Deacon's Bike

[Norman]

Deacon
Don't do the weed eater prop thing it will eat you alive and want more.
That guy is asking for it big time. Props and people don't mix well. There is blood and body parts going to be flying if that is done long enough.

 

[deacon]

thats what my doctor says about motor bikes lol

 

[deacon]

I took mine apart already. The one I bent the drive shaft on but i left the piston attached to the bottom end. I plan to reuse the jug if I have to build more of thise little monsters/. Main problem i have now is that I dont weld lol///

 

[Norman]

you want mine with the roller and all the carb is bad other than the cooling fins knocked off the rest is ok.

 

[deacon]

Not yet norm Im gonna have tosee if this works I have two engines now

 

[deacon]

This is the strangest carb i have ever seen. It will flood at the drop of a hat. I had to stop wearing a hat around it.

If I am wrong somebody tell me please since I am trying to understand.

1. If I touch the throttle while starting the engine it will flood.
2. If I work the throttle while the engine is stopped the engine will flood.
3. I haven't tried to drag start this configuration yet. So I have no idea what continuous turning of the engine will do. It might help it start it might not.
4. I did buy and install a bike cable and brake lever as a throttle.
5. I did add a compression spring to the rear of the carb.
6. I did verify that the engine is grounded to the frame now.
7. I have test fired the engine today finally after flooding it again today.

Things still to do..
1. Hook up the kill switch
2. finish building a mount that will put even pressure on the drive wheel without ruining the tire or the engine.
3. test start the engine while it is attached to the wheel.
4. test the drag start capabilities.

 

[deacon]

I'm going to give this weed eater engine one more chance, if it won't start I'm going to mothball this project. I had it started earlier today and adjusted the idle down. Now it won't start at all. I'm about to give up on this thing.

 

[Big Joe]

Deacon
If that is the carb from the engine i sent you, there is no telling what may be wrong with it. I have minus zero confidence in the repair place that worked on the engine. As I said before they had taken the carb from my engine and used it somewhere. They were supposed to have replaced it with a rebuilt carb. I doubt that. I was told not to take the engine there for repair, but it was so much closer than the other place. Good luck.

 

[deacon]

No I switched the carb your engine had because it would die when I tried to rev it up. That seems to be a common problem when they need to be rebuilt. I cleaned it good and just stored it. This is the carb from the engine I distroyed. Your engine runs fine till I put a load on it. It won't drag start at all. I have no idea what that is about. It should drag start if it will start with the rope which it will do some of the time. When it does start it runs really well. I don't have a clue what is wrong. Tomorrow I'm going to pull out the last of my 31cc engines and give it a shot. Switch out parts just to see if I can drag start it.

It can be done I know because the one I screwed up started just fine that way. They might have been right on your engine low compression so why bother putting a good carb on it. It sounds like what a shop might think.

That is about what I think now, but I can use the part from it so don't worry. I bought it for the parts It was a bonus that I could make it run so easily. I am well satisfied if nothing else I am learning a lot about engines.

I have nothing but time on my hands anyway.

I have a really nice engine mount from it so I can just switch out engines anytime I want. I have learned a lot from all this. I have really nice drive wheel as well so I'm progressing just progressing slowly.,

Your engine might well have worked fine with the centrifical clutch and the trimmer head. I don't see any reason it wouldn't have. I'm beginning to think that maybe this isnt the best idea after all. I think it might really need a clutch of some kind to distribute load. I'm going to rethink that.

you know model planes and boats dont have the same load as a bicycle wheel. The motor should work of course the other one did but this one would be fine for some applications im sure.

maybe someone with more knowledge than me can give me an answer I sure could use it.

 

[deacon]

I have officially quit the weed eater bike program. I know I'm the guy who says never give up but I have evaluated this project and decided it just isn't worth it. I am still going to build the clown bike, but I'm going back to electric for it. Tomorrow I will fit it out with an electic motor and be on the road by afternoon. Without a helmet lol.

The gas bike will still be the bike of choice for errands since it has more range and more power, but I'm building the clown bike as a backup. When the car is gone I need something really dependable in case the gas bike dies. At least to run around until I get a new kit or whatever. So the clown bike goes electric

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

Sounds like your carb is set way too rich, lean both screws out and try it.

I'd turn them both in until they stop, then back them both out a turn and a half.

 

[deacon]

Too late the engine is gone. I tore them both down and tossed them. The piston was covered with hard carbon deposits. Just in passing. I decided to drop the project and move on to a different system.

To be honest the purpose was to build a bike for retired people. That engine system would have been too much for them to start and keep operational. I'm going back to electric I think. I still want to build an inexpensive motor assisted bike for seniors. I'm rethinking electric motors.

