New here.

James Sparks

James Sparks

New Member
I'm James. I just found out about these wonderful machines about three weeks ago, and am waiting on my engine kit to come in the mail. I have a Kulana Moon Dog ctuiser that I will be motorizing. I am a member of another motored bike forum, and there is a lot of drama and negetivity, hopefully won't be too much of that here. This seems like a nice laid back place, that's good for me because I'm the most laid back person I know. Anything you wanna know go ahead and ask. I never know what to say on these things.
 
Welcome the forum, You'll like it here. No drama, lots of kind helpful folks. We have some of the foremost motored bicycle experts in the world...................
 
hi james and welcome to the forum. glad you are with us. kaluna bikes were very popular while i was in hawaii. first i had seen them and they are a good looking ride. make yourself at home and ask questions as they arise or maybe help to answer other peoples. these motorized bicycles are a wonderful thing. glad you got one and i know you will enjoy it
 
Welcome aboard James. I think you'll really like this forum. No one here has a chip on their shoulders and the moderators & members here are great and full of knowledge!
 
James- welcome.

No drama queens here, or bullies either!

Where are you from?

My wife wants me to put a kit on her Moon Dog, but I like to build them from scratch....might make my life easier if I just mount one on the Moon Dog.

If you do mount yours on a Moon Dog, make sure you check the fenders/braces often as they are a little flimsy on those bikes.
 
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No nastiness gooorraaaannnnnteeeeed!!

Welcome ^5:ride2:

Be careful - you WILL get addicted.....
 
If you aren't sure about anything ask. It's much easier to do it right the first time. Trust me I know how hard it is to fix your early mistakes. Welcome to the world of motor bikes
 
Got a good look at the engine and the rest of the kit. The clutch lever that came with the kit was garbage, but I kind of expected that because of all the other folks that said they were, I'll make it work. The kit was supposed to include an adapter for mounting on larger frames and it wasn't there, which sucks because I need it, I contacted the seller and we'll see if he sends one. The "neoprene sprocket thingies" bolt holes don't line up with the holes in the sprocket. I was going to just make bigger holes in them with a drill but will this cause them to be to weak or is it ok? Other than that it's not too bad. I guess I just have to see if the seller sends me a frame adapter, or I find someone with the tools to make it work. Let's hope this project starts running a little smoother soon...
 
cool can't wait to here about your first ride. the fiber thing for the sprocket didnt line up for me that good either however it is pliable enough that i made it line up and seems to be fine now. you probably got the same clutch handle as me. i replaced mine with a break handle and recently got a nice one from chis hill and will post pictures soon. daughter borrowed the camera and has not returned it.
 
Are you saying the bolt holes in the sprocket and the other metal pieces don't line up? If it's just the holes in the rubber that are funky, go ahead and make 'em bigger.
 
I wouldn't think the gasket is any big deal It is really there to grip the spokes to keep it from sliding around I think. You will be mashing it flat with the back plate anyway. Mostly you want the slit in the gasket to be center of one of the back plates.

Frame adapter thing, if you look around on the site there are several ideas for them. One is to use a muffler clamp to make it work. That one is my personal favorite. You would need a couple of bolts from the hardware store to use in place of the studs in the engine mounts, and of course the muffler clamp. But you could do it with an electric drill and not have to drill the frame.
 
We did a good old hillbilly weldin job on the frame. Isn't very pretty yet, but I just need to do a little prep and some painting. Can't get the clutch to work right though, I can't peddle the bicycle as a normal bike.
 
Mine is a bit harder to pedal as a bike all that drag from the engine turning even though it has no compression. If it isn't fully disengaging, it might just be stiff and need some work or the cable might not be short enough yet. Mine took some tinkering to get it so the short throw actually did something, then it had to loosen up a bit. Till the bike has some extra weight and the engine might not turn but the gears and chain still are some drag.
 
you should be able to pedal with the clutch pulled in. if you got one of the cheap clutch handles the throw is not long enough in most cases. try a brake handle and see if it works then
 
I never tried to use that chrome kit clutch lever so I had no idea it was throwing too short. yeah that would keep it from disengaging as well. The bike should roll freely when hand pushed if the clutch is right. If it doesn't you need to check it out.

It will never pedal as good as it did before you installed the engine though. At least mine doesn't on any of the bikes I've had it on. But it is doable enough to start the engine which is about all I need it for.
 
Got my engine kit kit put on and I am addicted. It is so fun to ride. It's not very pretty, but it's a blast to zip around on. When my camera is no longer MIA I'll get some pics and a video up. My idle adjustment screw seems to useless though. I'm over it.
 
Just ride it. You can tweak it along the way. Nearly all of us started riding them before we were finished. Heck, I'm still not finished with mine and I've been riding quite a while......................:D
 
My idle only started working after the bike engine was broken in. That was just recently the weather here hasn't been all that good.
 
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