First build: Genesis Onyx 29" cruiser

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Thanks Flattracker, as I indicated a couple posts back I've decided to go with a rear friction drive. An in frame, chain drive was just getting too expensive and complicated.

After much deliberation over getting a DAX or Staton rear drive, it came down to who had what in stock (to be honest, I think I would have been happy with either kit). Dave had what I needed and shipped it within an hour of my order and I got the kit late yesterday. :)

As you can see, as of 7 am this morning and a total of about 4 or 5 hours of putzing with this and that, I got it mounted and already gave it a couple test runs. I'm motorized baby! :)

I still have some things to do before it's finished: I need to trim the U-bolt and use nylocks instead of the double nuts, I'm going to replace the kill switch with something a bit more robust, and most importantly, I need to drill a new set of holes in the aluminum extrusion. Because my wheels are 29", the standard holes don't quite work right. I'm pretty sure by moving the holes down 3/4" or so that'll fix it, but will need to measure, measure again, and think about it a bit. ;)
 

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gobigkahuna said:
Thanks Flattracker, as I indicated a couple posts back I've decided to go with a rear friction drive. An in frame, chain drive was just getting too expensive and complicated.

After much deliberation over getting a DAX or Staton rear drive, it came down to who had what in stock (to be honest, I think I would have been happy with either kit). Dave had what I needed and shipped it within an hour of my order and I got the kit late yesterday. :)

As you can see, as of 7 am this morning and a total of about 4 or 5 hours of putzing with this and that, I got it mounted and already gave it a couple test runs. I'm motorized baby! :)

I still have some things to do before it's finished: I need to trim the U-bolt and use nylocks instead of the double nuts, I'm going to replace the kill switch with something a bit more robust, and most importantly, I need to drill a new set of holes in the aluminum extrusion. Because my wheels are 29", the standard holes don't quite work right. I'm pretty sure by moving the holes down 3/4" or so that'll fix it, but will need to measure, measure again, and think about it a bit. ;)
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Nice, Simple, Easy, Plug and Play, a Workhorse.

:)
 
Interesting side bar, the 29" wheels are going to work for you ratio wise. With a 1" roller the ratio is the same as the dia. of the wheel so your ratio is 29:1 a good pulling ratio. I will probably catch it from some one about tire size not mattering but it does influence ratio, whch is also inportant.
 
All right strike the last comments I see the error. It seems that the ratio# increases at the same rate of tire dia.. However ratio comparison is important in determining roller size. So if you could get yor Suby to somehow turn the world at the equator it would go the usual 20 or so mph, would make for one long day!
 
I won't have to drill any holes after all. After moving things around a bit I found that I can get the roller to clear the tire by 3/8" which should be more than enough.

@cannonball2 - This is the first m-bike I've ever ridden so I don't know what another set up would be like. But with this bike, the Robin 33.5cc engine, a 1" roller and my 230-240 lbs, I get enough torque to just about get going from a full stop without peddling. If I push myself along just slightly, the motor takes over pretty easily. I haven't given it a full test yet, but it seems that on a straight away at half throttle I'm going 2x - 3x what I would normally peddle. Plenty fast enough for me. The big test will be how it handles the one hill (a bridge), but I need to go buy a helmet first! ;)
 
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Glad to hear it has good power! Looks like a nice comfortable ride. You will really enjoy the quietness and smoothness of the FD. Maint. is limited to basically checking oil and gas, and blowing the dust off about once a month! Enjoy it!
 
cannonball2 said:
Glad to hear it has good power! Looks like a nice comfortable ride. You will really enjoy the quietness and smoothness of the FD. Maint. is limited to basically checking oil and gas, and blowing the dust off about once a month! Enjoy it!
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Well it's not so quiet yet. First my chain guard vibrates like nutz at about half throttle so I'm going about the task of removing it. Unfortunately, the only way to remove the chain guard on this bike requires that I remove the crank, so I'll have to go buy a crank remover tool.

Second, the clutch makes a bit of chattering sound at about 1/4 throttle. Quiet as a church mouse at idle, but a bit of chatter at 1/4 or more throttle. Not sure if that's normal or what.

Still tweaking... ;)
 
The clutch noise is probably just the engagement. A lot of clutches sing or jingle as they are engaging. Its a good thing means you need to get above that rpm range soon to get the clutch fully engaged. Im suprised the guard vibes, sometimes whatever vibes there are turn the strangest things into vibration dampers. Its usually the extermeties like hand grips and foor pegs. Keep tweeking, the old saying amongst homebuilt aircraft folks was "it aint 90% finished til theres 10 hours on it". Keep going!
 
I wouldn't remove the chain guard. Just look at it and see if it hitting something and then just bend or relieve that area. Or add some rubber washers under the mounting screws.

Chain guards are good for keeping your pants clean.
 
Mike B said:
I wouldn't remove the chain guard. Just look at it and see if it hitting something and then just bend or relieve that area. Or add some rubber washers under the mounting screws.

