Back the the future

I have decided to build another Weed Whacker bike. Actually I am going to be building what I build now but with a weed whacker motor instead of an electric one I think. I am supposed to go by tomorrow and pick up three weed whacker motors. Guy swears they run. We shall see. I think the wheel on a wheel will work with a weed whacker motor. Again it's something we just have to try to know.

Anyway I will be around talking about it now an then.

I picked up the three motors today. none of them really started but they don't seem to be froze up either, I have to build some mounts to test them first thing. The reason I didn't have better success with them before i think was due to putting the spindle directly on the engine. That way whenever the tire thread created a vibration, it went right to the heart of the motor. Leaving me with everything from broken mounts to broken drive shafts. This time I'm going to chain drive the wheel on a wheel to see how it holds up. This is just test stuff, I doubt that it will make a very good bike but one never knows.

First thing is to build a stable test platform. That is tomorrow's project. I'm planning just a frame to hold the motor while I get it running. I would like for it to be possible to use the same motor mount on the top wheel drive train..

I had to lose the pull start so I guess I'll be wrapping a rope around it for a while at least.

If I can figure out this sprocket to ww motor attachment, what it might do is cut out the vibration from the tire thread being transferred to the motor. If that happens, it might prolong the life of the motor. I think a really nice combo would be, is the sprocket (from an old ebike I had, that drove a bicycle chain,) placed on the end of a ww. then use the hub of a coaster wheel as the drive roller. That sounds to me to be about the right ratio of drive wheel diameter to sprocket to shaft diameter. I have built the drive using the rear hub of a coaster wheel before it was with an electric motor.

So if someone can come up with a really good way to attach the sprocket to the drive shaft extension of the WW we might have a really durable setup. I noticed that several of the diy builds use the gravity clutch that shoes and i worked with. I don't remember who was doing it first, I do know we probably stole it from someone else though. I'm thinking that I will probably use that again maybe with a cable and lever lift system to get the motor off the tire for stopping and starting.

My project for today is to build a test stand and motor mount. It's been a long time since I worked on one of these things. To be honest I am considering a friction drive kit from BGF but I want to try these again first. I do not plan to replace any of my Ebike batteries or other parts. If anyone quotes me I will deny saying this but I have been disappointed with some of the things about the ebike.

I think that all and all the motors are more solid than the small motors on gas bikes i have built. Possibly not true if I were to build with a tiller motor. Some of those gasoline horizontal shaft pump type motors are pretty darn good. The electric motor is pretty bullet proof (even thought i have burned up a couple) It is all the other bits and pieces I don't care for in the ebike system. In spite of what some people think I have bought and destroyed close to a dozen controllers. I find them far to easy to damage since I rewire and reconfigure my bikes all the time. The power supplies are a joke to be honest. SLA batteries require a tag along trailer for me to get enough of them on board. The lightweight batteries are prohibitively expensive to my thinking. So I am either going to go back to gasoline or give up power bikes completely. Don't be shocked to see me on a carbon tech bike one day with all my hair shaved off.

I'm taking a break while I await my neighbors return from work. He is a much better welder than me and I have something I don't want to screw up. I did some checking through my old WW parts and found that not all those little shafts coming off the flywheel are the same diameter. I found one which would slide into my bike chain type motor sprocket. I'm going to have some welding done, then try to clean it up so that it isn't too far out of balance.

I did manage to get the motor I am working on to run a little so I just quite before I totally destroyed it. once I get the sprocket welded to the shaft, I will give it a shot at building the drive wheel.

Just to show how much I have forgotten or maybe how much I never knew. I spent about two hours cranking the motor backwards and wondering why it wouldn't fire. Now I know it should run backwards, but this one didn't. If I had known WW ran clockwise, I could have saved that time.

There is a thread here on welders, I should make some kind of comment after what happened yesterday but I won't. I tried to do a quick weld on a piece of metal and just couldn't get mine to spark. So when I got the sprocket assembly ready to be constructed, I took it next door to my neighbor.

Now I have a 80amp rod welder from Northern Tool. It had to be struck like a match to make an arch. So I am holding the handle several inches from the work with a hood over my head trying to see with my bad eyesight. All this while trying to strike it at somewhere near the right place. It usually works pretty well for pipes and bars but when it comes to small spots it is pretty awful.

Mike (the neighbor) has a 150amp wire welder. He just holds the tip near the metal (it seems) and squeezes the trigger. If that is wrong someone will tell me I'm sure. The relevant point is that he has much better control. I got the sprocket welded so that it needs just a little cleanup. I know it won't be a perfect balance but I hope it will be good enough. Since I got it pretty short I'm hoping it won't do too bad.

Since the sprocket is down on the shaft the square tip is empty so maybe I can use it for an electric start up with my drill. It would be nice to get the first start of the day with a drill. After it warms up off the wheel, I can ride it. I expect that it will drag start easy enough after it has run a bit. But that is farther down the road. Today I want to build the drive wheel.

I tried one of those always dark one time when I first bought the welder. I couldn't buy the other one fast enough. even the split second when it goes totally dark is too long for me. I have to build a drive today but I have built one like it before so it is just combining different kinds of drives to one that will work I hope. I also plan to test the drill start on the WW motor. I would like to have all that worked out before I try to assemble a drive this time. Probably be tearing it up to rebuild it right a dozen times.

Help me out here guys. My memory is gone to heck in a hand basket. I have a bunch of WW motors all in various stages of decomposition. I have one together and it seems to want to start but I just realized that I might have been pulling with kill switch open. I have already taken it out of the case so I'm not sure what the symbols are first of all does O mean it will run or does - mean it will run. If not that will the motor run if I just pull the wire from the switch or should I wire them together. I can't remember.

basically I'm asking is a kill switch open to run or closed to run. I can't tell since the motor won't start at the moment for that or some other reason. Seems like O would be open and not running.

