what did you do to your motorized bicycle today?

[DaveC]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

Got a new to me bike, a Dynacraft West Coast LTD. 24"x3" tires front and rear. No front brake and a Shimano coaster brake on the rear with posts for the hand brake setup. I put the Italjet expansion chamber on my Morini S5 E, the motor sits like it was made for the bike I don't like the bicycle style handlebar stem so I'll be making a riser kind of mount from aluminum plate. The LTD has straight drag bike handlebars and I'll be changing those to pullbacks. I have what's called encapsulated adheasions in my shoulders that limit my ability to lean over and strech to reach the bars. Another reason for risers and pullback bars is clearance for the Paughco Porkster tank. 3.5 gallons means waaay more fuel than can be burned in a full days riding.

One nice thing, I bought a set of pinapple sprocket adapters a while back. They didn't fit the bike I bought them for. Almost had them sold but the deals fell through, good thing. They fit like a glove on the LTD. It will be so nice not to depend on a rag joint for rear drive. I will also be using a halfshaft with a possible reduction of a 10-14 tooth halfshaft going to a 44 sprocket. With the 24" tire it should put me in the power range of the Morini. The S5 E is not the most powerful of the Morini's, in fact it might be the lowest at 3.x but the Italjet pipe and a 15mm Dellorto should put out around 4 hp. Best thing about it is the iron cylinder that allows a bore on a rebuild and replacement pistons are avalible on eBay and other places. The motor for it's age is in great shape, though, it looks barely broke in

 

[KDB]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

New Mirror and a small tailpipe to quiet the beast.

full rez

http://trybridbicycles.com/hybridbicycles/ChopperFinal5.jpg

Sexy beast.

Gotta get me some saddle bags.

 

[rustycase]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

Whew!

DaveC is takin care of bidness!
I must have fell in with the Jagermeister crowd.

I saw my mab 2day!
didn't touch it...:-(

tried to use a peanut tank on my Econoline...
rc

 

[Dirt Road Cowboy]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

I put on a new fuel line, inline filter and new CDI from LEB.

Still no bang!

 

[vincent713]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

Today I mix new oil purchase from Autozone 32:1 premix with 1 gallon of gas. It runs like shyt! I can barely get up to 20mph full throttle! Time to go back to the more expensive oil. What a waste of gas...

 

[DaveC]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

I put on a new fuel line, inline filter and new CDI from LEB.

Still no bang!

Two things come to mind. First is did you check out the plug to see if it is any good? 2nd if you get no spark it's very possible that the blue wire solder connection to the magneto is bad. There's a way to check this with an ohm meter. Search the site for info on how to check and repair. Was there a new wire on the CD? If it's the old wire that could be the problem, too. It's made in a toy factory from 6 pieces to replace what we do with 3. Failure rates are high for these pieces. sick bike parts has a good replacement plug setup and a nice NGK B6HS plug to go with it, although a B5HS might be better for the cold.

Oh, yeah, I ordered a 44 tooth sprocket today. Really the build needs to start from the rear sprocket so things can be lined up the best. I ordered button head M8 1.25 x 30 mm bolts from an English bolt house. Dumb bastiches sent me 1/4" NF SAE bolts! Not worth it to send them back. What a scam, they can send whatever they want and in my case I won't be ordering bolts online anymore, not with 3 bolthouses within 1.5 miles from here including a Fastenall place.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

Last month, I replaced my Armadillo 26 x 1.95 tires w/Schwalbe Big Apple 26 x 2.35 oversized tires. As soon as I rolled away, I knew something was very wrong. My MB could no longer climb the steep ramp at work and the hill on the way home. The Schwalbes were 27 inches tall; the Armadillos were 26 inches. Although the gear ratios were raised only 4%, it was enough to cause problems. Carb settings had to be adjusted to help compensate. I needed to lower the gear ratios to compensate for taller tires.

Fortunately, I had a new 24t sprocket to replace my 30t bicycle chainring. This would result in a 25% gear reduction, offsetting the large tires' disadvantage. The 24t was installed in the exact position the 30t was in, so there'd be no chain jumping. The bicycle chain can be shortened, if need by.

First gear lowered from 37.09:1 to 46.32:1, a granny gear. The new second gear is now 39.55:1, which is lower than the original first gear. I used to cruise the streets in fifth gear, which was 18.55:1. Methinks I'll be spending time in seventh gear, which is 17.73:1. Eighth gear lowered from 12:1 to 15:1. This is an excellent gear for highway cruising.

The 24t install went quickly, then I rode 5 miles into town. It's the same route I bike to work, only a half-mile shorter. The bike ride was absolutely awesome! With the steep gears, carb response was crisper. Sure enough, seventh gear is where the engine wants to end up in.

