BGF Hongdu/Solex
- Thread starter cannonball2
- Start date
These are also "Duro" brand tires.
Well I went and picked up the headlight and the plastic housing that goes around it, and almost wished I had not LOL, I think I might just hold off on the headlight, seems quite cheap and getto.
I have a LED Lenser flashlight that I am sure will put out much more light.
Still waiting to get paid so I can buy a 1/2 way decent bike to install this on, thought about a single speed cruiser but having no gears would suck.
Cant wait to try this thing out .
I have a LED Lenser flashlight that I am sure will put out much more light.
Still waiting to get paid so I can buy a 1/2 way decent bike to install this on, thought about a single speed cruiser but having no gears would suck.
Cant wait to try this thing out .
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wayne z
Active Member
What he said. A single speed with coaster brake is completly adequate for the speeds these engines like to run. If you had gears, you would have to disengage the motor to go fast LOL
Yeah I hear you guys when you say a single speed is good enough , and I am sure it would be but I am kinda different from most guys here , I am all about pedaling sometimes for exercise, and that was one thing that I really liked about the solex , was the fact it could be lifted to allow drag free pedaling.
ON my way to work and back , can sometimes involve being on bike paths for quite some time, where motors of any sort are prohibited...... the drag on my normal China girl , was killer when trying to keep up to friends with road bikes .
Was at thebikeshop today looking at some of the Electra cruisers , just don't like the idea of mounting a normal HT on it due to the way they are built.
ON my way to work and back , can sometimes involve being on bike paths for quite some time, where motors of any sort are prohibited...... the drag on my normal China girl , was killer when trying to keep up to friends with road bikes .
Was at thebikeshop today looking at some of the Electra cruisers , just don't like the idea of mounting a normal HT on it due to the way they are built.
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cannonball2
Well-Known Member
I run the 2.125s with no problem, but my engine is mounted to the later style wide fork. I think it spread the mount a bit.
Well found a cheap used bike , a old Schwinn 5 speed cruiser not pretty but for 80 buck , down from 110 who can complain tho.
Was hoping that being a 5 speed , i could use the hub on my china girl with the MM adapter that I bought over a yr ago, but nope wrong size again.
While I was at this crazy guys house that , seems to rebuild old bikes he showed me a old 1943 Norwegen army bike pretty cool stuff.
So I should be able to attempt to start the solex shortly .
Was hoping that being a 5 speed , i could use the hub on my china girl with the MM adapter that I bought over a yr ago, but nope wrong size again.
While I was at this crazy guys house that , seems to rebuild old bikes he showed me a old 1943 Norwegen army bike pretty cool stuff.
So I should be able to attempt to start the solex shortly .
Colony Five
New Member
I've been absent from the forums for a long time, but I haven't forgotten...just wrapped up with other things. I wanted to check in and give an update now that it's been about a year of moderate use. I have nothing but good things to say about mine...I haven't had any trouble with it at all. And I was impressed that after leaving it sit uncovered out under my carport all winter and having spent time covered with snow and dirt, it fired right up and ran as well as ever.
I also did end up installing the no-mor flats solid tubes on both knobby tires and they work great. I noticed no loss of performance with them. And as the center lugs of the front tire have worn from the roller contact, performance of the knobby tread tire has improved. It should be noted that with the solid inserts, tire wear isn't an issue. The inserts take all the load. Now having experience with both solid tires and solid tubes, I say the inserts win hands down. They provide a very similar feel to pneumatic tubes while solid tires did not. And of course the best part, no flats...a big issue in my area where the dreaded goathead thorns are rampant.
I also did end up installing the no-mor flats solid tubes on both knobby tires and they work great. I noticed no loss of performance with them. And as the center lugs of the front tire have worn from the roller contact, performance of the knobby tread tire has improved. It should be noted that with the solid inserts, tire wear isn't an issue. The inserts take all the load. Now having experience with both solid tires and solid tubes, I say the inserts win hands down. They provide a very similar feel to pneumatic tubes while solid tires did not. And of course the best part, no flats...a big issue in my area where the dreaded goathead thorns are rampant.
cannonball2
Well-Known Member
Good to hear from you CF, kinda wondered what happened to you. Glad to hear its running good for you. Seems one of the cool things about the strange little carb is all the fuel quickly evaporates out of its well leaving a clean carb instead of the usual gummy situation after extended sitting. As long as the fuel in the tank is good they always fire right up.
FrancoDorango
New Member
Hello everyone, new to the forum here so first I'd like to give a big thanks to everyone who posted about the Solex kit, it's mainly because of you guys (SPECIALLY CANNONBALL2) that I finally ordered on of these bad boys. unfortunately i've run into many problems listed on this forum, such as missing parts, dented tank/air filter cap, and the worst was the bolt from the clutch came off, however during the fix i think i've figured something out.
For the first few runs, engine was going great, hit 28.5 KM/h, and then the bolt came off. Once i re-installed it, my engine lost about 20-30% power! I'm going to take it apart to remove some of the pressure on that said bolt, hopefully restoring that extra power.
My conclusion, these bolts are not mounted very well, as mine came off. However the opposite is also quite possible, that in some cases they might be too tight, resulting in a loss of power, something many people on this forum are mentionning. So i will loosen the bolt and slap on some locktight, and hopefully that will restore the lost power.
Will post back with the results
For the first few runs, engine was going great, hit 28.5 KM/h, and then the bolt came off. Once i re-installed it, my engine lost about 20-30% power! I'm going to take it apart to remove some of the pressure on that said bolt, hopefully restoring that extra power.
My conclusion, these bolts are not mounted very well, as mine came off. However the opposite is also quite possible, that in some cases they might be too tight, resulting in a loss of power, something many people on this forum are mentionning. So i will loosen the bolt and slap on some locktight, and hopefully that will restore the lost power.
Will post back with the results
u2seek42
New Member
Hi Franco, sorry to hear of the problems. I had even asked the guys in Canada if they were getting better kits, can't be any fun for them to have each customer contacting them with "what is this krap"!?
He wrote back that they were getting the A class kits should be all good.
Funny how you might have 3 factories and tell each one to make something slightly more krappy.
Shame no here will make them.
He wrote back that they were getting the A class kits should be all good.
Funny how you might have 3 factories and tell each one to make something slightly more krappy.
Shame no here will make them.
FrancoDorango
New Member
Hi harvey,
Getting to the clutch bolt is farily straight forward, you simply have to remove the flywheel ( 2 nuts ), and then the cap containing electronic components ( 3 bolts + 1 screw). You don't necessarilly need a puller for this, i was able to get it off with a hammer a screwdriver, very carefully might I add.
Here are the pics:
Good luck!
Getting to the clutch bolt is farily straight forward, you simply have to remove the flywheel ( 2 nuts ), and then the cap containing electronic components ( 3 bolts + 1 screw). You don't necessarilly need a puller for this, i was able to get it off with a hammer a screwdriver, very carefully might I add.
Here are the pics:
Good luck!
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cannonball2
Well-Known Member
Hey Franco welcome to the forum! Your engine from what I am seeing looks to be of better manufacture than some I have seen. The castings look nicer. Ive had no clutch issues after many miles, though other members have. If backing off the clutch doesnt restore the power check the cast in flywheel key to be sure it didnt get displaced changing the timing. They are pretty fragile.