Dax GenIV balanced bottom issues and questions

[1870Logger]

I’ve got some problems/issues/questions with a New Gen IV Super Duty Balanced crank engine I bought back in October that maybe someone can help me sort out.
I thought for the premium price and the stated Super Duty, Made in the USA, Balanced crank, Japanese main and Japanese clutch bearings I was making a good decision and was happy that someone finally was offering a better than average motor.
I bought this thing because from what I had read, the motor was assembled, gone through, tested and upgraded with a Balanced crank and quality Japanese main and clutch bearings hardened bolts ect.
All the work would be done for me, I would just put it on the bike and ride.
However, my experience has been anything but good and I need some help figuring out what to do with this motor.
When I got the motor, just upon visual inspection I was none to happy. Looking at the intake and exhaust ports, I found them full of casting flash and when I looked inside I saw pieces of metal laying on top of the piston. So, I figured I had no choice but to take off the jug and clean things up. After pulling the jug I found more metal inside the crankcase.
I also noticed a nickel size spot in the jug where it looks like the chrome cylinder plating is very thin.
I looked at the muffler and saw it was not put together all the way and it was rather rusted, on the bottom. I tried to tighten the bolt on the bottom and it was tight, so I took off the bolt, pulled it apart and found the pipe had just been jammed in and the baffles were bent over 90 degrees. The inside was rusted like this thing had been sitting in a container by the ocean for years.
Oh well, all fixable, I thought, I didn’t feel like spending 30 bucks to send it back.
I cleaned everything up, straightened the baffles in the muffler, dressed up the ports and put it all back together. I Torqued the head bolts to 12 pds and took it for a ride a mile up the road and back. Let it cool and checked/re-torqued the head bolts again. I took it for another ride and after a mile I noticed it was sounding funny like the muffler was loose. I realized the head was leaking so, I again re-torqued the head started it and now it sounded really bad. (Like marbles in the crankcase.) I took the engine off the bike put it on bench and figured it must be in the clutch, After removing clutch plate to check things out, I found it did not have Japanese bearings as advertised but Chinese bearings. (So much for super duty!)
I could not find anything wrong in the clutch. Everything looked ok so I put it back together, put it back on the bike tried it again and same thing! After much head scratching , I cranked the motor while loosening the head and the noise went away. The piston was hitting the head. After removing the head I noticed the piston arrow was pointing toward the back and not the front like every other 2 cycle that I have worked on.
So, I called DAX and explained all the issues I had with this motor. How it had Chinese clutch bearings and not Japanese as in the description on his web site and how the piston was pointing towards the back and hitting the head . He had me describe the motor in more detail and said it was an old style piston but it was in correctly. He said that I had somehow received an earlier style motor.
We agreed that I would send him back the motor and he would send me the new style balanced bottom and a new top end un-assembled so I could put it together myself and clean up the ports on my own.
Well, 5 weeks later after calling to remind him I still have not received anything from him, he said, sorry I forgot.
When I got the the box back I found I had gotten my original motor back! He put a new bottom gasket in it so the piston would not hit the head and sent back the same old motor. I had just spent 30 dollars in shipping to have him put in a 3 dollar gasket!

I called him back again and asked him why?
Well ,now his story changed and he says that I do have the new style motor but it just has Chinese bearings. Yet as of today, 5 months later he still is advertising the motor as having the Japanese clutch bearings. What a crock, this was the reason I bought this motor and probably why many others have also!
How can he tell me one thing and keep advertizing something else?
(Oh well, what to do I'm in almost 300 bucks and talking to DAX is pointless)
I put the motor back on the bike 2 days ago hoping for the best…ran it up and down the road a couple of times as before and each time after letting it cool I find the head bolts very loose. My third ride I was coming up the drive and the head gasket blows out.
I pulled the head and found that although Dax replaced the $3.00 bottom gasket, he could not see fit to replace the .99 cent head gasket.
I’ve put my old motor back on as it pulls tons better and there is virtually no difference in vibration.
So, My questions are…
What do I really have here?
Is it or is it not a New GEN-IV balanced bottom engine.
Dax said No but now claims yes.
What do you have?
Has anyone else checked to see if they have Japanese clutch bearings as advertised?
Can anyone tell me what makes these super duty over any other china girl out there? ( other than a handful of black hex bolts )
Can anyone tell me how these motors can be considered tested when the piston is still clean with no combustion deposits?
Considering how the head bolts keep needing tightened, how do I tell what grade of Bolts are in this motors?
I've read people think this motor has less vibration than others, if so, what did they have before this? (I found it to be no different than my other 2 motors?)
Can someone tell me how this is considered made in the USA when all I see is Chinese parts?
I have close to 300 dollars invested now and have nothing more than what I consider a boat anchor.
I thought I was buying a Higher end motor but it seems I was taken for a ride on this one, I should have known better, If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.
Needless to say I am really bummed out, I was really hoping someone was building a better quality motor as were several of my friends.
I will say Dax does call you back, but every time I talked to him it was a different story!
My friends were all ready to buy a DAX, but now will just keep what they got.
I may be wrong, but to me, what I have looks like nothing more than an old stock china girl.
Considering all the issues, the piston hitting the head and probably not doing the bearings any good, the questionable cylinder plating, The fact I am going to have to replace the clutch bearings to get what I originally wanted, ect. I have to ask, is this thing worth keeping/working on any more, or should I just stop wasting my time and salvage it for parts?

