Dear Abikerider,
I believe that all my woes boil down to basic physics and power to weight ratios. Most "normal" riders probably fit into the 175 weight range. I'm asking the same components to withstand the test of an additional 100 pounds. First, the clutch must do double duty, the shift kit robs at least some of the available housepower, more power is lost throught the chain between the shift kit and the main crank and to add insult to injury, I'm asking this power to be transmitted through a chinsy bicycle chain to the rear hub. (even though I'm using a heavy duty, nickle chain). Went through three instances of chain stretch then finally chain failure and the rear hub kept jumping between gears (especially 1st and 2nd) Due to all the power loss, 3rd gear bogged the engine down to the point that it quit.
I'm back to the drawing board with probably a Q-Matic gearbox and a straight shot back to a 44 tooth.
Barry