Clutch shot?

[Andybm514]

thanks Tex. im talking about the things in the first two pics, the 1st being said "cam shaft", 2nd clutch arm and 3rd this bucking bar you speak of, haha. but yea the related "teeth" (4 8/10ths mm- 5 1/2 mm in pic#1) have striped on the cam shaft so no matter how much i tighten the nut, any moderate pressure will cause the arm to slip, not allowing the cam shaft to actuate the bucking bar.

pics from lynn @ custommotoredbicycles.com

 

[rustycase]

place the lever on the cam, in a likely position, and strike an arc on it!
rc

 

[Texhun]

I see said the blind man to his deaf wife. I got what your talking about now Andy. And yes why just tack it and be done with it forever?

 

[YoungRatRod]

Yes, like we said already, check that key-way. And as for the centrifugal clutch, I got one for a previous engine and dude believe me it's not worth the trouble. The parts they sent where not sized right and if you don't have steel lathe you can forget about puting the parts on. Lucky for me I've got an assortment of dye grinders and I got it on after about 6hours of work. Then when it was on the one-way bearing it the clutch fell apart making impossible to start the engine plus I couldn't even pedal cause the added parts stuck out too far. So lucky me I was able to put the bearing back together and rode it around a little bit heres the results before the bearing fell apart a second time. Acceleration was pathetic, my top speed before at the time was 30MPH, with the centri clutch I couldn't even hit 22MPH it was horrible and the RPMS were extremely high. So I took it all the added uselessness off and Iv'e been running with the normal clutch for 2years now and couldn't be happier. So believe me from literally after putting a months worth of hours if not more into these engines I can tell the standard clutch is the best.

Thanks everybody, I found out that it was the key on the drive side of the clutch, it had sheered and was just free spinning. I ordered a new one about a week ago and should be waiting for me when I get home, also ordered a few other parts due to my recent crash (New throttle/killswitch assem., headlight, etc)

 

[GearNut]

Congrats on finding the root of the problem!
Good luck on the repairs, and ride safe!

 

[YoungRatRod]

uh oh new problem, I got my new flat key, and this one sheared, what am I doing wrong??

 

[GearNut]

The clutch fits well to the shaft with out the key? It covers all of the key when placed fully on the shaft? (Do NOT try to ride it with out the key in place.)
Does the clutch feel like it wobbles bit with a (good) key in place, poor fitment at the factory perhaps?
The nut was tight to prevent any play in the assembly?
Anything binding up in the gears, piston travel in the engine is ok?
Is there anything that could have happened to suddenly stop the parts from rotating, causing the key to shear?

 

[Texhun]

Ok, did it sheer or just get pushed out of place? Did it stay in place when you put on the gear? It could be when you put it in it slid backward and held for a little bit then came loose after riding. It's happened to me before.

 

[rustycase]

Y'know, the china metallurgy is always suspect...
rc

 

[YoungRatRod]

I dunno what happened, but next time what if I put some threadlocker?

 

[GearNut]

Afterthought from my last post, did you use superglue to hold the key in the slot on the shaft?
Texhun's post made me think of that trick as he may very well be right. The keys are all to easily pushed out the back of the slot and fall out, hidden from view when you go to put the clutch back on. Same goes for the sprocket and crank gear too.