That was it thanks. Can only get it to run a couple of seconds but at least i'm not pulling on a dead grounded motor. It has to be a gasoline thing. Im going to pull the carb tomorrow and see what I have done with the gaskets. I might have the new one on top of the old one. I need to rest my shoulder for the rest of today. I did get the motor secured to the bench so I can pull on it till the cows come home without having it fly off the table and hit me again.

There are things about ebikes I love, but the restrictions on range isn't one of them. I do love the quiet and the lack of exhaust smell. I really don't have any desire to do more than 25 mph so I'm good with ebikes in general it's just the power source that gets to me. I have been looking at one of those friction drive gasoline kits on ebay. If I finally give up on the E bike before I get a rhino drive ww I can live with, I just might buy one of those. I do want friction drive because they are super easy to swap around on bikes. I have had a dozen bikes this year just looking for the perfect combo. No luck yet by the way.

I haven't worn a bike helmet since the days of the gasoline bikes. I hate the idea of going back to one but I can live with it. I always wore a bike helmet anyway, so I can do that again no sweat. I still have my old captain america helmet.

I had no idea that pulling on a reluctant engine after a couple of years break could cause such pain. Okay, I knew it once but had forgotten. I woke up with my shoulder aching this morning. I'm not ready to rethink my decision to move back toward gasoline, but I am certainly glad i have lots of time to get things working. I'm going to take a day or two off to regenerate the shoulder muscles. At least that was the plan for that moment.

I went into the shop to move the battery chargers around and tried the engine one more time. How does one nominate themselves for dumb donkey of the year. All day yesterday I was pulling the motor in the wrong direction. I had to remove the recoil starter to mount it on the frame. I somehow got the direction of turn wrong and spent the day pulling the motor in the wrong direction. Yes i did this earlier. I am afraid my mind is turning into jello..

I have a feeling I am going to have a problem since the directions looks as though it will unwind the adapter but maybe not. Anyway it runs so I can continue experiments with it and the rhino drive.

needless to say the engines I am playing with are used and it's been a long time since I worked with a gas engine so another stupid questions coming up. Is the mix for a WW 50/1 these days. These look to be about two or three years old max.

Now that I have an operating engine, and I also have a drive wheel with the glue setting up (I hope), I am beginning to get serious about mounting this mudder. I have this sick idea in the back of my head. I am thinking I have this perfectly good ebike. It will do about 15miles and hour or a little more. I'm about to build another friction drive that will probably do about the same. See where this is going.

I have decided it will be easier to setup this drive on the front wheel regardless of what else I do. The motor isn't heavy. It would be less if I had used alum for the frame but it still isn't too bad. I'm thinking I might set this up on the front wheel and leave the ebike motor on the rear wheel. Use the elec friction drive to at least start the bike rolling. Then drop the gas engine and let the e-motor start the gas engine. I can then use the gas engine to power the bike with maybe a little help from the e-motor now and then or maybe not. I'll just have to wait and see. It's just a thought.

I gave that front wheel drive some more thought and decided to rip off the old bike bug design. I checked and i can do a chain drive from the motor on top of the drive wheel below. I guess I will use a henge and tilt system from tension.

Seriously thinking large shop fire... I can't get the motor lined up. nothing seems to be square and then when I get it square, it ain't plumb. I am going back to thinking on this thing.

So I have been working but not writing. It has been frustrating. I never could get the gears to lineup so the chain drive wasn't such a good idea. So now I have gone to a direct connection to the drive shaft of the WW. I built a very strong very stiff frame for it. so I hope the vibrations are minimal. I'm using a skateboard wheel on the end of the drive shaft to propel the bike forward.

Tomorrow I have to weld the joints to stiffen them up. Then I want to solidify the connection to the bike with bolts and welds once the thing is straight. I am putting it on my ebike frame. I have a rhino drive wheel on the rear of the bike powered by a 600 watt emotor. I am considering leaving it attached for at least one test ride. Just to see what the two them are like when run together. If I survive that I will probably separate them. Anyway it's just a few more days till the test or the bike explosion.

I had the motor running good with a carb from the leaf blower motor I tried to use as a generator for the ebike. Total failure by the way. But then it only has flip throttle adjustment on the motor. I could have rigged a throttle with springs I suppose but it seemed better to just reuse one of the other carbs with an adjustment for the throttle. So that's where I am not about ready to test that setup. I'm still planning to buy a kit this is just a few more experiments for the winter.

I have been spoiled by the ebike I built. I get on it, turn on the switch and it runs. This ww motor runs sometimes and sometimes I have to work with it a bit to make it run. I'm not all that concerned since this project is most for me to decide if I wish to return to gas powered bikes.

A couple of things that got reinforced quickly is that a gasoline engine is a controlled explosion. They vibrate to beat the devil. Yes probably a factory made kit manufactured with a little more precision wont be as bad but I still had trouble with nuts and bolts working loose with the china girl bike I built as well. Not to mention all the WW bikes shaking themselves to pieces.

So far downsides to gas. The noise, the smell of raw gas, the smell of exhaust and the vibration.

Upside.. Better range and speed. Which are the things one looks for in a bike propulsion system anyway. If I was a better welder it might help but even a joint bolted and welding seems to work loose. If I go kit hopefully their welds will hold together. Their bolts probably wont though.

To put an ending to this build, I think. I rode the ww bike about a mile today on it's first test run. The 25cc is still too small to use for a bike motor. And of course my build is hard to manipulate so it is most likely going to the parts department of the shop. I have decided to go back to a gasoline bike but I also decided that I love friction drive still. My ebike is friction drive and I plan now to buy one of the new gas friction drive kits. Thanks for bearing with me through this.