feeling a little dis-heartened about the happy time...

bluegoatwoods

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I have two MBs. Both 49cc happy times. Built them in April, 2008. So they're both just about a year old.

The first one suddenly stopped running toward the end of last summer. Didn't take long to figure out that the magneto had gotten wet. I wasn't terribly concerned. It had other issues as well. My wife had beaten it up pretty badly.
So I put it in the basement and rode my second MB the rest of the summer. Even some winter riding. Made a wind screen/fairing of sorts. That bike has been quite good to me, really. Though I have had to tinker with it a fair amount. About a month ago, it died the same way. Wet magneto.

Not a big problem. I ordered a new magneto. And just for kicks I put it on the first bike. For a few weeks I've been playing with it, fixing it up and cleaning and waxing, etc. It's really a pretty good looking bike. (# 2 is more like the MB equivalent of the Clampett's old truck) Got it in good working shape over the last couple of weeks. Then I ordered a magneto for bike #2. Still waiting on that.

Sunday morning (yesterday) I took a 12 mile ride in some good soaking (rather chilly) rain. No problem. Yesterday evening I started out on the same ride in similar conditions. Didn't get far before it quit. I haven't yet diagnosed the problem. But I know darn well what if felt like; wet magneto.

This could be a problem. The cost of these new parts hasn't been so terrible, though I do have to be careful of being nickeled and dimed to death.
But the time I"m putting into keeping these bikes running is beginning to worry me. If a day of labor is the price for riding 30 miles, then I have to wonder if it's worth it.

I'm still a serious pedal-biker, so I'll be riding something in either case. (that's what I made last evening's ride on, as a matter of fact. And that was fine. People think I'm a nut riding in weather like that. But I know better; the auto-slaves are the nuts.)

By the way, I am sealing these covers and the wire pass-through with silicone sealer.

And better quality engines and drives are always a possibility. But I don't really want to spend hundreds of dollars.

Oh well, I'm not really ready to give up just yet. I'm posting this mostly to advise the newbies. These are lovely little bike engines. But do keep in mind that they need looking after.

See you all around.
 
that was a nice way to sum it up there BGW
lovely little bike engines. But do keep in mind that they need looking after..

you mention that you sealed your unit from the rain
any idea where the water is getting in
case maybe ??

maybe it's time for a quality set up
one that will run for hunderds of hours with no troubles

ride the MB thing sideways
 
And better quality engines and drives are always a possibility. But I don't really want to spend hundreds of dollars.

I know what you mean though it can also be viewed as false economy if you need two or three to keep one running. That's the deal breaker for me, plus I begrudge the time spent on redundant maintenance.

To each their own, of course, but I've come to view the HT as an entry level and soon realized if this was something I was going to stick with long term I'd need to move on.
 
Early in my career, I had to make a similar choice on a power tool I was considering buying. One was less expensive, but likely less reliable. The other, much more expensive, had a great reputation for being sturdy and very reliable. My father counseled me and said: "Buy the best... it's cheaper." That bit of advice has proven to be true many times since then. YMMV.
-Mike
 
Maybe it's time??

For a reliable Japanese engine. Like a Robin, Tanaka, Mitsu, Honda,
Talk about trouble free !!!!!!
Always ready to roll .......
 
Are you using the blue wire to kill the ignition?
I have a theory that this is what the problem is in many cases. The blue wire produces well over 100 volts AC to charge the capacitor in the CDI. This means the kill switch, which isn't waterproof, has over 100 volts of electrical potential inside of it. If water gets inside the switch, it could load down the stator (magneto) to the point where it kills the spark. I've always used the white wire to kill the ignition, since it only has 6 volts output and therefore less leakage current in the wet kill switch.
 
Sorry, folks. I mis-identified the trouble. It's not the magneto. I ran out of fuel.

I can hear you laughing at me from here! :)

But I swear it; I filled that tank just the other day. I couldn't have ridden more than 25 miles. So now I'm puzzled about why I used that much fuel that quickly. If my engine were running that rich, I think I'd know that something wasn't right. And if I was leaking that badly, then I'd think I'd have seen it. (I can't see any leak)

So this is kind of strange.

I filled it up yesterday and this morning I took another chilly rain ride. Once again, people think that there's something wrong with me. But it felt great. I'm drying off right now. Feet and hands a bit cold, but I'm happy.

We're supposed to get better weather here in a couple of days. That'll give me a chance to inspect the bike thoroughly.

As for the kill switch, RC, I don't use it at all. For pretty much the reason that you stated. I kill the engine using choke and throttle. The blue and the black conductors go to the CDI and nowhere else. And the white wire is folded over and taped. The kill switch just looks like trouble waiting to happen.

So thanks for the suggestions. But this didn't turn out to be any real trouble at all.
Just a minor bump in the road.
 
I have so many miles on my kings bushing engine happy time the bicycle frame is shot.

I am starting to break major pieces of the bicycle LOL
I sealed everything with goop and red silastic rtv.
Ugly but sealed.

I recently added a tuned pipe and did a lot of mods ported polished transfer ports etc.

The steel frame cannot handle the extra power.

I am currently working on a home made front wheel pedal, rear wheel engine driven recumbent.
The happy time has saved me thousands of dollars in insurance, repairs, maintenance over a car.
 
Now that you mention it, bikeman, I remember reading his website.

I was impressed. I've had the notion that one day I might buy one of those.
 
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