 

[Theon]

Wow,
I have been recommending people to get a 'better' motor from the likes of Dax or MBR.
But it seems they are the same sh*t just with a higher price.
It would seem you are likely to have a 40mm stroke. Which in my opinion is better than the 38mm stroke. but otherwise it sounds like false advertising to me.
I strip all my motors when I get them, at least with Ebay I have found that If I politely explain that I can not offer positive feedback on this purchase because the jug for example is not up to scratch and they refund me the money to buy a new jug. This has been the case twice for me once with a barrel and once with a clutch, from two different vendors, with me only sending photo of part, no questions, just a humble apology and a refund on market value of part. These motors have been good in other respects and it costs me $20 to install better bearings. I understand that not everyone has my level of skill or tooling and that is why I have been recommending they spend a little extra to buy a better motor. However obviously not from DAX!

 

[Theon]

It sound as if you know what your doing, I personally would strip the motor, inspect everything and rebuild it, just like any cheaper motor should.
But thank you for making us aware of this fraud.
Sorry for your loss and inconvenience, and I hope that this helps to stop others being ripped off.

 

[maniac57]

Sorry to hear of your problems. This is one of the few bad reports I have heard about Dax service, but I have long suspected the fact he lies openly in his ad copy might reflect poor business practices. I did not buy from Dax for the ''Made in America'' ad copy which is flat untrue.
I bought my ''balanced'' engine from MotorBicycleRacing and have been very pleased with the improved assembly and fasteners on this smoother running engine. I had excellent customer service as well even when I had a weird seal issue after I was out of warranty.
Since there is no difference in the engines, I went with the vendor that was honest. (and slightly cheaper!)

 

[mapbike]

Duane never implies on his sight or in the add that this a modified and performance oriented engine, it is just what it is claimed to be other than the made in USA thing which should say assembled in USA, all that aside... its a typical PK 80 type china girl with a better balanced crank and higher quality main, clutch and rod bearings, it isn't ported and doesnt say it is, in stock GenIV form its just more likely to be a smoother running engine and with the better bearings it has the potential to be a more reliable engine if tuned right and everything else is matched to it right.

If someone wants a full bore highly modified china girl that will still need to be tuned and set up right, buy one from Fred and for $600+ you'll have a well balanced crank and several other custom goodies.

Dax makes no claims of the Gen IV being a custom performance built engine but it is a solid platform foe a nice smoother running china girl if built up right, I know because I have three of them and one of them built up and on a bike that is the smoothest and fastest bike I've had so far...... in my opinion the dax enginea are well worth the extra, and also Neil Senior sells the same engines for a little lesa and he has had great results with them alao from what I've read.

Map

 

[1870Logger]

