to decide which one I want to put on the suspension bike and which one on the old mtb.

I have one more 20" coaster rear wheel. I will have to use the small coaster wheel on the mtb bike if I put the chainsaw on it. I will have to buy a road tire for it as well. I need the low rear end to swing my old body onto the bike.
 
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comfortableshoes

New Member
Jul 22, 2008
606
3
0
Beverly, MA USA
OH MAN!!! If you put that 42cc chain saw on the suspension your going to be in love. I'm sure that thing will have all the pull/push you'd ever want! Not to mention a smoooooth ride.

If you got it for cheap enough it's not a bad thing ;)
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
I took a good look today and it has to go on the suspension.... The suspension had the rear coaster wheel and I rode it so I know the pedals don't drag.

The frame is funky but I figured I would bolt a big big L bracket to the rear forks. Bolt it in three places to give it plenty of bite, then hang the engine up a little so that it sits close to flat. Actually if it hangs with the rear end at an up angle it will make the gravity clutch easier to work.

I had thought about having the friction drive welded to the clutch on the chainsaw. I still might but I also might just go with what I know. It depends on how it looks once it gets here.

Yeah this might be the ultimate bike for me. Get rid of that china bike once and for all. I am going to put the 31cc ryobi on the mtb with the busted engine. This time I'm going to lock everything down tight. I got some red nail polish to use as thread locker. A buck for about twice as much as they have in tube of loctite. the red will let me know that I have indeed sealed the second nut.

I paid thirty bucks for the engine delivered if it really runs I'm going to be thrilled. I paid twenty for the bike so with hardware I might have 80bucks in the build.
 
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