Hello, new to building

F

furey

New Member
Hello all,

I just today received in my new bike and motor to attempt a new project/hobby. I am looking to put a motor on a huffy panama jack and have never attempted this before. I picked the bike off of looks mainly and can use any help/suggestions anyone has as I am very inexperienced with bikes/builds.

Thanks again and I look forward to a new hobby.
cvlt1
 
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Welcome to the forum Furey. Just use our Google search at the center top of the forum and a whole world will open up. Glade to have ya with us! cheers.
 
Welcome to the forum. I'm in Katy.The Panama Jack should provide a straight fwd build.
These machines are all about the basics, like keeping you bolts tight, etc (especially the chain and motor mounts). Keeping a 10mm wrench on the bike will tighten most of it.
If the Jack doesn't have a front brake, add one. A BMX caliper brake will fit over a fender and they are cheaper than going disk or drum.
Let me know if you get stuck in your build. I can give you a hand.
 
hey wheelbender,

seem to have already hit a snag with the sprocket. After I took off the rear wheel there was another nut holding on what I believe is a part for the coaster brake (sorry again, I'm not too familar with each part yet) that either does not come off or is very hard to remove. The sprocket does not fit over this and has set me to somewhat of a hault. If you have any suggestions on this I would greatly appreicate it.

Thanks for the input
:-||
 
This site has info on disassembly of the coaster brake.
Overhauling a Coaster Brake Bike

If that site doesn't help, do a google search on coaster brake rebuilding.

Once you have it apart, remember these words from FreeWheeler..
"The sprocket goes on first and then the brake arm - sprocket, dust cap, brake arm, bolts"
If the sprocket center hole is too small, you may need to trim the brake dust cover with a dremel, file or hacksaw. There is a post on trimming it in the "Classic Instructions" section of the forum.
I have a coaster brake bike but my motorbike has vee brakes on the rear.
 
Alright, the build is getting a little closer to being complete just a few more hick-ups to over come and looking for a little help or suggestions. Once I remounted the back tire and connected the chain to the motor I now have a problem with the chain rubbing against the frame and fender. I was going to trim the fender but I am not sure what to do about the frame. Any suggestion will be welcomed. I attached some pictures of the build.
 

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First of all I think you need to remove a couple links from the drive chain to shorten it up and move that tentioner towards the engine. That looks way to loose.

The best thing to do for the rubbing against the fender is either cut out a small spot where is hits, or trim a couple inches off the whole fender so it sits a little higher up the front of the back wheel.

Thats what I ended up doin, and it worked fine. The only thing you need to be carfule of is not trimming the fender to short or you will get water all over your legs and engine.....

Now for the rubbing on the frame...... I can't see where it is rubbing, try and post a better pic

And, the spring that you have on your clutch cable goes on the clutch cable, but right next to the engine( on the other side of the little metal tab that your spring its touching now...) and keeps the cable from touching the engine, or getting melted
 
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I love that cargo rack.
Is the chain rubbing the seat stay?
If the chain is rubbing the seat stay, your only choice may be to widen the rear hub, which will spread the seat stays a bit. Do that by adding washers to each side of the hub, inside the dropouts to slightly spread the stays. Take it slow, adding only a pair of washers at a time. Don't spread the stays anymore than needed.
If the chain is rubbing the seat tube, there is an alignment issue somewhere with the motor mounts.
Look carefully at the pics of cruiser motorbikes, and you will see that most builders have trimmed the rear fender in the chain area.
 
Ok got two more links out of the chain, adjusted the motor mount but now notice that the rear tire is extremely close to the chain. It doesnt touch it but it is 1/8" between the chain and the tire. Not sure if this is ok or not.....I do still need to cut the fender but attached some better pics of the chain/tire situation.

I also added ths extra spring to the clutch cable thanks derk420 I was wondering where that went ;).

Thanks again for the input, again this is my first build and am still trying to learn about it.
 

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Hey no prob!! Looks great! your clearance between the tire and chain is perfect also. As long as the chain is tight(1/8 play) you'll be ok.

Keep at it....You're almost there!!
 
Good to see you got it running!(^) Most folks don't need that extra spring, cable returns OK on most builds without it. That spring tends to make things stiffer at the the caliper handle. It just aids in returning the cable is all.

You do want the bigger spring though it is a heat shield for the cable as it sits next to the jug. Even that spring some folks don't use it ether.
 
Alright think I'm down to my last problem, took the bike out for a test ride today and found that the throttle does nothing......once I engage the engine it takes off and quickly begins to accelerate. The handle twists but it has no effect on the speed. The bike tries to max out and if I pull in the clutch without hitting the kill switch it revs extremely high. (good thing I connected the kill switch). Any help would be appreciated.
 
Suspect the carb is hanging up internally. Take the air filter off work the throttle cable and look in the back of the carb.You will see the metal barrel in there prolly hanging up. Sometimes just cleaning it up delicately with emery cloth will clear it up.

I had one of these carbs it was weird if I had put a new throttle cable, on I would have that barrel out twice looking at it then it just worked fine.
 
Wow, you nailed it. There was a scrap piece of metal in the carb....got it out and ready to go. My chain seems to be a little tweeked...makes a pop once and a while. The sprocket looks straight but think the motor my be mounted at too much of an angle to clear the tire but not too sure.
 
You have a sticking chain link. Look at it closely there will be a link that does not straighten out on its own. Very common with these chains. Good to see the carb works now!
 
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