5 bikes in 9 months

[allen standley]

I started building in April this year and havn't stopped since. Lotsa head and heartache. Also I must say I'm 51 yrs old and havn't had so much fun on a bike since I was 8 or 9 yrs old. Initially thought about building and selling...
Cant make money on'em due to the time it takes to make em reliable. I - like everyone hope for an engine that would run great out of the box. Not so.
Here's my newbie observations thus far:
Out of 5 kits only the one from BB ran and ran well on the first run.
One vendor In particular (out of three I've patronized)is a BAD place to buy.
Noticeably bad cylinder cast, tiny headbolts and what appears to be a fudged with I.D. plate cover. It looks like a 48 not the 66 I ordered. This guy does not respond to the customer after the sale Period. He's in So.Cal. I'm on the other side of the world as far as he is concerned. So the non communication (No Ph or email resp) from him tells me he had some used or returned parts to build a kit and was waiting for a sucker like me to come along. That's ok Fool me once! $200 lesson for me.
I'm 179 ft above sea level here in Bangor Maine. I'm not sure why but I can't get a CNS carb to dial in well at all. Very poor low end perf. No power anywhere in the throttle, Doggy as ****. The NT carb works excellent with a little bit of 4 stroking. NT is best in this neck of the woods..

I like it that there are lots of inteligent people that think like I do about these simple little motors. Looking for ways to make them stronger and more reliable. ---And this forum is a godsend.

 

[wheelbender6]

Welcome to the forum. The reliability issue is why I never attempted to start a business selling motorized bikes. The China girls are still best suited for the tinkerer. There are more reliable motors and drive trains available at a higher price.

 

[allen standley]

Yes ! will buy a Morini in the spring for my bike. My objective from the start was to save fuel expenses. 1st build was with a Grubee 80. 2nd and 3rd also (both these bikes sold before completion.) I did not feel comfortable at all letting these bikes go to someone not a tinkerer. In a round-about-way I refused a couple potential sales for that reason. 4th bike engine kit is a total bomb. completed since Nov I have maybe 20 miles on still using break in mix. Head gaskets blowing out (2) continuing cns carb problems (no leaks ever). This kit came with a bad CDI. I replaced it from a different vendor after waiting 2 weeks for a response from PB yes I tested it according to specs. This bike just does not want to run. I'm waiting now for an NT for this bike. I can't wait for this one to go away. Just completed a bike for my Nephew. Engine Kit bought @ BB runs Great am very pleased with this kit...
Now My bike!!!
Back and forth to work 12 mi daily. Many just for fun rides. Frm April to Oct 3216 mi and 22 gals of gas much better than my v6 p/u...currently down for a rebuild after the wrist pin blew up and scattered itself throughout the engine. I found a better one of those thanks to this forum.
My bike will get the morini this spring. I'll post pics once I change the size.

 

[porch lizard]

Allen... I had trouble tuning my CNS carb until I pulled off the vent tube on the back of the air cleaner. I think that tube is put on in such a way that it sucks gas out of the fuel bowl, and messes with the air/fuel ratio. I tried different needle settings and 8 different jet sizes, and nothing worked good until taking off that vent tube. Now I'm back to the factory carb jet, and running great. Check out the CNS carb tuning posts on this site.

 

[nastygramus]

Allen I feel your pain my friend we also had a 2 out of 7 motors run good out of the box! 5 pain in the @ss motors and never got any help from the seller don't give up I know we haven't the bikes are just way to much fun

 

[allen standley]

Thanks for the encouragement! I'll continue on and be here often. Here's some pics.

 

[nastygramus]

pics ?
sure post them LOL

 

[allen standley]

Sorry bout that. Had to resize the pics. They're in an album now.

 

[olsmokeybeard]

hey fellow mainer! i've also had no luck with the CNS and went with a delorto clone from dax, which ran great first try. the CNS, even at sea level here in portland never worked. with the tube disconnected and a few different jets and pin settings, never gave much power above half throttle. ah well.

crazy that you're on bike 5 in less than a year!
i'll be finishing bike 2 in 1 year time. although,
i'd still have the first one if i hadn't been hit by a car. -ouch-

 

[fasteddy]

Welcome to the forum. Former New Hampshire resident myself.
Could you tell us the vendor you had trouble with? We like to keep tabs on them so no one else gets caught.

Steve.

 

[allen standley]

Fast Eddie --it was Dirty Rotten Piston Bikes who stole 200 dollars from me. I'll never forget and I'll never buy from him again. And at every opportunity I'll scream to the world to stay away from him.

Wouldn't be so bad if I received a call back or an e-mail, no no nothing after 2 weeks of waiting, just like a common dirty thief.

Any way lesson learned. I'll get this crap to run after I can subdue my frustration over it. It's been sitting on my second shop table for a couple months now. I'll get to it.

olesmokeybeard I hope your collision wasn't long to heal. I have that fear too especially if the bike I'm on doesn't have a rear view mirror. We must be extremely vigilant there are many distracted and/or dumbass drivers on the streets today. (no of course not me)

 

[allen standley]

Thanks Fast Eddy, I'm not wasting anymore time fudging with a CNS.

 

[silverbear]

Welcome to the forum, Allen. I had a couple China girl duds that were a waste of money. I've had better luck with clone 4 strokes, but am doing a build now with a quality antique 2 stroke which I have yet to run. I'm sure your Morini will be a new chapter in your motorbike experience. On the other hand I've have a couple really good China girls that ran well from day one and some here have put thousands of miles on ones which just keep going and going. But it would be nice not to have a purchase be a crap shoot. Good to have a vendor stand behind what they sell. There are good vendors.
SB