'The Friction Beast' - Thats Dax 1.5" kit

lowracer

lowracer

New Member
Not willing to leave well enough alone, I had a friction drive revelation recently while just messing around & installing one of my high powered Cag stage 2 pocketbike engines onto an old BMP 1.25" roller kit. I was blown away with its simplicity & driveability and got to doing the math of what a 1.5" roller would do. Then onto the gear ratio calculator & a few emails to Duane @ Dax. I ordered 2 kits, both with their brand new 1.5" one-way drive rollers & some extra rollers for spares (1.25" & 1.5" & he threw in a few 1" in case I want to experiment one day).
The kits came Saturday afternoon & I quickly unpacked them to check them out. They look as nice as the BMP & came well packed & complete. Since I have a custom mount for my front drive project, I didnt need some of the mounting harware included with the kit.
I hooked it up & did a bit of adjusting before taking it out on its maiden voyage.
The 1.5" gearing is perfect for the hi-performance 11,000 rpm Cag engine & it hooks up well. I'll probably flip the housing around to bring the engine closer to the fork, but for now this works well & isnt too far forward.
I had to remount my exhaust pipe to the opposite side & like the way its further back & blows exhaust under the bike now. Once I get a few more test rides in & some longer commuting miles I'll have more to report but so far I am a happy camper.
Thanks ThatsDax!
-Lowracer-
 

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Looks great man

How does it pull the wheel with it's weight side to side, not much?

Also does the power on the front feel noticeable through corners?

I'm considering doing like you have, and one on the rear, gear'd separate.
 
cmanns,
Front drive has advantages & disadvantages.
The trick to front drive is to get the engine as close as you can to the fork which minimizes torque steer. In the pics above I have it out forward of the fork & I notice more torque steer than my previous setup (but still not bad). Last night, I reversed the channel & drilled 4 holes in it to remount it 3.5" closer to the fork. I havent taken it out for the new test drive yet, maybe later today after re-installing the exhaust.
The extra weight on the front end aids high speed handling & its nice to see, hear & know whats going on with your engine at all times.
Disadvantages: noisier out front, if engine spits oil you wear it, handlebar vibration (but not much on suspension fork using foam grips)...
Try it.
-Lowracer-
 
Ok,
I got the friction drive channel reversal finalized today & took it for a few short test drives around my community. It definitely has less torque steer having the engine mounted closer to the fork & has a lighter steering feel. I'll probably begin work on one of my other MB's tomorrow converting it with the Dax friction drive 1.5" channel. I just hope the Tanaka 32cc w/powerpipe can pull the 1.5" roller. The Tanaka is definitely stronger & higher revving now that its fully broken in than my Subaru Robin EH035. I'll leave this 'Friction Beast' like this for awhile & make observations on front tire wear.
see pics
-Lowracer-
 

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A few more observations concerning the Dax 1.5" friction drive.
I hooked up my 2nd Dax channel to the rear drive hardtail bike w/Tanaka 32cc engine.
The 1.5" roller is just a bit too big for the Tanaka to get into its powerband sweet spot.
I switched to a 1.25" one-way roller & its perfect. The 1.5" roller mated to the Cag stage2 engine is about perfect. I have noticed a bit of tire wear but have been beating on it trying to tune the Walbro carb. Once I get everything dialed back in, I'll try to pedal along with the engine up to cruising speed to extend tire life. Will post more about tire wear & this wonderful Dax friction kit & post more pics soon.
-Lowracer-
 
I decided to purchase another Tanaka engine today. I got the PF4000 40cc version coming in the mail. I already have the PF3300 32cc & am real happy with it. I'm going to finally give up on the super-powerful, super-unreliable Cag pocketbike engines & stick with Tanaka's. I took the Tanaka 32cc w/stand-up scooter type wrap-around pipe out for work today for about 60 miles. Engine performed perfectly but the muffler piece in the mid bleed fell off & I had to ride it home for about 25 miles at decibel levels equal to a rock concert (left ear is still ringing)...
Hopefully the 40cc Tanaka will pull the 1.5" roller?
Anybody got any experience with a Tanaka 40cc w/expansion chamber mod?
-Lowracer-
 
Thats Dax friction drive kit 1.5 month update:

The two friction kits I got from Dax perform flawlessly (as good as my long term BMP kit, BMP now out of business). I have ordered a 1.5" v-belt pulley with a 5/8" bore to be able to switch out the friction roller & run the kit as a v-belt drive. I still have the 'Lowracer Rim 2 Rim' pulley attached to the side of the front wheel. Just need to swap out tires for a 1.5" skinny slick to allow clearance for the belt. I've burned through one tire in 1.5 months using friction drive, but I did some experimenting with very light roller tension for max rpm's & I'm sure this caused more wear than normal especially when I had the Cag engine mounting prior to switching to the Tanaka...

The only input I have for Dax to make a great kit even better is to switch to better engine mounting bolts and spacers. I needed to go to the ACE Hardware store to buy longer engine spacers to fit both the Tanaka & Pocket bike engine. The ones supplied in the kit are too short & would allow the clutch to rub the drum. The bolts are also too short & dont allow enough bite into the engine making it easy to strip. Its also harder to get at the bolts once mounted using a socket wrench or open end wrench. Switch to longer, better metal quality 5mm hex bolts, the bolts can be driven straight thru the opposite holes in the channel with a std size allen key.
-Lowracer-
 
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I notice the pull start goes forward. Is that choice or it's fixed in place? I like the idea of being able to lean over the bars and start the engine easily.
 
Ludwig II,
The pull start is fixed in place.
When I dont run friction drive, the engine mounts on the opposite side of the bike & then the pull start is in your desired position. Personally, with this high compression cag I prefer to get off the bike to start it since it kicks hard & I would probably wreck trying to steer & pull on the fly.
-Lowracer-
 
Dax kit follow-up,
The kit also came with mounting studs which are threaded on both sides & are supposed to be used to mount the engine to the channel. These would allow full thread depth into the engine & plenty of thread going into the channel to mount a nylock nut.
-Lowracer-
 
I ordered another DAX friction drive kit for a v-belt front wheel drive. I'll remove the drive roller & mount a 5/8" bore 1.5" OD V-Belt pulley. This will allow me to flip the engine to the right side & run the Tanaka 40cc with a v-belt around the rim to rim pulley system I kept on the same front wheel. I had done this previously with my old BMP kit (sold) but BMP had a thinner 1/2" shaft. I had trouble with (2) Staton double bearing drive units (drum shafts wore out under the bearings (they are not hardened steel shafts), & prefer the wider bearing stance of these DAX drive units.
-Lowracer-
 
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