Chain Jamming

[Mike B]

You thought the rear mount (the important one) only needed 1 bolt?

You learned the hard way.

I broke a bolt on the rear mount one day when I was riding. Instant vibration.

If you are riding and notice anything, vibration, different sound, wobbles, really anything, shut it down and look.

The life you save may be your own.

 

[Cavi Mike]

Take a couple links out of your chain then re-tension. Problem solved.

 

[Soapdish]

Thanks for the support guys. Killercanuk, my tracking number is definitely gonna be worn out this week haha. I appreciate the info about the vibrations and the gasket being flush and flat with where it's going. The day that I can ride with little-to-no vibrations will be a great day. Until then, I'll keep scouring this forum for some more good information.

 

[Soapdish]

So my parts came in today! I got everything installed all nice and neatly, and it runs now. My new problem is that when I try to kill the motor by dumping the clutch and hitting my killswitch, the motor revs up REALLY HIGH and scares the crap out of me. I have to come to a rolling stop and the motor will shut off abruptly. Part of my electrical wiring was severed when I was trying to re-mount the motor and this might be part of my problem. Anyone know whats going on?

 

[2door]

How do you have it wired?

Black to black?
Blue to blue?
White insulated from everything?
Two wires from kill switch, (color is unimportant) wired to black and blue?
Connections soldered and protected with heat shrink tubing?

If this is how you have it, you shouldn't have any problems.
Tom

 

[Soapdish]

I actually have blue to blue and black to black, and im not sure which one white is. Here's a picture of what I have done. Ive got a yellow wire that was severed, and the O-ring with a wire running from it is just hanging there. I can ground it if I want.

 

[KCvale]

...Part of my electrical wiring was severed when I was trying to re-mount the motor and this might be part of my problem.

I would certainly start there ;-}

 

[Soapdish]

Ive enclosed pictures of my situation, if my post can get approved. Ive got blue to blue and black to black. Is that wrong? There's a yellow wire too, that was severed. I stripped the wire, but the sever point is so close to the base of the wire that I can't get it back together. Not sure if I need to get a new CDI or anything.

 

[2door]

Sorry Soap, but I can't make heads or tails from your photos.

Here's a wiring diagram. Follow it and you should be good to go. Keep in mind that the wire colors from the kill switch are unimportant. They could both be the same color and it wouldn't matter. Forget about grounding anything to the bike frame. The engine is internally grounded and the frame isn't in the circuit.
Let us know how things go.
Tom

 

[Soapdish]

Just so I get the picture, in order to kill the bike, all i need to do is press the kill switch? And absolutely nothing else?

 

[KCvale]

Unless you you are running some kind of power tap for something else cut that aux wire (white, maybe yellow depends on kit) off right off at the coils in the lower left side of the magneto behind the front left motor cover.

You can just as easily use the CDI black/blue wire combo with a kill button in parallel as running that 3rd white wire to anything.

 

[2door]

Just so I get the picture, in order to kill the bike, all i need to do is press the kill switch? And absolutely nothing else?

That's right. Wired correctly, and assuming a functional kill switch, once pushed and held, the kill switch circuit will stop the engine by shutting off the ignition.
Also I agree with KC. I do not have any use for the white wire and remove it from the magneto coil on all my engines. Just make sure you remove only the white wire and whatever you don't cut off must be insulated so it can not come in contact with any metal surface.
Tom

 

[Soapdish]

Thanks alot guys, this has been incredibly helpful. I'll find out if I can get this working right tomorrow, I think 4 hours in the shop on the bike is enough for one day

 

[axe]

Awesome thread!

I didnt build my bike, Bairdco built it, and it is awesome, but I did have to assemble it since it came in a box from Cali -> Michigan. And the only trouble I have is with the back wheel, I cant seem to get both chains to be just right. Basically the pedal chain seems loose, and I tried taking a link out, but you have to take 2 links out, so then it is too tight.

I am a rookie rider, so I dont know what I am doing, and I just want to make sure I am safe while getting comfortable riding it. And I THINK I have it setup right now, the pedal chain sort of makes a skipping noise/feel when I pedal to get it started, no trouble with the coaster brake though, the pedal chain was coming off before I adjusted the back wheel more.

1) How tight do I want both chains,

2) What kind of chain grease do you guys use on both chains?

 

[Bicycle Motor Fun]

Hi Axe; You indicated that you have a coaster brake bike, so that chain should be adjusted with little slack in it. For the engine drive chain, you should have a chain tensioner wheel that that is mounted to the "chain stay" part of the bike, that would be adjusted to give this chain about 1" of total up and down movement at the top run-center. There is plenty said about this subject on this forum. I'm in Michigan also, my bike is in the country near North Branch, where are you located? Maybe a country ride together? BMF

 

[axe]

Hey Thanks BMF,

Yeah I dont know what all the parts are on the bike, I used to ride a lot on a BMX just for getting around as a kid, never had to fiddle with anything, so, I'll check that tensioner out, I've been chatting with Baird a lot about things I just dont know, but I dont want to be a bother lol.

