My finally finsihed John Deere Project!

My John Deere Project!

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Finally done, I guess I am one of the few to try out these new 49cc 4-stroke kits. I made many modifications, and some additions, and thought the crew would like my comments.
The engine runs nice. No complaints there. I added some motor mounts by slicing off the rubber ends of some tire valves, because everyone complained about vibration. They work well.
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I ditched the chain tensioner wheel but kept the bracket and added a spring loaded glide wheel made for a single speed bike. This really helps, as the spring jumps back and forth under accel/deaccelleration.
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The decals came off a child's Peg-Prego JD pedal tractor. A 6v battery runs just the lights (rear turn signals, brake light and front lights) I added a solar charger to keep it charged instead of recharging it all the time from an AC outlet. With the Georgia sun, it stays charged.
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I added a rear brake switch to the rear brake, so the rear light lights up when I hit the brake handle. I added 2 bulbs between the turn signal bulbs for this. I fashioned a few parts to run a double set of rear side-pull brakes, with a dual pull brake handle just for the rear. I don't think too many people have tried that, but I figured I needed more braking power.
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The Dash of 3 switches controls the main power, lights, and power to the rear. One lights up a Green LED. I have a horn switch but have yet to find a good 6v horn yet. A mini compass fits in the middle stem. I even added a cordless radar detector! Everything on the bike is either Black, Yellow, or Green.
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I am just using it around the island where I live, the speed limits are 25-35 so it is perfect. Added a double kick-stand, the kind from Switzerland. NICE Product! Bought a yellow JD embossed seat from Nirve for $25 to match. Did add some lithium grease to the transmission to quiet it down some. First I painted the engine and exhaust high-temp black (not the carb). After 100 miles, it has come off the exhaust tube. Added yellow reflective tape swatches. Still need a longer analog speedometer cable, as I added shocks which raised the bike up quite a bit, but the digital one works well for now.
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Hope you like it, Lord knows the kids, both big and small, sure like it around here! I have had a blast riding it around!
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I was wrong on not using oil in the gearbox

My clutch started making noise, so I added 1 - 2 teaspoons of 20W-50, which worked well. So much for not having any oil in the gearbox! Bike continues to ride well.
 
Looks like yours turned out nicely. I ordered the same engine (there's only one "Happy Time" 4-stroke out there, right?) you're using and it arrived today. I started putting all of the pieces together after work, but the instructions are nearly nonexistent.

As it arrived, the carburetor has two hoses hanging off of it that go nowhere. One is underneath the bowl and comes out from underneath on the left side (the gearbox side) of the engine. The other is on a right-angle hose barb that goes into the right side of the carburetor. Below and slightly behind that one, there's a straight hose barb sticking out of the carb with no hose on it. Each of the two hoses is plugged in on one end, but not the other...that can't be right.

What's connected to what on your carb? If I had to guess, the fuel tank gets connected to the fitting under the fuel bowl, but what happens to the other two fittings? There's no fuel return line, vapor canister, or any of the other doodads you'd have in your car. There is a thick gray tube from the air filter housing that passes under the carb and into the engine...could be PCV, but the manual doesn't say. (Would they use PCV on small engines such as these?)

In case the description above isn't clear, I'll take some pictures tomorrow morning. I have another thread already going for my bike, so I'll most likely put the pictures there, but whatever advice you or anyone else here can offer would be a Good Thing. There doesn't seem to be much 4-stroke info here yet, probably because they're so new that hardly anybody has 'em yet. The joys of being on the cutting edge... :D

Edit: Pictures are now up here.
 
I was wrong on the motor mounts

I was using the rubber ends off tire valves for motor mounts, but they kept splitting in the rear, so I switched to slices of synthetic corks from a wine bottle, 4 to a cork. Much better, and now have 400 miles on the bike.
 
I am very interested in how you got the solar charger setup to work. I am thinking about using either a solar panel or a hub dynamo to charge my batteries. ANy info on how you accomplished this would be GREATLY appreciated. PS your bike is sick! I'm jealous...
 
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