I finally got the striped crank arms off (dremel tool and angle grinder, bike shop could not help). Had a **** of a time with that. learned a lot too. Then I problems with the bearing adapters. The right side went on just fine (beautifully) but the left side was a whole other story. The threads were not cut properly! my old cups threaded in fine and I had to cut off all but the last five threads of Statons adapter to make it thread properly. I was very upset at that. Another thing I don't like about the adapters is that they are soft aluminum and deform when you tighten them down. You shouldn't have to put too much torque on them but I had to because of the machining on the threads. All this could be because of my ineptitude of course but the kit should be a little more straight forward. Some more issues I'm having with the kit. The sprockets sit out too far (see picture). the largest sprocket (not the engine sprocket) sits out further that the last sprocket on rear cassette so there is no way to get a straight chain line. There is no way to make the sprockets closer to the bottom bracket either and the adapters cause the sprockets to sit out even further. THIS IS THE WAY IT HAS TO BE. and it's a shame. I Also don't like how one crank arm sits out further than the other. I'll find out when I finish if this is a problem for me. The kit was missing some shaft collars and a nut spacer so I'm hoping Staton will send me some. I sent him an email. for $700 I think he should. Some things I like so far. I like how the bottom bracket engine sprocket spins independently of the other sprockets. This allows you to pedal without spinning the engine chain. The engine came pre-installed on the gear box and Hardware is quality.
Before re-cut of threads, note flat top of threads almost like a 3/4 profile thread cut but indeed about .005"-.008" shallow of ansii standards.
After lathe skim cut, note narrower top of threads, will now hand screw into place in bottom bracket;
Still, I am very happy with this kit knowing that this full crankdrive system is a new innovation that has been out only less than a year and will take some time to fully debug by a cottage industry mfg.
Maxpower, a hot tip for you..............use any excess square tubing material from the verticle supports as spacer material for the horizontals, works much better than adding a bunch of washers, cyclindrical spacer material like pvc piping etc. I had plenty of excess since I lowered and tucked my motor installation as close to the rear tire ( about 1.5") and as far forward as possible in order to get the most compact fit as possible, while still maintaining adequate chain adjustment for installation.
Have you figured out the use of the "j" bracket and large flat plate? At the time of my build very few photos were available and no indication of their use................hint, I dont consider them necessary and only add weight to the build but others may want to use them and the mfg. probably will always want to provide them to reduce litigation...............Don