 

[deacon]

I did the conversion to a 300 watt electric motor with friction drive last night. I got bored so I did it in a little over an hour anyway. For a while I'm going to use the trailer in my avatar to haul the two lawn tractor batteries around. It also makes the bike more stable without adding any weight. Unlike the three wheelers it doesn't have the tendency to tip over. I should have gone this route to begin with I think. Next I will build the right kind of trailer for it. One i can leave attached to the bike. It will have to be stored outside as it would for most seniors. I think a simple plastic cover should do it. The battery box comes inside for charging and safe keeping.

Anyway that is plan "G" plans A through F have failed already. Welcome to my world.

I warned you all that I was going to give a detailed description of this build. Of course you had, and I for that matter, had no idea how long it would be. If it gets to be too much information let me know.

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

You know you can go to any local furniture store and they will have covers that the couches and loveseat come in....most are covered with a big, heavy plastic bag, a lot of them being lined with a thin layer of closed cell foam.

They make GREAT bicycle/motorcycle motorized bicycle covers and are scratch free and water proof. If one were to fold under and tape the bottom edge with a piece of chain enclosed in the fold, they make REALLY GREAT outdoor covers.

 

[deacon]

You know you can go to any local furniture store and they will have covers that the couches and loveseat come in....most are covered with a big, heavy plastic bag, a lot of them being lined with a thin layer of closed cell foam.

They make GREAT bicycle/motorcycle motorized bicycle covers and are scratch free and water proof. If one were to fold under and tape the bottom edge with a piece of chain enclosed in the fold, they make REALLY GREAT outdoor covers.

Now that is a heck of an idea. It would be a good thing for the tip section to. Lots of us have more bikes than we have room and the chain think is an excellent idea for all this rusty bike chain i have laying about. Thanks joe.

 

[motorbiker]

Hey Deacon,

I am watching with much interest. My balance is not getting any better.

My electric kit is on the way so I am going electric.

When I road Moondog #3 around for a week everyone looked ! I bet a custom Corvette would not got as many thumbs up and waves as I did on that bike ! On a cool scale of 1 to 10 those bikes with the little 2 stroke motors are an 11 ! ! !

I bet that doesn't happen on the electric bike !

We'll see !

motorbiker

 

[deacon]

It doesn't I have ridden both.

I rode the electric today and I think it is amazing how slow it is now that I have ridden a gasoline bike. Still it does the trick gets me where I need to be but nothing more. I also rode the gasoline bike down to buy more gasoline.

The problem with the bike now is the batteries. I am pulling around a trailer with two lawn tractor batteries. That extra weight is really dragging the bike. Also the clown bike isn't doing well as an electric because the crank is too long. with the twenty inch wheel it hits the ground on turns. More problems. I have a shorter crank but it won't fit because the frame is from a 3speed and they crank is different. I think I'm going to junk the 3speed frame and find a nice old coaster frame to rebuild the bike. I have a 26" coaster frame but I want to keep it for my next build. It is an old huffy but massive. I need a really lightweight frame for the electric build I think.

I'm actually thinking a twenty inch kids bike and marry it to a 24" step through frame then go electric with the friction drive. Or just to electro a 24" step through coaster. Step through is easier to mount if you don't go with the 20" wheel. So for me at least it is a 20" for the gasoline because It needs the cross bar for the gas tank. And maybe the 24" step through for the electro. Now if I can find some inexpensive lightweight batteries I'm good to go.

So on to the next bike I think.

Oh one funny thing that happened today... I got pass by a guy just a few years younger than me on a straight pedal bike lol... He was flying.

 

[deacon]

I have decided to dump the frame from the 3speed. It was a terrible idea from the start. But in my state of mind you have to try everything to learn.

I am beginning the search for the new bike. Here is the build plan in case anyone is interested. It might change as I go along

frame 24" or 26" inch step through.
front wheel stock 24" or 26" inch.
chain ring from the 27" three speed.
crank set from a twenty inch bike.
20" rear wheel.
300 watt brushed electric motor with friction drive.
batteries will be sla on a rack above the twenty inch wheel.
simple on off switch

The battery rack did not work on the 3speed because it was too high making the bike extremely top heavy. the custom rack I plan to build from pvc 3/4" pipe will be much lower over the 20" wheel and should give the bike good balance, as it will be below the heavies element of the bike ME

the down side to fiction drive is the bike has to run primarily on the batter power because of the drag from the engine. The human power comes into play on the hills. For that the larger chain ring and short throw pedals should work pretty well. The assist motor really ends the need for low gear ratios. The idea will be to give the most assist possible for as short a time as possible. Please point out any error in thinking here as it will save me having to rebuild if I am wrong.

 

[deacon]

I went by the auto parts store while i was out this morning. I ordered a motor mount insert to use as a drive wheel. since they didn't have any in stock I have no idea what it will look like or if it will work at all.

 

[deacon]

The motor mount was the wrong thing so I'm back to looking for a good thing to use as a drive wheel. I'm going to do a little spirmentin' to see what I can come up with.