what did you do to your motorized bicycle today?

[Old Reliable]

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

Blew out a crankshaft bearing on my morini s6c water cooled. Pulled the engine off the bike, and took the engine apart. Swapped out the bearing and seal from another engine, and put it all back together. Also rethreaded the mounting studs on my friends china girl, and repaired his cluth pin. Quite the day of bike repairs. Happy riding!

 

[fatdaddy]

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

A friend and fellow MotorBiker gave me a iridium spark plug and a high performance plug wire. I gave away my last NGKB6HS on a customer repair so all I had left was a Denso plug, (junk.) So after I changed out my carb jet to a 64 and it STILL wasn't running right,(rich,) I was just gonna go get a B6HS. I put in the plug and changed the wire and WHAT A DIFFERENCE. The beastie still takes a minute to warm up, but once she does the little thing SINGS to me.
I always knew the plug and wire could make a difference, I just didn't know HOW MUCH untill now.
I was so happy I rode it over to my girlfriends house, (a 20 mile round trip,) to celebrate.
fatdaddy.

 

[Allen_Wrench]

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

Wow! Your choke does something? Mine only kills the engine!

Well, I only really need it below 6o or 65 degrees. But I do quite a bit of riding in the evening when it's cooler.

 

[fatdaddy]

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

I replaced the rear tire (it was an old mtb tire what made me feel every bump in the road) with a Kenda K838 Slick Wire Bead Bicycle Tire (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DX1DWG/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00) and wow what a difference! It rides sooo smoothly on pavement and off road. Plus a LOT better grip on asphalt.

I then tuned my carb by moving the needle from the mid position to second from the top. I gained 5-7 mph to my top speed (i was only getting 20, with a 66cc, and 41t). Most of my four stroking problem is gone and I have a lot of power. Going to move it to the top position next and see if that helps anymore.

I then re-installed my rear rack and put new screws in all the holdings, two had fallen out over the last few months.

Next i'll be adding my turn signals!

For turn signals I did this on front,

http://www.ebay.com/itm/280594187859?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2648

And I used some trailer side lights for the rear. If you don't have boxes on your bike you could use these front and back. their not too expensive and it's kinda a bullet light.
fatdaddy.
I gotta get a better camera.

 

[dodge dude94]

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

Nothing today, but I think tomorrow I'm going to flip my tank over and fix the gas valve again to keep it from leaking, then mix up some "broke-in" fuel.

I've put 50+ mi on it and 1 gallon of gas, I'm ready for less oil. lol
What should I run? 32:1 or 40:1? I am running synthetic, not dino.

 

[GearNut]

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

I then tuned my carb by moving the needle from the mid position to second from the top. I gained 5-7 mph to my top speed (i was only getting 20, with a 66cc, and 41t). Most of my four stroking problem is gone and I have a lot of power. Going to move it to the top position next and see if that helps anymore.

Remember, the slide needle has very little to no effect on throttle positions greater than 3/4 open throttle.
If you are still experiencing a rich condition beyond 3/4 open throttle, a re-jet is in order.

 

[GearNut]

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

I've put 50+ mi on it and 1 gallon of gas, I'm ready for less oil. lol
What should I run? 32:1 or 40:1? I am running synthetic, not dino.

Either ratio should work well. The ultimate decision breaker is the ratio that your particular oil is designed to run at. Research it if the bottle does not give this information. If researching it comes up with nothing, better to err on the safe side and go with 32:1.

 

[dodge dude94]

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

Either ratio should work well. The ultimate decision breaker is the ratio that your particular oil is designed to run at. Research it if the bottle does not give this information. If researching it comes up with nothing, better to err on the safe side and go with 32:1.

I use the same oil for my string trimmer (40:1) and chainsaw (50:1).
The bottle has fill lines for both ratios. I currently have gas for my trimmer handy, should I throw some of that in it to see how it runs?
I know some dirtbikes run 40:1 and those engines make more power and produce more heat than our HT engines, so that's why I was wondering.

 

[GearNut]

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

When considering a ratio for these cheap, made from recycled beer cans and coat hangers engines, the more lube in it, the better for the poor quality internals.
There are a few highly regarded exceptions to that train of thought though, Opti2 comes to mind.
If you want an "education" on the subject, sit back, grab your favorite beverage and snack food, and read this: http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=9850

 

[dodge dude94]

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

When considering a ratio for these cheap, made from recycled beer cans and coat hangers engines, the more lube in it, the better for the poor quality internals.
There are a few highly regarded exceptions to that train of thought though, Opti2 comes to mind.
If you want an "education" on the subject, sit back, grab your favorite beverage and snack food, and read this: http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=9850

Good grief, 91 pages.
Book marked. Thanks.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

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

I was carpooling to work, so I let my bike sit in the house for 6 months. I'm done carpooling. My wife was dropping me off @ work. When it was time to pick me up, she'd doze off to sleep. This happened too often, so it was time to resume commuting to work w/my MB.

