grubee 2011 skyhawk gt5

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kayak26143

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im wondering if anyone can give me any info about ordering this kit from gasbike.net
GRUBEE 2011 SkyHawk GT5 66cc/80cc Angle Fire Slant Head Bike Motor Kit, Standard Finish, comes standard with the cns carb
I have never bought one of these before and know nothing about any of the dealers. im looking for the least hassle all around customer service ect. first motorized bike also. im looking at a 26in cruiser to mount this in.
is this a good company to order from and is it a good kit. or am i just stuck with i hope it comes and everything works ok, is there any concerns or problems with the dealer and or kit that i should be aware of before i send them any money any info would be great thanks
 
I am going to bump this one up.

I have not dealt with gasbikes personally, so I will reserve comment.
 
kayak26143 said:
im wondering if anyone can give me any info about ordering this kit from gasbike.net
GRUBEE 2011 SkyHawk GT5 66cc/80cc Angle Fire Slant Head Bike Motor Kit, Standard Finish, comes standard with the cns carb
I have never bought one of these before and know nothing about any of the dealers. im looking for the least hassle all around customer service ect. first motorized bike also. im looking at a 26in cruiser to mount this in.
is this a good company to order from and is it a good kit. or am i just stuck with i hope it comes and everything works ok, is there any concerns or problems with the dealer and or kit that i should be aware of before i send them any money any info would be great thanks
Click to expand...

Ordering ANY engine and from almost ALL dealers (very few warranty as they advertise, so beware) will be a crap shot. Just about ALL the Chinese engines is like rolling a die. Personally, I buy the cheapest kit I can find, I make some (about $50.00) modifications coming out of the box, and I've had extremely good success. Bought my 1st (in a box, needs a top end from luckyearlybird) and 2nd or 6 in 2009, and still running #2-5, although it's NOT a every day commuter. Save yourself some headache and buy a NT or a NT Speed carburetor, and sell the CNS. You will need to get the throttle, and cable with it.
 
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ok so what as a new buyer should i do to the motor before i even start it. i work on atvs and snowmobiles for a living so this should be easy. we build custom race motors so the extra carb tuning dosent bother me. or is there other issues with that setup ? and is there an advantage to the 2011 motor vs the older style.
 
Take it apart, clean it, and assemble it properly. Everyone around here junked their engines within 6 weeks of assembling them because they thought they could just throw them on the bike and go. When I got mine I completely covered a paper towel with some kind of very lightweight oil, metal shavings and sand just by wiping it out.
 
I have "thrown them on the bike" and just rode, and those engines have lasted as long as the ones I tore down, cleaned and made a bunch of changes to.
 
I copy what Al.Fisherman said, except I have been able to tune my CNS carb to run great without too much trouble, but thats a topic that consumes many threads on its own...
As for the company in question, I have made several orders with them and must say I have been completely satisfied. They have all shipped fast and what I ordered was delivered. The quality and reliability of the product from that point is a bit of a crap shoot no matter where you got it from (as Al pointed out).
GasBike.net is one of the few companies that offer a warranty on their kits, I had a problem with one of the two motors I ordered and they did honor the warranty and set me up with replacement parts for free. They are not always the easiest to get on the phone for support, be persistent if you need them, they did take care of me when I finally got through. That said, they are not the cheapest kit on the market but I guess the warranty is kinda rolled up in that slight price increase. So you can make the call, save a few extra dollars and roll the dice, or pay a little more for a couple months warranty. It's kinda like the decision to purchase travel insurance or not! LOL Your call... If you are gonna build and ride the bike right away the extra security might make sense, but if you were ordering over the winter and not gonna ride it until after the warranty expires it's not much of a factor at that point.
As Al.Fisherman pointed out, there are things that beg improvement on all these kits. The spark plug, wire and boot are top on the list, along with the chain, the chain tensioner could be improved (or eliminated when possible, there is debate about this in other threads if you are interested), the fuel valve is pretty crappy, and I wasn't happy with the throttle. Fortunately better quality replacement parts are not very expensive and are readily available....
I have purchased some upgrade parts from SickBikeParts.com as well and have been very satisfied with their service, but they only carry parts, not kits. Other parts I sourced on Amazon, Ebay or local hardware stores.
Good luck to you on your first build.....
 
kayak26143 said:
ok so what as a new buyer should i do to the motor before i even start it. i work on atvs and snowmobiles for a living so this should be easy. we build custom race motors so the extra carb tuning dosent bother me. or is there other issues with that setup ? and is there an advantage to the 2011 motor vs the older style.
Click to expand...

