stupid thing won't start

joeblow

joeblow

New Member
Hi everyone, again. I am having a rough time with this bike kit and have been for over a year. I am still on my first gallon of gas because of the multitude of problems with this thing, and that includes a significant leak that seems to have stopped.

I put new brakes on it and was all excited to test ride it, but the dumb machine wouldn't start. the clutch would catch hard enough to make my tires squeal a little, but not a peep from the engine. I am inclined to think it would be electrical, since it seems to do nothing at all.

Anyone have similar problems? Advice? Questions? Answers?

thanks,
:-||
 
can you hear your motor turning when you try to start it? if so are you getting any spark from it.

Can you take the spark plug off and hear the motor turn.

its a good way to see if you have spark plus the motor will be easier to turn over.

My best word of advise right now is to check your wiring blue to blue, black to black, white nothing, unhook the kill switch for now to see if that is what is causing you bike not to spark. If it is your kill switch you can goto radio shack and get a cheap toggle switch.

Can you add some more information like the type of symptoms you have what you have is a start. I am sure more people will jump in and help out too.
 
OK, I guess I was a little vague in my anger. I am not getting any turning. it grinds to a halt. no engine noises whatsoever. I have the stock kill switch setup instead of the splice into the blue and black wires, so that is my white wire, but I can disconnect it and see what happens. Is there any way to test the spark plug by itself?
If it is not my kill switch shorting is it a good assumption that it is my spark plug?
 
disconnecting the kill switch didn't work. can I assume at this point the spark plug is busted? maybe the magneto is destroyed?
 
Well, if the motor isn't turning at all then it isn't the spark plug, that means something seized. Is your motor painted? I saw one thread where a guy's motor wouldn't turn over because the inside of the cylinder was painted!
 
Does the engine turn at all? Is it flooded to the point of being locked up?
Does the rear wheel keep turning when you release the clutch, but the engine doesn't turn?
 
>I am having a rough time with this bike kit and have been for over a year. I am still on my first >gallon of gas

Even if you get spark you will not start if that is the same gallon of gas that you put in a year ago..
 
year old gas

pull carb and clean it..it may be varnished.

remove air filter and spray some starter fluid in it and it fires up, you have a fuel problem.
 
You say the engine won't turn. Let's start there (fuel doesn't mean anything without rotation)

Can you pedal it when holding the clutch in? I see you did at one time, but does the rear wheel still spin when you are depressing the clutch?

If not, the chain is probably bunched up where at the cover over the drive sprocket. Take the sprocket cover off and free the chain. This is usually caused by the chain being too loose, but can also be caused by the chain hanging up on the sprocket teeth. the cure for that is grinding the edge off of the teeth so the chain comes off of it smoothly.

If you can pedal with the clutch pulled in, the issue is likely inside the engine. It is possible that it is in the gear drive, but unlikely. Since it's easier, go ahead and pull the gear cover off and see if something is jammed in the gears (like i said, unlikely).

If it is not the gears, it's in the cylinder or crankcase. First, remove the plug and see if you can see anything wrong. Is the plug electrode still there? If you cannot see anything and the engine is out of warranty, pull the head and see what you can see. Then, if necessary, pull the jug.
 
Ok, when people ask if the engine is "turning" I assume that means that it is making a sound that would indicated it is trying to ignite and start. The gear turns fine. I can ride it like a bike just fine. When I release the clutch it pulls hard and stops me, but does not wreck me immediately. It is turning inside but it is not igniting. It turns, but is rough enough to stop me within a few feet. It works better than my brakes.

Also it is not full of year old gas, it took me a year to get it working.

It could be flooded enough to lock up? I guess if I have to take the thing apart that would be the first thing I see if that is the problem.
 
Based on what you said, the engine is not seized. Take the spark plug out and place it so it is touching the engine. Lift the rear wheel off the ground and spin the rear wheel with the clutch out so it rotates the engine. Does the sparkplug spark? If so- fine. If not disconnect the kill switch and try it again.

If you have spark, check your fuel flow. After you try to start it (plug in), take the plug out. Do you smell gas on it? If not, make sure you have gas flowing. Don't trust the pertcock position. Remove the line from the carb and make sure gas is flowing.

See what you find from these and report back. We'll figure this out!
 
if your engine wont crank, and it stops you,

First, how fast are you pedaling? if you are only doing pedaling at a leisurely rate, it will do that.

second, did it ever run? if so, did you mix the wrong amount of oil and let it seize?

and like they said above, take the plug out or better yet, take the cyl head cover off and check it that way.
 
I just got my first build running, so I am not someone to be trusted, but here is what happened to me.

Sometimes when I popped the clutch it locked up just like Joe Blow's does. Stops better than the brakes do. I later learned that the clip came off the master link causing the link to come partly apart and I think it was jamming up in the clutch cover.

So when it jams up, leave it exactly as it is, get off and look at the chain situation inside the clutch cover.

Just a thought, don't take my word for it.
 
surfer, unfortunately I already lost my master link on my first ride. I got the chain put on at a bike shop because my chain tool is the wrong kind.

I have had it running, but maybe the oil mix is wrong and it seized. I have been meaning to get synthetic motorcycle oil, but sadly before I learned of its importance I had been using some kind of universal 2 stroke oil for chainsaws and stuff.

So, I went to check it out today. I changed the spark plug and the new one fits better, but that didn't fix the problem. In the crank case (I should put a pic of this) it kind of looks like it scraped some metal off the side. I am thinking this may be the one thing worse than an electrical problem. Is there anyway I can manually lubricate and manipulate the piston to get it into working order again?

As for a warranty, I bought this junk pile from an ebay seller. It seems the same as a thatsdax machine, but there is no telling. I have had to replace the throttle and clutch handle siimply because they fell apart. I think it might have been a metal/wax alloy.

Other observations: gas flow is fine, a little too good, had to tighten the nipple on the carb.
spark plug is new so it should work, but maybe it is not getting power? so how do I do this test? unscrew it but keep it connected the the CDI thing and crank it?

Anyway, thanks for helping people. this forum turns this project from a disaster into a mere headache.
 
Ok, so the thing had seized. I took the head apart and forced the piston to move. Then i put in a fresh tank of oily gas and it runs well again.
 
joeblow said:
Ok, so the thing had seized. I took the head apart and forced the piston to move. Then i put in a fresh tank of oily gas and it runs well again.
Click to expand...

Sounds like it was just old gas. You said before you could pedal it and when you popped the clutch, it sounded like it was turning and not firing....that's not how an engine acts when it's seized.
 
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