Mapbike,

I can understand why you are happy with your motor and that is because you built it yourself using the bottom end as your base starting point. In hind sight I should have done like you and purchased separate crankcase and Top End and just assembled it myself, it would have been a lot less work and hassle and I would probably have been ok with what I got.
You were able to control the quality where as I was not. I bought the whole kit so I could use my old motor on another bike, and I figured all the work would be done for me. I have close to $300.00 into what is currently little more than a bunch of junk under my bench.
I created this post looking for help trying to decide what to do with this motor and to try to figure out what I got since dax told me one thing and then changed his mind and tells me something else.
You replied that dax “never implies on his site or in the ad that this a modified and performance oriented engine, it is just what it is claimed to be.” You said its a typical PK 80 type china girl with a better balanced crank and higher quality main, clutch and rod bearings, it isn't ported and doesnt say it is.
I don’t think you fully read my original post. I don’t see anywhere in the thread that someone claims he said it is a performance oriented engine nor do I see anyone say he claims it is ported.
However, what he does call it is a “Premium Super Duty” engine and that to me implies that it is a modified engine that has some Premium and Super Duty Modifications.
You say it has higher quality bearings, that’s one of the reasons I bought this engine , he advertised it as having japan bearings, but mine has Chinese bearings. So much for the “SUPER DUTY” !
As for a better balanced crank, that is debatable, as I found no difference in vibration in comparison to my 3 year old e-bay special and my friends bike.
I think that some of the rave reviews may come from people that had very poor balanced motors to start with and now get this and think it is something special.
Maybe I am lucky in that I notice no difference and got good motors from e-bay/internet straight out of the box.
As for the rod, it looks same as my old engine, holes also look to be hand drilled. I see 3 hole rods on internet stores so no big deal there either. The piston bearing looks same too. Crank, from what I can see looks same as old too.
As for the Made in USA, I agree with you, it is more like assembled in the USA.
But that brings up a whole new set of issues.
If it is assembled in the USA from nothing but the finest globally sourced parts, why did my motor have such bad QC? It had tons of casting flash in the ports, metal shavings in the cylinder and the crank case, the muffler was not fully assembled/tightened leading to me finding the pipe just jammed in and the baffles all bent 90 degrees and extremely rusted inside.
The other thing is if you are assembling it here in the USA , how could you not know or notice that you are building it using Chinese bearings, I mean to put in your special crank you have to have this thing torn all the way down don’t you. ( I think that if I were building a motor and advertising it as having japan bearings, I would make sure that is what is going in to it.)
Another irritation was when I took the motor apart the first time to clean it up, 3 out of the 4 cylinder studs unscrewed out of the block. I have never had that happen on any other motor I work on, It seems they were never double nutted and torqued into the block as they should have been.
In my own experience it seems the Chinese do a better job and they don’t sign the side of the motor with a Permanent marker that you can’t remove. If you buy one of these and want a clean looking motor, you’ll need to order a new side cover because I could not even sand off the initials that were put on it!
Anyhow,
I believe you said you have 3 genIV bottoms and only one built so maybe you can help me with my original question on trying to figure out what I got here.
Theon answered some of my questions and I agree with what he said, but I still have unanswered questions that I hope you could help me with.
You seem to know what you are doing, so if you get a chance could you take 5 minutes to pop off the clutch plate on one of your un-built bottoms and see what kind of bearings you have hiding under there. Japan bearings as was advertised or Chinese. Also could you let me know what type of bolts are under there too. ( My engine has black hex bolts everywhere visible but has 2 rounded out philips type under the clutch plate. Like they ran out of hex bolts or could not get them out or something?
Can you also describe your cylinder studs to me, or do you know how to tell if these are the Hardened 8.8 cylinder studs, what do they look like , the color of them, any markings on them to tell. Thread pitch top and bottom? I really question what I got since they seem to keep stretching.
Also, I know you can’t answer this, because you seem to have bought separate top ends, but anyone else who has one one of these, can you tell me if you have an arrow or triangle on you piston. When I first talked to DAX about my problems and told him I had Chinese bearings, he asked what kind of piston I had, an arrow or a triangle, as soon as I said triangle he said yeah you got an old engine. (But now it's not!) So piston arrow or triangle would help me figure out what I’m looking at here too.
I’ve got some new head gaskets on the way and will give this motor another chance, but I really have no faith in it. (I will probably just put it in the local trade paper just to get it out of my sight.)
What really stinks and bums you out is when you pay a premium price and are told you will get one thing and then get something else, not once, but twice.
I would have been ok with DAX just sending me a new Crankcase and Top end like he said he would do, (even if it did have Chinese bearings). I would have just replaced them and moved on.
(As a side note, It isn’t like he forgot what we agreed to on the phone because he asked me to put a note in the box to remind him that he would send the GenIV case with a new top end in exchange for my old stock motor. I would never have spent 30 bucks in shipping just to have a 3 dollar gasket replaced!)
Everyone should do what your doing by building up the motor yourself !
You seem to be very happy with your bottom bottom end, and I’m glad you like it.
This is meant to be a fun hobby and it was for me up until now.
You said it best, when you said its a typical PK 80 type china girl.

