BGF Hongdu/Solex

camlifter said:
whats stoping it from disengaging, does it still have springs or are they locked out. can't really see much in the pic.
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This in in the new engine, havent pulled the runner down yet to see whats up. Checked the shop manual on line and the clutch is installed in the proper direction. Supposed to have an X that is facing out, the Hongdu doesnt, but it is facing correctly.
 
Cannoball2 I like your choice of bike on the first runner, nice looking ride.Thanks for posting this info.
Besides the compression lever and fuel ratio sticker is there any other way for me to know which kit is coming next week?
Camlifter I know you have nothing to compare to but have you found out what kit you have?
Looking forward to MopedJay,Dave on a Spartamet and I riding a slow comfortable trek around Ma. and N.H.
 
the only markings on mine are an S and the numbers 4600, are all these kits supposed to be the same, or are they a jumbled batch of left overs. either way i like it and will probably buy more.
 
RusticoRay said:
Cannoball2 I like your choice of bike on the first runner, nice looking ride.Thanks for posting this info.
Besides the compression lever and fuel ratio sticker is there any other way for me to know which kit is coming next week?
Camlifter I know you have nothing to compare to but have you found out what kit you have?
Looking forward to MopedJay,Dave on a Spartamet and I riding a slow comfortable trek around Ma. and N.H.
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Thanks! My therory is these are domestic units(kits) as opposed to the better quality units being built for the Black-n-Roll. Still if the guts are basically the same I guess thats all that matters. The units shipped to the French company appears to have a version of the plastic tank used on the original, Looks really nice. The rest looks about like what we have but maybe with nicer castings. I have torn down the 2nd unit to see more about it. A very minor piece if flashing on the rod was hitting the outer crank case. I dont think it was a real issue. The engine had been test run as there was residue in the case. Anyway a few file strokes solved the problem. I would suggest looking the unit over carefully first. Havent seen anything really bad with these, but kinda like the China girls it makes sense to look at what you got first. I like the fact that the engine can just about be rebuilt on the bike. I think only removing the crank might justify removal from the bike. The first one has covered an estimated 150mi(no speedo) and is running great.
 
mopedjay said:
the black n roll engines are made in france not china
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I thought that I had read that the tooling was sold to the Chinese for the engines. It does state on the BNR website that the current model is assembled from parts from the EU and Asia, just doesnt asy which parts. Glad to see the French are still making the engines. Furament, yes the light does work, thought I had mentioned that earlier. I bypassed the hokey little switch and just wired it direct. Puts out enough light to see ok @ 15-20mph.
 
OK, this gets really interesting. Seems like the Velo has changed hands a bunch. The Hungarians have(do?) make the Velo, but from what I have read the Black-n-Roll is Chinese in origin,assembled in France with code specific EU, stuff and the headlight of all things comes from Italy. Goggle briansolex, a great site. He has a timeline history that is very well done as well as a great deal in info and tips on the critter. I profess to be no expert on the subject, just read a lot, and hope what I read is close to correct.
 
BGF has a bunch more of these although the price has gone up $10. mine is supposed to get here monday. i am hoping i can get it to work with my front suspension fork. if not, i will probably get a 24" step through to run it on. does anyone know what kind of brakes the velosolexes have? i'm thinking since i always ride multi speed bikes (i do a lot of pedaling and want to keep that option) i may have to disconnect the front pull brakes to clear the motor on whatever i use it on and i hope the rears alone will suffice. i could probably mount an extra caliper on the rear for redundancy.
 
Colony Five said:
BGF has a bunch more of these although the price has gone up $10. mine is supposed to get here monday. i am hoping i can get it to work with my front suspension fork. if not, i will probably get a 24" step through to run it on. does anyone know what kind of brakes the velosolexes have? i'm thinking since i always ride multi speed bikes (i do a lot of pedaling and want to keep that option) i may have to disconnect the front pull brakes to clear the motor on whatever i use it on and i hope the rears alone will suffice. i could probably mount an extra caliper on the rear for redundancy.
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You should be able to mount it if there is enough room on the suspension leg(I am assuming telescopic), it will all travel together. The brakes will have to go, possibly the mounting bosses also. The rear brake should be all you need at the speeds we are talking. The coaster brake on mike bike is more than sufficient. The clutch question remains. I am reluctant to tear into the runner as I ride it constantly on trips. The second unit is waiting to go on a Velo restoration so it wont be mounted for a while. Its clutch appers totally functional, I pried in the various directions of operations and everything functions. Id say there is a good chance the clutches work and my first one has an issue. I live in the country and my trips are long. If I was in traffic, I would probably be more inclined to tear into the runner. Its not hard to use as is though, you can just reach over the handle bar and latch the engine to the hook if you want it to idle.
 
