what did you do to your motorized bicycle today?

GoldenMotor.com

KDB

New Member
Jun 19, 2011
47
0
0
Maryland
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

rob.smith
You are on the internet. It is possible that no one here ever even heard of your home town.
We do not recognize the brand names you are talking about and I have seen a few places named "running" or "runnings" but probably not the one you are mean.
Start at the beginning; are you talking about two-stroke oil?
 

KDB

New Member
Jun 19, 2011
47
0
0
Maryland
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

I hate float valve carbs.
First off: my cheap engine came improperly assembled from the start, seems you can put it together ALMOST correctly and it will usually work. I figured out what the little clip on the other side of the float valve lever was for myself. I guess the designer did not communicate well with the manufacturer.
Worse, one little grain of sand and the whole thing just floods itself and pours gas all over the pavement.
Tonight I disassembled and reassembled my carb under a street light three times before saying "Fine, if I run full throttle the slow flow petcock won't let it flood and even if I get 12 miles to a gallon I will get home before dawn.
Eventually I stopped for a break and the carb was working fine, not flooding. I guess the obstruction worked it's way into the cylinder.
I use two fuel filters (both standard with the BGF kit). What else can I do?
 

rustycase

Gutter Rider
May 26, 2011
2,746
5
0
Left coast
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

might be gud to drop a handful of marbles and a packet of steel BB's in that gas tank and shake it around for a while (with a cup of pre-mix) and then flush it out to remove any scale in there... I'm STILL not running a filter and have had no probs.
(which doesn't mean I won't, today!) :)
rc
 

vincent713

New Member
Jun 2, 2010
287
0
0
Dallas
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

I hate float valve carbs.
First off: my cheap engine came improperly assembled from the start, seems you can put it together ALMOST correctly and it will usually work. I figured out what the little clip on the other side of the float valve lever was for myself. I guess the designer did not communicate well with the manufacturer.
Worse, one little grain of sand and the whole thing just floods itself and pours gas all over the pavement.
Tonight I disassembled and reassembled my carb under a street light three times before saying "Fine, if I run full throttle the slow flow petcock won't let it flood and even if I get 12 miles to a gallon I will get home before dawn.
Eventually I stopped for a break and the carb was working fine, not flooding. I guess the obstruction worked it's way into the cylinder.
I use two fuel filters (both standard with the BGF kit). What else can I do?
I had the same problem with my flooded carb, what you have to do is take the bowl underneath out and bend the 2 metal "C" looking clip that controls the flow of gas into the bowl. Bend it upward ever so slightly, put everything back together and that should solve your flooding issue.
 

CTripps

Active Member
Aug 22, 2011
1,310
1
38
Vancouver, B.C.
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

Funny you should mention chain breaking.....

I threw my chain on my way to work this morning, two miles from home. Sure enough, there it lay on the road behind me like a dead snake. Luckily, no one ran over it.

As I pulled over, I realized I had forgotten to bring my backpack (with tools and spare chain).:-||

As soon as my wife brought my backpack, I was back on the road shortly. The chain had pulled away @ the link. Perhaps it was where I had repaired it once before, a few weeks ago.
Yeah the first time I dropped the chain I was lucky to get it back in usable condition, there's a lot of heavy truck traffic in the area I lost it in. I have a small kit/bag with most of the tools I need at all times in the carrier bags, wrapped in a few shop rags. There have been times I've had the kit out and considered leaving it in the garage for a quick trip to the store, but I always pack it up and pack it anyway.
 

5-7HEAVEN

Well-Known Member
Aug 2, 2008
2,661
240
63
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

I ALWAYS carry my backpack, unless I forget it. If I had it then, I would've been 15 minutes late for work, not 55 minutes.

Need to leave home earlier, but I don't ride in the dark.:-||
 

CTripps

Active Member
Aug 22, 2011
1,310
1
38
Vancouver, B.C.
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

The rain has stopped for now so I've been riding to work most of the week, except for yesterday when I found it sitting on a flat in the morning. Back wheel, of course. So last night I set out to fix it. Dropped the wheel, pulled everything apart, cleaned the tube and tire, found and patched the leak. Thoroughly inspected the tire inside and out, wiped it all down and it's clear of any debris. Put the wheel back together, wrestled it back into the frame, got the chains settled, only for the tube to have an explosive blowout while inflating it, long rip in the tube. (I like to run at 65 psi on my set up, it let go below that.) Fortunately I had a tube on hand for a build I haven't started yet, so I pulled everything apart again and replaced the tube and put it all back together again.

