I seem to be having a lot of problems with the chain. I have snapped it twice now and I can not find where it is binding up. I cut the rear fender to allow room, shortened the chain to reduce slack and everything was great for a while. Now it just seems to throw the chain when I get up to speed. I have repeatly balanced it and looked for wabble in both verticle and face on directions. I am totally lost. Aslo, I fit it with a light that runs off of a friction generator and it seems to burn out the bulbs, Can anyone help? I am getting pretty frustrated.
Hello - I need help
- Thread starter katsi
- Start date
wheelbender6
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the forum.
Some suggestions for the chain problem:
-File down the teeth on the rear sprocket a bit (Width of teeth). The chain may fit deeper in the sprocket.
-Stay below the speed at which the chain problems start. There will always be some wobble in a rear sprocket that has been clamped to the spokes
-Get a rear wheel designed for disk brakes. Bolt on a disk wheel compatible sprocket or
use a high hat adapter to bolt on your original sprocket to get rid of all wobble.
For the generator headlight:
-Wrap some inner tube material around the contact wheel on the generator, increasing the diameter, reducing rpm and voltage.
-Ditch your wheel generator and attach your light to the white wire from the engine.
You will have light while stopped, if you are idling the engine.
These mo-bikes give some problems, but most or solveable without much time and money. Start with the cheapest solution and progress from there.
Some suggestions for the chain problem:
-File down the teeth on the rear sprocket a bit (Width of teeth). The chain may fit deeper in the sprocket.
-Stay below the speed at which the chain problems start. There will always be some wobble in a rear sprocket that has been clamped to the spokes
-Get a rear wheel designed for disk brakes. Bolt on a disk wheel compatible sprocket or
use a high hat adapter to bolt on your original sprocket to get rid of all wobble.
For the generator headlight:
-Wrap some inner tube material around the contact wheel on the generator, increasing the diameter, reducing rpm and voltage.
-Ditch your wheel generator and attach your light to the white wire from the engine.
You will have light while stopped, if you are idling the engine.
These mo-bikes give some problems, but most or solveable without much time and money. Start with the cheapest solution and progress from there.
Last edited:
cooltoy
Member
Shorten up the chain as much as is possible, some even eliminate the slack altogether and chuck the idler. As stated above, make the wheel larger on the generator, it was not made to go 30mph.
Thanks
Thanks, I did not know about splicing the wire to the motor. I have to admit, I don't know what you are talking about with the whole disc thing. I did file the sprocket and I ditched the chain tensioner altogether
on the motor side and used it on the pedal side (I ditched about 4 links in the chain - had to - they broke twice and got bent up - lost 2 links each break). But, thanks for the info. I do appreciate it. Also, it throws the chain at about 10 MPH. Up untill last night when I was blowing the bulbs in the new lights, I was buzzing arround at 25 mph with no problems.
Thanks, I did not know about splicing the wire to the motor. I have to admit, I don't know what you are talking about with the whole disc thing. I did file the sprocket and I ditched the chain tensioner altogether
on the motor side and used it on the pedal side (I ditched about 4 links in the chain - had to - they broke twice and got bent up - lost 2 links each break). But, thanks for the info. I do appreciate it. Also, it throws the chain at about 10 MPH. Up untill last night when I was blowing the bulbs in the new lights, I was buzzing arround at 25 mph with no problems.cooltoy
Member
"The disk thing" is mounting the rear sprocket to the "disk" brake. The disk is mounted properly at the factory on a wheel made for this, giving you a good start mounting your sprocket. You don't need this though, not many do. Try searching "white wire" for lighting info. The wire gives you 6 volts.
Maybe you should install the idler, it stops the chain from jumping around, which is why it keeps falling off.
Maybe you should install the idler, it stops the chain from jumping around, which is why it keeps falling off.
Now I get it
Ok, NOW I GET IT! Thank you for the explination - no smart alec answer intended. I see that mounting the sprocket to a FIXED DISC can give one a truer, more stable center. Perhaps you are right about the tensioner. That means getting a new chain. I read the section about different chains. I guess it's back to the drawing board on this one. Someone should definatly sudgest NOT TRYING TO BOLT ON A MOTOR TO A BIKE WITH A COASTER BREAK . I wish I would have went with a geared bike so that the other chain side would take care of it's own slack. So far, great advise - thanks.
Ok, NOW I GET IT! Thank you for the explination - no smart alec answer intended. I see that mounting the sprocket to a FIXED DISC can give one a truer, more stable center. Perhaps you are right about the tensioner. That means getting a new chain
. I read the section about different chains. I guess it's back to the drawing board on this one. Someone should definatly sudgest NOT TRYING TO BOLT ON A MOTOR TO A BIKE WITH A COASTER BREAK . I wish I would have went with a geared bike so that the other chain side would take care of it's own slack. So far, great advise - thanks. cooltoy
Member
Do you really need a new chain? I've never worked on a "coaster brake" bike but why not just leave it as it is and install the idler/tensioner that came with the kit, even if it hardly seems to do anything. Also , have you looked over at your rear sprocket as you are driving? At speed, you can really see if it is out of round or wobbling.
