Completed DAX TITAN 50cc friction drive project

[s_beaudry]

The Bicycle

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4990073

Yes, I know it is a Walmart bike and all, but that darn seat is comfortable as all heak to me and it rides very well, and the added bonus of the very flat cruiser tires was nice.


The Friction Kit

http://www.bikemotorparts.com/kit.html

My second kit I have bought from him in about a year now. Customer service is excellent and he ships very fast. He threw in a free throttle and kill switch for the return business.



The Engine

http://www.thatsdax.com/4STROKE_ENGINES_AND_PARTS.html

After about a week's research on what would be best for me, I decided this was the engine. It is powerful, extremely quiet, and has a full 1 litre fuel tank for the longer rides. Engine starts on the first or second pull every time!


The Build

I came home with the bicycle and knew I wanted to go over all nuts and bolts and retighten them. And very glad I did as the front wheel axle nuts was hand snug on the forks! I knew the rear fender would have to come off so I removed the rear wheel and the coasted brake and took out the two screws that held it on. The bicycle frame itself did not have the (2) 5mm holes in it to support the bars, and I knew this buying it, but there was plenty of room to drill out a 5/16" hole on each side to bolt on the side posts for the kit. Out came the drill and the string to line up the two holes correctly, easily done.

Throwing the friction kit on was very easy as everyone knows. The kit itself came with the 1.25" one way bearing and shaft installed on it already! And I have a spare 1" roller as well.

The engine came very well packed in bubble wrap and packed in a ton of foam peanuts in a oversized box. Very nice work on packing Duane! Threw in about 11 ounces of oil and a bit of gas and on the second pull she came to life quietly purring away.

The 1.25" one way roller seems to wor very well. Even with the engine at an idle (clutch disengaged) and stopping on a slight hill with the roller depressed into the tire, the bicycle will actually roll freely down the hill by itself. Cruising at speed and letting the throttle go, I honestly can not feel any slowdown on the bisysle from the roller. Seems to work very well for me.

I am thinking as a future upgrade to this project to remove the 1 litre fuel tank from the engine and install a larger, maybe ~1 gallon or so tank onto the top of the friction channel for all day riding with no worries. If I do this, I am thinking at this time I will have to strengthen the front U bracket of the kit for the added 8 pounds or so. But, for now, I am averaging about 35 miles per one litre of fuel, which is plenty of me.


Now for the TO DO list...

Must fab up a stronger L bracket for the front fender as it was vibrating already while riding.

Must install a front brake for safety reasons as the coaster brake has less then stellar performance.

Must reroute the throttle cable for a cleaner look and trim it down to size a little better.

The down tube is kind of egg shaped so I need to find a way to carry a fuel/water bottle.

Seriously thinking of looking into adding mirrors on the bike for safety. I was so enjoying my first ride, I did not even know a car was following me down a small sidestreet for a good 1/4 miles or so.


With having a few installs under my belt of the HT setups, push trailer setups, and friction drive setups... the friction drive setup is pretty well the easiest and most full proof way to go in my opinion. It rides very smooth for me and very very little in the way of vibrations.

Attached pictures show more details and the 5/16" holes I had to add to the frame...

Regards,

Steve

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

Nice build, Steve.

Did you notice how well your BMP friction kit was packed?

The guy must be a professional packer. He could teach those workers at Sears a thing or two about packing and wrapping during Christmas season!

 

[s_beaudry]

Nice build, Steve.

Did you notice how well your BMP friction kit was packed?

The guy must be a professional packer. He could teach those workers at Sears a thing or two about packing and wrapping during Christmas season!

Hey 5-7,

In 39 years of life I have NEVER SEEN anything packed so well...

You know how he wraps up the aluminum channel in that rolling paper? Good Lord it must of been a solid 20 feet long when I unrolled it!

Dare I say bulletproof packaging?

 

[moped-dan]

Your setup sounds really nice, i cant decide if I want to do something like this or a gebe type setup. I really like the idea of ease of use / setup if I want to motorize a different bike. I am also trying to decide if I want this engine or a Honda gx35, have you used one of those before? If so, how different is the power?

 

[fetor56]

Neat job there Steve,& it's handy to know the Titan engine bolts straight to the BMP kit with no problems with mounting holes or BMP's clutch drum.
BMP should advertise the Titan engine as also compatable on their engine web page.

