Starter / Generator Available for Genuine TLE43?

Hey Loquin,

I just wanted to thank you again for all the input and advice on electrifying my bike.
After realizing that I would have to fab 2 adapter plates and 2 different shaft couplings,
I admitted defeat and made an appointment with the best auto electrics guy in town.

He laughed and rolled his eyes when he first saw the bike, but after I told him about some of the crazy off-roading I've been doing with it, he bowed in reverence to the Time Pig and agreed to take on the project.

So thanks to you I'm gonna have 12v power in about a week!

These last couple weeks have been such a blast, I'm almost kicking myself for not doing this like 10 years ago..
Up until I found this site I just assumed that motor assisted bikes were still just like I remembered them in the early eighties, heavy and worthless...

Thanks again man!
 
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When I first got intrested in a motorized bicycle I looked at the dimension edge bikes.

I eventually got a happytime and then built my own.
From what I have heard dimension edge bikes are very nice.
I sitill like the look.
 
Friction Drive - Not Just For the French Resistance Anymore!

Hey Spad,


Yeah when I was doing my research, I just couldn't believe that a FD unit would perform on anything besides clean dry asphalt. I remember asking Mac over at Dimension Edge about off-road and trail riding, and he assured me that the kit would perform in everything except snow. Mac's a straight up guy, but I had to see it to believe it (sorry Mac!)

Well I'm here to attest...Mac was being modest..... I've been riding my bike up some of the worst, steepest dirt roads in the county...we're talkin' about 50 miles of sluffy sand and gravel roads with 10+ percent grades....and the bike gets me there ALMOST as fast as my 4WD would.

I need to stop being lazy and do a little shimming on the motor mount...but as it is, DE's standard install procedure put my angular and axial alignments PRETTY close to dead nuts, so right now I'm only experiencing a very minor amount of uneven tire wear.

I wish I would've found this forum years ago...this has been the best $700 I can recall spending in a long time...
 
Interesting thread.

I want a generator on my friction drive Staton kit with a TLE33 too.

It looks like it would be easier to mount one on the side of a Bikemotorpartskit.com kit.

http://bikemotorparts.com/parts.html

The shaft they are using could be a 1/2 bolt, right ?
 
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Hey Moondog,

I'm having my starter/generator installed between the motor and the factory pull start (that's why I'm gonna need 2 shaft couplings, instead of just one).

Unfortunately, I left the starter/generator down at the mechanic's shop, so I don't have it available for measurements... It LOOKS like the threaded shaft coming off of the crank is the same size / thread pattern as the female coupler coming off of one side of the generator unit (although there was a nearly half inch gap between the end of the crank shaft, and the end of the female coupler - when the generator is butted up against the side of the motor case).

The other side of the generator has a female coupling that's tapered & keyed (surely metric...the large end of the taper looks to be in the neighborhood of 12 to 15 mm)...that's the side I'm going to couple back to my factory pull start.

I'm supposed to drop my motor off in the next day or two, and it should be ready to pick up within a week after that. When I go to pick it up, I'll ask for more specific info / specs so that maybe I can get you some useful info, and maybe save you a little time once you're ready to do the upgrade on your bike. Either way it's looking like it's going to require 2 different types of shaft couplers, and probably also require 2 custom adapter plates (only 2 of the 4 bolt holes on the starter will align with the holes on the motor case).

I'll definitely post again once I get the bike back MoonDog....hopefully we can get you some more useful info.

Take care man!
John

PS- I just realized, since you want to mount the generator to the non-motor side of a Staton or BMP friction drive kit (or any FD design with bearings on both ends of the rollerwheel shaft), then nothing I just wrote about would really apply to you. I think it would be great to be able to mount it to the non-motor side of the rollerwheel shaft, that way it will still start the bike (as long as you don't have a clutch), and it could still produce voltage even when you're coasting with the engine off (if you do have a clutch). Between my centri-clutch and the fact that the Dimension Edge FD kit doesn't use an outer bearing on the rollerwheel shaft (to keep the roadside roller changing procedure down to 60 seconds or less), this wasn't really an option for me. I don't even care about the starter feature so much, I just want a way to keep juice in my batteries.

I'll keep you posted anyways!
 
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Thanks, I am watching with much interest. My TLE33 has the same bolt pattern as the TLE43.

It uses the same rope pull starter. Making a regulator to charge a battery should not be a problem. I am an ET.

Also, the way you are doing it would allow electric start on a TLE43. Sweet !
 
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Well I got an update of sorts last Friday..

Twelve year olds don't make very good assembly line workers...

Just as I was suspecting, the center-hole through the armature was milled quite a bit off of center, so it was lobing quite a bit once rotated with any speed....(there is NO such thing as consistent quality control in China, for now anyways..)

So the mechanic is going to re-drill a new center-hole down the middle, then he's gonna have to drill around the armature to balance it out, since it's also wicked out of balance.

This is all in addition to the 2 shaft adapters and custom mounting plates..

So the prognosis is still optimistic, but the $30 starter/generator is now looking at a $300 to $500 modification and install.

I had the chance to pull the plug and cut my losses, but the thought of having a generator is too cool to pass up. So I'll be paying all this off for the next 6 months...you only live once...

I'll keep you posted Moon!
 
Powerless!

Well, the mechanic called and gave me the grim news.....although he was able to center the armature and balance it, he hooked it up and discovered that it lacked the torque to actually start the motor!!!

*I think this must mean that the 40-50cc Chinese clones develop significantly lower compression than their Japanese counterparts*

He said my only option at this point would be to use (2) 12v batteries in series to step the voltage up to 24v (to give it the oomph to start the bike), but then I could only charge the batteries with 12v output... I think I'm gonna let the dust settle, then hit him up again and ask him to finish the job as originally planned (since I never really cared about the electric starter feature to begin with, I just wanted the 12v power)

So I was 1 shaft adapter and 2 adapter plates away from having an electrified bike, but the mechanic was pretty much demoralized once he realized the torque problem.

So my dreams of 12v power will have to go on hold for now...fortunately I can still build / proceed on his work once I get some more money to dump into this project. So far it's all been a $500 exercise in futility...
 
Dood !

Ouch !!

Can you get us some pictures of all this ?

Maybe someone has just the idea to help out.

Maybe someone can actually -do- something to help.
 
Thanks Luka, but I think I already know how to fix this one...

The mechanic told me that the generator feature was working, so I was just going to give him a month or two for the dust to settle, then ask him to finish the project.

After all the custom machining he had to do to center, balance and retrofit the armature, I think he got severely demoralized once he realized that it wouldn't actually bump the motor (without 24v input). At the time, I just wanted my bike back, and it didn't dawn on me to remind him that I could care less about the starter feature (I can pull start with the best of em).

But yeah....it just kind of hit me.... I'm in a personal race to motorize my best friend's bike in time to catch the tail of the summer riding season.
The Dimension Edge kit I want to put on his bike is only like $700...and I just blew $500 on what is currently a useless piece of Chinese junk...
Right now I kind of want to bash my head against a wall.... For another $200 I could've motorized another bike.

I think my grandpa was right 20 years ago when he said that nothing good will ever come of trading with China. If they can't even consistently build a decent starter motor... On the upside I just made a personal commitment to only buy US, or from other decent God fearing countries... no more child/political-prisoner/slave Walmart junk for me.

Anyone got a time machine?
 
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