TheMightyGoat
New Member
- Local time
- 8:40 PM
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
- Messages
- 20
Just got my first build together last night. It was time to test it for the first time, so I decided to do a pedal start. I got up to speed, dumped the clutch, and *chugchugchugchug* was the only sound of the compression in the engine as the wheel turned - no start. I was preparing to try again, when a new sound was added - *ping* - as the chain broke.
I got it back home and saw the master link had come apart (as well as lost a roller in the chain). I replaced the roller with one from a scrap link of chain and put my spare master link in. I thought perhaps the chain broke because it was too tight, as I did get it pretty snug on the roller, so I let some tension off and decided to try again with the bike jacked up and the rear wheel off the floor in my garage.
It still wouldn't start, but that was a different issue. Some failed kicks and fiddling with the carburetor later, I kicked the pedal and the engine came into life for the first time. The rear wheel spun, suspended off the ground. I was beginning to fiddle with the choke when a more horrible crunching and sapping noise occurred and the engine stalled. This time, the chain had come off the sprocket on the engine side. I took the cover off and began to feed the chain back through (surprisingly the master link stayed in place this time), which was when I noticed that one of the links was sheared completely in half on one side. I decided to stop fiddling with it for the night.
So, why is my chain breaking? Is it related to tension on the chain? Or is it more likely that it is due to alignment from the hub sprocket? I put one of my rubber pieces on the outside of the spokes and one on the inside, in spite of the included directions instructing me to put both of them on the inside, because the chain seemed to line up better with the engine this way.
Also, should I replace this new break with another master link, or should I go buy a new chain?
I got it back home and saw the master link had come apart (as well as lost a roller in the chain). I replaced the roller with one from a scrap link of chain and put my spare master link in. I thought perhaps the chain broke because it was too tight, as I did get it pretty snug on the roller, so I let some tension off and decided to try again with the bike jacked up and the rear wheel off the floor in my garage.
It still wouldn't start, but that was a different issue. Some failed kicks and fiddling with the carburetor later, I kicked the pedal and the engine came into life for the first time. The rear wheel spun, suspended off the ground. I was beginning to fiddle with the choke when a more horrible crunching and sapping noise occurred and the engine stalled. This time, the chain had come off the sprocket on the engine side. I took the cover off and began to feed the chain back through (surprisingly the master link stayed in place this time), which was when I noticed that one of the links was sheared completely in half on one side. I decided to stop fiddling with it for the night.
So, why is my chain breaking? Is it related to tension on the chain? Or is it more likely that it is due to alignment from the hub sprocket? I put one of my rubber pieces on the outside of the spokes and one on the inside, in spite of the included directions instructing me to put both of them on the inside, because the chain seemed to line up better with the engine this way.
Also, should I replace this new break with another master link, or should I go buy a new chain?