My daily commuter (first proper build)

Hi guys,

After a long and tiresome search ive finally picked a bike to start my first proper commuter build, Its a Fluid Method mountain bike, 21 speed, 26" wheels, disk brakes and front suspension.
fluidmethod.jpg


Dad picked it up for me yesterday, im getting it from his house tommorow.

The motor will be a Z Box 49cc HT that ive had for a few years now, but with RSE clutch, billet throttle and possibly dual brake lever, and an SBP shift kit

I am also getting a friend of mine to CNC machine a "200w powermax" logo into the clutch cover and put a build plate on the magneto cover similar to what the RSE 200w motors have, ive also printed off and laminated a dyno graph of 198.4w max power so hopefully these should fool most police into thinking it is under the 200w legal limit where i live.

High on the list of priorities when i get the bike are also front and rear lights, some kind of horn, and a nice comfy seat depending how it feels.

Thanks for looking, il get some pics of the actual bike and motor up tommorow if i have time :)
 
Bobo, the best part of your thread is the honesty about problems. I don't think we are hearing them all,even in this (good) forum. I'm probably worse than usual, but my build was almost 2 years of ride, walk home, modify, ride, check when home, recoil in horror, modify and on and on. Three major engine mount rebuilds, 2 charging systems, lots of tweaking with chain and belt guides - you name it. I have been lucky for months now, but your thread will be getting me out tomorrow (after the rain subsides) to check nut tightnesses with a tube of loctite, check alignments etc. Thanks bobo.
 
Bobo,

Yes, you're doing some good looking work. What now are your total miles on that engine?

Glen

Hi Glen, i havnt got a mileage computer/speedometer on and working yet but i would estimate around 200-300km (120-190 miles) done on this engine so far. My regular ride to the shops and back is only just over 2km so im not racking up huge mileage like some of the guys on here

Bobo, the best part of your thread is the honesty about problems. I don't think we are hearing them all,even in this (good) forum. I'm probably worse than usual, but my build was almost 2 years of ride, walk home, modify, ride, check when home, recoil in horror, modify and on and on. Three major engine mount rebuilds, 2 charging systems, lots of tweaking with chain and belt guides - you name it. I have been lucky for months now, but your thread will be getting me out tomorrow (after the rain subsides) to check nut tightnesses with a tube of loctite, check alignments etc. Thanks bobo.

Thanks for the kind words bigoilbob, persistence certainly pays off with these motors but its not exactly an easy road to reliability as many think
 
Hi Guys,

Todays job was to upgrade the inadequate lighting by adding a high beam with this torch i got recently:


2500 lumens of Cree LED goodness :D, first step i decided to mount it above the headstem on the handlebars, then i bent up a 3mm steel plate bracket and made a clamp to hold the torch:


Then i bolted the bracket to the headtem using the bolt that holds the handlebars on:


and voila! still need to take it off to paint it black to protect from rust but i dont have paint at the moment...

heres the before shot with the old light/low beam:


and the new high beam:


view from the front:


I cant wait till tonight to try it out on the bike track!

Thanks for looking
 
Hi guys!

The new light is AWESOME! i can see everything at night now, so no danger of a sharp corner or big bump sneaking up on me

Snapped another right side shif kit chain today though, anyone know of what size/brand/model a stronger chain that i can use for the right side is?

Thanks for looking
 
On my 5 speed autoshift bike chain strength and alignment is a must. I use a KMC 415 and a Sram 890. Neither has ever broken. I use a 34 Surly stainless steel chainring to drive a custom built 5 speed 34-16 freewheel.
 
Thanks Jerry i will look into those chains, i also need to double check my alignment and chain tensions before every ride.

Last night i did a bit of an upgrade on the rear carrier, the uprights had bent slightly with me riding over bumpy surfaces with lots of weight on the back:


so i swapped them out for some much bigger aluminium angle, i also adjusted the length of them slightly to get the tray perfectly level on top (it leaned a little to the rear before)


it now holds my weight (70kg) in the middle of the tray without noticeable flex while sitting still so should be fine for 30-40kg while riding (not that id ever carry that much, maybe 20kg at the most)

Thanks for looking
 
Nice work, Bobo. And excellent documentation (photos and text). A lot of people are sure to get a lot of value out of your efforts here in the forum.
 
Hey guys,

Been a while so i thought id make an update, not really much happening apart from riding the wheels off it :D

Since i started double checking the chains at the start of each ride i havnt had any problems breaking or loosing them which is great

The refined rear tray is holding up great, ive carried well over 10kg of groceries a few times on it with no problems

The new high beam light died shortly after fitting it though, im guessing from the vibrations, i managed to get it replaced under warrantee but i need to find a solution for the vibrations before fitting the new one, im thinking a rubber bush on each side of the mount to keep it from vibrating so much

I also had my first run in with the law last week, i was riding on a section of road with no bike lane so i was sticking to the far edge of the lane, with my lights and helmet on and my legs spinning frantically on the pedals so it looks like the motor isnt as powerful as it actually is (200w limit in my state) but i still got pulled and questioned for half an hour :(

according to the cop it doesnt matter if the manufacturer states the power rating of the bike is under 200w because they could be lying (i told him i bought a 200w bike from a local dealer), and also as far as he was concerned if it has a motor its a motor vehicle and he would charge me with driving whilst disqualified, driving an unregd, uninsured, unroadworthy motor vehicle (even though the law states under 200w is a motor assisted bicycle and you dont need tags or a lisence)

luckily i managed to keep my bike (he wanted to impound it) and get off without a ticket (up to $1800 apparently) by being super polite and talking my way out of it but il have to be very careful where and when i ride from now on...

future plans are for a gearing change, first is too tall and 2nd through 5th are too close together, also the pedals are geared too low so i cant help the motor get up steep hills with the pedals as my legs dont move fast enough

Thanks for looking
 
Hi Guys,

Nothing has changed on the bike since my last update save for refueling and regular chain tensioning, but today i started my next project, a trailer!

frame welded up out of 25mm square steel tube and welds painted in kilrust, the width is the same as my handlebars so i know it will fit through any places that my bike does and it is 950mm long (half the length of the bits of steel i used lol):
2013-06-10203824_zps04ae35aa.jpg


and a mockup of where it will sit on the bike, the trolley underneath uses similar wheels to what il be using so it shows where/how big they are:
2013-06-10211646_zps5af9a6f3.jpg


once i buy the actual wheels i will make up the axle mounts and bolt them on then add the top which will most likely be some heavy duty steel mesh for ease of strapping things down, it will then be painted in a nice hard wearing black.

Thanks for looking
 
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