Started my first build and I'm using the Flying Horse purchased from BikeBerry. Things were fine with the kit and the service from BB. I've had it for a couple weeks now but honestly just been too busy to play with it. I've managed to get a few hours into the install now thhough, less than an hour at a time most times, and very much taking my time with it all. I did "mill the head" and the top of the cylinder & replaced some of the bolts and studs in the head with either stainless steel or 8.8 SHCS metric bolts (grade 5 I believe). Here are a few things I've learned along the way:
The kit in general appears (so far) to be much better built than many I've read about, but it is still a mass produced Chinese piece of work.
These throttle/grips are laughable. It even has the cool fake Hardly David's-son emblem imprinted on it with an eagle face embossed in the end cap. (quickly removed, mind you) It'll definitely require some grease in the housing and some lube in the cable itself. It does make the slide in the carb go up & down though, so I'm content with that at this point.
The rear sprocket is cool how it works, but tedious to assemble to the hub. One of those bolts already stripped; guess I missed some when replacing the rest with American bolts. Whoops, lesson learned early on. I'll be getting a set of 9 more this week, that's for sure.
If I do NOT have the quick release type of axle on this bike, should I be concerned with strength?
The muffler needed bent to clear the pedal on the left side. One of my SHCS bolts also hits the crank arm because I didn't bother to C'Bore it yet. MAP Gas and a vise did that just perfectly, well, except I may have been a tad aggressive in the heat and may have kinked the pipe a slight bit. I was really hoping not to do that.
Clutch cable is kind of a Pain In THe Arse (PITA) to assemble and adjust, making sure to get disengagement when I pull the lever. Lever has a weird locking mechanism, not the thru-bolt locking pin. I'll get pix in the days to come. It does seem quite solid though and has a good feel. Is this clutch a simple IN/OUT clutch, or will it be progressive like a real clutch?
Carb doesn't mount exactly vertical due to the slide hitting my crossbar. It sits about 5 degrees off or so. This is a very small, 26" mountain bike with 15" frame, btw.
I used strips from a wheelbarrow tube I just replaced under the engine mounts for vibration dampening and to keep from scratching the frame. This is another set of bolts I missed when I went to the hardware initially, and the extra space from the thick rubber strips made it very time consuming to get the nuts started on all 4 studs and get the motor mounted to the frame. Do yourself a favor and replace these studs with longer ones as well, before even beginning the install. (all motor studs)
The engine's pinion will definitely need to be ground down on the OD for the chain to move from tooth to tooth freely. It it probably 1/16" too long on each tooth tip. If my chain fits w/o the tensioner pulley / chain guide is it usually acceptable to run it that way? Should I only do that after it stretches to size? This is a hard-tail.
Remaining to do:
wiring
gas tank / filter / line
chain guard
route cables properly
Size the chain
RIDE THE FUN!!!!!!!
Thanks for reading!
-bones-
The kit in general appears (so far) to be much better built than many I've read about, but it is still a mass produced Chinese piece of work.
These throttle/grips are laughable. It even has the cool fake Hardly David's-son emblem imprinted on it with an eagle face embossed in the end cap. (quickly removed, mind you) It'll definitely require some grease in the housing and some lube in the cable itself. It does make the slide in the carb go up & down though, so I'm content with that at this point.
The rear sprocket is cool how it works, but tedious to assemble to the hub. One of those bolts already stripped; guess I missed some when replacing the rest with American bolts. Whoops, lesson learned early on. I'll be getting a set of 9 more this week, that's for sure.
If I do NOT have the quick release type of axle on this bike, should I be concerned with strength?
The muffler needed bent to clear the pedal on the left side. One of my SHCS bolts also hits the crank arm because I didn't bother to C'Bore it yet. MAP Gas and a vise did that just perfectly, well, except I may have been a tad aggressive in the heat and may have kinked the pipe a slight bit. I was really hoping not to do that.
Clutch cable is kind of a Pain In THe Arse (PITA) to assemble and adjust, making sure to get disengagement when I pull the lever. Lever has a weird locking mechanism, not the thru-bolt locking pin. I'll get pix in the days to come. It does seem quite solid though and has a good feel. Is this clutch a simple IN/OUT clutch, or will it be progressive like a real clutch?
Carb doesn't mount exactly vertical due to the slide hitting my crossbar. It sits about 5 degrees off or so. This is a very small, 26" mountain bike with 15" frame, btw.
I used strips from a wheelbarrow tube I just replaced under the engine mounts for vibration dampening and to keep from scratching the frame. This is another set of bolts I missed when I went to the hardware initially, and the extra space from the thick rubber strips made it very time consuming to get the nuts started on all 4 studs and get the motor mounted to the frame. Do yourself a favor and replace these studs with longer ones as well, before even beginning the install. (all motor studs)
The engine's pinion will definitely need to be ground down on the OD for the chain to move from tooth to tooth freely. It it probably 1/16" too long on each tooth tip. If my chain fits w/o the tensioner pulley / chain guide is it usually acceptable to run it that way? Should I only do that after it stretches to size? This is a hard-tail.
Remaining to do:
wiring
gas tank / filter / line
chain guard
route cables properly
Size the chain
RIDE THE FUN!!!!!!!
Thanks for reading!
-bones-
