Sportsman 200
- Thread starter sportscarpat
- Start date
Beautiful work Pat, you inspire all of us with the level of quality on your bike. And thanks for being generous with your ideas which will get the rest of us going too ! Vinny
Not running yet. Busy weekend with chores and honeydews. Went to the rodeo then Gramps' 101st birthday party and a cool bicycle swap meet. Bike is basically ready to fire up. Mounted up the pull cord hub last night, tightened up all the nuts and bolts, throttle hooked up. I think all thats left is pulling that piece of rope. I did have one last minute concern about the rope. What if it doesn't pull free of the hub when I yank it? It could rip out of my hand, wind back up on a running engine, and possibly do some damage. Has this ever happened to anyone?
I have not had that happen yet Pat, and I have two bike now that I start that way. Just be ready to let go and run for cover...lol
I think for my own personal safety I better have my brother start it. I'll supervise!
That explains why Pat wanted me to drop by the shop tonight. But if I pull the rope I.should get the first ride. It's a risk/reward thing....
Just some options that I have done: I used a cordless drill with a socket on it to start the bike for the first time; this allows me to get the fuel pump primed. Make sure you have the choke on all the way and check to make sure your slide is all the way down. Have a kill switch ready just in case...let it rip
Well, that was interesting. My brother and I fired up the Sportsman 200 tonight and took it for a spin. Fired up first pull and she is a nasty little beast! My custom bottom bracket reduction drive assembly worked flawlessly. It has a HUGE amount of torque for a motorized bicycle. I can sit in the saddle and blip the throttle and the front wheel lifts off the ground. The Bully disk clutch is a beautiful piece of engineering and hits hard right at 2800 rpm. Still a little tuning as it is running a bit on the lean side, but for a first run it is pretty impressive! Here is my first attempt at a Flickr video. I will try to get some better video in the daylight and film from the drive side of the bike so everyone can see my drive system in operation. It will be interesting to see how it performs against the CVT bikes. Anyway, enough of my rambling, time for some action!
Sportsman 200 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Sportsman 200 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Sportsman 200 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Sportsman 200 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
that sounds soooo good Pat. Makes me really look forward to finishing my build. I am surprised that the engines are able to produce so much torque. It really is a beast!
Looking forward to see a video of you riding it
Looking forward to see a video of you riding it
You can see now why I was breaking 12 gauge spokes like they were toothpicks? Your Cam is a (gulp) torque demon. Or maybe your clutch does work as a light switch, Lol. Be careful with your throttle on wet pavement! I think you will know after the first day if your engine mount is robust or not! I think the Comet transmission is about as 180 degrees apart from your clutch as possible. It only knows smooth. I wouldn't want to race you, thats for sure. I believe that the clone engine is the perfect engine solution for project bikes like ours. Very affordable, very powerful, very dependable. What else could you want?
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Thanks for the comments, guys. I went back and watched the videos a couple times myself. If you watch the rear wheel valve stem in relation to the ground you can clearly see the tire breaking traction! My weight is on the seat and I am using my legs to hold the bike back and it still breaks traction. I want to go take it for a nice long ride but have too many demands for my time through the weekend. Looks like it will have to wait till Monday.
unintentional wheel spin. Wow I might be a little worried about my build. What tyres are you running at the moment? the simplex tyres?
Right now I am running the Simplex clone tires, which is to say I am running Quick Bricks. I think I'll need a whole Saturday to squeeze on the Simplex tires, but I'll get them on there. I have to for safety.
Pat, I have an idea. If you come to find that your clutch is not very street able due to the drag strip launches you could always remove 3 of the 6 clutch springs in the clutch pack. This would give you a measure of control , i.e. "slippage".
That BTR is going to be handful. Make sure your brakes are working well, wear a helmet and have fun!