Hoot Gearbox Success Story?

tyrslider said:
The main weakness of the hoot is that there is no outboard bearing for the crankshaft, which flexes causing the gears disentigrate! The Grubee somewhat overcomes this problem by using a much larger primary gear (and better heat treat) that is less affected by this flexing.

For me it's about the "price to value ratio". The "cheapest" guy either spends the most (replacement cost) or has a lot of broken stuff. However, the "thrifty" person recognizes the value in a well made product that will far outlast the cheap product which, in this case, will cost less per mile to operate. Thus the more expensive option is actually less expensive (i.e. price:value)!

As it turns out most of the other stuff in the kit is cheap and works fine. $600-$700 for a reliable bicycle motor kit that gets over a 100 mpg and lasts for thousands of miles is a bargain in my eyes. I'll pay $.20 a mile any day to grin ear to ear picking the bugs from my teeth turning heads wherever I go on my mb.

I have < $1000 into my 4 stroke bike w/ motor kit, transmission, hydraulic rim brakes etc. Bear in mind that I've not reached the break even point, let alone profit on my transmission. So it's not like I got a discount on my transmission. I think if Quenton and Mike were to add up all the hours into their product it will be some time before it really pays off as well. Those are hours spent making successes and mistakes, working through the bugs so that you don't have to. I mention this because I'm often amazed at how much products are compared on price alone. Our Mall Wart society is readilly handing our economy over to the Chinese. I'm not opposed to international trade, I don't however wish to be involved in the global race to the bottom!
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I completely understand the term "you get what you pay for" and that's why I spent $250 for a 4 stroke kit. That's more than twice what a 2 stroke kit goes for. But what I got was far less quality than any 2 stroke kit ever sold. The little 4 stroke Chinese engine is great but everything else is pure junk.
 
MotorbikeMike said:
Hi all, well xlite it might interest you to know, that the poor gearboxes are what caused us to start the most progressive Bicycle Engine company in the country.

My Hoot lasted about 50 miles! I have plenty of new (take-off) Hoot boxes for sale cheap. We build our own transmissions that do NOT break, Made in USA, tho the engine and other components are from the Chinese Motor Bicycle industry.

EZ MOTORBIKE COMPANY and my site (none of my EZ-Bikes are posted yet).

If you are interested look up the threads about EZ and start a post here in 4-stroke and we will get you some more pics and answers.

Mike
EZMotorbike Inc.
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If you're making a transmission for the 4 stroke Chinese engines, I'd like to see it but saw nothing about it on your site.
 
It's nice to see new quality domestic solutions that truly contribute to the mb experience!
 
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My experience is that you have to spend closer to $400 at the bottom end to get a decent 4 stroke kit. I spent closer to $500 for the engine and gearbox. As for Mike's gearbox, he is referring to the EZM. Finally, if Mike has a bunch of left over Hoots (he apparently does), he is up front about their problems- if he wants to sell and someone wants to buy- what's the problem?
 
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tyrslider said:
So Mike, let me get this straight; you think the Hoot gb is poor quality but you'll sell them?
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What is the point you are trying to make here?
Mike isn't selling the Hoot's as a functioning gearbox with an engine or on a completed bike.

Maybe someone needs them for parts or there is someone that thinks that they can be rebuilt.
I think Mike said he was selling them for about $20 each. If you buy a lot he may sell them even cheaper. Seems like a fair price to me for what they are seeing that a Grubee box sells for $120

Aren't you the guy that tried to rebuild some Hoot gearboxes? I think I saw you selling a finished bike on your website with a Hoot box on it for about $1000. Did you sell it?

Was that you or someone else?
Or do you want to buy some Hoot boxes?
 
Hi all, well to start with a reply to Geeksquid. Our company, EZ Motorbikes DOES indeed make 4-stroke transmissions in California (Yes in America!).

We do not sell transmissions separately at this time and have no clear time-frame in which we will. We give 6 months warranty on the contents of the kit and 1 year on the transmission. We are currently only geared up to sell complete kits, and are busy establishing a Dealer Network across the US and Canada.

Houghmade, and broHSI are completely correct, and I appreciate their input.


Evan, go ahead and build your own products, as we all are anxious to see new developments as they happen.