 

[crassius]

I know this is old thread, but I've been away.

NOTE TO ALL: I've seen three types of piston markings on engines; one with arrow at back pointing to front, one with arrow at front pointing to front, and one with no arrow at all - THIS REALLY doesn't matter, as you will install with the locating pins for the rings at the intake side on ALL these motors - ignore the arrows

 

[thatsdax]

Sorry the guy from PA is having such a tough time. I do remember talking to this guy and Originally remember offering to sell this guy the parts so he could build the motor himself, but he said no and he wanted me to build it. I never offered to clean the intake, exhaust, or exchange ports of any casting flaws. Never did I offer to shave the shirt or ramp the piston or install any reeds. I did not offer to do any porting or polishing. Never !! What I do offer is an engine build using globally sourced parts and to be the finest out of the box build for the money. A true 40mm stroke with full circle steel crank that is hand drilled and balanced against top end as a matched set. We use Grade 8.8 Case hardened studs for cases and cylinder as well as the engine studs. No upgrade bolt kits needed.. The DAX Crank does use Japan Bearings. The Clutch does not. At one time I thought we had Japan bearings on the Clutch and Crank. Once I found out the Clutch bearing was not Japan, I removed the wording. Prior to this, this particular customer did call me to tell me his piston was smacking the head. I told him to send me the engine block and I would replace or repair the problem. He sent me the block, I could see that when I built the motor my Top of cylinder deck height became too tight. It could be from compression of the base gasket after hot and cold run cycles.. Not sure.. But.. I removed the cylinder, replaced the base gasket with a slightly thicker one to provide more clearance. I have built 1000's of motors, and once or twice I may have made the tolerances too close. Rare.. But it happens. Re Assembled the motor, tested it good.. Shipped it back to this customer. Once he received the motor, he called me back to say this is not a Gen IV because the Clutch Bearing is still not made in Japan. I informed him that none of the Gen IV use Japan bearings on the clutch and I have corrected the tech info to reflect this and that all Gen IV use China bearing on the clutch . You still have the Gen IV. If you are not happy or do not like this, you can send it all back for a refund. Nothing was sent back, no more phone calls received..... Now I see this.. Not sure why he did not take me up on my offer of refund including the shipping... I must admit. I am confused with all this.. I have not heard of any of these problems from this guy until now.. I have not been in the room here in months.. Not sure why this guy would not pick up the phone and give me a shout.. It makes me wonder if there are maybe some customer modifications done to the motor that are not working out as expected.... Not sure.. Something strange lurks within......... Not passing the smell test for sure.. Since I can not refund Customer modded motors, this may be the cause for this customers frustration. I know I can not please everyone.. The best I could do at the time he called me was to offer a complete refund to include the shipping, which was an offer he did not take me up on.. Again.. I am confused as to why..

 

[thatsdax]

Piston Markings.. If you have the arrow, then it points to Exhaust. If you have the Triangle, it is placed closest to the intake port.

 

[Wild Bill]

The guy has a total of 5 posts since he joined, all but one are whining about the same thing. That's the kinda guy I ignore.

 

[mapbike]

Sorry the guy from PA is having such a tough time. I do remember talking to this guy and Originally remember offering to sell this guy the parts so he could build the motor himself, but he said no and he wanted me to build it. I never offered to clean the intake, exhaust, or exchange ports of any casting flaws. Never did I offer to shave the shirt or ramp the piston or install any reeds. I did not offer to do any porting or polishing. Never !! What I do offer is an engine build using globally sourced parts and to be the finest out of the box build for the money. A true 40mm stroke with full circle steel crank that is hand drilled and balanced against top end as a matched set. We use Grade 8.8 Case hardened studs for cases and cylinder as well as the engine studs. No upgrade bolt kits needed.. The DAX Crank does use Japan Bearings. The Clutch does not. At one time I thought we had Japan bearings on the Clutch and Crank. Once I found out the Clutch bearing was not Japan, I removed the wording. Prior to this, this particular customer did call me to tell me his piston was smacking the head. I told him to send me the engine block and I would replace or repair the problem. He sent me the block, I could see that when I built the motor my Top of cylinder deck height became too tight. It could be from compression of the base gasket after hot and cold run cycles.. Not sure.. But.. I removed the cylinder, replaced the base gasket with a slightly thicker one to provide more clearance. I have built 1000's of motors, and once or twice I may have made the tolerances too close. Rare.. But it happens. Re Assembled the motor, tested it good.. Shipped it back to this customer. Once he received the motor, he called me back to say this is not a Gen IV because the Clutch Bearing is still not made in Japan. I informed him that none of the Gen IV use Japan bearings on the clutch and I have corrected the tech info to reflect this and that all Gen IV use China bearing on the clutch . You still have the Gen IV. If you are not happy or do not like this, you can send it all back for a refund. Nothing was sent back, no more phone calls received..... Now I see this.. Not sure why he did not take me up on my offer of refund including the shipping... I must admit. I am confused with all this.. I have not heard of any of these problems from this guy until now.. I have not been in the room here in months.. Not sure why this guy would not pick up the phone and give me a shout.. It makes me wonder if there are maybe some customer modifications done to the motor that are not working out as expected.... Not sure.. Something strange lurks within......... Not passing the smell test for sure.. Since I can not refund Customer modded motors, this may be the cause for this customers frustration. I know I can not please everyone.. The best I could do at the time he called me was to offer a complete refund to include the shipping, which was an offer he did not take me up on.. Again.. I am confused as to why..

