I finally joined!

Looks good, nice bike. You can buy a set of plug wires for tractors, like at NAPA comes with all the goodies to 4 or I think 6 cylinders. The ends can be bent to angle or straight.......Curt
 
Cool! Got a set on order!
On a different note- got my bike together to the point where I can pedal it around and turn the motor over, etc. It makes a squawking noise when the engine is turning. Doesn't matter if the plug is in or not. I checked the clutch action and it seems okay. Funny thing is, my neighbor is putting together his first China Doll, and while his is running pretty good. (Nice and quiet- I'm impressed.) it ALSO makes the same squawking noise as the engine is running. Doesn't matter if the clutch is engaged or not...... What is it?
In a different thread, someone figured it was a loose head/jug, but we torqued both motors to 14 ft/lbs (and mine makes the noise w/o the plug installed. Weird.
Here is where I stopped tonight:
bike0004.jpg

bike0005.jpg


scratg
 
Agreed on the front brakes.-Got a set on order, but the pressing issue is the funky squawking noise.... any ideas?

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
 
Hey Jerry, make sure you don't try to start without fuel as there is no oil to protect the piston going up and down/LOL/
anyhow not sure what the squawk sound is, but I'm sure its nothing. Things are tight when they are new. They wont run smooth till 2-500 hundred miles have passed.
yep... get that front brake on. glad you ordered a set.
I always add a rear squeeze brake also so it sounds like you have that coming.
so I never have to use the coaster brake. I use the 1080s long reach BMX style on front and rear/ and your bike is pre drilled for these exact brakes front and rear. Don't forget to buy a cable set. shorty for the front and long for the rear. Wal-mart sells a universal cable set that I used many times. Just oil them up good before install em. Bike looks great, good work!
not sure what you ordered but here is what I get for my cruiser builds.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1080-style-...783425?hash=item2c9dd8aac1:g:YpIAAOSwHnFVnr9V

zip
 
Chain noise could be from the small gear housing. I cut a huge notch out to prevent a kind of grindy rubbing noise that is present in like 98 percent of these engines.
With the clutch in the piston shouldn't be moving at all so that rules out a loose head or jug. Some clutches need to be broken free when they are new from the outside friction plate. if I was there I could probably solve it in a NY minute, but not being there noises are hard to diagnose. get er done and bump start it up... it will tell you volumes.
 
QUICK UPDATE: I've been reading that the latest bunch of China Dolls are arriving with their Clutch Ring Gears stuck to the clutch shaft, and that people are having to "help" them loose. I did notice a very small amount of snot-colored grease between the two pieces.... I'm going to try and pull the big gear off and grease the bearing behind it. I also noticed the head gasket hissing even after being torqued down, so I'm going to try the "sandpaper on the glass trick" to see if that helps. I'm not complaining, mind you- I definitely got my $105's worth, and those laborers don't get paid squat to put these things together.
These things kind of remind me of the Plastic Car Models that you had to pull the parts from the tree they were attached to and then clean the flashing. Still fun!
 
ANOTHER UPDATE: It's the gears. Specifically the large one. I pulled it off and put it back on a few times and it always has a wobble when tightened back onto the shaft. Wobble-wobble = Squawk-squawk. Pretty sure there's not much that can be done about that.
 
You have the right attitude Jerry. Loved your cleaning the flash analogy. it is fun and addicting.
These little engines are very simple and actually quite reliable in starting and running plus easy to work on really and that's refreshing in this day and age. Its a little piston with fuel and small spark like days gone bye. They may not always run perfect or quiet but they usually run and get you down the road just fine If not you can fix em all by yourself. You will get your moneys worth a thousand time over in smiles.
 
laff Oh yeah that snot colored grease they use so sparingly is more like a glue than lube. What the heck is it made of...you probably don't want to know.

lafflafflafflaff
 
JerryAssburger said:
...the same stuff they serve in school lunches?!?!? :)
Click to expand...

