nimblebee
Member
Discovered through trial and error, via "school of hard knocks," NT choke lever arm is weakly constructed, needing reinforcement to ensure longevity.
Lever arm extension added to make easy choke adjustment while riding road, but leverage was no friend to longevity of choke arm, since construction is flimsy: held together using rivet and cheap, fragile, sheet metal.
Construction flaw discovered on test drive, starting out with full choke, adjusting from full choke as engine warmed up, & suddenly found couldn't adjust choke, consiquently engine choked out, died and had to peddle motorized bicycle home for repairs.
Switched to back-up carb (which had good choke lever arm), and compared with broken choke arm, noting cheap, flimsy sheet metal construction, which needed reinforcement.
Easiest way to reinforce cheap construction, was using JB Weld epoxy adhesive, bonding rivet head onto sheet metal choke arm, as pictured.
Not especially wanting to wait for JB Weld 4 to 5-hour cure, wanted JB Weld to cure before compound had time to "seep down" from clutch arm, flowing over & onto carburetor, inadvertently adhering everything together. For fast curing, used 160F oven method, to quickly cure JB Weld in less than an hour.
Photo shows damaged, cheap sheet metal choke lever, next to carburetor with repaired/modified choke extension handle (handle is easier to adjust choke, while riding).
JB Weld was used, reinforcing strength of cheap & cheesy sheet metal choke lever to provide enough strength to last long-term.
Lever arm extension added to make easy choke adjustment while riding road, but leverage was no friend to longevity of choke arm, since construction is flimsy: held together using rivet and cheap, fragile, sheet metal.
Construction flaw discovered on test drive, starting out with full choke, adjusting from full choke as engine warmed up, & suddenly found couldn't adjust choke, consiquently engine choked out, died and had to peddle motorized bicycle home for repairs.
Switched to back-up carb (which had good choke lever arm), and compared with broken choke arm, noting cheap, flimsy sheet metal construction, which needed reinforcement.
Easiest way to reinforce cheap construction, was using JB Weld epoxy adhesive, bonding rivet head onto sheet metal choke arm, as pictured.
Not especially wanting to wait for JB Weld 4 to 5-hour cure, wanted JB Weld to cure before compound had time to "seep down" from clutch arm, flowing over & onto carburetor, inadvertently adhering everything together. For fast curing, used 160F oven method, to quickly cure JB Weld in less than an hour.
Photo shows damaged, cheap sheet metal choke lever, next to carburetor with repaired/modified choke extension handle (handle is easier to adjust choke, while riding).
JB Weld was used, reinforcing strength of cheap & cheesy sheet metal choke lever to provide enough strength to last long-term.
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