Today, I replaced the front tire tube, installed a new sparkplug and cleaned and oiled my K&N air filter. After draining the old gas, I poured Opti-2 into the Happy Time fuel tank and pedalled to the gas station. Filling the tank, I pedalled on the grass for a block to thoroughly mix the 2-stroke mix. After several pulls, the Tanaka 47R engine roared to life. I had forgotten what this powerful engine had sounded like! It was dark, so I slowly rode the isolated deserted sidewalks for a testride. Before parking the bike, I had replaced both wheels and added a new 11t-34t cassette with new bike chain and 8mm engine chain.

Surprisingly, nothing fell off. The chains remained in place and never missed a shift. The bike and I are ready for tomorrow's 12-mile commute.

I can hardly wait until daylight!

 

[happycheapskate]

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

I rode it, WOT of course, to the next country town. I passed a hay truck coming the other way, an 18 wheeler with a flatbed loaded to the absolute max with roll bales. As the vehicle approached, it felt like a crazy tailwind was pushing me. As it neared, I leaned away from the suction of it's draft, then as it roared past, a massive thrust of air slammed into me. I thought it might blow me off the bike, but I kept it on the road.

http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/macneil/2007/11-28/kw_hay_hauler.jpg

 

[Pilotgeek]

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

Hmm. what did I do to my motor bike. I built a tail light using high-intensity LEDs to work off the white wire (Protip: Do not buy from Radio Shack. Too expensive. Over $2 per LED? No thank you). It has 6 LEDs, 3 are on all the time, and the other 3 come on when I put on the brakes.

 

[fatdaddy]

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

Hmm. what did I do to my motor bike. I built a tail light using high-intensity LEDs to work off the white wire (Protip: Do not buy from Radio Shack. Too expensive. Over $2 per LED? No thank you). It has 6 LEDs, 3 are on all the time, and the other 3 come on when I put on the brakes.

Depending on how much power it draws from the white wire, you might want to put a switch on the light. If the light is taking too much power it might be easier to cold start if ALL the electrical power is at your disposal. I know LED's draw a LOT less then regular bulbs, but it will draw some. It's just a thought.
No one I know has ever had any luck using the infernal white wire. Let us know how it goes.
fatdaddy.

 

[Pilotgeek]

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

I've had the headlight on it for the last 1,000 miles and was living with a bell tail light crudely wired into it, but I wanted a more efficient tail light with brake. The whole system draws only about .3 watts, runs no different whether I plug it in or not except I have to turn the idle screw about 1/4 turn in.

Video of new lights

 

[fatdaddy]

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

I've had the headlight on it for the last 1,000 miles and was living with a bell tail light crudely wired into it, but I wanted a more efficient tail light with brake. The whole system draws only about .3 watts, runs no different whether I plug it in or not except I have to turn the idle screw about 1/4 turn in.

Video of new lights

So it is drawing noticable power from the engine. You may not FEEL it in the powerband, but the plug is not getting the same spark it was before. But, If it still runs good enough for you then it don't matter. My original concern was about cold starting. If it still starts well while cold then you're OK I think.
Your lights seem to work well, Good job.
fatdaddy.

 

[Pilotgeek]

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

1/4 turn in is not that much while idling (it does not make much power idling in the first place). If I had to crank the idle in multiple full turns, THAT would be drawing noticeable power. Whether I ride with or without lights, it performs the same. It will haul me and my loaded bike (310lbs total) up a pretty steep incline at 28mph. I've even used resistor spark plugs without much difference. Maybe I have an abnormally powerful magneto or something. I've noticed it doesn't reduce spark much until you draw over .5 watts on the white wire, and my lighting uses about .3 watts.

 

[Steve1990]

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

I discovered it will run with the float bowl most of the way off. lol. I was having a hard time starting it, but it started, then I fealt my ankel getting wet, pulled off, one screw to the float bowl was gone and the other was almost gone. But the bike was still running. Gotta find another screw now.

 

[Pilotgeek]

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

Hah, the cheap carbs never cease to amaze me. I know the screws are a fairly common size because I had some laying around. If you can cut a cork gasket, those work well to help seal the bowl and put pressure on the screws if they come loose a bit.

 

[bigbutterbean]

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

Straightened out my rear axle, it was a little wobbly. its good now. took a grip shifter and turned it into a throttle so I could get rid of the cheap chinese junk plastic throttle. grip shifter had to go on the left handlebar, so its a bit of an adjustment, but its working good. i took the metal pawl out of the grip shifter, so no cruise control lol, but it works, better than the kit throttle did.