clutch won't disengage...

K

kassult

New Member
Hello,
I just got my first ever motorized bike kit and just began to put it togther. I was hoping to be able to get a few rides in before winter set in and have one big problem. I have tightened the clutch cable all the way and have even pulled the lever with my hands and the clutch still won't engage. I have taken the cover off of the the right side of the engine (where the actual clutch is housed) and when I pull the clutch lever on the handle bar or even the one on the engine, the only thing that moves out towards me is the flower nut, not the pressure plate. I just need some suggestions on how to fix this problem, and quickly so that I can get a joy ride in before it starts to snow.
Thanks in advance!



:-||
 
A common problem with many kits. The clutch pads (pucks) can become stuck during long storage from the factory. Usually they can be freed up by applying a lot of pressure to the clutch actuator arm. Make sure you depress it completely inward by wrapping it with a rag and using you hand. Push it until it stops. If this doesn't work you might try giving the the clutch pin (the pin that protrudes from the center of the engine drive sprocket) a good rap with a plastic mallet or use a block of wood if you use a metal hammer. Don't be afraid of hurting anything. Just smack it a couple of times and try the clutch. Let us know if this doesn't work. Some will suggest loosening the flower nut but I don't like to see newbies messing with the clutch adjustment until all else fails.
Tom
 
Agree with 2door, But I would try a bit of careful (did I say careful??) prying on the pressure plate in the same direction the flower nut moves(right) when the clutch is pulled, corrosion is most likely the culpret (on the clutch shoes) a brass screwdriver would be a good application here. I did have to pound on one rather sharply. Hope that helps!

Mac
 
Well thank you to both of you for the help. With a combination of both of your advices and some help from the following thread ( http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=22729 I was able to get the clutch working correctly. So Thank You! I am but one step away from getting it to run! So one more quick question and hopefully by the time I get home tomorrow it will be a quick fix and a start. It doesn't have to deal with the clutch but I already have this thread so here it goes... Everything is in place and bolted tight, but the spark plug boot will not connect to the spark plug... That is all I need help with and I'm done so Please HELP!!!! I can't wait any longer!
 
usually the spark plug has a copper colored whatchamacallit thingamajig on the tip youll wanna remove this by gently turning it like a nut the boot will then have a positive feel when you "click" it on to the threads heres a pic of how it should look if ya already havent done this. good luck, n happy motoring. hope this helps.
 

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Once again thank you for the help. That was exactly what I needed and now I have confirmation of a spark. Tried to get it running but it just won't fire... I have been looking at other threads and think I know what to do but don't have the time tonight... I'll post again tomorrow with results or questions but hopefully just good results. Again thanks for all of the help.
 
Double check you're wiring, sometimes finnagel'in can cause connectors to come loose. If all looks well, try disconnecting your kill switch and wiring it straight.

Is your plug wet? I'm wondering if you're getting gas too.

Make sure there's gas going to the carb, depress and hold the plunger to fill the bowl. It's on the side opposite the fuel line.


gl, let us know how it goes :)
 
Well the instuctions suggested 16:1 for the break in period so thats what I'm running. Also I ordered the high performance carb on the grubee skyhawk 66cc and I can't find any sort of primer on it... However I did take out the spark plug and put some gas right in there will no results.
 
Here is the news. It was too stormy to give it a try but I once again confirmed the spark and confirmed that gas was getting to the carb. I took off a part of the carb and saw that twisting the throttle caused a sleeve to recede (seemingly to let more air in). So what I need to know is how to confirm that the gas is getting in the engine, and when I messed with the choke nothing seemed to happen, so what I should see. Again the fuel ratio is 16:1 in case that matters.
 
Good news! I finally got it running! Problem: The instruction manual has a picture depicting the carb on the engine, and since this is my first time dealing with a carb I made it match the picture. However, looking at other pictures I noticed something very strange. Mine was installed upside down and therefore not delivering any gas to the engine... Rookie mistake...
Anyways thanks for all of the other suggestions and helping me get through this first kit. Hopefully this thread can help others with similar problems. If only there were a way to re-title it......
 
kassult,
You're not the first that this has happened to. Some of us tend to overlook the obvious, or at least what seems obvious to us forgetting that not everyone grew up around engines and mechanical things. I've seen the instructions that show what appears to be the carb installed upside down and I can understand how, if you've never worked with one, that you could fall for that. Congratulations and enjoy. Ride careful and let us know if we can help later on.
Tom
 
Well thank you for the support and understanding. I have a few more questions and then hopefully I can have a fully functioning motorized bike. Now that I have it running, there are two problems that need to be addressed before I can ride it anywhere other than around my block. First thing is that the clutch does not fully disengage by just pulling on the clutch lever mounted on the handle bar. In order to fully disengage it, I need to be pulling on the clutch lever on the handle bar while also pusing on the lever mounted on the engine with my other hand. I'm not sure if its as simple as loosening that flower nut or not but figured it would be better to ask.
Second problem is that the engine is not running properly. It will start and kinda sputter, but as soon as I start to open the throttle, it just dies and as soon as I let off the throttle it goes back to sputtering. I have looked at some other threads and tried it without the muffler (just made the sputtering a lot louder as expected), but the main suggestion has to do with modifying the carb, which I obviously don't know anything about. Also all of the threads explaining how to modify it are dealing with the stock carb while I upgraded to the "high performance" carb from gasbike.net on the grubee skyhawk 66/80 cc.
Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated, I just want to have a nice ride before it starts to snow (which might be any time now according to the weather man!) and I break out the snowboard instead of my nice birthday present....

cvlt1
 
Thanks for the help, its better but I was not able to get it off the splines so that is for another time. However, since the clutch is working better I was able to keep the motor running without riding the bike and I have a guess at why my engine is bogging when I give it some gas. Seeing as how it would work fine when the clutch was in, my guess is that it is a power issue caused by my fuel mixture (16:1) ? Thats what im hoping but if anyone could help prove or disprove me that would help.
 
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