what did you do to your motorized bicycle today?

Today I finally rode mine again after it sat for weeks because I just didn't have time to hop on and go for a ride... I usually take the Sportster in the morning after I get to the shop to make my breakfast runs on but I didn't feel like opening up the big doors to get it out of the shop so I grabbed the bike and pushed it out thru the office, gave the pull start a good pull and let it warm up, then off I was to the store down the street. The bike accelerated nicely up to speed and it's got enough bottom end power to take off from a dead stop, I've been playing with the clutch on this thing a lot recently so it feels more motorcycle like so I can take off without pedaling, it's nice, but after my ride this morning I decided to get my centrifugal clutch out of my "bike stash" box and install it. The installation is straight forward, but after I got the cover adapter on and was installing the clutch I noticed the bike wouldn't move... time to take things back apart and find out what's locking it up. Come to find out the 3 pins on the clutch are hitting the cover so for a trial fit I used washers between the cover and the engine case to see how much space I needed and tomorrow I'll make an aluminum spacer then reinstall the cover and check clearances again.
If I can get this to work the way I want it to I'll be able to do away with the clutch lever and just make up a neutral lock in case the bike needs to be pedaled.

Then later on today at the shop I was about 1/2 hour away from closing up and a customer pulls in and asks me if it's too late for me to do another alignment, I agreed to do the job before closing up shop and pulled his truck up on the rack. This guy noticed the bike parked in the shop and asked if he could go look at it and I said he could... He was practically drooling all over it and told me he built a few of these in the past and sells them. He's not in the forums so he never seen a clutch roller before or a centrifugal clutch so he was asking me about everything and I was answering his questions and decided to show him the Morini engine I got that I'm saving for the right project when he told me it should fit a Stingray frame pretty easily. I replied "yeah... if I can find one, that would be perfect" so he then tells me he has a stingray that he's not going to do anything with, it's a complete bike but needs some TLC, and then said he would sell it to me for $35. I told him I'd buy it and fix it up then add in the engine so hopefully he'll bring it by the shop in the next few days so I can work it on the slower days and on the weekends until I get it done.... so look for my next project... a Stingray with a Morini dual variated engine... and hopefully the 70cc kit as well.
 
Had some free time at the shop today so I finished the centrifugal clutch install... The clutch works really well but engages just above idle so dead stop take offs are a bit slow, I may look for a stiffer spring and try that... it would be a lot better if it engaged about 1000 rpm higher also because the bike will idle on the kickstand but the clutch does grab just enough that I can feel the bike lunging forward, but not enough to push off the kick stand. Bringing the idle speed down helped the problem but not sure if it'll idle that low befor the engine is warmed up. The bike can be bump started, pedal started, or pull started with this clutch installed thanks to the one way bearing so I'll still need to come up with a way to lock the clutch in the disengaged position in case pedaling is needed. The bike has plenty enough power down low to take off without pedal assistance so that's not a problem, but walking it thru the garage etc does require lifting the rear wheel off the ground so a "neutral lock" would be nice.
Now I remember why I chose not to install it before... the pedal hits now so I need to either put a double bend on the crank like I did on the other side to clear the pull start or just go ahead and order up a wide crank setup.

So far the pro's of the centrifugal clutch are easy take offs, easy stops no need to use one brake and the clutch to keep the engine running, and the cons are it engages too early, and the bike can't be pushed with the engine off without lifting the rear wheel off the ground, as well as pedal clearance can be a problem.

Didn't see the guy with the Stingray today but he'll be coming back to the shop for more work on his truck soon, and he may drop it off this week when he gets off work. I know he really wants to see it with that Morini engine installed...
 
Thanks for that... my clutch is a little different but it can be modified to work by either doing away with the one way bearing or doing somethig similar to that post and adding in the pawl so it can still be bump started without a one way bearing.
Next time I get some free time at the shop I'll look at my options and decide how to best overcome the drawbacks of this setup. For the engagement rpm the easiest way to do that would be by drilling holes into the weights until it engages at the desired rpm, then after it engages where I want it, it would need to be removed and balanced since these weights are pretty heavy.

Since my free time can really be limited and I like to keep this one working progress may be slower than I like but I'll get it there.
 
I have had my bike going for a few weeks now, and it has come to an end.

I have to get rid of it due to the new FL laws. I started saving and planning for this for a few months with the understanding that it was still considered a bicycle in the eyes of the law. I didnt find out the law changed until after my bike was finished.

