S
Smallwheels
Guest
So far...
So far the kit is working with not too many problems. There have been a few times when it stalled while stopped at intersections.
It coughs a few times when it is given gas when starting out. This doesn't happen every time I start, but it usually happens after the motor has been off for a few minutes while I was in a store shopping. The only way to deal with it is to give it very little gas while accelerating. I always pedal the bike to about six to ten mph before squeezing the throttle.
Sometimes while riding at full speed as I usually do, it will sputter for a little bit. It goes away and I just keep riding.
My kit has the highway gear. The top speed is only 28-30 miles per hour (mph) on level ground with no wind. Usually it is at 28 mph. I weigh about 150 pounds. It should be going 33 mph according to Golden Eagle.
There are times when the motor will just start going slower for no apparent reason. The speed just drops as much as 5 mph and won't go back to normal. I've checked the cable stop on the carburetor and it goes all the way just fine. On the same tank of fuel it will run just fine on a different day. The weather here then was in the 50 degree range so I don't think the motor was overheating.
I sent the motor back to them and they checked it out and said it was a strong one. That was about $45 for shipping both ways. Denn increased the idle speed. I don't know why that would help. All it does is allow the bike to roll on its own without me adding any gas.
For quite a while it took 20 pulls to get it started (sometimes more). Now with about 350 miles on it the motor starts with about 3-5 pulls.
Now that I have a speedometer and odometer it is easy to calculate my miles per gallon (mpg). I have started to refill the little tank at gas stations. Before I was buying a gallon in a portable can and taking it home. I would refill before going out. The receipt lists the amount of fuel purchased so this makes the calculation easy. Most of the time the motor is getting only 132 mpg. My estimate in my introduction was really close. I was hoping for at the least 160 mpg. I'm envious of the people with the smaller Redmax motor who get 220 mpg and go faster than me.
Some spokes broke on my rear wheel. One of the local bicycle shops rebuilt it with 14 gauge quality stainless steel spokes for $55.00. The weak part of the wheel is now the rim, which is single wall aluminum. I won't be using cable ties on the spokes because the wheel does need to flex some. If the wheels were too stiff the spokes would pop through the rim.
The muffler cover cracked at both mounting points with cap screws. Golden Eagle wouldn't replace it under warrantee but Tanaka did. They got a new one out to me very quickly. They didn't even want the old one back.
There was a cap screw missing when I got the motor back from Golden Eagle. I asked them to send a new one to me and was told to go buy one at a local store. I would recommend that everyone get some type of thread lock and put it on all of their screws and bolts. I've done that and haven't lost any more since doing it.
Perhaps all of these motor problems are a sign that my motor is really put together tightly.
Don't use the motor to go up steep hills. I tried it and the motor just spun wide open while I pedaled up at 4 mph. I tried to vary the gas and get the clutch to hook-up but it wouldn't.
When my motor was new it would give off an unusual odor at the end of the ride. My guess is that it was the clutch. I asked Golden Eagle about that smell and they didn't know what it was. I suggested that maybe it was the clutch and that it was the reason my bicycle is only going 28 mph. There was no comment about it. I asked them to check the clutch when I sent it back and I don't think they did. There was no mention of it being checked on the return receipt. I haven't smelled that odor in a few rides. It seems to be intermittent.
Now that the weather has changed I need to go out and ride to see how it will perform in below freezing temperatures. I don't have studded tires yet so I'll need to go slowly on any patches of snow.
I don't recommend Freddy Fenders by Planet Bike if your bike has 1.95 inch wide tires or bigger. They fit very close to the tires, so close that when the tires pick up rocks they scrape the underside of the fenders. I might need to remove the fenders for winter riding because the snow will definitely clog the fenders. Mountain bike fenders would work but they don't have as much coverage as full fenders. A mountain bike rear fender might not work due to the motor being in the way.
I added a center stand because my side stand would rub against the drive ring on the wheel. I like the center stand but the chain rubs on it when the bike is in the big chain ring. I need to make some type of adapter to put between the frame and the stand in order to lower it.
There is probably more I could tell you about but it isn't coming to me right now. I don't know of anyone else with a Golden Eagle who has had so many little problems. Put together, all of these problems seem to add up to a really bad experience. I don't really think of it as a lemon motor, but I am disappointed that my set-up isn't as trouble free as most others. I really enjoy this bike and motor. My Honda Fit Sport Automatic car is for sale on Cars.com in the 59635 zip code because I have this motor kit.
Dennis said that these motors last a really long time. He said that there are some motors with 30,000 miles and still going strong without being rebuilt. That is what I'm expecting to happen for me because I mix the fuel properly and intend to keep close watch on the regular maintenance.