Sincerly

Mike Simpson
 
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GS, comparing the 2 stroke kit to the 4 stroke is comparing apples to oranges. 4 strokes have way more moving parts which makes them more expensive. Also 2 strokes return 100% of the oil they use to our atmosphere and that is why they are not being manufactured for road use in the US and many other places.

Hough, your right (as usual);no problem.

Bro, Yes, I'm that guy. And, no, I didn't sell it w/ the hoot gb because I read about the problems and also found some of the flaws and tried to fix them still w/ no luck.

Mike, I wish you well w/ all of your endeavors.
 
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tyrslider said:
Hough, I suppose your right (as usual);no real problem, as long as he's up front about it. Not a practice that I would ingage in but not unethical.
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MotorbikeMike said:
My Hoot lasted about 50 miles! I have plenty of new (take-off) Hoot boxes for sale cheap.
Mike
EZMotorbike Inc.
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How much more up front did you want him to be?
With all those broken Hoot gearboxes we keep hearing about people may need parts.

Did anyone have a success story on a Hoot box? Somebody must have one that works OK as they all can't be bad.
 
Bro, in that sentence I was not implying that Mike be more up front. I was acknowledging that Hough was right; as long as he discloses his experience w/ them that there is nothing wrong w/ selling them to people who then know what they are getting into.

Mike Simpson is a person of integrity as am I. I spoke w/ him this morning on the phone and apologized to him for the comments I made.

Please forgive me for being petty; I think that if you read my other posts you'll agree that it is not typical of me. Thanks!
 
broHSI said:
Did anyone have a success story on a Hoot box? Somebody must have one that works OK as they all can't be bad.
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I'd REALLY like an answer to that myself. And what the heck is up with that Boygofast "upgraded" box?

Bottom line seems to be you can buy four or five 2 strokes for the price of one reliable 4 stroke. And get many more miles per buck in the long run.
 
well i have 80kms on my hoot so far, it still runs, i will ride it more and tell you when it breaks, but after 80kms there is no signs of wear,

*edit* back from my ride, make that 100kms success!, i am using white lithium grease as a lubricant, gear oil made the clutch slip, its running great! man that thing hauls, over 9000 times faster than my 2 stroke!! i pulled the gear cover off and all the teeth look mint, there was one small metal chip in the grease and that was it,
 
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Gear oil? I was warned not to put too much GREASE on the gears. I wonder if you have a new upgraded one.
 
xlite said:
Gear oil? I was warned not to put too much GREASE on the gears. I wonder if you have a new upgraded one.
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no i think it was wrong to have gear oil in it, i put grease in mine, to much, i need to go clean it out and try again, how much grease where you told to use? how much grease do you use!
 
linnix13 said:
no i think it was wrong to have gear oil in it, i put grease in mine, to much, i need to go clean it out and try again, how much grease where you told to use? how much grease do you use!
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First of all my experience is mostly limited to engines owned by friends who rarely got more than a few miles before gearbox failed. I haven't made any real use of the 4 stroke kits I own yet because of this. And info garnered on this forum. So far I've used one of the engines in-frame with a Dax gearbox to see how it compares with the HF 80cc. Not robust mounting and I'd never try a long trip for that reason.

Several people (you too) say too much grease caused slipping. Best advice may be from Hough, I think, who suggested packing with non-sag "Green Grease" brand.

However they also say not to put too much in the HT gearbox either but I found no slipping even after packing as much grease in there as possible. Maybe that "Green Grease" is the secret.
 
well not 500 yet but close, im at 400 and it looks ok, the grease that was peanut coloured is now grey, so every month when i change my oil i will brake clean out the gearbox and replace all the grease, the teeth are all in good shape, no signs of wear yet,
 
This is looking better and better. Already you've gone 10 times longer than the old versions I've had experience with. Motorboy is ok with these so far and seems to be a "pretty square fella" too.

Can you update me on what kind of grease you're using and how much?
 
I just wanted to chime in with one of my favorite products, marine grade grease. It's the consistency and looks remarkably like smooth peanut butter, the stuff is crazy! Extremely long lasting and with incredible clinging properties, it's almost impossible to wash it off yer hands even with Gojo.

If ya'll have any interest in what specific brand I've been using I'll ask and find out for ya - I live at a marina so I just troop over and grab a scoop outa the bucket they have.

Free is good too :D

edit: It's Quicksilver (Mercury) brand marine grade grease BTW ;)
 
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