I think so
My chain broke twice and as a result lost 4 links. Right now, it runs directly from the motor to the sprocket and back with just enough slack. Putting ANY tension on the chain would probably make it too tight. I see what you mean though. Just use the tensioner to kinda steady the chain B4 it goes to the rear sprocket. Something to think about. Have you ever tried any different types of chains? I got one from the Kawasaki dealership that is "Just about" the same. A bit thicker but has the same tooth width (suppose there is some sort of technical term for that). I can't seem to fit it around the main sprocket because of the thickness. It seems to roll up and around by moving the main gear with your finger but drops down and sticks at the bottom of the gear housing. I know it would work but I don't want to take the gear off to get the chain on. Yes, I removed the outer housing but then I can't get the gear to go round because I can't get the clutch to dis-engage with the housing off. TIPS?
My chain broke twice and as a result lost 4 links. Right now, it runs directly from the motor to the sprocket and back with just enough slack. Putting ANY tension on the chain would probably make it too tight. I see what you mean though. Just use the tensioner to kinda steady the chain B4 it goes to the rear sprocket. Something to think about. Have you ever tried any different types of chains? I got one from the Kawasaki dealership that is "Just about" the same. A bit thicker but has the same tooth width (suppose there is some sort of technical term for that). I can't seem to fit it around the main sprocket because of the thickness. It seems to roll up and around by moving the main gear with your finger but drops down and sticks at the bottom of the gear housing. I know it would work but I don't want to take the gear off to get the chain on. Yes, I removed the outer housing but then I can't get the gear to go round because I can't get the clutch to dis-engage with the housing off. TIPS?
cooltoy
Member
Strange, you say the chain is tight, yet it falls off. From the sound of things, it sounds like you have possibly bent the chain, because to break links is hard.
A heavy duty BMX chain fits but they tend to be a few links short. Look for the number 415 in the product code.They are great chains with a nice chrome look. They cost 18 bucks.
Others go to tractor supply for what I think is #41 chain in ten foot lengths.
Try grease on the sprocket to get the chain to stick to the sprocket and try not to jerk it as you feed it around from the top. It really is not that hard but I know what you are going through.
A heavy duty BMX chain fits but they tend to be a few links short. Look for the number 415 in the product code.They are great chains with a nice chrome look. They cost 18 bucks.
Others go to tractor supply for what I think is #41 chain in ten foot lengths.
Try grease on the sprocket to get the chain to stick to the sprocket and try not to jerk it as you feed it around from the top. It really is not that hard but I know what you are going through.
Think I got it
I went to Lowes last night and found the #41 chain for 9.97. I went ahead and "cut" it to a length and installed it with the tensioner and pulled the slack out of the pedal side (as per instructions). The #41 chain is a bit wider so it seems to be compensating for any minute wabble in the sprocket. You idea of a bent chain is definatly plausable. But, I don't know how it would have gotten bent as it was working perfectly for some time. Then, all of the sudden, it decided that it did not want to stay on the sprocket anymore. I have not actually tried the new set up with the #41 chain because I did not get it all done untill about 11:45 last night. I pedaled it around the block though and all seem to be flowing fine. The first two chain breaks happened while just pedaling the bike to check for trueness in the rear sprocket. Anyway, I will let you know how it works out. Thanks for all the advice, it has really helped. Especially considering that I was thinking of scrapping the whole project yesterday. And yes, the chain was pretty tight with about a half inch of movement up or down. I really don't know what happened. By the way, do you know where to find a bulb for the light? I have one of those old time chrome headlights.
I went to Lowes last night and found the #41 chain for 9.97. I went ahead and "cut" it to a length and installed it with the tensioner and pulled the slack out of the pedal side (as per instructions)
. The #41 chain is a bit wider so it seems to be compensating for any minute wabble in the sprocket. You idea of a bent chain is definatly plausable. But, I don't know how it would have gotten bent as it was working perfectly for some time. Then, all of the sudden, it decided that it did not want to stay on the sprocket anymore. I have not actually tried the new set up with the #41 chain because I did not get it all done untill about 11:45 last night. I pedaled it around the block though and all seem to be flowing fine. The first two chain breaks happened while just pedaling the bike to check for trueness in the rear sprocket. Anyway, I will let you know how it works out. Thanks for all the advice, it has really helped. Especially considering that I was thinking of scrapping the whole project yesterday. And yes, the chain was pretty tight with about a half inch of movement up or down. I really don't know what happened. By the way, do you know where to find a bulb for the light? I have one of those old time chrome headlights.Similar threads