Well, all I know is that I can only speak good things about doing business with you, only issue I hav had is the last lower I ordered from you was missing the flower nut retaining screw, I had to rob one off of one of my other engines for it but no biggie as far as Im concerned, not to be hateful at all here but my Dad always says as you did, you can't please everyone no matter what you do, some people blame their own lack of ability, knowledge and understanding on other when they hit a bump in the road, I always say knowing procedure is one thing, build understanding why it has to be done that way is another and without both someone has very little ability to trouble shoot and solve problems.

Keep up the great work and dont be concerned about a bad apple here and there, some of us who know from experience how helpful and ethical you strive to be will always defend you when a hater comes along and is being unfair about things toward you.....

Sure be nice to see you on here a bit more also, lots of noobs here that could benefit from your knowledge and the good products you sell, im a fan and a customer as long as you continue what you ahve always done for us, thank you for being heads and shoulders above on your customer service.

Map

 

[1870Logger]

Sorry the guy from PA is having such a tough time. I do remember talking to this guy and Originally remember offering to sell this guy the parts so he could build the motor himself, but he said no and he wanted me to build it. I never offered to clean the intake, exhaust, or exchange ports of any casting flaws. Never did I offer to shave the shirt or ramp the piston or install any reeds. I did not offer to do any porting or polishing. Never !! What I do offer is an engine build using globally sourced parts and to be the finest out of the box build for the money. A true 40mm stroke with full circle steel crank that is hand drilled and balanced against top end as a matched set. We use Grade 8.8 Case hardened studs for cases and cylinder as well as the engine studs. No upgrade bolt kits needed.. The DAX Crank does use Japan Bearings. The Clutch does not. At one time I thought we had Japan bearings on the Clutch and Crank. Once I found out the Clutch bearing was not Japan, I removed the wording. Prior to this, this particular customer did call me to tell me his piston was smacking the head. I told him to send me the engine block and I would replace or repair the problem. He sent me the block, I could see that when I built the motor my Top of cylinder deck height became too tight. It could be from compression of the base gasket after hot and cold run cycles.. Not sure.. But.. I removed the cylinder, replaced the base gasket with a slightly thicker one to provide more clearance. I have built 1000's of motors, and once or twice I may have made the tolerances too close. Rare.. But it happens. Re Assembled the motor, tested it good.. Shipped it back to this customer. Once he received the motor, he called me back to say this is not a Gen IV because the Clutch Bearing is still not made in Japan. I informed him that none of the Gen IV use Japan bearings on the clutch and I have corrected the tech info to reflect this and that all Gen IV use China bearing on the clutch . You still have the Gen IV. If you are not happy or do not like this, you can send it all back for a refund. Nothing was sent back, no more phone calls received..... Now I see this.. Not sure why he did not take me up on my offer of refund including the shipping... I must admit. I am confused with all this.. I have not heard of any of these problems from this guy until now.. I have not been in the room here in months.. Not sure why this guy would not pick up the phone and give me a shout.. It makes me wonder if there are maybe some customer modifications done to the motor that are not working out as expected.... Not sure.. Something strange lurks within......... Not passing the smell test for sure.. Since I can not refund Customer modded motors, this may be the cause for this customers frustration. I know I can not please everyone.. The best I could do at the time he called me was to offer a complete refund to include the shipping, which was an offer he did not take me up on.. Again.. I am confused as to why..