cannonball2 said:
You should be able to mount it if there is enough room on the suspension leg(I am assuming telescopic), it will all travel together. The brakes will have to go, possibly the mounting bosses also. The rear brake should be all you need at the speeds we are talking. The coaster brake on mike bike is more than sufficient. The clutch question remains. I am reluctant to tear into the runner as I ride it constantly on trips. The second unit is waiting to go on a Velo restoration so it wont be mounted for a while. Its clutch appers totally functional, I pried in the various directions of operations and everything functions. Id say there is a good chance the clutches work and my first one has an issue. I live in the country and my trips are long. If I was in traffic, I would probably be more inclined to tear into the runner. Its not hard to use as is though, you can just reach over the handle bar and latch the engine to the hook if you want it to idle.
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correct, it is telescopic. i won't be able to tell if there is enough room on the leg or not until the unit arrives. the mounting bosses do look like they will interfere, but i can just turn the fork around since it is straight to get them out of the way without having to cut them off permanently.

so then is one of the hand levers in the kit possibly a clutch lever and not a compression release? not being familiar with solex motors i might have some difficulty figuring out which it is. but i live in the country too and will mainly be using the motor to do the long stretches from place to place. the small amount of stop-and-go traffic i will be riding in would be just as easy to pedal through, so i think i can just set mine up like your first one and be satisfied with it.
 
With out running to the shop to measure, If you have about 6" of straight fork leg it should probably work out fine. The controls are throttle and compression release. Clutch is auto. There is a good possibility you will have a working auto clutch which will let you idle at stops. The compression release is used to start and stop the engine. The clutch is set up to turn the engine for starting and release at idle once running. You hook the engine to pedal with it not running.
 
Ok, just got back from a nice ride on a beautiful spring day, and discovered in fact the clutch does work. It took a while to figure it out. My engine will idle so low that the clutch goes back into the lock up mode for engine starting. A brief explanation of the clutch operation. Below 1500rpm the clutch locks for starting, around 1500 give or take it disengages to idle, as throttle is added it begins to engage again and pulls away. You have to find where on the throttle where you engine idles. This is made difficult by the fact there is no idle screw. It has to be set with the throttle cable. So, set the throttle adjustment on the handle all the way in, and pre-load the throttle a little to geat a fast idle, then adjust the barrell on the handle to find the sweet spot. Its is trial and error. I will see about a way to add a throttle stop screw. I imagine the Velo had a better adjustment range on the handle than our cheap plastic controls with the kit.
 
cannonball2 said:
Ok, just got back from a nice ride on a beautiful spring day, and discovered in fact the clutch does work. It took a while to figure it out. My engine will idle so low that the clutch goes back into the lock up mode for engine starting. A brief explanation of the clutch operation. Below 1500rpm the clutch locks for starting, around 1500 give or take it disengages to idle, as throttle is added it begins to engage again and pulls away. You have to find where on the throttle where you engine idles. This is made difficult by the fact there is no idle screw. It has to be set with the throttle cable. So, set the throttle adjustment on the handle all the way in, and pre-load the throttle a little to geat a fast idle, then adjust the barrell on the handle to find the sweet spot. Its is trial and error. I will see about a way to add a throttle stop screw. I imagine the Velo had a better adjustment range on the handle than our cheap plastic controls with the kit.
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earlier in the thread you had stated that you modified the carb lever so it would idle rather than go to WOT...could that be why your clutch didn't work at first? it sounds like it might not need such fine adjustment if you use the carb lever arrangement out of the box, but the way you did it is probably more dialed-in.
 
I dont know anything about these engines but I used a spare brake lever to lift my rear engine friction drive. If you can rig that you have a clutch.
 
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