Wife's clutch still squeeks

[peter nap]

Well, I took her 08 back to the dealer and told him what I thought was wrong (Bearings). He's a little inexperienced but is a super nice fellow and a good bike mechanic. He's also learning fast on Whizzers.

He called Whizzer USA and they told him to loosen it. He did and it still has the bearing squeek. I'm not a mechanic. I an electrical engineer (geek) but I'm also a long time blacksmith and gun maker, so I think I can work on a clutch.

I love the Whizzers but am tired of constant problems. Time to pull it apart and see what makes it tick (or squeek).

I'll let you know what I find and I'll bet it's bearings.

 

[peter nap]

At least it's easy to get to.

Dry as a bone! (She has a whopping 72 miles on it) There has been grease there at one time or the other. That means to me, that the needle bearings have overheated.

Something bothers me though. I don't have a blowup of the Whizzer clutch so I looked at diagrams of other higher end scooter clutches. There should be a race for the needle bearings to ride on. There isn't and it's already showing some wear on the soft metal.

Grease solved the problem for now but it's going back for a new clutch.

For the life of me, I don't understand why a $250.00 clutch, doesn't have a proper hardened surface to ride on. I also can't figure where the darn grease went.

I'm not real happy. I'd expect this type clutch on a $350.00 Pep Boys pocket bike.....but a Motor bike that costs $1,600.00 deserves a little better than bottom drawer.

This is a new, unaltered, low mileage bike. It would be one thing on my bike, but this is my wife's and it worries me she could be stranded because of .03 worth of grease and a .75 race.

Does anyone know how to add a hardened surface to the clutch?

 

[Quenton Guenther]

Hi Peter, I have setup my shop equipment to remove and replace the bearing ramp [if damaged] and replace with a rockwell #58 hardness sleeve. I purchased the sleeves from a bearing company in NY [Quality Bearings & Components], and the part number of the sleeves are BNDIRXM-25X30X32 [32 MM long] and BNDIRXM-25X30X38.5 [38.5 MM long]. The sleeves are available in 2 different lengths, but one is short, and the other is too long. The short version requires that a very small part of the original ramp be left in place, however this isn't a problem because the oil seal rides on it and as long as the area isn't damaged all works well. The longer sleeve simply requires the excess to be ground flat to the correct length. Sorry but I don't have a clue where the grease went, because if the seals were bad you would see the grease on the outer hub or possibly on the shoes. If you need more information, just ask.

Whizzer OuterBanks LTD
A North Carolina Corporation
Quenton