I believe DAX has me confused with someone else.

I agree something smells.... especially since he still continues to advertise that the GEN-IV bottom end has clutch HR Japan 6202 bearings.
He says in his post he removed it, but still it remains on his website ( Smell Test?)
(Just went there and did a save and a print screen today.)
I at no Time ever got offered a refund by dax…NEVER! And For sure I would have never asked him to build a motor for me after finding bits of metal in the cylinder and crankcase. As for him mentioning “offering to shave the shirt or ramp the piston or install any reeds” Never said that and never discussed that! I never said anything about him doing any porting or polishing. ( read my posts )
Seems this whole post people keep mentioning things I never said.
I never discussed getting Parts and wanting him to build it for me…..NEVER!
What I did expect to get for a premium price was a Motor that was assembled, Tested and made from the best globally sourced parts as he advertises. I did not expect to get a motor that had excess flash of almost a ¼ inch in the intake port a rusted muffler not fully assembled with all the baffles bent 90 degrees… I mean come on…If you are assembling the motor take 5 minutes to clean up the excess flash with a carpenters pencil and some fine grit sandpaper. (If your holding the jug in your hand and you can’t take a minute to clean it up when it is that excessive that’s just wrong.) It’s no wonder I found metal in the cylinder and case.
As for the Facts…..He agreed that he did send me an old style motor when I first talked to him after describing it. He is the one that agreed that I somehow got an old GEN motor…Based on the motor having Chinese bearings and the diamond piston mark vs the new ones having an arrow… He is the one that agreed that he would send me the new genIV parts (A new top end and a New Gen_IV balanced bottom.) so I could build the motor myself and clean it up. He is the one that asked me to put a note in the box with the returned motor to remind him what we agreed upon. (Which I did do in detail so there would be no mistake as to our conversation.)
So based on his reply in this post, it looks like he has problems with someone else in PA too !
As for the person stating I only have 5 posts on this forum, he is correct!. I have followed this forum for years and have gotten many good idea's and fixes.
I talked with dax multiple times over a period of 6 months before I made any posts on this forum. I gave him ample chance to remedy my problems and do as he promised but instead got the run around! Feeling others should know my issues with this Gen_IV motor I made my first post.
So for anyone that chooses to Ignore my post, Feel free to do so, but only if you don't mind paying a premium and don't mind taking it apart to clean out metal shavings as I did.
Strange that he says he built thousands of motors (But he never noticed he was using Chinese clutch bearings until I told him?) Well, there is another shall I say (Smell Test)
Also please note at no time in any of my posts did I ever mention another brand of motor or another dealer. My post was my experience and it was a bad one. I want people to know that I am not suggesting any other brand or dealer as a ploy to divert sales ect.
You can take away from this post what you want, He still has his bottom end being advertised as having japan clutch bearings and most of what he posted is news to me. (Other than I paid 30 bucks in shipping just to have him put in a 3 dollar gasket and ship back the same old motor. I could have done that myself for free.)
So as for a “Smell Test” (as dax says) You decide.
Am I angry, yep, who reading this would not be if you got what I received and were promised one thing and given something else not once but twice!
If dax had ever offered to refund my money I would have jumped at the chance to return it! ( Who in their right mind wouldn’t have?)
I feel I did the right thing letting others know about this issue.
If you think I am a bad person because I gave this guy 6 months to make it right with me before posting anything then I quess I am a bad person. Or as one put it a hater!
I really have to wonder sometimes if it isn’t best friends or relatives responding to threads and giving rave reviews or twisting what was originally posted when it is not.
If you got money to burn, then by all means, ignore me.

 

[mapbike]

1870Logger, bad experiences are part of life sometime, we all have them and have the right to express our feelings about those things if we wish, but you are barking up the wrong tree with myself and many others when you start amking claims of bad customer service from one of the most respected and ethical vendors we have on this forum, you want and engine that has everything basically done for you you'll have to buy a custom perfromance built engine from someone Like Jake's , Arrow Racing, CR Machine and then you will have all that stuff done for you for several hundred dollars, Dax simply tells what his engines consist of which ai have found to be spot on, only issue I ever had was they should say assembled in the USA instead of Made in America, I have been doing business with dax for a long time now and have three of the Gen IV engines, two running on bikes now which are the fastest and best running engines I have.