Two times today I had the police tell me to not run the engine. One cop even told me he could take me to jail even if the engine wasnt running. I know thats BS but what can you do.

I cant afford an electric bike, they are so damn expensive and it was a pain trying to save up for the gas build.

What a crappy day.
 
chained said:
I have had my bike going for a few weeks now, and it has come to an end.

I have to get rid of it due to the new FL laws. I started saving and planning for this for a few months with the understanding that it was still considered a bicycle in the eyes of the law. I didnt find out the law changed until after my bike was finished.

Two times today I had the police tell me to not run the engine. One cop even told me he could take me to jail even if the engine wasnt running. I know thats BS but what can you do.

I cant afford an electric bike, they are so damn expensive and it was a pain trying to save up for the gas build.

What a crappy day.
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just curious about what the Florida laws now says about a motor assisted bicycle.

map
 
mapbike said:
just curious about what the Florida laws now says about a motor assisted bicycle.

map
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From what I gather, you need to have it inspected at the DMV, get issued a reistration and a tag. It must have operating turn signals, headlight, and brake light.


You also need a DL. My DL is suspended for a few unpaid tickets, and the fines are too much too get taken care of for me right now. The vops told me I could be arrested for driving on a suspended license.

Seriously, this is just wrong. As soon as something gains a bit of popularity, big gubment comes in and finds all the ways to suck as much revenue from it as they can.

I just got the bike setup real nice, and now I have to try and sell it and hope I get enough for a used electric bike.
 
crassius said:
if only it were a democracy where one could vote that law dawn
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That's the problem: the huge majority of people neither know nor care about motorized bicycles. In a democracy, it is easy for politicians and "news" outlets (no doubt in the pockets of big insurance companies, etc.) to spin a story to that majority that we are somehow cheating them by having unlicensed, uninsured, unregistered, uninspected, non-EPA-approved vehicles.

We are the illegal aliens. We are the Gypsies.
 
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WECSOG said:
That's the problem: the huge majority of people neither know nor care about motorized bicycles. In a democracy, it is easy for politicians and "news" outlets (no doubt in the pockets of big insurance companies, etc.) to spin a story to that majority that we are somehow cheating them by having unlicensed, uninsured, unregistered, uninspected, non-EPA-approved vehicles.

We are the illegal aliens. We are the Gypsies.
Click to expand...

Yup... as well as all the laws they slip in without the public even noticing, but yeah, all it takes in one good crash caught on film and the media as well as the politicians will run with it. I know it's a constant battle just to own a sportbike because some squid wearing shorts, flip flops, tank top and no helmet wrecked and got killed going 160 mph down a busy road so they want to outlaw all of those type bikes or limit their top speeds or limit the horsepower.
Same thing happened with skateboards in the late 80's where they've been pretty much outlawed everywhere except for your own property, then when pocketbikes bewcame popular, they were quickly outlawwed as well... after some irresponsible parents let their 6 year old kid ride on the streets unsupervised so it ruins it for everyone. Now it's the motorized bikes under attack by the politicians and media is next... if not already under attack by the media in other places.

Basically, if it's fun and it becomes popular, let's outlaw it...
 
Now that my rant is over... I didn't make it to the shop today where my bike is so nothing got done today... I got a good idea on how to remedy the ill effects of having a centrifugal clutch on the China Girl engines so I'll continue with my game plan tomorrow... After I make my morning taco run on the bike... And that's why I keep the bike at the shop instead of at home... it's great for running for tacos in the morning... and for a quick trip to the store for a fresh can of Copenhagen when I run out mid day since there's a Valero store not too far from the shop so I can see the shop the whole time I'm out and don't need to close up just for a can of dip.
 
I didn't do anything to mine today, either. I'll probably at least take it for a spin tomorrow, and see how the new speedo works.
 
Just rode mine to work as usual, new tires sitting on the floor waiting for my day off so I can put them on

Bike sat out in light rain again, started right up. The gasket sealer must be working to keep the rain out and away from the magneto
 
Not today, but yesterday I fired up my bike for a quick ride. This was the first time I've been on it since I broke my toes (not bike related) in September. Once my foot was back together, it's been kinda chilly for riding here in Maine. In the mean time, I had put on a new seat and a layback post from sportscarpat. That new combo is great, feels much less bicycle like and much more motorcycle like. I don't expect I'll get to ride again before spring with the temps coming down but it sure was nice cruising in warm 50° yesterday.
 
Just took my mobi for a 2.5 mile spin. Taiwan speedometer works fine. I didn't take my GPS along, but it seems reasonably accurate.
 
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