First Build

New to the concept, but definitely having fun building this. Still have some work to do (disc brakes, better tensioner system, wide crossover stand, drum up the nads to ride it), but I think I’ve navigated a few of the mismatches and frustrations.

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Back tire wear is a lot faster than pedal power. The Hookworms are great tires as long as you use down hill tubes. I have a kenda dh in the back. It's something like 2.35mm thick. CST Cyclops are also great tires according to some well respected members here and the other forum.

I see tire-shopping in the near future! 👍
 
Looks good!

As far as suggestions, the 4-bolt tensioners do better on those small tapered chainstays than the older single 2 bolt style since one side can tighten more than the other to make up for the taper. The stock bearing doesn't last too long in them anyway and most replace it pretty quickly with a better cover mounted spring loaded setup so just something to keep in mind.

The pull starter was notoriously unreliable but apparently recently a new version was released which addressed some of the issues...not familiar enough with them to tell the difference from a picture but if I were you I would try to see which version you have. If its the older one, might be good to order a replacement now to have on hand in case of any issues in the future.

Also, the kit chain guard on the motor chain is damn near impossible to keep firmly in place in a usable area so expect a lot of rattling and coming lose from it. Might be worth removing unless you get caught in mud and rain often.

More awesome input, and thank you FNTPuck!

The tensioner does pretty much look like crap, and maintaining alignment looks like it would be a constant issue. The stock roller is also a bit Fisher-Price, with no real bearing in it. I did pick up a sprocket-cover tensioner, but the angle I’m eventually going to have with the 32T disc-hub-mounted rear (on its way) may leave too little deflection to be of much use — kinda like tensioning closer to the rear, where I can have more deflection to work with. Again, suggestions would be great, but I’m looking at taking a bolt-mounted heavy spring sprocket/guide unit I have, which I can make a firm bracket for.

Yes, the pull start appears to be significantly improved. I think mine has a stronger engage assembly than the ones I’d seen, the rope bushing is brass (instead of plastic), and the tope appears to be somewhat reinforced and about 20” of pull. Haven’t actually started the engine, yet, but I hope the pull start would only really be used for on-stand work, like tuning.

Yes, the chain guard also looks like something from Fisher-Price. If I do go with the sprocket-cover tensioner, it’ll have to go away anyway. If I do fabricate a rearward mount and use the sprocket/guide tensioner, I could build it as a bit of a top shield, since it would also be sheet metal (just heavier gauge than the stock one).

Some great and practical advice/ideas here, y’all! THANK YOU!
 
Installed the tach today. Knew the idle was waaay too high, but had no real “ear” for how bad it really was. After seeing it running at 4k, I finally dug into what was happening. The gate was stuck at half-open, with no slack in the cable. Took some tuning at the throttle, both cable ends, and even found a little extra slack to leave in. Throttle is now smooth, and still have some room to actually set the idle screw when I test-fire it again tomorrow. Engine’s running great, though — cold start is never more than two choked pulls on the rope, and sometimes the first! 👍 Only things left are the 3L tank, and a total respoke/disc-hub/axle when the CNC 32T sprocket arrives in a couple more days.

The front-end is done, with a new disc hub and spokes (actually managed to lace and true both sides, with single-length spokes, rather than two-length), and solid axle.

Two things have held me back from the actual first road-test: 1) Recovering from a shattered right wrist and radius, and; 2) The stock 41T sprocket and rubber spoke mount assembly are waaay to eccentric and Fisher-Price to trust the chain won’t hop. Have changed the 2-bolt tensioner out to a 4-bolt, but gonna wait for the new sprocket to do a final alignment.

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Wishing I could find more on airboxes. My intake is actually louder than the exhaust now, and I suspect porting and/or reeds might help, but there has to be a good aftermarket attenuation option out there, in lieu of machining or adding reeds into an already tight space. I’ve browsed quite a few import automotive airboxes, and found a few of enough volume that would help muffle the intake, but pretty much every one would take some pretty trashy rigging to get in place. The few add-ons I’ve seen for scooters are either not really of enough cubic volume and attenuation to be all that effective (and the videos mostly support their limited effectiveness). Surprisingly, the simple addition of 1” exhaust wrap on just the manifold section of the muffler eliminated the “ping” from the pipe, but the intake sounds like a weed-eater from hell! 🤣 The nature of two-stroke, I know, but there’s always an amazing improvement out there, somewhere.

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Didn’t take long into this endeavor to realize the truths behind “budget”, and “complete” — they’re myths, no more tangible than unicorns. There’s always a better way, another part on order, a new idea to wake up with in the middle of the night. There are smarter, stronger, faster ways and compositions. For every thousand folks enjoying their individual journey, they could probably derive at least ten times more unique iterations of equal value and character. It’s awesome! Yes, there may come a day when the obsession to build and improve may end, but it ain’t to-day! 👍😎🤙
 
New rear is built! New spokes, disc hub and rotor, 32-T stainless 12.5mm offset sprocket, new bearings and high-speed grease, new cassette with a “granny” low gear, and a solid axle. Now, I gotta true up this wheel an’ git all this stuff t’ line up an’ shift c’rec’ly! 😳...🤣

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Have the studs for the stock exaust gotten that good to free float the muffler and not rip out? I know you guys have had issues in the past. Tom
 
Have the studs for the stock exaust gotten that good to free float the muffler and not rip out? I know you guys have had issues in the past. Tom

Nooo, No, No..! I wouldn’t trust it for any duration, that’s for sure. This one hasn’t seen any road-time, yet, still in the build/test phases. There should absolutely be at least one resilient exhaust clamp on a setup like this, long before putting any hours on it!
 
Gonna hafta do a 203mm rear rotor, and probably tack on a hard bracket for the caliper. The drive chain aligns great, but not quite enough space for the caliper on a 160mm rotor.

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