It seems I didn't have the nut on the opposite side of the quick-release quite tight enough, and on the trip to work I had to stop and re-align the wheel three times and spent most of my lunch break getting it set right. It's a very fine adjustment, less than a quarter turn one way and the wheel won't stay straight, and the same margin to the other direction and there's no way the release lever can be moved to the lock position. The box end of my 14mm wrench over the lever gives me enough leverage to get it over. The trick, especially curb-side is holding the bike still, keeping the wheel straight, and locking it in. I've been keeping my eyes open for an a-frame style kickstand, but they're few and far between lately.
Probably due to extra vibration from the knobby rubbing the chainstay, the muffler decided to work loose as well (at the cylinder). I shut it down before losing any hardware, got everything tightened up again, and managed to make it to work with just enough time to lock up and sort my stuff out.

Not the best start to the day but I got it there, and it seemed fine coming home. The amount of time it takes to get home at the end of the day makes it worth the occasional bad day. When I ride the bike, it can take as little as 11 minutes (best time so far) to get across the bridge and home. With the car, I'm waiting in traffic for closer to 20 minutes just to get to the on-ramp for the bridge at that time of day.
 

jowens

New Member
Jul 25, 2011
128
0
0
Webster Fl
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

listening to very eclectic music<-------had to replace my exhaust, weld broke, it was tragic......also have had to put plug saver into my head, which has had me cutting a new set of threads for "a hilicoil", this is my second go around with this.......tip for everyone else out there, use equall pressure when cutting new threads for anything!!!!!!!!!.....hopefully this go around will be better, will update tomorrow.
 

5-7HEAVEN

Well-Known Member
Aug 2, 2008
2,661
240
63
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

I am passing maybe 50 cars gridlocked in traffic. At some places, I pedal and motor slowly on the sidewalk, other places I use the bike lane. On the steep gridlocked hill, I ride up the path at the roadside like a dirtbike. When they play catch up by speeding in a 25mph zone, I cruise in the bike lane @ 15mph and relax for 2 blocks. When the cagers charge ahead to the next two red lights, I'm motoring on the sidewalk @ walking or jogging speed until I reach home.

I am SO relaxed by the time I park my bike.dance1
 

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
5,104
11
38
San Diego, Kaliforgnia
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

listening to very eclectic music<-------had to replace my exhaust, weld broke, it was tragic......also have had to put plug saver into my head, which has had me cutting a new set of threads for "a hilicoil", this is my second go around with this.......tip for everyone else out there, use equall pressure when cutting new threads for anything!!!!!!!!!.....hopefully this go around will be better, will update tomorrow.
What are you using for tapping (thread cutting) oil?
Using the wrong oil can be what is causing some of your troubles.
 

jowens

New Member
Jul 25, 2011
128
0
0
Webster Fl
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

The first time I used heavy lithium grease to cut the threads. The second time I used some old Mobile One motor oil. I still havent tried to run my bike to see if this helicoil is going to work Im keeping my fingers crossed though.
 

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
5,104
11
38
San Diego, Kaliforgnia
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

For cutting threads into aluminum, use kerosene for a lubricant.
For cutting threads into steel, use Marvel Mystery Oil. 3 in 1, or similar light weight oil.
 

CTripps

Active Member
Aug 22, 2011
1,310
1
38
Vancouver, B.C.
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.

Rode to work, great, no problems. Just after I started my ride home, my clutch cable broke at the lever. With some cautious balancing between throttle, idle and brakes I made it most of the way home before I stalled it out. Used a cable tie from the tool kit to hold the clutch arm so I could roll it up the last part of the hill. I have no doubts that I'll find the barrel end of the cable. It often seems like I have that kind of luck, a few strands of cable will be drawn to my tires like they're magnetic. So, dug into a box in the garage and pulled out an old brake cable. Once I got it loosened up I cut the sheath to length with the Dremel, greased the cable and worked it back and forth in the sheath a bit with some help from WD40. Threaded the end back on the cable, crimped it on, threaded the cable through and put the keeper on it, snugged in nicely. Feels pretty good, I'll see how it does in the morning.