need advice on my moon dog before install.

CheapskateNH

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So I'm planning on re-packing all the grease on my moon dog when it arrives. I'm pretty familiar with bearings in the fork and front wheel, but I want to do the crank and rear wheel too. I think the bearings in the crank can be accessed with ordinary tools but I know the rear wheel needs a chain whip tool and something called a cassette removed tool to get it apart. I know how to use the tools because I've seen it done before but there's like 20 different kinds of those "cassete remover" things. I just want to buy the one I need online so I can service it as often as I like. Does anyone know which style moondogs use or who to call to find out before the bike arrives? Kulana is made by pacific. Any help or advice on the bearings is appreciated. -Evan
 
I dont think it uses a cassette, I think it uses a 7 speed freewheel.
Welcome to the party. It's nice to see more new hampshirites around here. There was another member here who just recently bought and motorized a moon dog in NH, maybe you two could get together and compare notes. Like him helping you get through the motorizing and you teach him how to repack everything if he wants. As far as I've heard people haven't had bearing problems on the moon dogs just one issue with defective rims. So it should be a good bike on the cheap. But only time will tell.... If only WalMart knew what people are doing to all their moondogs.
 
Needs to last...

yeah walmart has some attractive bikes for the price but from experience the bearings go in a year or less... I'm packing mine with axle grease right out of thebox because I think the factories use cheap bearings with hardly any grease...
 
yeah walmart has some attractive bikes for the price but from experience the bearings go in a year or less... I'm packing mine with axle grease right out of thebox because I think the factories use cheap bearings with hardly any grease...

I just finished going through my Moondog that I got from eBay. The bearings are all caged and very little grease was used in assembly. The bottom bracket and front wheel bearings were too tight but the rear wheel was right on. However, like I said, all the bearings were almost dry. I was able to remove the cogset from the rear wheel with the chain whip, regular screw driver, and a hammer. I only have Shimano freewheel removers so I could not pull the freewheel. I packed grease from the opposite side through the hub which was OK since I didn't have to clean the bearings. Worked good. I also had to true up the front wheel so the brakes could be set right. Couldn't do anything with the composite pedals, but they are good enough for a non-pedaling bike. I think you will like your Moondog. Good Luck!!

66
 
Thanks for your input 66- it helps. I mostly work on cars so I'm a little confused. What's the difference between the cogset and the freewheel? I want to copy what you did to the rear wheel but I lost you somewhere? You unpacked the other side of the wheel and stuffed more grease in? Thanks for any suggestions. -Evan
 
Thanks for your input 66- it helps. I mostly work on cars so I'm a little confused. What's the difference between the cogset and the freewheel? I want to copy what you did to the rear wheel but I lost you somewhere? You unpacked the other side of the wheel and stuffed more grease in? Thanks for any suggestions. -Evan

The cogs would be another term for the rear wheel sprockets. The seven sprockets on the rear wheel of the Moondog are more commonly called a cassette. In this case the individual cogs are not attached to each other and are seperated by washers. If you remove the lock ring, they will all come out individually. They are keyed so that they will be properly oriented when you put them back on. If you remove them carefully, you probably can just slide the whole stack right back on. What's left after you remove the cassette is the freewheel. The freewheel is the mechanism which allows the wheel to coast. The freewheel would have to be removed in order to remove the bearing behind it. A special extractor or puller is usually required to do this. If you remove the bearing from the opposite side of the hub, you should have enough room between the axle and the hub to push some grease down to the bearing which is next to the freewheel. Then just pack and install the bearing you just removed and adjust the play from that side. Since I was not able to remove the freewheel, removing the cassette was unnecessary which makes the whole procedure a lot easier. Just work from the side opposite the cassette. Hope this helps...

66
 
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Remover Tool

Hey Cruiser- Thanks for the advice. I recall you said none of your shimano remover tools worked... I was thinking of buying a tool for the bike here: http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?id=774056424836&c=Tools&sc=Cassettes-and-Freewheels but my moon dog hasn't arrived... Would you be able to recognise which tool would fit just by looking at yours? 7 or 8 bucks is a steal to avoid paying a shop 15 or 20 every year to remove the freewheel for you... Any suggestions? It looks like theres only 6 or 7 main types of the tool...

-Evan
 
Remover Tool

Hi Evan,

The derailler system on the bike is a TD - One torque drive system. I cannot find any info on this setup. From what I can remember, the freehub had two holes inside which looks like it would accept a tool with two pins. The engagers on the tools that are commonly available have square or rectangular pins. I have included a link to a tool that might work if it had the round pins. There does not appear to be a formal website for Kulana Moon Dogs so no help from customer support. Let me know how you make out.

http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.c...tc=Freewheel-Removers-Notched&item_id=LF-0903

66
 
moon dog is made by pacifc. They also make a bunch of bikes nowadays like schwinn and mongoose to name a couple. I'm going to try calling to ask them but it'll be a battle spent on hold between several salespersons until I can speak to someone in engineering. I'll let you know how it goes. -Evan
 
Guys - I JUST did this last night... first time, and not hard at all -- with the right tools!

You need the Park FR1 Chain ring tool to remove the cassette. You do NOT need a whip.
You also need 15, 17 cone wrenches for the rear, 13 for the front. You need a regular 15mm wrench for the wheel nut. Get a big monkey wrench for the FR1...or you will hurt yourself loosening it up!

Apparantly, lube is at a premium at the chinese bike factory....mine were one step from "dry".
 
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