If you can jet a carb you should have no problem getting the CNS running well. Your basic choices are the NT/Speed carb style, or the CNS style. The NT/Speed style have one jet and an air choke, the CNS has 3 jets, the idle jet, the main jet and the enrichment jet (that take the place of the choke).
As far as new/vs old, with the grubee kits I think most of the differences are in the carb. (due to having to pass repeated EPA certifications) The newest CNS comes with the blue cone air filter. It has the air mix screw capped off (which you can pry off easily enough to access the air screw below;)) I have heard said the needle only has one slot in the newest CNS which is probably the biggest negative for this version of the carb. I am not sure if the 5 slot needle from the previous version of the CNS will fit in there. The previous version of the CNS has the red plastic air filter. I hate that air filter (though it is extremely low profile which might be a big plus on some bikes) it has a foam insert that likes to clog up with oily blowback from the carb and can eventually bogg you down a bit, so I found myself cleaning it a lot more than I wanted. The aftermarket low profile cone air filter from SickBikeParts solved that issue for me nicely. This older red plastic air filter version of the CNS carb has a 5 slot needle and no caps on any adjustment screws. There was also an even older version CNS carb but I doubt any kits with that carb are still around. One common complaint about any version of the CNS carb is it requires a spacer around the intake to clamp it down because the throat is larger than the other carbs. The older spacers were extremely brittle, you're lucky to get the carb mounted once without breaking it, which is extremely frustrating when working with something brand new. The newer carbs I have seen have had the spacer made with a much better material. That said, the spacers can be made easily enough for next to nothing from a section of PVC water pipe or copper tubing.
 
Thanks very much great info, and as far as the upgrade parts spark plug no prob i have them at work, as far as the plug wire and boot is there a cross ref for that or what is everyone useing as a upgrade ?
 
I run a grubee 48cc with the cns2 carb, the inside of my engine was very clean. Also with clean ports with no slag or roughness. Also the throttle cable works fine with the nt, I have a nt as a spare carb and have test run it .
 
I love Grubee GT5 - i would not buy anything else... I have had a few issues - no problem in getting resolved as long as you are civil with them when you deal with them at gasbike...
 
On the plug wire it's kind of a strange deal....
Believe it or not, in the CDI the plug wire electrically connects by screwing down on the protruding tip of a wood screw! No joke! The wire is also glued into the hole on the outside, some say theirs was barely glued, mine was glued in there real good. To remove the wire grab it with pliers and rotate it counter clockwise (as if you were unscrewing it from the wood screw). If you're luck it will screw out for you, but it might just break off (as mine did) If it breaks you gotta pick at the rubber from the old wire with a knife, nail, whatever, until you get the hole cleared out and have revealed the wood screw (that makes the electrical contact).
To replace the wire you just need to find one with the same outer diameter as the existing wire. I went to the local auto store and asked them at the desk to show me the box of single spark plug wires. Sorting through the box I found a 4ft wire that had a right angle boot on both ends (think it was designated as a coil wire), I cut that wire in half and had a nice wire and boot for two cdi's for $4 bucks! To install the new wire just screw it down on the wood screw making sure the conductor is threading onto the screw. I would coat the outside if the wire with silicone first (but making sure it wont end up on the screw) and then put a nice coating of silicone around the outside and let it dry.
Because of this screwy setup there really is no proper replacement wire for the cdi, you can pretty much use anything that fits in that hole....
 
wow good to know thanks LOL i guess what can you really expect for a kit at 180 bucks but thats a mod i will do also. Oh almost forgot it the 80cc kit worth the extra cost compared to the 49cc kits and i know the 80 isnt an 80cc ho much power do you really loose in comparison. eather kit i get i will have the upgraded carb and expansion chamber pipe ect.
 
kayak26143 said:
Thanks very much great info, and as far as the upgrade parts spark plug no prob i have them at work, as far as the plug wire and boot is there a cross ref for that or what is everyone useing as a upgrade ?
Click to expand...

Use a solid core wire, no resistor wire. The boot that comes on the stock CDI will not fit well, and can be replaced. Use a good plug clip.
 
There is no such thing as "customer service" when buying one of these engines. I'm sure you've heard the phrase:
"You get what you pay for"

Don't buy the cheapest engine you can find and expect customer service. That's not how it works. If you want customer service, you have to pay for it.

My recommendation is that you DON'T buy one of these because judging by your need for customer service, you don't have the skill to handle one of these alone.
 
Cavi Mike said:
My recommendation is that you DON'T buy one of these because judging by your need for customer service, you don't have the skill to handle one of these alone.
Click to expand...

I think you must be confused, the guy said, " i work on atvs and snowmobiles for a living so this should be easy. we build custom race motors so the extra carb tuning dosent bother me."
If that is the case I dont expect he will have any problem with a MB build.....
 
that is correct i have no problem working on this engine we actually machine custom parts. i was just trying to find a good dealer that way if something came broken ect. and this is a new motor for me ive never been into one yet just getting info before i buy one. im very excited about my first build, just wondering what was needed to make this little motor as reliable as poss out of the box.
 
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