Chinese Engines Are Worthless

So after 3 months of trying to get Brett's Bobber Bike running reliably and with decent performance. I finally got it running good enough to take it on a long ride. Everything was working great except the one problem with it choking at high rpms.

So I road it all over Golden Colorado and it was great. I probably road it 30 miles. The only thing I noticed was my top speed was getting lower because the vibration of the engine was getting worse, but when I parked it last night it was still running pretty good.

So today I got on it to go to 7-11 and this is what happened.

1. The clutch was slipping because even with the upgraded clutch spring I installed it wouldn't completely engage.

2. The engine was racing and I had to reset the idle.

3. The engine vibration and noise from inside the engine was worse than before and is now limiting my top speed to 10 to 15 mph.

Here is my conclusion after using one Chinese kit. All the parts of these kits either barely do what they are meant to or simply fail to do what they are meant to. No matter what you do to these engines they are still junk and after spending many hours and extra money working on them it is still likely that the engine will self-destruct. I'm sure mine is about to fail. I'm disappointed that I spent so much time with this engine but I learned something, Chinese motorized bike kits SUCK, SUCK, SUCK. I now refuse to waist one more minute trying to make this time bomb run right.

With the knowledge I have gained I have to say that I have a new opinion of companies that slap a Chinese engine kit on a cheap Shwinn clone and sell them or sell the kits for that matter. This is really fine as long as the buyer is informed that he might get a couple rides out of it before stuff starts to break and that constant maintenance and upgrades will be required. Is seems to me however that the advertising leads the buyer to believe that he can jump on one of these bikes and ride it to work everyday. I wouldn't do it if your boss gets pissed if your late, cause your going to be very late very often. It must be a hard life to be in a business where most of your customers are unhappy most of the time.

Stay tuned for my next build. It will be a Felt MP with a Morini Franco engine and custom shift kit. For those of you that have tried to figure out how to create a good 12-volt system, the Morini engine will have the option of a 12 volt 55 watt internal generator!!! It will be far more reliable and smooth with more power and high quality. My goal is to create a power train can be ridden reliably, often and not to be a never ending project that ultimately ends with a blown engine, so I can sell them with pride and a clear conscience. My next one will be for sale and Hopefully there will be many more for sale in the future.

Ride on,

Brett

Norman,

Thanks for the words of incouragement. But, I have 25 years of experience working on and building small engine projects and car projects. I have scoured the forums for informations and think I know all there is to know about what goes wrong with these kits and the fixxes.

I have upgraded everything on this kit exept the carb and the engine. Everything works well, exept the engine and carb it's self. The problem is engine vibrations and there is really nothing I can do about it. At this point I am certain it's about to blow up, trust me when I say I know what an engine that is about to fail sounds like.

So I have given up because there is no reason to throw time and money down the toilet when there are far better options out there. The Morini engine is it, and when you consider the savings in time and maintenance it will cost less in the long run. I have dirt bike experience with these engines and they truley rock.

Seca40,

Thanks, for the compliment, I like your style too. I have never seen your bike before. Where did you get that tank?

Toytime,

I knew there would be plenty of disagreement out there. This is because some of you got decently ballanced engines. But if you read the postings is seems just as many of us have gotten engines that suck. Why do you think that most sellers don't give any warranty and the ones that do I have read sometimes won't honor the warranty. I also wonder if you have had problems with other parts of the kit. Like broken throttle, broken clutch lever, clutch actuator that doesn't work, chain tensioner that won't spin, broken studs, leaking exaust pipe, oil spraying from every seam, broken magnetos, broken DCI, leaking carborator, leaking float bowl, stripped threads... The list goes on. I have had most of these problems and I have less than 150 miles on this bike.

I figure the best way to start a project is with good parts, not start with a crappy kit and when your done with it most of it is upgraded.

When I have finished developing my bikes for sale they will be on a different level than the Chinese kits. If you have ever ridden a dirt bike with a Morini engine, I have, then you would never be satisfied with a Chinese engine kit. Morini makes some 50cc engines that would rip the tire off a bicylce and are smooth as butter. They cost more and require custom mounting but to me it will be worth it. Another benifit is that there is no upgrading to be done. These engines have the best parts to start with and frankly any more power would destroy the bike.

For everyone that thinks I am upset with this or that I am angry, I am not. I am simply trying to express my opinion based on my limited experience with these engines and how my opinion is shaping my next project.

Motoshwinn,

Your right, maybe I should have titled it "My Chinese engine sucks". as clear as it is that many have got bad ones it is also clear many have got good ones. It's a gamble. If I had gotten a good engine I am sure that all the upgrades I made, I would now consider worth my time and effort. It really runs great except for the vibrations killing it. I am cosidering continuing to ride it until it actually fails and then tearing it down and reporting what the failure was.

I seemed to have sparked some discussion and everyone so far has made good points.

You are correct too Jim.

I just want to say thank you to eveyone for your unique perspectives and certainly some people prefer to tinker with these engines. I on the other hand am willing to pay a little more for the engine and put my building time and effort into a bike with a tuely well built engine. That will allow me to move on to the other areas of the bike. Really it's just a little more and considering I mounted my kit with all custom parts. Doing it again with a different engine will be no problem.

Jim, Thanks for the comments. I recieved the clutch actuator I bought from you and it works great. I have had trouble with the stock spring return though. I upgraded it to a different spring and it still is giving me problems with full engagement but it is not the fault of your product and I love it.