The bike's fun factor has doubled; I can tell the engine enjoys it too.

 

[happycheapskate]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

I rode the purple mtn bike I built for my wife. Good times. I rode it on the grassy field and did some donuts, then got some beer at the local beer barn. It rode like a cadillac, the foam tires were fun. At first they felt weird, but after running the back one through the wringer for about 10 minutes it got easier to turn and quit feeling "lumpy." Good ride. Wife will love it. She gets to try it out today.

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

Those are those Amerityres, right HCS?

 

[Dirt Road Cowboy]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

Two things come to mind. First is did you check out the plug to see if it is any good? 2nd if you get no spark it's very possible that the blue wire solder connection to the magneto is bad. There's a way to check this with an ohm meter. Search the site for info on how to check and repair. Was there a new wire on the CD? If it's the old wire that could be the problem, too. It's made in a toy factory from 6 pieces to replace what we do with 3. Failure rates are high for these pieces. sick bike parts has a good replacement plug setup and a nice NGK B6HS plug to go with it, although a B5HS might be better for the cold.

Thanks Dave.

I did replace the plug. O'Reilly didn't have the NGK, so I got a Champion. The plug wire has been replaced from a working Chevy motor that I have, so I know it works.

I'm going to pull the plug and check for spark. I used my ohm meter and checked the magneto, and it checked out OK. The old CDI had no continuity between either of the wires and the plug wire, so I bought another one.

I'm going to reduce the plug gap and see if it may just have a weak spark, and I'll go from there.

 

[happycheapskate]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

No, the Amerityres are a lot better and thicker, I think, but the Nu-Tech (different brand, different design) are good too.

The Nutechs are very light though! You can see both product lines at Flat Free with NoFlatTires The ones on my wife bike are sold as Nutech Raptor 2.00 x 26. I had a pair of Ameritire 26x 1.95 but lost one from my truckbed.

The Nutechs have 2 nylon "beads" inside the foam that hold compression. The Amerityre are solid polyurethane that looks more like a rounded pneumatic tire, and "snap" onto the rim bead hooks. Both are good, but I like the Ameritires better.

Those are those Amerityres, right HCS?

 

[happycheapskate]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

Try this one , made for 2 cycle outboard engines
http://www.amazon.com/Champion-821-L77JC4-Marine-Spark/dp/B000CSREVI

Thanks Dave.

I did replace the plug. O'Reilly didn't have the NGK, so I got a Champion. The plug wire has been replaced from a working Chevy motor that I have, so I know it works.

I'm going to pull the plug and check for spark. I used my ohm meter and checked the magneto, and it checked out OK. The old CDI had no continuity between either of the wires and the plug wire, so I bought another one.

I'm going to reduce the plug gap and see if it may just have a weak spark, and I'll go from there.

 

[Dirt Road Cowboy]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

Well, I checked everything out...Good reading on the magneto, plug is OK...

I checked the new CDI with my ohm meter...It's time for the peanut butter, because that thing is toast!

I should have just made one instead of ordering from LEB!

Plus, I think the seal behind the magneto is leaking.

Oh well, it is definitely a learning experience!

 

[happycheapskate]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

I don't recommend the nutechs foam tires for roller drive. The "rubber" seems to be too soft for this, and the tire does not have much for the roller to grab. It is chewing the tire some, but I am going to run it anyway. Wife likes them and doesn't want to change them. We will see what happens if the "knobs" wear down to the rest of the tire. I expect it will work really good then, if the tire doesn't crack up first. Wish me luck.

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

I imagine that will be an issue with the Amerityres as well, but I also agree that once those knobs are gone and you have a street slick on that wheel, it should be phenomenal with a roller.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

On my daily commuter, I installed a chain tensioner. I used a grooved skateboard wheel, some nuts, bolts and a piece of scrap metal.

On my Trek/Staton/NV?Mits bike, I replaced worn handlebar grips and brake pads. Both chains are rusty, so that's next to replace.

 

[Goat Herder]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

Skate Board Wheels are the best IME . Silky smooth.

 

[vincent713]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

On my daily commuter, I installed a chain tensioner. I used a grooved skateboard wheel, some nuts, bolts and a piece of scrap metal.

On my Trek/Staton/NV?Mits bike, I replaced worn handlebar grips and brake pads. Both chains are rusty, so that's next to replace.

So you replace the roller on the stock tensioner with skateboard wheels?

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

No, I made the tensioner from scratch. I don't have the HT engine. Mine is center-framed Tanaka.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

After lowering the gear ratios, this bike is a joy to ride. Top speed prolly dropped, but low and midrange acceleration greatly improved.

I get to shift to second gear, climbing the steep ramp at work. The hill on the way home is no longer a problem, altho I haven't had to ride in bumper-to-bumber going up that hill.