That’s the purpose of this forum, to share what we’ve learned and learn as we go.
Learning about all the new stuff that's came out the last few years got me back into it... These companies pay attention to what's going on with the forums and social media...
My clutch pad material I came up with from working on clutches and oil bath band brakes for fishing gear... RDM wanted to know about it but was sneaky about it... It's not a big secret the material has been around for 100 years... Arrow motorized bicycle uses it... Then I found there supplier for the heavy duty spring... And got them before they shipped me the same ones from them...
40 years ago my uncle came to me to get his brakes fixed and because he was in real estate he put 50,000 miles on a car that was less than a year old... The dealership didn't have brake pads for it... So I made a set from something that was close... I grew up when you had to have a ton of tools and the right last name and the BS everyone wants to hear... I have none of that... I didn't make any money at it... I just wanted to prove the experts wrong... Motorized bicycle is the perfect place for this...
99% of this stuff is put out there by people who have no clue about engines there just doing what sells... 99% of the 1% that actually know something about motorized bicycle only know motorized bicycle... So when I look at it I'm not interested in Jo bubba's sales and Facebook followers... I look at the mechanics of it... Everything I think of has been thought of but someone said no that's going to cost too much or were going to spread the upgrades out a little at a time so they can move the remaining inventory... If someone has a million dollars in something I make obsolete there not going to want that... There also not going to like someone picking apart something that supposed to be the latest greatest thing... Building from the replacement parts from everyone and finding the source close to the factory cuts out a lot of pop up companies... These companies depend on people who don't know what is what to move the obsolete stuff because they don't know... But they also know that at any minute a competitor is going to come out with something... My job is to filter that out... I share my experience doing that... I'll buy out the inventory on certain things... This is where it gets interesting... These companies have preferred customers there the builders who do a volume and when something new comes out it's because of feed back from those guys and there customer... There told about the new shiny thing... Exclusive just for them... Then I find it listed and there short on the order for the VIP because I got it... Then boy wonder has a few samples but his customer has to wait for more inventory... Surfing the suppliers for what's new is time consuming... I have to take a break from it... I miss a few things... But I'm also about done with everything I need... I've got a criteria I'm working with... And it's basically trying to stick with cheap knock off stuff that's readily available... Everything will need some modification or cleanup to work... Nothing is made for it's intended purpose it's a mix of various models and application... That's were it's fun... That's were nobody is developing... Because there's no money in selling another companies parts that work better for cheaper than yours... Everything motorized happy time has been done decades ago or a century ago... Just not on these particular engines... And I read the threads about it... Most of the time there's something of value there... It may not have worked out but may have if it got worked out... The original poster quit at some point and will never know but it's something I can use I grab it... Usually it boils down to someone just can't get there idea across... They don't know the terminology... They don't know what they did but it made it better... Or it made a change... There was a time when everyone was raising the exhaust port 1mm... At the time most of the cylinders available that helped... The factory adopted this and the cylinders have higher exhaust ports... So unless you have gT5 or cylinder from 2014 it's no longer applicable... And that's the thing to know... Don't mix up generation one tech with generation 6 tech... It happens so fast that the ' I've been doing it for so long I know everything doesn't work for these... You need to know what your working on... Yesterday's and tomorrow's engines are going to be different... And why I have a few of each...
The fundamentals are the same but the application is going to be different... For a while it's been about top speed.. I'm going for bottom end so it's night and day difference in tuning... Basically a pk80 low hole jug on a long rod hi hole crank.. gets the low end port timing were it needs to be... That's why you see these engines with 2 base gaskets as an attempt to raise the exhaust port... And why some don't run a base gasket... It's easier than milling the cylinder... Whoever design these designs a part... So it's like several people doing a part with no collaboration with each other or concept of how they work together... Then they wait for customer response to fix anything... There is a bonus... I got 2 zeda triple 40's from bicycle engine.com I ordered the kit supposed to be the new cylinders... But I got the original 40.. and a few months later I ordered replacement cylinders and got 1 old and 1 new style.. and the new one was beat up in shipping
I called and got another new one to replace the old one and the damaged one... Now I've got 3 old and 3 new... To me the old style is valuable and having both is great to compare... On the phone all they wanted to do was play me for a dummy... And it worked out... The original zeda closed transfer cylinders for free that are better than the new open one for bottom end... But getting stuff I want for nothing because I'm a new customer and they have to schluff off the old style to someone... It's how it goes... Buy something you don't want to get something you do because there just notorious for those games... And it's no mystery why I got banned on the other forum... Your supposed to promote them vendors to get free stuff on the forum...
They're the best customer service... If you play them