People who have been doing business with dax for a long time here have a lot of faith in his service and willingness to always do his best to make thjngs right with his customers, but it is also true that some people cant be pleased no matter what someone is willing to do, may be a good time to move on from this dax bashing when proof over years of many doing business contradicts what you say your experience has been.

Best wishes 1870Logger, hope you get things all sorted out.

Map

 

[rogergendron1]

This is why i buy the grubee gt5s lol i ran 2 dax motors bolth i boight unassembled . . . The so called balanced lower and the unasembled top ends

When i split the cases i found the bottom ends on bolth were FULL of junk metal shavings!
The berings were good however on bolth case halves on bolth motors and it had good bearings in bolth the clutch and crank
the crank however is exactly the same as what you will find in a geubee gt 5 except that it has a 40mm stroke instead of a 38 but on one of the cranks it looked as if a monkey pounded the big end pin in with a sledge hammer! and the qhole right side was mashed with half circle hammer marks! I am shure thats not a balanced crank any more! !!!!!!!!
The con rod on the dax crank has good oiling holes but again you will find the same on the grubee gt5 the only differance is grubee gt5s have a way stronger con rod!
The piston on the dax is pretty good no faults there but again the grubee gt5 has the same shapped dome but the piston is about 5g lighter out the box! !!!
The wrist pin is actually heavyer on bolth dax motors than the one grubee wrist pin i pulled to measure
the needle bearings were EXACTLY the same on all motors
the intake port on the dax was 1mm smaller in width than the grubee gt5 the exhaust was the same
the casting flash is a non issue as i port for targeted rpm ranges
the dax seemed as it had a bit thicker chrome plating but then i never had my grubee fail or any of my daxes so i cant say for shure whos plating is better
. . . Now here is my main gripe and why i dont buy the dax for my own builds anymore. . . Bolth dax motors came with a head that had a tiny squish band and a rough chamber i mean real rough and bolth had loose plug threads! as a matter of fact one was so loose no plig would seal and it would shurly have stripped if i tried to make it seal so it was unussable out the box and i had to find this out after 3 hrs of work reshaping the head and decking it lol . . . I have neaver had this problem with any grubee and all the grubees i bought had a wider squish band! and a smoother casting finnish on the chamber and that alone is a strong reason to buy grubee! !!
Another big no on the dax is they come with the most garbage aluminum shorty intake and the inner bore of it is actually smaller than the inner bore of the nt carb it comes with! !! Its only 13mm ID and there is not even enough material to properly port match it lol at least the grubee gt5 comes with a steel long z inyake that has a 16mm bore and enoigh weld to port match it almost perfect! it will flow even a 16mm mikuni without restriction cause iys the same id as the carbs veturi!
A nother neg for the dax is it cones with the tiney crap nt carb and grubee at least send you a larger and fully tunnable cns v3 with a high flow filter! i actually toss the dax intake and carb right in a box and buy a z intake and cns carb and bolt it to the dax and man does it make a big differance once its tunned! way more responce and pull than you could ever get with that tiney bore intake and tit little nt carb


look as far as i am concerned the so called hand drilled and balanced crank is exactly the same as the grubee gt5! IF I WERE TO PULL THE CON RODS FROM THEM AND SET THE SIDE BY SIDE YOU COULD NEVER IN YOIR LIFE TELL THE DIFFERANCE UNLESS YOU HAD A VERNIA ON YOU TO MEASURE FROM THE CRANK PIN HOLE TO THE CENTER! !!!!

also after building countless motors i have found that the 38mm stroke cranks and there thicker rods have less vibes and rev higher than the dax motors do and respond a lot better to modding

the dax motors are great though and pull harder than the grubee cause of the longer stroke but only after a full take down and clean up and port corrections and with a new carb and intake . The same as the grubee has. I would never ever run a dax or any ht out the box i always tear down and inspect and mod to my liking as it goes together.