Exactly...I believe it is genuine high quality 90 weight Imported North Korean recycled 3rd generation navel aircraft grease mixed with school lunch ingredients blended with secret Chinese additives that includes sand from Afghanistan, special factory soot and Hong Kong peanut butter. Secret stuff or sure. I scrape it off and save it in a jar for a conversation piece as it glows in the dark.
laff
 
I bit the bullet and bought a better rear sprocket set-up. My "ah-ha moment" was when I was turning over the engine by turning the rear wheel.... I could hear the spokes "pinging" from the sprocket twisting them. Might not be as much an issue with the 12ga spokes, but these are definitely lighter spokes.
This is the link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CNC-36T-Spr...76&hash=item33c66b2c7b:m:m_8z2ttqrl7chntJBMbb

I also looked into trying air-compressor intake silencers as an air filter just for S+G.... since I know a fair bit of noise comes from the intake. They'll have to be modified to fit the NT carb, but they're cheap.
Here is the link to one of those:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/172128349007?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

scratg
 
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JerryAssburger said:
I bit the bullet and bought a better rear sprocket set-up. My "ah-ha moment" was when I was turning over the engine by turning the rear wheel.... I could hear the spokes "pinging" from the sprocket twisting them. Might not be as much an issue with the 12ga spokes, but these are definitely lighter spokes.
This is the link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CNC-36T-Spr...76&hash=item33c66b2c7b:m:m_8z2ttqrl7chntJBMbb

I also looked into trying air-compressor intake silencers as an air filter just for S+G.... since I know a fair bit of noise comes from the intake. They'll have to be modified to fit the NT carb, but they're cheap.
Here is the link to one of those:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/172128349007?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

scratg
Click to expand...

I see no measurement for what hub diameters that adapter fits. How do you know if it's the right size for your hub?
 
Also a heads-up.... My magneto came with BOTH the Blue and White wires soldered to ONE terminal. It's almost as if the new "No White Wire Magneto" was made to have a White wire, lack of terminals be damned. I know that if I had intended to use the White wire for ANYthing, it would've affected the firing for sure. I'm going to try and find a 3-wire coil, just in case I do want to experiment with a lighting circuit.

Here's what I've got....
Magneto.jpg


scratg
 
Still in a holding pattern, waiting for the new CDI to try out. Driving me nuts. Also, the drive chain makes a binding noise no matter how I mess with the alignment of the rear sprocket. Can't wait to try the upgraded one to see if it helps.
 
redddOkay- big update. Today I got the new CDI and I was back in business. Sort of. It seems that once I did get it to fire, it was a wheezy fragile little thing that needed pedal assist all the way up 'til 20 mph..... and then the plug came loose. Okay. Tightened it back on, then it was back-firing- turns out the head was leaking even though it was torqued down. Luckily, I had ordered a head with a dome (not a squish like the stocker) and 13 fins..... bolted it on, and now all was good. It's only ran a total of 15 minutes so far, but even so, it pulls pretty good all the way to 25-ish +, and I'm not beating on it yet. I'm ordering a stockpile of head gaskets and another CDI, but so far I'm pretty happy with how well it can haul my lardbutt (230lbs) with a 36T.... can't wait to get a couple of tanks through it.
 
JerryAssburger said:
redddOkay- big update. Today I got the new CDI and I was back in business. Sort of. It seems that once I did get it to fire, it was a wheezy fragile little thing that needed pedal assist all the way up 'til 20 mph..... and then the plug came loose. Okay. Tightened it back on, then it was back-firing- turns out the head was leaking even though it was torqued down. Luckily, I had ordered a head with a dome (not a squish like the stocker) and 13 fins..... bolted it on, and now all was good. It's only ran a total of 15 minutes so far, but even so, it pulls pretty good all the way to 25-ish +, and I'm not beating on it yet. I'm ordering a stockpile of head gaskets and another CDI, but so far I'm pretty happy with how well it can haul my lardbutt (230lbs) with a 36T.... can't wait to get a couple of tanks through it.
Click to expand...

It doesn't surprise me that you had a leak at the head, that's pretty common with these things, getting a high compression head is almost a must. If you really want to wake it up get a good expansion pipe. Anyhow, good to hear you are riding it now!
brnot
 
Thank you Tyler! I'm going to wait until I get my pile of head-gaskets, and then do a before/after comparison of my dome head vs squish head (both are the same volume) and stick with the better performer.
As an update, I scored a new, slightly dirty Cranbrook at Wally for $52! Do I need another bike? NO! BUT... I want those rims off of it- MUCH heavier duty than the wheels on my Hyper Men's Cruiser. So I'm going to attempt to swap tires, rear pedal sprockets and rims between the two bikes. The only noticeable difference will be the Cranbrook rims are grey, mine are black. No biggy. Easily fixed if I wanted to.

ALSO I got a first hand look at the Schwinn Midway 29" bike. NICE. Looks very comfortable.

...must... ...resist....
 
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