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:DHere's a wild Kulana, I call it my SUPER STRETCH BANANA TANDEM!!!
 

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Cool *** bike dude!!!!! You did great!!!! Can't wait to see what you do with it. I'm sure it will be beautiful!!!!

Thanks Ron, I love the moon dogs.. sometimes I think a quarter of the board has them lol. Maybe not but a lot do. I will make some pics if I ever get to the point of having an engine to put on it.
 
Dude, don't talk negative!!! Sure you'll have an engine!!! And the way your going, sooner than you think!!!! Remember, nothin but a thing, chickin wing on a string Bro!!!!
 
Dude, don't talk negative!!! Sure you'll have an engine!!! And the way your going, sooner than you think!!!! Remember, nothin but a thing, chickin wing on a string Bro!!!!

Thanks ron, didn't mean to be too negative. Guess I'm being a bit impatient though. I want it NOW (lol). nutin but a thang....
 
Funny how guys our age or getting so excited about this.

I started looking for a bike about 2 weeks ago and came across the Moon Dog. My first impression was who in their right mind would buy such an ugly bike. I was getting ready to plop down 200.00 - 250.00 for a bike to get around in town, not even knowing about these motor kits. Right before I made my purchase, I did some last minute research on the net and came across these kits. All of a sudden the beauty of the Moon Dog hit me.

I bought my first Moon Dog last Sunday, already assembled, the headset and crank bearings were a mess, so I took it back the next day and got one in the box. The assemblers in China over tightened most of the stuff, headset, crank and wheel bearings. I took mine apart, greased and adjusted everything. It rolls real good now without any noises except for the little stud pieces of rubber on the tire slapping the fender supports, and I've about got them all trimmed off.

There is a big big difference in the ride (not necessarily comfort, but effort it takes to propel it) between the one that I got off the shelf and the one I assembled (plus a lot less scratches).

If you are going to motorized this bike I would strongly suggest you doing the same, especially the wheel bearings and the freewheel assembly, because if your motoring along, your not going to notice that your bearings have cratered until its too late. The bearings on these bikes are not the inexpensive ones, they're the cheap ones.

That one poster that you thanked for giving the heads up on the flywheel... I think he probably meant freewheel.

I'm painting my engine now and assembling most of what I can, then I'll be waiting on my 50T sprocket.
 
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I started looking for a bike about 2 weeks ago and came across the Moon Dog. My first impression was who in their right mind would buy such an ugly bike. I was getting ready to plop down 200.00 - 250.00 for a bike to get around in town, not even knowing about these motor kits. Right before I made my purchase, I did some last minute research on the net and came across these kits. All of a sudden the beauty of the Moon Dog hit me.

I bought my first Moon Dog last Sunday, already assembled, the headset and crank bearings were a mess, so I took it back the next day and got one in the box. The assemblers in China over tightened most of the stuff, headset, crank and wheel bearings. I took mine apart, greased and adjusted everything. It rolls real good now without any noises except for the little stud pieces of rubber on the tire slapping the fender supports, and I've about got them all trimmed off.

There is a big big difference in the ride (not necessarily comfort, but effort it takes to propel it) between the one that I got off the shelf and the one I assembled (plus a lot less scratches).

If you are going to motorized this bike I would strongly suggest you doing the same, especially the wheel bearings and the freewheel assembly, because if your motoring along, your not going to notice that your bearings have cratered until its too late. The bearings on these bikes are not the inexpensive ones, they're the cheap ones.

That one poster that you thanked for giving the heads up on the flywheel... I think he probably meant freewheel.

I'm painting my engine now and assembling most of what I can, then I'll be waiting on my 50T sprocket.

Yea, us "old guys" get carried away with this stuff :) And yea, I thought that it was ugly at first too but after looking at it for a while it just grew on me somehow... until the time came where I was dying to have one. I think the price tag kept me coming back and looking and I just got used to the way it looked. Now I love it :D

Mine was already assembled and was ok except for some rattling in the fenders. I tightened a few bolts and everything is kool now :cool: Tomorrow I'm going to go through the owners manual and find out what to oil and grease and make sure everything is happy (so I will be happy). I can't believe that it came with an owner's manual. Not bad for a $99.00 bike.

You said that you took yours apart and greased everything. How difficult is that. I'm pretty much a dummy when it comes to mechanics. How do I know that the "stuff" has been over tightened?

Are you painting your engine black? I would image that you would be but you never know.

Let me know about the crank, wheel bearings and such... I probably need to check mine and grease them. Is there a certain kind of grease that you use? Sorry for the dumb question but I really don't know.

