Schwinn Meridian w/ Staton Front Friction

[scottcol23]

Okay. I built a schwinn meridian Gear/Chain drive a few weeks ago and it gets so much attention that im getting people that want one too. I went to my local Acadamy Sports and picked up another meridian. I went with the friction drive for ease of operation and it just leaves less to go wrong.

first pics are of the trike as it comes from the store. and they dont lie when they say "some assembly required"


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[scottcol23]

okay

Went to install the kit (which arrived a day ago) and i noticed this!! A CRACK In the motor mount! The crack was isolated to the blower cover, but allowed the clutch bell housing to touch the bell.

I called David and got no answer, so I called the North American parts Div. for Robin Subaru hopeing for a new part under warrenty. they said that it was covered if indeed the motor was new .. blah blah blah.. you need to take it to a service center... yadda yadda... then they asked... and what was this motor part of? i almost said a pump but didnt want to get the wrong cover because the pumps dont have a clutch. so i said. "a motorized bike" . I was then told that my warrenty was void and that my motor was not intended to be used in that mannor. He didnt have much to say to me after that.

The only other thing other than a pump that i have seen this motor in was a small generator.

I then called staton-inc.

I notified David and he said he was sending me a new blower cover, the crack is just on that cover thankfully it wasnt worse!

 

[scottcol23]

I decided to get the system mocked up while I wait for the part.

[ PIC #1 ]
I was worried about the brakes interfering with the fork mount. but it just had enough room.

[ PIC #2 ]
The supplied bolts for mounting the bracket were 1/2" too short so I replaced with 2.5" long grade 8 stock.

 

[scottcol23]

>

[ PIC #1 ]
Now, The supplied 6 hole plates supplied with the kit intended to secure the support rods, are not compatable with the meridian. This is because the meridian has rear mounted screws for the fender supports. as seen in .

[ PIC #2 ]
I ended up using 90deg. brackets. This may be temporary.

[ PIC #3 ]
Im going to the shop tomorow and will be drilling a hole large enough to pass the hub nut through. This would allow the 6 hole bracket to be used.

 

[scottcol23]

.


I plan on painting some of the brackets. But all thats left to do is wait for the part to come in. and mount the motor.

 

[Happy Valley]

Hey, nice documentation and pics. I don't have a trike but you never know.

Interesting comments from R/S on the warranty issue, I'm pretty heavy into Robins. Dave Staton claimed the factory warranty is good when I asked him, and he obviously knows the engine is going on a bike. Maybe if a warranty issue ever came up the thing to do is pull it and say it's a general utility engine, yeah that's the ticket, lol

You think it got broken in shipping?

 

[bamabikeguy]

Good luck Scott.

I'm hoping you super-reinforce that front wheel/tire, zip tie those spokes, so those N'Orleans potholes don't knockout the alignment.

 

[Mountainman]

wouldn't hurt for Dave to kick in on warranty issue

Interesting comments from R/S on the warranty issue
Dave Staton claimed the factory warranty is good when I asked him

surprised that crack slipped through -- pretty darn noticeable

wouldn't hurt for Dave to kick in with some warranty on his own part
where Robin may fall short
because they wish not to cover engine's for our MB use

it's not like Dave would be losing a lot
the R/S is well proven -- built strong -- to last -- next to no problems

as we ride those things

 

[scottcol23]

surprised that crack slipped through -- pretty darn noticeable

wouldn't hurt for Dave to kick in with some warranty on his own part
where Robin may fall short
because they wish not to cover engine's for our MB use

it's not like Dave would be losing a lot
the R/S is well proven -- built strong -- to last -- next to no problems

as we ride those things

Yeah, When I called Dave he said that he would pull the part off a engine he had in stock if he couldnt locate an extra in the shop. he said he has 2,000 of the R/S's in stock.

On another note. If i were him i would get a better packing method. It came packed in about 500 balled up newspaper pages. (the same way the last kit i ordered came) which is nice but I have seen some dumb UPS drivers lately. I saw a driver in front of my house one day drop a box because he was trying to carry to much, and instead of putting down the rest and picking the dropped one up he slid it across the street with his foot and then tumbled it up the curb like a soccar ball. so... its anyones guess as to how the packages get damaged.

 

[scottcol23]

Good luck Scott.

I'm hoping you super-reinforce that front wheel/tire, zip tie those spokes, so those N'Orleans potholes don't knockout the alignment.

I ran vinyl tape on the inside of the rim, over the spoke ends. and used the super thick slime tubes on all three tires. Im thinking about a solid front tire and a suspension fork up front. I have a few old bikes with the gas rock shox. i think the brace for the brakes is burley enough to handle the kit. It may be just a dream though.