I took my first ride on my latest build. Most of this bike was put together Friday and Saturday, when it was about 20F temperatures here. Today warmed up to 35F and I did the final adjustments and got to take it for a ride! Just around the block a couple of times to see how everything worked. After I check it out, maybe I will take a longer ride.
The Titan seems to pull pretty well. I haven't tried for full speed because its icy and I need to check to see if anything loosened up. It is a big improvement over the crappy times engine I had before.
I have mostly good things to say about the Titan. When I unpacked it I was shocked about the weight of the motor carrier. The metal parts are thick, you are not going to bend this stuff unless you have an industrial metal press. However, after installed, it is rock solid. This is good old American technology, tractor style, you should be able to plow fields with it. Fasteners are oversize and tough.
The instructions are not that great. I have built a few bikes so I was able to put it together. The pictures on the website are helpful. It went together relatively easy although as usual I had to build it, take it apart, adjust it and rebuild it, but that is normal for me.
One thing that I did that hopefully will help and not hurt: The jackshaft output sprocket was spinning because I did not tighten it down enough. Normally a jackshaft will have a keyway and a key to hold the sprocket from turning, there is no key on the Titan. I drilled a couple of dimples where the sprocket set screws press against the shaft. I think that this will help prevent a spinning sprocket.
I was surprised to see that the jackshaft runs in bushings, not bearings. I will be watching to see how this works. If it works, why not.
So here she is, the 20F.
The Titan seems to pull pretty well. I haven't tried for full speed because its icy and I need to check to see if anything loosened up. It is a big improvement over the crappy times engine I had before.
I have mostly good things to say about the Titan. When I unpacked it I was shocked about the weight of the motor carrier. The metal parts are thick, you are not going to bend this stuff unless you have an industrial metal press. However, after installed, it is rock solid. This is good old American technology, tractor style, you should be able to plow fields with it. Fasteners are oversize and tough.
The instructions are not that great. I have built a few bikes so I was able to put it together. The pictures on the website are helpful. It went together relatively easy although as usual I had to build it, take it apart, adjust it and rebuild it, but that is normal for me.
One thing that I did that hopefully will help and not hurt: The jackshaft output sprocket was spinning because I did not tighten it down enough. Normally a jackshaft will have a keyway and a key to hold the sprocket from turning, there is no key on the Titan. I drilled a couple of dimples where the sprocket set screws press against the shaft. I think that this will help prevent a spinning sprocket.
I was surprised to see that the jackshaft runs in bushings, not bearings. I will be watching to see how this works. If it works, why not.
So here she is, the 20F.
