Hello from Mississippi!

[clockwork]

Hey everyone,

I'm Brad and I just got ahold of my first engine. I've had dreams of attaching some kind of motor/engine to a bike for probably over 10 years now, and due in part to browsing this forum on a wild whim I decided to bite the bullet and make it happen.

I'm pretty excited about it in general, and am eager to get it set up before I leave my home town for school again. I'm fortunate to live right on a harbor with a long road that goes along it, and not very far from the beach either. Both are pretty bike accessible, and getting to just go and cruise along should be a lot of fun.

I've been riding motorcycles since I was a kid, got licensed for it when I was 16, and drove one of those for a few years. Sold her off for college, and now I'm looking for something a little more..portable. The thought of using it to get from class-to-class doesn't hurt, either.

That said, I've got a question for you guys that's driving me crazy. I've attached everything to the rear tire, but it looks like the chain is gonna dig into my frame in a pretty quick/obvious way.

My current assembly, from a rear-view of the bike going left-to-right, is:

Sprocket-Metal Brackets-Rubber-Spokes-Rubber-Metal Brackets

At this point I cursed myself for going with the manual, thinking that if I'd just turned the sprocket the other way, I wouldn't have this problem. But, I'm sure that's for a reason, right? So, I did some investigation and it's fairly inconclusive..

What're your opinions? My options seem to be removing the left-most metal brackets, the left-most metal brackets AND the rubber, or reversing the sprocket so that the teeth are facing the inside and not the outside(it has kind of a dish shape).

Thanks alot, for being the motivation to finally do this, and for any help you can offer.

 

[GearNut]

Is sounds like you are referring to the Chinese in frame 2-stroke "HT" engine kit.
Removing the outer plates between the sprocket and rubber as well as flipping the sprocket around may very well solve your chain rubbing problem. Just be careful that the chain run between the engine sprocket and wheel sprocket does not get too far out of alignment or the chain will want to jump off of the rear sprocket.

Alot of folks assemble the "sandwich", from left to right, sprocket, rubber, spokes, rubber, metal plates.
Also consider that the chain tensioner can have a dual purpose of both tensioning the chain and keeping the chain from rubbing on the frame.
Be very careful with the stock tensioner though. They have a nasty habit of pivoting inwards and tearing up the spokes in the rear wheel.

 

[clockwork]

That was my instinct, and it seems to have made the difference.

I've spent much of the morning getting that fixed and hooking up the rest. I think, between the idler and the sprocket change, the chain will be fine now and not rub my frame.

You guys will probably get a kick out of this- the clutch instructions aren't too hot, so I sat for probably an hour wondering why my wheel was so hard to turn. Checked alignments and everything. Turns out, the clutch goes alot further in than I expected for the pedal position. Whoops.

My handlebars are starting to look like something out of a mad scientist film. I've got shimano shifters already, then the throttle, kill switch, shifter on one side, and then the addition of the clutch to the other. I added a bike computer before I started this part of the project, and will probably be adding some headlights in case I do some night riding. I'm perfectly alright with this, the more levers and buttons the better.

I assume it's normal for the carb to have a bunch of hoses dangling off of it? A browse of the forums tells me they're just for air intake purposes and I should just leave them be. Guess I'll know more when I add fuel to the equation later. Not having alot of metric tools is a pain.

Thanks a ton for the help, made it easy to get my day started knowing I was on the right track.

 

[clockwork]

Got it working. The chain idler took more work than expected. We ended up making a bracket to get it to stay in place, so far it seems good. I'm getting around 20 MPH or so at the moment but it needs some time to get broken in and I need to learn how to ride it. Some of it is counter to what I'm used to on a motorcycle, but that's to be expected.

That said... My brief test lap was a ton of fun, and I'm gonna put her through her paces tomorrow. No wonder you guys are as into them as you are!

 

[GearNut]

I hope that your test run goes well tomorrow.
Please be careful with that stock chain tensioner. I believe you that you have braced it, it's just that that designed in Haites device has been the ruin of many rear wheels.

 

[clockwork]

Been from one side of town to the other, along the coast and everywhere else. Steadily getting a speed increase as it breaks in, though it still sputters occasionally.

Yeah, we tooled up a brace the same width as the idler's stock brace and mounted that to the top of the V, with the idler mounted to the bottom. It's plenty sturdy, but I will probably still be getting a spring tensioner. I don't trust the plastic wheel to last forever, and it's a bit noisy. Still, the setup works fine for now. Gonna take it to a bike shop tomorrow to get everything aligned correctly.

I've been stopped a ton already with people asking questions, one guy wouldn't stop telling me I should get a patent! Definitely having a great time on it so far.

 

[GearNut]

Glad to hear of your sucessful ride!

Is sounds like you made a tensioner similar to mine, which I copied from other folks in this site. I need to post a picture of it......some year.......
I used a skateboard wheel that I shaped on my drill press using a hand file.

Good luck patenting Don Grubee.... I don't think he'll go for it.
It is nice to be admired while out on a ride, but some folks just will not listen to you when you tell them it is a kit.

 

[clockwork]

Skateboard wheel is actually pretty clever. If I can't get an adequate tensioner, that may be the next decision. I don't trust the plastic one to last.