Thanks outdoorcat. Thanks a bunch for your help.
 
Headset, crank and wheel bearing adjustment instructions are in the manual, and there is just a short entry for inspection of the freewheel. If you have never broken down a freewheel before and are not too mechanically minded, I would not attempt it without some help, it is one of those things that you might get apart, but have trouble putting back together.

As far as the headset, crank, and wheel bearings, its pretty simple, I first started doing mine when I was 7 years old. After greasing just tighten down to the point that there is extremely little (less than a hair) or no play, without any drag. I normally spin the wheel and thighten until there is just a touch of drag, then back off a tiny bit, but once you've thightened the the locknut you may find that you need to go back and loosen the adjusting nut once more. Its just something you'll have to play with to get the right feel. I just use general purpose (wheel bearing) grease.

I'm painting my engine black with the ceramic engine paint. Not only does it look good on that bike, but it actually makes it blend in to the bike without standing out. It makes it not so noticeable going down the street. This bike, even with the 48cc engine, will not be "street legal" here, I'm hoping to stay under the radar with it, and keeping the speed down below 20 MPH, most of the time I will probably run about 10 MPH and peddle at the same time. That way I might get away with it.

Under pedal power, and a slight incline I must add, I have had this bike up to 21 MPH, for me and this bike, that was plenty fast, and under motor power if I get caught going over 20, I could get in big trouble. That's why I went with the 50T sprocket.
 
Headset, crank and wheel bearing adjustment instructions are in the manual, and there is just a short entry for inspection of the freewheel. If you have never broken down a freewheel before and are not too mechanically minded, I would not attempt it without some help, it is one of those things that you might get apart, but have trouble putting back together.

As far as the headset, crank, and wheel bearings, its pretty simple, I first started doing mine when I was 7 years old. After greasing just tighten down to the point that there is extremely little (less than a hair) or no play, without any drag. I normally spin the wheel and thighten until there is just a touch of drag, then back off a tiny bit, but once you've thightened the the locknut you may find that you need to go back and loosen the adjusting nut once more. Its just something you'll have to play with to get the right feel. I just use general purpose (wheel bearing) grease.

I'm painting my engine black with the ceramic engine paint. Not only does it look good on that bike, but it actually makes it blend in to the bike without standing out. It makes it not so noticeable going down the street. This bike, even with the 48cc engine, will not be "street legal" here, I'm hoping to stay under the radar with it, and keeping the speed down below 20 MPH, most of the time I will probably run about 10 MPH and peddle at the same time. That way I might get away with it.

Under pedal power, and a slight incline I must add, I have had this bike up to 21 MPH, for me and this bike, that was plenty fast, and under motor power if I get caught going over 20, I could get in big trouble. That's why I went with the 50T sprocket.

cool about the manual... I just started reading it tonight and just started getting into the parts where it talks about greasing everything. I'm glad the bike came with one. Need all the help I can get :D Thanks about the freewheel advice. Think I will leave that one alone for a while. No sense in cutting my nose off.

Glad to hear that the headset, crank and wheel bearings are pretty simple. I like simple. I will get used to it as I go along and eventually it won't be so foreign to me anymore. Thanks for the advice on those. And the all purpose wheel bearing grease.

Yea, the black engine looks good on a moon dog. I've seen others here do it and it looks good. Really blends in with the bike and the tank well. Sorry you have a bit of a problem keeping your bike street legal where you are. Things are actually quite easy where I am. Wear a helmet and have a drivers license. That's pretty much it. I guess you would have to have lights if you were driving at night. Not sure about that part yet. But that makes sense.

The closest big town to where I am is about 18 miles away and there is a bike path coming and going each way. Once I get mine together I'm going to take a trip (when I feel comfortable with that) and see the big city. That will be my first big trip that I take. Before I do that I want to be ready though. Like I want to have my toolkit and be prepared for flats and stuff.

Thanks for all the advice and helping me out. I'm going to do some more reading tonight in the manual (if I can stay awake :D ) Will talk to you later.

Thanks!
 
I guess you would have to have lights if you were driving at night. Not sure about that part yet. But that makes sense.

The general rule for bicycles, not only motor-assisted bikes, in all states, but is not normally enforced is this. A bicycle at night must have a white lamp on the front visible from at least 500 ft. Some states require a red tail lamp, but the rest require at least a red reflector.

I already have a pretty good lighting system on mine, and in the process of designing a rectifier, regulator, and charging system for a small rechargeable battery that will run off the magneto, so I don't end up spending a fortune on batteries.
 
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