ZnsaneRyder
Member
- Local time
- 2:03 AM
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2008
- Messages
- 805
I just got my bicycle trailer running. The trailer is built from a handtruck, and It's powered by a 6.5HP 196cc Horizontal-Shaft 4-stroke engine.
The Drivetrain uses a centrifugal clutch with a pulley, driving a belt going to a larger pulley and a tensioner. It has small 10 inch wheels and It's a rather tall ratio of 2:1 to the wheels. Despite the tall ratio, it has PLENTY of torque and spins the tires when pushing the bicycle. The small wheels don't require as low of a ratio to work.
After breaking a few parts and a few adjustments, I took it out on the road for a test drive. It goes very fast, and you feel the wind on you. I'm not sure how fast, but it felt like I was going over 30 easy. I can go half throttle and get the engine fairly quiet and keep a constant high speed.
So far so good, but a I have a few problems. Main issue is axle friction. The handtruck has small metal sleeves for the axle to ride in, but after a long ride, the metal is wearing pretty badly and squeaks. I'm lubricating it to keep it quiet, but I can see the metal is wearing, and when I get more $$$ I want to change to ball bearings for the axle, and make a way to mount them. I'm afraid the metal won't last long the way it is now.
Other issue is the wheels are pressed-steel and after a few rides, the center hub spins inside the rim where they are pressed together. I NEED to weld them to fix that.
Once I get the weak-links figured out, I plan on using this to commute around on backroads and the side of country highways to get to work, and ONLY pedal in the city and busy roads, and just save the gas for the long parts of my trips.
Any suggestions on how to improve this for long term use?
The Drivetrain uses a centrifugal clutch with a pulley, driving a belt going to a larger pulley and a tensioner. It has small 10 inch wheels and It's a rather tall ratio of 2:1 to the wheels. Despite the tall ratio, it has PLENTY of torque and spins the tires when pushing the bicycle. The small wheels don't require as low of a ratio to work.
After breaking a few parts and a few adjustments, I took it out on the road for a test drive. It goes very fast, and you feel the wind on you. I'm not sure how fast, but it felt like I was going over 30 easy. I can go half throttle and get the engine fairly quiet and keep a constant high speed.
So far so good, but a I have a few problems. Main issue is axle friction. The handtruck has small metal sleeves for the axle to ride in, but after a long ride, the metal is wearing pretty badly and squeaks. I'm lubricating it to keep it quiet, but I can see the metal is wearing, and when I get more $$$ I want to change to ball bearings for the axle, and make a way to mount them. I'm afraid the metal won't last long the way it is now.
Other issue is the wheels are pressed-steel and after a few rides, the center hub spins inside the rim where they are pressed together. I NEED to weld them to fix that.
Once I get the weak-links figured out, I plan on using this to commute around on backroads and the side of country highways to get to work, and ONLY pedal in the city and busy roads, and just save the gas for the long parts of my trips.
Any suggestions on how to improve this for long term use?