Hello to all from Boulder, CO. Want to start by thanking everybody who contributes to this forum. It has been a big help in building my bike.
I am 50 and a BIG guy (wide). Wanted to get off the couch and get some exercise and some sun and saw the motorized bikes on the Internet and was hooked. Made me remember the days when I was 12 and would have maimed someone to get a motorized bike to ride. Saw the motors for $250 and was beyond my budget but then looked on Ebay and found the Powerking 80cc (I know they are 69cc - been reading the forum alot) motors for $125 and decided to jump.
Ordered the motor kit and spent a couple of days on research and then bought the Schwinn Jaguar from Target cause it looked like the kit would mount up without additional fabrication. Turned out to be wrong on that but I like the bike except for the handlebars and will probably change those.(ordered the motor on Saturday and it was on the porch the next Friday which was pretty fast -
have to say here that I have been perfectly happy with the Powerking kit - got the new "BLACK" motor and I could still smell the new paint job when I pulled it out of the box and part of it rubbed off while I had the motor laying on the work bench but a little touch up will fix that and the black does look kinda cool - thought it might also be a little stealth touch for the cops when they spot me on the bike trails/sidewalks - (oh he's just coasting) the motor starts so easy and runs great - I did replace the spark plug with a Champion plug as suggested in the forum. The only damage was a slighlty busted air filter and I ordered a new one from Dax.) Everything was there and seemed to be good quality.
You know you can say what you want about these motor kits but the replacement parts are so cheap so what if it wears out a little quickly. They are so cheap you could buy the parts and keep a replacement on hand and not even have the down time. Gas is how much a gallon?
I got the motor mounted with some mount extensions I made and it seems to be rock solid. Used some 6mm stock I bought to replace and lengthen the mounting studs. Really did a good job on the first try on the mount and was so proud and then found out the motor was so far forward the chain was too short. Dammit! After hacksawing the extensions in half and remounting the motor everything went pretty smooth after that. The bike tubes looked like a beaver had been chewing on them by the time I had mounted and taken off the motor a few (six) times but some black tape hid the evidence fine. (Screw the looks I want to ride.)
A tip for Jaguar builds- get the front motor mount extension from Dax and drill the the front tube and I think it would be a perfect fit since my extensions I used in the rear ended up being one inch long. My kit did not come with the front bolt on extension mount and I was not gonna wait to order one.
After you get the motor mounted, the rear sprocket bolted on, and the chain on the rest is really easy.
Spent three full days on the build and was ready for gas and the test ride. Fired right up on first ride and ran like a top up and down the street a few times. Next day came home from work at lunch cause I couldn't wait to try it again and it would not start.
Went back to work sad (and sore cause I fell making a sharp uturn while trying to get it started and skinned the ole knee and broke my locking clutch lever - double dammit!) but came home that evening and found I had put the paper fuel filter on upside down. (It's always something) Used the back brake for the clutch lever and turned the fuel filter over and it fired right up and has not missed a beat since. Starts so easy, just two pedals and pop the clutch and go. (Ordered a new locking clutch from Dax who is nicely located for me in Littleton, CO only about 30 miles away and it was here three days later. Nice job Dax.)
Since finishing the build 9 days ago I have ridden 70 miles. This includes commuting to work 3 miles each way for 6 days (didn't start my car for six days) and across town three or four times. Only problem prior to today was I ran out of gas on Saturday (over estimated the mileage a little and didn't fill it up before I left the house) and ended up pushing it up hill about three blocks to a gas station who thankfully had a quart of 2 stroke oil on the shelf. Paniced a little there! (Tip for noobies. Carry some 2 stroke oil with you cause without it you are screwed no matter how many gas stations are close.)
Now for the bad news and a request for help. Left work at lunch today and rode about a mile. Picked up some lunch to go and jumped on the bike. Took off, started the bike and went about 10 ft and the back wheel locked up. Got off and the chain had parted at the master link and was jammed in the spokes. (Yes I had the master link clip facing the right direction) What really surprised me though is that my back wheel is toast. Seriously bent out of shape. Ruined I think!!
Ok, I knew in my heart that the master link on that chain was going to fail when I put it on but I figured that when it did fail I would go to Tractor Supply and get a chain tool and do away with the master link completely. (As suggested in this forum) No big deal about the chain as I am sure I can keep that from happening again (live and learn) but now I am going to have to replace the rear wheel too. Bummer! (And pull off the rear sprocket and remount it which was a pain in the backside with hand tools - man it took forever to get it tight. That was where the blood came from - skinned knuckles.)
I need some direction in replacing the back wheel. I don't think replacing the spokes will fix it but I am not sure. It is really bent. At least three inches out of true looks like. Spokes really got bent. The Jaguar is a seven speed (I like having the seven speed and I did not want to have to modify the sprocket for a coaster brake) so it has the gears on the rear wheel. Just not sure where to go for a replacement. I think I can pull the gears off so all I need is a new rim but I have no idea where to get one that will allow me to fit the gears back on.
Thanks for reading this book and for any help you might be able to give. Meant to post this sooner a little at a time but was having too much fun with the build and the riding that I didn't want to stop to post. Got a little downtime now. But I am going to get er back together and get back out there asap. Hope you like the pics. Will post some of the build later.
