LaShop Dual Start Engine - AVOID IT!

John-Forrest

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Jun 23, 2008
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I want to spread the word that if you see LaShop Dual Start Engine on net - DON'T BUY IT! These people are false advertisers - they claim to have a centrifugal clutch and there is no such thing! They also claim to make 40 mph - and it only goes 10-15. Finally, only one day after putting it on, within the first ten miles, THE ENGINE SEIZED - causing an unpleasant accident and fortunately I was wearing my motorcycle helmet and didn't break anything - only nasty scape on knee and back of left hand. DON'T GET THIS!
 
Sorry to hear that...

Sorry to hear about your ordeal John-Forrest.

Glad that you were not badly hurt when the engine failed. Smart move on wearing the helmet! :helmet:

Have you contacted the vendor about this? Any reply?

You mentioned something in another thread about your "mechanic" telling you that the engines you received did not have the centrifugal clutches that they were supposed to have. Perhaps the same person could look the seized engine over and give some insight on why the engine seized?

If it makes you feel any better - I came very close to seizing my first PK80 HT engine from zoombicycles. The day when I installed the engine we had a few drinks with friends. My buddy wanted a ride. I figured the more it would get ridden the faster it would break in, so why not. Buddy took off around the block. Since the engine was not broken in it did not have much power. To "compensate" for this my buddy rode it WOT the whole ride. When he got back the engine was making a "scraping" noise and died on its own shortly after he came to a stop. It was smoking hot. I was furious and blamed him for almost killing it. The next day i realized it was not really his fault, nor the engines - see, the only gas we could source before the ride was some "chainsaw gas" from a neighbor that said there was "more then enough oil in it". Well, it turns out that "more then enough oil" was in fact something around 32 to 1, when the engine called for 16 to 1 for break in... The insufficient oil ratio along with the WOT ride caused the engine to overheat, the cylinder got tight and a piece of casting flash from around the exhaust port broke off and got stuck between the cylinder and the piston (that was the scraping noise....). Fortunately apart from a mark on the piston no damage was done, the rings and cylinder were not damaged and the engine is still running strong.

Makes me wonder - what gas/oil ratio were you running when the engine seized on you?
 
Yes, later I figured me and my mechanic friend made a crucial error. I was just using a bit of gas from previous engine with only a dollop of oil. So low oil is definitely a factor that may had caused this. Also rear wheel is losing spoke - bike felt like it was wiggling in back.

We were both tired and not thinking very clearly when I rode off with it.
 
Funny, I run 32:1 in all of my new engines and run WOT all of the time except when I'm decelerating to a stop.

I personally don't think 32:1 killed your engine, your air/fuel mixture setting probably was too lean.
 
Funny, I run 32:1 in all of my new engines and run WOT all of the time except when I'm decelerating to a stop.

I personally don't think 32:1 killed your engine, your air/fuel mixture setting probably was too lean.


Really?

I would think 32:1 could be OK using good oil in a well broken in HT engine, but for a new engine??? Do you use "better then average" oil perhaps?

I know it was not running lean, if anything it was on the rich side.

Maybe it was just the fault of the piece of casting flash that broke off of the exhaust port and got stuck between the cylinder and piston. Maybe it would have broken off and done that even if I ran more oil.

Maybe something similar happened to John-Forrests engine.
 
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