Manic Mechanic sprocket mount purchased

Sgt. Howard

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Oct 2, 2010
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Malott, WA
As stated- I did not really like the rag mount on my cheap Wally World Cranbrick with HT motor kit, so I ordered the aformentioned item sans sprocket. Order was placed Saturday. Arrived here in WA state today. Included two Pirate stickers and a lollypop... nice touch, that lollypop. Unfortunatly both boys saw the thing and the fight ensued... oh well, the old man claims it as it was mailed to me any ways.
I ordered the mount designed for the Worksman as a vernier caliper showed my Huffy hub to be in tolerance for the same. Took off all the screws when I got it and fitted it to the hub- thumb pressure locked the silly thing in place!!! Talk about a perfect fit...
This is a relatively hard aircraft aluminum milled item- you still see mild milling marks on the surface, but for $45 I would hardly expect to see 2-3 hrs worth of buffing on the finished product. I assume it would jewel very nicely, should you want to put in the effort, or polish up to blinding for that matter- but it's a hub to sprocket connector widget thingy (I belive that is the correct technical phrase) and such things do not have to be showy they only have to work right. Two bolts hold the two halves to the hub, then three bolts attatch the sprocket to the side. Unfortunatly, the holes on a HT kit are in a smaller circle that those of the mount- you will have to CAREFULLY measure and drill should you decide to use the origional sprocket. Also they are of larger diameter... I have not measured them yet, but I suspect they might be SAE as opposed to metric, I will find out later and post my results. Very well designed, alignment of the sprocket should be quite easy now once I have the holes drilled where they need to go.
On another note- I am building two cedar and oak pannier boxes for the rear rack. Interior dimentions are 9.5" Tall x 8" long x 3.5" thick. That allows them to be flush with the back of my rack while allowing room for my heels when pedaling with ample room for one 2stroke oil measuring bottle AND an ACE HARDWARE 1 quart can of 40to1 premixed fuel (my spare gas can) in one box- the other box will hold goggles, gloves and minor do-dads (another technical phrase). Up 'till now, I was in a minor tailspin as to what graphixs to put on these boxes(I WAS considering cigar box artwok as they will LOOK like cigar boxes pressed into service) the inclusion of the "Pirate Cycle" stickers settles THAT issue nicely!
the Old Sgt.
 
Manic Mechanic sprocket mount

Interesting- I'm in the reverse engineering stage right now- the screws holding the thing together are SAE- 5/16" and 3/8" specifically- yet the diameter described by the center of the three sprocket mount screws appears to be 92mm. I will check my findings again, then drill out a template to see if it fits. Then I will build a jig to drill the HT sprocket on my drillpress. I WILL photograph that portion of the operation, as I see no reason a HT sprocket shouldn't work if mounted properly... or why somebody else couldn't attempt this.
the Old Sgt.
 
Interesting- I'm in the reverse engineering stage right now- the screws holding the thing together are SAE- 5/16" and 3/8" specifically- yet the diameter described by the center of the three sprocket mount screws appears to be 92mm. I will check my findings again, then drill out a template to see if it fits. Then I will build a jig to drill the HT sprocket on my drillpress. I WILL photograph that portion of the operation, as I see no reason a HT sprocket shouldn't work if mounted properly... or why somebody else couldn't attempt this.
the Old Sgt.

As one "old Sargent" to an other-
Some times I find people just get lazy-
"If it dont bolt directly on... well it must not belong there"
If it weren't for old Sargents, nothing would get done.
I'd like to see what you come up with.
BBB
(Ex HighwayPatrol Srgnt.)
 
Sprocket mount

Sprocket mount is on- a bit tricky to get the holes right where you want them, but now I know why I took geometry in High School. Very simple math it turned out to be, and there are several ways to do it. Three holes. 46mm between each hole and the center of the sprocket at 120 degrees each. You take the stock sprocket, build a dead flat chunk of plywood with a plug in the center to fit thru the main hole of the sprocket. Mount said sprocket with gears touching board. Use small wood screws to tag teeth of sprocket to board. Measure distance between any adjacent bolt holes in sprocket and mark center thereof. Mark center of hole opposite this mark. Move over three holes and do it again. Then do it again. Draw a pencile line from center of hole to center between holes on these marks- they should intersect in center of wood plug. THIS is the center of your sprocket. Use a compass to measure 46mm from center down three lines that are 120 degrees apart. Use a SHARP punch set to mark with a light tap. Dismount sprocket. Drill to 1/16" then to 3/8". This should do it- when mounting the manic mechanic mount, make sure you have equal gap on both sides. As this does not 'flatten' the spoke dish as the ragmount will, I find I have tons of clearance between tire/chain/frame with this set-up. ALSO- on the Cranbrick, you will want to cut out the inner hole to about 1/8" of the inner circle of ragmount holes to allow the 'dished' side to go in JUST PAST the level of the spokes where they mount on the hub.
Still do not have the thing running- something glued up in the carb I think. Changed out the fuel, electrical is working but engine behaves as if choke is full on and tight when choke is off- I suspect the float valve is stuck open and flooding the thing. We will see.
the Old Sgt.
 
Sprocket mount-

Got the silly thing to run- sprocket mount not only gives generouse clearance to tire by virtue of NOT flatdishing the spokes on the left, but a single extra washer between the frame and the locknut on the left solves the issue of frame damage from the chain. Ride is smooth- seems much more secure than the old rag mount system. Sprocket is spot on- no wobble or wriggle, no shift on the hub. Looks cleaner as well. If you are NOT comfortable drilling your own holes in the ragmount sprocket, their sprocket is only $15 extra and seems well worth it... I'm just a cheap ******* with good tools, I guess. I will let y'all know how well it works over time, but so far I'd say I made a clever investment.
the Old Sgt.
 
Manic Mechanic sprocket mount write up

Having now driven the silly thing for almost a month, I can definatly assure you that it is well worth the investment. In fact, thos of you without the skills (or courage) to attempt mounting the HT sprocket on this thing, the extra $15 is a small cost for one of their sprockets- and I belive they have a choice of tooth configurations for those who want a little extra gearing in their puckity-putt. Lovely product- without lock-tite, there has been no drift or shift between the mount and the hub. Alignment is dead on. $60 for the total package is quite a deal- you WILL get your monies worth. Now to finish up those panniers...
the Old Sgt.
 
Agree about that mount (and their sprockets) Sgt. - they're just Solid.

FYI - posted info on calculating hole circle size some months ago that I've found useful. Its located here.
 
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