I'll post photos soon now that I have another digital camera. Look for Smallwheels' Bicycle Kit Done Right.
i'm glad i finally found this really cool intro
i'm a GEBE/Tanaka-33 noob who's never going back, you can check out my setup down in "rack-mount"...if you wouldn't mind, i'd like some input about how yours has performed lately...mileage/mpg/topend/"watch out"s
welcome to the MBc
So far the kit is working with not too many problems. There have been a few times when it stalled while stopped at intersections.
It coughs a few times when it is given gas when starting out. This doesn't happen every time I start, but it usually happens after the motor has been off for a few minutes while I was in a store shopping. The only way to deal with it is to give it very little gas while accelerating. I always pedal the bike to about six to ten mph before squeezing the throttle.
Sometimes while riding at full speed as I usually do, it will sputter for a little bit. It goes away and I just keep riding.
My kit has the highway gear. The top speed is only 28-30 miles per hour (mph) on level ground with no wind. Usually it is at 28 mph. I weigh about 150 pounds. It should be going 33 mph according to Golden Eagle.
There are times when the motor will just start going slower for no apparent reason. The speed just drops as much as 5 mph and won't go back to normal. I've checked the cable stop on the carburetor and it goes all the way just fine. On the same tank of fuel it will run just fine on a different day. The weather here then was in the 50 degree range so I don't think the motor was overheating.
I sent the motor back to them and they checked it out and said it was a strong one. That was about $45 for shipping both ways. Denn increased the idle speed. I don't know why that would help. All it does is allow the bike to roll on its own without me adding any gas.
For quite a while it took 20 pulls to get it started (sometimes more). Now with about 350 miles on it the motor starts with about 3-5 pulls.
Now that I have a speedometer and odometer it is easy to calculate my miles per gallon (mpg). I have started to refill the little tank at gas stations. Before I was buying a gallon in a portable can and taking it home. I would refill before going out. The receipt lists the amount of fuel purchased so this makes the calculation easy. Most of the time the motor is getting only 132 mpg. My estimate in my introduction was really close. I was hoping for at the least 160 mpg. I'm envious of the people with the smaller Redmax motor who get 220 mpg and go faster than me.
Some spokes broke on my rear wheel. One of the local bicycle shops rebuilt it with 14 gauge quality stainless steel spokes for $55.00. The weak part of the wheel is now the rim, which is single wall aluminum. I won't be using cable ties on the spokes because the wheel does need to flex some. If the wheels were too stiff the spokes would pop through the rim.
The muffler cover cracked at both mounting points with cap screws. Golden Eagle wouldn't replace it under warrantee but Tanaka did. They got a new one out to me very quickly. They didn't even want the old one back.
There was a cap screw missing when I got the motor back from Golden Eagle. I asked them to send a new one to me and was told to go buy one at a local store. I would recommend that everyone get some type of thread lock and put it on all of their screws and bolts. I've done that and haven't lost any more since doing it.
Perhaps all of these motor problems are a sign that my motor is really put together tightly.
Don't use the motor to go up steep hills. I tried it and the motor just spun wide open while I pedaled up at 4 mph. I tried to vary the gas and get the clutch to hook-up but it wouldn't.
When my motor was new it would give off an unusual odor at the end of the ride. My guess is that it was the clutch. I asked Golden Eagle about that smell and they didn't know what it was. I suggested that maybe it was the clutch and that it was the reason my bicycle is only going 28 mph. There was no comment about it. I asked them to check the clutch when I sent it back and I don't think they did. There was no mention of it being checked on the return receipt. I haven't smelled that odor in a few rides. It seems to be intermittent.
Now that the weather has changed I need to go out and ride to see how it will perform in below freezing temperatures. I don't have studded tires yet so I'll need to go slowly on any patches of snow.
I don't recommend Freddy Fenders by Planet Bike if your bike has 1.95 inch wide tires or bigger. They fit very close to the tires, so close that when the tires pick up rocks they scrape the underside of the fenders. I might need to remove the fenders for winter riding because the snow will definitely clog the fenders. Mountain bike fenders would work but they don't have as much coverage as full fenders. A mountain bike rear fender might not work due to the motor being in the way.
I added a center stand because my side stand would rub against the drive ring on the wheel. I like the center stand but the chain rubs on it when the bike is in the big chain ring. I need to make some type of adapter to put between the frame and the stand in order to lower it.
There is probably more I could tell you about but it isn't coming to me right now. I don't know of anyone else with a Golden Eagle who has had so many little problems. Put together, all of these problems seem to add up to a really bad experience. I don't really think of it as a lemon motor, but I am disappointed that my set-up isn't as trouble free as most others. I really enjoy this bike and motor. My Honda Fit Sport Automatic car is for sale on Cars.com in the 59635 zip code because I have this motor kit.
Dennis said that these motors last a really long time. He said that there are some motors with 30,000 miles and still going strong without being rebuilt. That is what I'm expecting to happen for me because I mix the fuel properly and intend to keep close watch on the regular maintenance.
I'll post photos soon now that I have another digital camera. Look for Smallwheels' Bicycle Kit Done Right.