I live in Chelsea, its about 2 hours south of where you are, Maybe I'll put a video of the slack in both chains on here if I cant figure it out.

So far I've ridden in 1 mile increments, so a 2 mile round trip, done it several times while getting used to riding. I still need a couple pieces of gear like a helmet mirror or something, I live on a 2 lane road and its low visibility from hills and turns, so I like to be the one out of the way of cars, the cyclists that ride this road feel that they own it, I always give them a lot of room when driving, but I dont like to get in anyones way, I would rather be the one that is more cautious of the other, because at least I can keep myself as safe as possible.

Its a ton of fun, and I just want to make sure I got everything set up right before I try a 10 mile ride, also it just feels CRAZY to me to have it wide open throttle for just a full on mile LOL, I mean I have chainsaws and weed whackers and crap, and I just feel like I am ABUSING this motor even riding 2 mile round trips. I realize it was designed for this, but it still feels strange to me.

Anyways, IDK if you will be in the area, but if you plan on it, message me here, I dont check these forums often, but if you PM me, I will get an email. I got 3 small kids at home, and dont get out of the house much, so the chances of me being anywhere outside of Chelsea is slim to none lol.

Thanks for the tips too, I'll take a look tonight.

 

[Bicycle Motor Fun]

Axe; sounds like to me, that you will be just fine with your new ride; you'll get it figured out, I finally did! Your pedal chain should be fairly tight so as soon as you back pedal to brake, braking is right there!

I started my build with a "Huffy Stone Mountain" 26" mens mountain bike that a neighbor was going to "put to the curb", so I rescued it before the metal scrappers got it. I then I took it up to my son's farm and put it in the barn; thought I would ride it up there one day. While visiting Florida, I seen a bike like mine being riden on the road with a small engine on it! I did a search on-line, and then I knew, I had to motorize that bike! Then, I found a seller of the 66cc Chinese engine kit in Kalamazoo (MI) and on one of my trips to near that part of the world, I stopped and picked one up last fall. After putting about 50 miles on it before winter hit, all on dirt/muddy roads, I decided to add fenders and make some changes to it. As soon as I get them all done, I'll post a photo of it here. It is beginning to look very nice! Riding in the country, I have few cars to contend with, probably more tractors now for the spring/summer months. Enjoy, BMF

 

[axe]

Sounds fun !

Yeah I get brakes as soon as I back pedal, but it doesnt feel quite right pedaling. So I am going to check it out, make sure its good.

I dont have much of dirt roads to ride, I would be scared to ride on dirt, seems to want to skid too much, even in patches of gravel, I tried to stop by a gravel driveway and caught some, and it skidded a bit.

Once I get off the road I live on (about 4 miles of it) then I wont really need to worry much about cars, the fast road has a huge shoulder and cyclists ride it all the time, and once in town, I'll be going the same speed as traffic.

I bought some kind of chain/lube/wax stuff from walmart that says it works good in dusty conditions, I am going to put that stuff on my pedal chain, but IDK about the motor chain, the bottle says it cleans and lubricates, I'll poke around here on the forums for info on this too.

 

[KCvale]

1) How tight do I want both chains,

2) What kind of chain grease do you guys use on both chains?

Your drive side chain has a round white pulley tensioner correct?
Loosen up the nut that holds it and slide it down the groove to give the drive chain plenty of slack.

Tighten your pedal chain until it is tight insuring your wheel is centered in the frame.
Then, just slide the tensioner pulley back up until the drive chain is tight and you're good to go.
When your drive chain get's loose that is also where you tighten it.

As for lube I like 3in1 oil, it is light and clean and the little bottle it comes in makes a great little applicator.
Just wipe your chain down good first and as you roll the bike just give it a nice light coat.

As for that wax stuff I have heard conflicting reports.
Apparently that 'self cleaning' action is just the dirty wax flaking off. The thing is it flakes off until there is nothing left to protect the chain.
I never tried it myself, just letting you know what I heard.

 

[Bicycle Motor Fun]

I don't fool around much with the bicycle pedal chain as far as lube; I may just wipe it down and put any oil that I have handy, on it. But for the engine drive chain, that's another story. When I ride on my gravel/dirt roads, the rear tire "dumps" dirt all over it. Then I remove it, wipe both chain sprokets clean, and install a fresh lubed chain and I am ready to ride. The chain that I removed, I clean it in old gasoline, let it dry, and soak it in chainsaw bar oil long enough for the oil to get into all of the moving parts and then hang it up to "drip dry". Bar oil is "sticky" and is formulated to cling to the speeding chain, which 3in1 would not and would fly off, lose lubracation and get on the riders clothes. Usually the next day to two, I wipe this chain down of any remaining oil and put it in a ZipLoc bag ready to be re-installed when the current chain is again dirty. BMF