Addicted and Havn't Even Started

[aaronbentzel]

Hi my name is Aaron and I am from the great state of Pennsylvania. Originally, my interest was sparked about these bikes when my mother denied me idea of purchasing a motorcycle, as I was looking for a cheap, fun mode of transportation. Though I was struck down, in my many searches accross the internet, I came by these little beauties. Better yet, I could build and ride them without a license! I am mechanically inclined, as my grandfather owned his own machine shop, and I have been around machinery like that all my life, so these bikes piqued my interest. Being only 18, my mechanical experiances have been rather limited, so I thought this would be a good way to get to know the basics of engines (other than lawn mowers and smaller engines). Recently, in my engineering class in highschool, we were assigned a our final project, "Build Something that Does Something". I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity (or excuse XD) to finally buy one of these kits, and it should be here by tomorrow! All I have to say is that I am SUPER excited to get started, and the past couple nights my life has consisted mostly of scanning this forum and trying to learn everything I can.

So, in saying all that, what should be some of the first things I do to my bike/engine? I want to know some quick, simple tips that I can utilize to get my bike up and running well. I have two weeks before I present it, but trust me, I will not be done there. Until then, however, what are some things I should look out for? I know these engines can and will be very tempramental, so you guys will be my lifeline the next couple of days, just a heads up I really do appreciate advice from you guys!

 

[robbomberbomyea]

welcome to the world of mabs, being a newbie myself the biggest challange i had faced was getting the chain and sprocket mounted correct all i can say is to take your time with it. mounting the motor was second getting it on the frame and clearing the cranks. the rest was pretty easy. every one says change spark plug wire and plug but ive had good luck using the stock ones. and good luck .

 

[2door]

Aaron, welcome to the forum.
You've certainly found the best place to look for help with your project. At your age I assume you are computer literate so spend some time here using the Google Custom Search feature and read all you can about mounting, chains, sprockets, etc. Just type in a keyword that you're interested in learning about and you'll have plenty of advice from our members to consider.
If you need help with a specific question feel free to ask.
Best of luck and a motorized bicycle will certainly fall into the "does somthing" catagory, so your class project should fill the requirements.
Keep us posted on your progress.
Tom

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

Welcome to the forum!

Read this- http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=354

 

[thegnu]

Welcome Aaron, couple of things you need to know about pa laws , you need a licence to ride it on the roads an you have to get it registered here , do not let that stop you with this endeavor ,I have become the resident expert on mb's in pa , I have one already legal here an a second in the works .
Gary

 

[Al.Fisherman]

First off I want to welcome you to the best MB forum I could find. Not only do we have a wide range of knowledgeable members, but the most active, but should you have questions, the response time is really fast.

We have numerous “stickies” that cover just about any aspect on MB’s, along with a “SEARCH” function. Although at times it isn’t the easiest to use. This is due to that the title of the post that isn’t specific enough. Posting titles like “Help” doesn’t help others doing a search, and I and others tend to pass them up at times, only going back a later time, which makes an answer longer to get.

Should you have a question, and to make it easier on members, Please state specifics about your subject, such as a engine problem, tell us what engine you have, along with any other important information that we night need to help you, like what carburetor you have if known. A picture is always helpful. Like the saying a picture is like a 1000 words, also we may see something that might needs to be addressed. Believe me; it happens more often then not. We know that there are those that are not knowledgeable, or are mechanically challenged, so there is not a stupid question, although I think that sometimes, so bear with me. Hey what do you expect with 50 years of wrenches in my hands, but we all had to start somewhere.

For those that are not knowledgeable on the terms of parts on a China 2 cycle (some are specific to these HT engines), here is a link that lists about every HT part. It is real hard for me to understand what a “thingy”, “whatcha ya call it” “thing of a jig” is.
http://www.bicycle-engines.com/2stroke-parts-c-4.html?osCsid=ges5a73qhdeuvshi19srjuq544

I have a link in my signature that everyone starting out with a Chinese 2 cycle ought to read. This deals with pre installing a HT engine in the frame.

Once again, welcome to the world of MB’s, and have a safe, enjoyable riding experience.
Ron

 

[aaronbentzel]

Hey guys! I just wanted to let all of you know that I have successfully installed my first engine XD. I am so excited about it. Gary, thanks for the heads up, and I will be sure to read up on the laws so I can get it street legal. The problems I have been having so far are with the chain tensioner. The engine works fine, in fact it started right up the first time, but after about 2 minutes the chain popped off so I am currently adjusting it. Fuel tank was leaking so I just locktited the crap out of it and it seems to be working. I originally tried to put it on my road bike, but at the last minute I realised that it would not fit properly so I had to take everything off. Of course this was after I bent the muffler to fit the bike. I got a new schwin bike though that is working very well. My engine is the grubee skyhawk GT5, the 2011 version. I changed out the spark plugs, but surprisingly I could not find spark plug caps anywhere! I tried two auto zones, tractor supply, true value, and ACE and none had it! Guess im off to SBP! haha. I have a picture below. Hope you like it, because i know i do!