Suggestions which would have helped me

Bighat

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Take apart carb bowl when you get it and insure that the float pin is screwed in tight. Some rear coaster wheels will be ungreased from the factory. Open up the hub to check there's grease in there. Even better is to avoid coaster brakes. I use mountain bike wheels on a coaster bike frame. Just fit the chain to whatever gear you wish. It's a tight fit but it works. Wear helmet, learn/ follow road rules, wear reflective clothing, be extremely alert and cautious at all times. Do NOT use synthetic oil for break in. Unscrew the brass piece from inside the c.d.i boot and put a wee bit of permanent loc-tite on thread to secure re-installation. Join and study MotoredBikes.com!

...More to come.
 
Bighat your suggestions are great. one thing i would change though is the spark plug cap. your local motorcycle shop or small engine shop will have one. i replaced mine after the brass piece broke for $3.
 
Yes, upgrade that boot! Thanks for adding that important bit 72. Another alternative is to get a whole new c.d.i. and coil. That's what I've done. Have not received it yet. Comments forthcoming in a few weeks. Also, I did notice an improvement after porting muffler.
 
Brakes

Quote: Even better is to avoid coaster brakes.:........

Coaster brakes are OK, you just can't rely on just them only. I'm almost finished with my Cranbrook build and have coaster rear, caliper front. 70% of yer stopping power is from the front brake anyway. The coaster is only like a helper brake. I've done it this way before and it works just fine.
Big Red.
P.S. Looked at my pic and noticed my chain was loose. Just got back from first test ride. Something must have got loose.
 

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Yeah, it's a personal choice I guess, for someone who prefers to be able to freely back pedal. My experiences with coasters are that they can be trouble if not set just right. Don't have the knowledge base to deal with them yet. That's a really sweet looking ride Red. I appreciate a well done and cared for HT.
 
Take apart carb bowl when you get it and insure that the float pin is screwed in tight. Some rear coaster wheels will be ungreased from the factory. Open up the hub to check there's grease in there. Even better is to avoid coaster brakes. I use mountain bike wheels on a coaster bike frame. Just fit the chain to whatever gear you wish. It's a tight fit but it works. Wear helmet, learn/ follow road rules, wear reflective clothing, be extremely alert and cautious at all times. Do NOT use synthetic oil for break in. Unscrew the brass piece from inside the c.d.i boot and put a wee bit of permanent loc-tite on thread to secure re-installation. Join and study MotoredBikes.com!

...More to come.

the float pin doesn't screw into the carb, it just "floats" in the hole. (where the float arm pivots to open and close the needle & seat). I think what you are talking about is the needle & seat itself or the main jet. Those are the only 2 things under the float bowl that screw into the carb.
this is the float pin (circled in blue) from a generic carb, but the same idea.
float_hinge_pin.jpg


Yes, ALWAYS re-grease every bearing on a bike before you put an engine on it, no matter if the bike is brand new or not.
I have one bike with a coaster brake only and one bike with a single rear caliper brake only and both work just fine for me.
You have to know how to set up a coaster brake for it to work good.
as far as the cdi and spark plug wire.
Just remove the stock plug wire and boot from the cdi and throw it in the grabage. get yourself an automotive spark plug wire with a rubber boot to replace the stock wire. not only will it perform better, but you can take this opportunity to get a long spark plug wire to hide the cdi somewhere. this will also allow you to hide your wiring better (my cdi's get hidden under the engines which allows me to run my wiring in such a way that it can be hidden under the frame.)
the stock plug wires, boots and china spark plugs are junk.
 
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Needle or Jet?

The long brass piece there on the right. Needle or main jet?
Thats the Jet. You can unscrew that from the longer jet tube and experiment with different jet sizes if needed. The Needle is attached to your throttle plunger. There is also another Needle "valve" that shuts off fuel flow to the bowl via the float.
Big Red.
 
Thanks for clarifying that Red. It seems there are two kinds of builders here. Those who build for fun/ hobby and those who must. As I belong in the latter category, my builds are practical and bare bones, as well as often times improvised. This one is rode as if it was made of glass.
 

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Thanks for clarifying that Red. It seems there are two kinds of builders here. Those who build for fun/ hobby and those who must. As I belong in the latter category, my builds are practical and bare bones, as well as often times improvised. This one is rode as if it was made of glass.
No problem Bighat, I build them for both reasons. I love it as a hobby, but as a poor person I build them for other people and try to keep my Motorized business alive. I think simple is always the best way. Too much is just that much more to go wrong. BUT, I'm almost finished with a bike thats gonna have WAY TOO MUCH stuff on it. When I'm done it will have Headlight, Tail light, Breaklight, turn signals, horn and mirrors. Pretty much everything a motorcycle would have. I also plan to register it so it's gonna have a license plate too. Here's a couple of bad pics of it. What do you think?
Big Red.
 

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