If you want a dax you need to be aware that you need to strip off the top end and clean out the bottom end with brake cleaner and then swish mix gas around in it to get it relubbed
then port the jug to standards
then mod the piston to standards
reassemble and chexk deck hight and squish clearance
now you can deck the head but be shure to check the plug threads fist lol i had junk plug threads on bolth my motors one was unussable
now assemble and run it with a nkg iridium plug

also pull the clutch cover and chexk to see its all in order i had one of the small worm gears not even tightend on and work iyself right off the crank and crack a case cover in only 10 miles

after all of that you should take that crap intake manifold and pound it with a hammer and order a long z one made of steel and port match it to the jug even with the little nt carb it will make a big differance

then pul the cap off the exhaust and gut the whole insides out so iys just an empty chamber and them weld the cap on to keep it from falling off and then port match the exhaust to the jug

after all of this work you will have a real strong pulling and fast and reliable motor

 

[rogergendron1]

As a matter of fact after all that work you will have a 40mm stroke high comp motor ported for the target rpm range you plan to ride in and it will be port matched and flow like a dream and the long z intake offers more boton end than any shorty intake and the cns carb is fully tunnable and will handle any mods , and if wile its aparrt you port match the case transfers to the jug and spend 6 bucks on some jb weld to stuff the case with you will have a stock looking motor thats has more performace than the guy next to you running the same motor that he jist bolted 400 dollars worth of parts on and that is wel worth the time and effort

 

[Theon]

It really does sound as if there may be a few 'fibs' to Dax's advertising!

 

[apex]

Dax's web page does not claim that the clutch bearing is Japanese, it claims it is a HD bearing, that is all.

I've been commuting on my dax motor whenever feasiable, its running strong and consistent. I'm about to buy anothet kit for a buddies build, it will be a dax kit.

 

[rangefinder]

I have been documenting my Dax kit build since I received my kit.
There are things I will do differently next time.
I swapped some parts right away, but appreciate the "package" and support.

I am happy I chose Dax as my vendor.
For a first timer I recommend Dax.
Duane is knowledgeable, thoughtful, and supportive.
My level of satisfaction is very high.

 

[TwistedAlloy68]

The best vendors I have dealt with are rose326a from ebay, super fast shipping, pk-80 older model(this was 2.5 years ago) and Fred at CR machine. Ive talked to Dave over at Arrow motorized bikes and he knows all. I have dealt with Dax and the stuff advertised is just newer stuff from china or something different but its far from balanced. But If you want a balanced bottom end send It to Fred at CR machine or Arrow. It seams like a bit of money until you get it and install it. 9000 rpms is no problem, all those vibrations disapear and are turned into power.

 

[mapbike]

The best vendors I have dealt with are rose326a from ebay, super fast shipping, pk-80 older model(this was 2.5 years ago) and Fred at CR machine. Ive talked to Dave over at Arrow motorized bikes and he knows all. I have dealt with Dax and the stuff advertised is just newer stuff from china or something different but its far from balanced. But If you want a balanced bottom end send It to Fred at CR machine or Arrow. It seams like a bit of money until you get it and install it. 9000 rpms is no problem, all those vibrations disapear and are turned into power.

Im not gonna hate on the Fred engines or the Arrow engines since all I have read on them has been good reports and arrow has proven their performance at the track.

I will say that although the dax engines are not perfectly balanced just like none of the others are perfectly balanced due to being single cylinder engines, the dax engines are the best balanced out of the box china girl engines I have personally owned and I have twisted one of mine to 9400 and ran a 50.3 mph top speed with one of them on a bike with 24" wheels and a 30T sprocket.

I dont call the dax Gen IV balanced, I call them better balanced due to the fact that they have been better balanced and provide much more high performance potential than any other china girl engine I have had since 2009, my bike easily run mid 40's mph comfortably without hand numbing vibes, Im sure the Fred and Arrow engines are even better than that but when I can build a Gen IV dax engine that will comfortably run 40-50 mph for $200 vs $600-$800 for one that wont run much faster and may be smoother but not $400-$600 smoother in my opinion.

For those who dont have the big money to spend I always guide them toward Neils Gen V or dax Gen IV engines, simply because they are the best bang for the buck in my opinion and I know what they arw capable of with a little port work and the right set up.

All this being said I can also say that if someone has the funds and really wants a Fred or Arrow engine, I say go for it because you'll probably enjoy the heck out of it, just remember that its still a cheaply made. China girl that will melt down just as quick if you dont tune it right and if it isn't set up just right it aint gonna go any faster on your bike than a Gen IV or Gen V engine will with some good port work a good exhaust and a well tuned carb.

I like all of them but just cant personally justify $600+ for a china girl, when I decide to put some money into a bike it will be a 4 stroke build and even then Im not gonna go overboard, my bikes have always been an inexpensive hobby, when I wanna cruise in style I fire up the 07 Harley Davidson softtail custom and hit the road, a good comfortable running bicycle with a cruise speed in the 40's for a total cost of the bike plus a couple hundred and a little work in the engine suits me just fine.

Map