Chain guards are good for keeping your pants clean.
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True. I parked the bike and rev'd the throttle to see what was rattling, and the chain guard was vibrating so badly I could see it. Unfortunately, it's not mounted to the frame but to the bottom end and the mount is so thin that there really isn't an easy way to fix it. Probably the right thing to do would be to fabricate some brackets and mount it to the frame, but I really don't want to do that. I can always put it back on later if I decide I need it.
 
I think I'm pretty close to being done with this project, but I have one question:

I've noticed that there appears to be some rubber dust on the motor's case and I smell the distinct smell of burning rubber. I've only put maybe 5 or 10 miles on the bike / motor so far. Is this normal? If not, what can I do to fix/prevent this?
 
Dust is normal over a period, but a lot this soom may mean you need to besure the roller has the right amount of down load placed on it. Too much and you loose power too little and the roller can slip. Look at the tire an indication of slippage.
 
gobigkahuna said:
I think I'm pretty close to being done with this project, but I have one question:

I've noticed that there appears to be some rubber dust on the motor's case and I smell the distinct smell of burning rubber. I've only put maybe 5 or 10 miles on the bike / motor so far. Is this normal? If not, what can I do to fix/prevent this?
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I think its from your tire.

Tire wear is a given for FD.

To prevent this, you have to get used to "finessing the engine", meaning easing into power/ throttle. I got used to it for the most part.
(not gunning the throttle, pedal assist from a dead stop) The sound of the motor and action of the bicyle will also leave clues. Not to mention the proper pressure of the FD roller on the tire, 1/4" to 1/2" depressed range, depending on the tire.

I hope this helps.

Just curious - why didn't you choose a vbrake/ linear with a vbrake adapter? This would give you more stopping power. (I took my side pulls that I got from a donor bike off my Cranbrooks front tire b/c of a stock wheel wobble 1/4-1/2")

Nice build btw!

:)
 
How important is having the roller perfectly centered over the tire? I had to customize the FD mount (I'm using a U bolt instead of the plate + 3 bolts) to get it to fit on my bike, and while installing it I learned how "imperfect" the frame is. I've got it about as close as I can get it without doing some major surgery to the mount but the roller is probably 3/16" off center.

I also dropped the tire pressure. Recommended pressure is 40 psi so I dropped it down to 30 psi. Does that sound about right?
 
worksmanFL said:
Just curious - why didn't you choose a vbrake/ linear with a vbrake adapter? This would give you more stopping power. (I took my side pulls that I got from a donor bike off my Cranbrooks front tire b/c of a stock wheel wobble 1/4-1/2")
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Thanks.

I used sidepulls because that's what I'm used to and it was the easiest to install. I've been using them plus the coaster brake and feel that I've got plenty of stopping power.

A 1/4-1/2" wobble is pretty huge IMO. Sounds like you might want to true up that wheel. Mine are probably off by a 1/16" or slightly less. I'd like them to be perfect but don't have the patience to true them that much.

I've just been taking test drives until I feel more comfortable with the bike. Gotta say the only real downside has been having to wear a motorcycle helmet, they are so much bigger, heavier and hotter than my bicycle helmet was, but I guess I gotta wear one.
 
Oh, by the way, the Subaru Robin EH035 has been everything everyone's said about it. So far it has started on the first pull every single time I've started it. It's not quite as quiet as I was expecting, the clutch "chatters" at times as does the muffler from time to time, but has otherwise been 100%.
 
A small offset on the roller woun't be a problem.

I like the tires firm, I usually run 50 PSI minimum. This means the roller doesn't need to bite so deep into the tire for good friction. Yeah, the stock tires on my wall mart bike were rated to 45 PSI, so they went into the trash. You may want to get some better tires so you can run firmer.

At 30 lbs, you must get some serious deflection when you sit on the bike?
 
I may have a lead for a new set of tires so I may give that a try. Otherwise, 29"x2.125" tires with street tread are kind of hard to find.

Took it out for another 4 or 5 mile spin. The road was pretty dusty so I can't tell if dropping the air pressure did anything.
 
A good guide on initial set-up is try to align the axis of the drive spindle 90 degrees to the plane of the wheel and paralell to the wheel axle.....as much as possible.
Not sure to which you refer but 'centered' might mean two things: the middle of the roller traction surface falling in the middle of the tread on the tire or when looking at the bike from the side, the drive roller is directly above the axle. In either case you want them as close to being centered as possible but being off a bit is not critical.

For tire inflation, I run my tires at the high end of the range, near max inflation. Running the tires too soft can and will chew them up.
Down pressure for the roller on the tire is something you'll figure out, about 3/16" or so, too little it can slip, too much it can bog the engine. As worksman mentioned, feather the throttle and pedal start to 7 or 8 mph to begin.

I know what you mean by rubber dust. I had more in the first 10 miles when I first tried FD than I have had in the hundreds of miles since. Your diligence will prevail.

Clutch chatter is common and frequent with a new outfit, it will break in, go easy at first and you'll get to know the set-up. Good riding to you.
 
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