As u know if u relocate to a new/bigger tank it'll give your bike a lower stealth profile plus greatly extended fuel range.The only problem is u might need to go to a diaphram carb....IF that's the case DON'T get this:
http://www.motoredbikes.com/showthread.php?t=16536

BTW..moped-dan.
I've got both & i prefer the Titan;it's much more powerful/torquey & more quiet(uneven comparison though 35cc to 50cc)

 

[s_beaudry]

Your setup sounds really nice, i cant decide if I want to do something like this or a gebe type setup. I really like the idea of ease of use / setup if I want to motorize a different bike. I am also trying to decide if I want this engine or a Honda gx35, have you used one of those before? If so, how different is the power?

Moped-Dan,

I have owned various 2 stroke and 4 stroke engines like this, unfortunately not a Honda GX35.... I will say that the Titan is definately the quietest and most powerful engine I have had in my opinion.

I weigh in at 225 pounds and with a 1.25" roller, it has no problem at all in cruising me around!

I was thinking of the Honda GX35 before purchasing this Titan, but the ~$225 price tag versus the $170 Titan sold me here.

Definately go with a 4 stroke engine! So very easy to pull into the gas station and get $.60 in fuel and just drive away!

Steve

 

[moped-dan]

Thats what I wanted to hear.. thanks for the help! Ride it like you stole it!

 

[s_beaudry]

Just in from a solid 20 mile run around home and tackling the steepest hills I could find to have an idea where I stand with power versus fuel economy...

With the steepest hills I could find near a local golf course, going uphill with no pedaling what so ever, I took it at about 15mph and a little less then half throttle! Keep in mind that I weigh in about 225 and the bike is a good 40 pounds also.

This is with the 1.25" one way roller. Coming down the same hills, there is no drag at all with that one way bearing!

Filled the tank to capacity before I left home and got home and immediately refilled the tank with a measured amount of fuel. It took 18 ounces of fuel to cap off the tank.

In theory on a gallon of fuel, this would be an incredible 142 miles per gallon! And I did very little pedaling during the whole ride!

Everytime I ride the new setup, I am more and more pleased with it. I really do see the need now though for spending the extra money on a rock solid bicycle for this to go on.

I have been in talks with the local bicycle shop on building me a rock solid 7 speed cruiser with heavy duty brakes for ~$300 or so.

Definately my next upgrade is a solid bike!!!

BTW, I had a Dodge Charger slowing down to follow me and then sped up and pulled onto the grass about a 100 yards up and rolled the window down and flagged me over. He was in love at first sight, and when he heard how quiet that TITAN was, he could not believe it!

 

[Porkchop]

Your setup sounds really nice, i cant decide if I want to do something like this or a gebe type setup. I really like the idea of ease of use / setup if I want to motorize a different bike. I am also trying to decide if I want this engine or a Honda GX35, have you used one of those before? If so, how different is the power?

Dan, I just bought and mounted a Honda GX35 on my BMP kit 2 weeks ago. beaudry and I are about the same weight, body and bike. I previously had the Harbor Freight auger 50cc 2 stroke engine on my bike. It will run circles around the Honda. The Honda has a 1" roller and the HF had the 1.25" one way roller that beaudry mentioned. I never used the 1" roller with the HF engine, but with the 1.25" roller, it still pulls way better than the Honda with a 1" roller. The Honda is a sweet, smooth running little engine. Would be O.K. for a light weight. I'm looking to upgrade to the Titan or the Honda 50cc.

 

[chrisnbush]

Hey, nice bike. I am looking at getting Duane's rack mount unit with the Titan, I currently have his 65cc centermount and have about 1800 miles on THIS motor.

One thing - I used to have a friction drive unit from livefastmotors.com, with their "honda clone" engine. Nice engine (42cc), and good setup, just too much sand around here for it and I need to go in the rain. One thing I noticed was over time the U brace that is clamped to the forks under the seat started to bend a little.

With all the torque of the Titan I wonder if this will be a problem for you over time ? BUT I am noting the BMP unit has two rear supports, the one from livefastmotors had only one under the engine - making it a tripod per your quadrapod.

The other thing that happened with the livefastmotors unit was the dang drive roller would wear out, I must have replaced them 3 times. Not the tire, the drive roller ! We have a lot of sand up here in NH, and it gets on the pavement - it is my theory that the sand wears down the roller, but maybe the metal is soft (It sure LOOKS massive).

Are you noting any wear on the roller ? How many miles to you have on the set up ?

LOVE MY BIKE

Chris