I am 50 and a BIG guy (wide). Wanted to get off the couch and get some exercise and some sun and saw the motorized bikes on the Internet and was hooked. Made me remember the days when I was 12 and would have maimed someone to get a motorized bike to ride. Saw the motors for $250 and was beyond my budget but then looked on Ebay and found the Powerking 80cc (I know they are 69cc - been reading the forum alot) motors for $125 and decided to jump.
Ordered the motor kit and spent a couple of days on research and then bought the Schwinn Jaguar from Target cause it looked like the kit would mount up without additional fabrication. Turned out to be wrong on that but I like the bike except for the handlebars and will probably change those.(ordered the motor on Saturday and it was on the porch the next Friday which was pretty fast -
have to say here that I have been perfectly happy with the Powerking kit - got the new "BLACK" motor and I could still smell the new paint job when I pulled it out of the box and part of it rubbed off while I had the motor laying on the work bench but a little touch up will fix that and the black does look kinda cool - thought it might also be a little stealth touch for the cops when they spot me on the bike trails/sidewalks - (oh he's just coasting) the motor starts so easy and runs great - I did replace the spark plug with a Champion plug as suggested in the forum. The only damage was a slighlty busted air filter and I ordered a new one from Dax.) Everything was there and seemed to be good quality.
You know you can say what you want about these motor kits but the replacement parts are so cheap so what if it wears out a little quickly. They are so cheap you could buy the parts and keep a replacement on hand and not even have the down time. Gas is how much a gallon?
I got the motor mounted with some mount extensions I made and it seems to be rock solid. Used some 6mm stock I bought to replace and lengthen the mounting studs. Really did a good job on the first try on the mount and was so proud and then found out the motor was so far forward the chain was too short. Dammit! After hacksawing the extensions in half and remounting the motor everything went pretty smooth after that. The bike tubes looked like a beaver had been chewing on them by the time I had mounted and taken off the motor a few (six) times but some black tape hid the evidence fine. (Screw the looks I want to ride.)
A tip for Jaguar builds- get the front motor mount extension from Dax and drill the the front tube and I think it would be a perfect fit since my extensions I used in the rear ended up being one inch long. My kit did not come with the front bolt on extension mount and I was not gonna wait to order one.
After you get the motor mounted, the rear sprocket bolted on, and the chain on the rest is really easy.
Spent three full days on the build and was ready for gas and the test ride. Fired right up on first ride and ran like a top up and down the street a few times. Next day came home from work at lunch cause I couldn't wait to try it again and it would not start.
Went back to work sad (and sore cause I fell making a sharp uturn while trying to get it started and skinned the ole knee and broke my locking clutch lever - double dammit!) but came home that evening and found I had put the paper fuel filter on upside down. (It's always something) Used the back brake for the clutch lever and turned the fuel filter over and it fired right up and has not missed a beat since. Starts so easy, just two pedals and pop the clutch and go. (Ordered a new locking clutch from Dax who is nicely located for me in Littleton, CO only about 30 miles away and it was here three days later. Nice job Dax.)Since finishing the build 9 days ago I have ridden 70 miles. This includes commuting to work 3 miles each way for 6 days (didn't start my car for six days) and across town three or four times. Only problem prior to today was I ran out of gas on Saturday (over estimated the mileage a little and didn't fill it up before I left the house) and ended up pushing it up hill about three blocks to a gas station who thankfully had a quart of 2 stroke oil on the shelf. Paniced a little there! (Tip for noobies. Carry some 2 stroke oil with you cause without it you are screwed no matter how many gas stations are close.)
Now for the bad news and a request for help. Left work at lunch today and rode about a mile. Picked up some lunch to go and jumped on the bike. Took off, started the bike and went about 10 ft and the back wheel locked up. Got off and the chain had parted at the master link and was jammed in the spokes. (Yes I had the master link clip facing the right direction) What really surprised me though is that my back wheel is toast. Seriously bent out of shape. Ruined I think!!
Ok, I knew in my heart that the master link on that chain was going to fail when I put it on but I figured that when it did fail I would go to Tractor Supply and get a chain tool and do away with the master link completely. (As suggested in this forum) No big deal about the chain as I am sure I can keep that from happening again (live and learn) but now I am going to have to replace the rear wheel too. Bummer! (And pull off the rear sprocket and remount it which was a pain in the backside with hand tools - man it took forever to get it tight. That was where the blood came from - skinned knuckles.)
I need some direction in replacing the back wheel. I don't think replacing the spokes will fix it but I am not sure. It is really bent. At least three inches out of true looks like. Spokes really got bent. The Jaguar is a seven speed (I like having the seven speed and I did not want to have to modify the sprocket for a coaster brake) so it has the gears on the rear wheel. Just not sure where to go for a replacement. I think I can pull the gears off so all I need is a new rim but I have no idea where to get one that will allow me to fit the gears back on. Thanks for reading this book and for any help you might be able to give. Meant to post this sooner a little at a time but was having too much fun with the build and the riding that I didn't want to stop to post. Got a little downtime now.
But I am going to get er back together and get back out there asap. Hope you like the pics. Will post some of the build later.Attachments
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