4 stroke flywheel cover removal

karma1968

karma1968

New Member
is there anyone out there running there 4 stroke without the side cover? and if so does the motor overheat?


thanks.shft.
 

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This is the only first hand report on this subject that I have read on either of the two motorized bike forums. It comes from a builder down in San Diego who runs the Honda GXH50 without shrouding:

"I took the sheet metal off straight away. That was before reading all the warnings in the other thread. I did get a good thumping from the flywheel on my right index finger trying to turn the pull start handle while riding. OUCH! I stopped at 7-11 for a band-aid. The lady at the register asked me if I would trade the bike for her truck. LOL.. Other than that - nothing that is noticable. When it gets over 100 here I'm usually headed to the coast looking for a breeze. I don't ever sit in traffic as this bike is only for fun. So the sheet metal may help in those instances, but I avoid high heat & traffic. It does seem stronger on a cool evening ride....."

The photo attached is of the bike/set-up by zombybuilder

ocscully
 

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what was the warnings about just the piece of sheet metal? is it just a heat shield? i removed it right away also.
 
I think the intended purpose of these little engines is on a water pump or something similar that doesn't move much. That is why they have a fan and a shroud(also for your fingers!). These engines will run without the fan shroud with no problems if you keep it moving. You don't want to idle very long like this.
 
WOW! that looks awesome like that! i think i will remove mine too, its -10 anyways so it should be ok. it would benefit to have a heat gage though
 
now i was wondering, if it does overheat(get stuck in traffic or something) what will happen? i know on cars the coolant boils and the engine stalls. then when it cools down you can restart it again and it will be fine. but if one of these little 50cc engines overheated what would happen? would it kill the engine?
 
most of the damage would be the piston skirt. i had a dirt bike overheat i blew a hole in the top of the piston after it seized.
 
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karma1968 said:
most of the damage would be the piston skirt. i had a dirt bike overheat i blew a hole in the top of the piston after it seized.
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ahh. so lets not have that happen. let me know how it works for you, it looks awesome like that and thats the way i want mine to, but i dont want to destroy it.
 
No one with a laser temp meter has done any testing in the last 2 years???
I'll try to get on this asap when my bike is done. I have access to a really really nice laser thermo for my dads pizza oven and will report back on readings with the cowl and all heat shielding off vs. stock when my bike is all put together.
 
I wouldn't say no one.....I had mine off a year ago for a month or so and was running a Viper temp monitor/gauge all the while. The only time it would get a little hotter was sitting at a stop light for several minutes. On a really hot day I don't think it got over 220deg. while idling for lengthy periods, nothing that would hurt the little powerhouse lol. Here's some pics:











SlickmisterN said:
No one with a laser temp meter has done any testing in the last 2 years???
I'll try to get on this asap when my bike is done. I have access to a really really nice laser thermo for my dads pizza oven and will report back on readings with the cowl and all heat shielding off vs. stock when my bike is all put together.
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SlickmisterN said:
Very nice Scotto, but why only for a month was it off? Just curious...
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Thanks.....I'm a slow painter? I did have it off for a re-paint and was testing it as well for any heat issues. You can run just fine without all the cowling unless you live between Texas and Arizona in the summer lol.

dnut
 
There has been a bunch of folks who run 4 smokes with out the covers. I am in the process of trying a new build with out one so can not say first hand but a great many folks have with good results.

http://motorbicycling.com/f15/lawnmower-cowling-4-stroke-motors-18690-3.html#post309239

In this thread I measured the temp with and with out the cooling shroud, (only, not the starter or flywheel cover) and it ran cooler ridding with out. But sat idling a wee bit hotter.
 
Wow that engine looks like it fits perfectly in the Panther frame. Very nice platform to work with, which engine and trany is that exactly?
 
karma1968 said:
is there anyone out there running there 4 stroke without the side cover? and if so does the motor overheat?


thanks.shft.
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do not leave off the cover it uses the cover to move the fan air around your motor you will over heat also leave on the little metal piece on the other side the one that covers your fins it directs air over them from the fan also leg hair and legs love fast moving metal parts so theres that
 
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