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Post by Cowboy Camper on Jul 29, 2009 20:49:06 GMT -6
Well, getting close to it anyhow. Bummer. (to a Blown Engine on the bike. ~ The Original Topic Title for this thread.) The crankshaft's main nut that holds the Ignition Magnet to the shaft has been a little stripped out since day one. After 500 miles running it like this, things have gotten worse on the internals of the engine. Way too late, I fixed the stripped nut and shaft tonight. But... the end play is still evident and now I'm pretty sure that the main bearings are on the way out. At the very least, I'll have to get a new "Bottom End" (sort of like a short block...) to really Fix the problem for about 60 bucks. Hmm...
Not sure what I'm gonna do with it just yet. In the mean time, I'll keep running it for what it's worth and enjoy it while it lasts. When I can afford it, I have two options here. 1) Get the 60 buck Bottom End and reuse the rest... or: 2) get a whole new Engine/Kit for 170 bucks, and have a whole lot of spare parts for anything else that can (and Will!) go wrong with it. That motor bike has sure been fun, but also just about as Frustrating as all that VERY hot place too. I should put a FORD logo on that bike somewhere. Fix Or Repair Daily. Jeeze, does that ever fit so well, huh? G'Night, y'all. Edit: Changed Topic Title.Edit: Clarified 1st line of post, due to Title Change.
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Post by Cowboy Camper on Jul 30, 2009 21:18:11 GMT -6
Take most of that back, I guess. (jeeze, these things are temperamental!) There are times when the engine makes a God Awful noise towards the top end of the RPM range that sounds like something is literally coming apart in the gear box. This is what lead me to consider the Magneto Nut on the crankshaft as a probable cause. Well, it turns out that most of that noise is coming from Clutch Chatter, and most of that can be corrected with a minor adjustment.
Other problems involve the Carburetor and the fuel mixture. Talk about Temperamental! Tonight, my dad and I played around with the carb a bit... trying to figure out what exactly is leaking so dang much when the engine is off. We didn't fix that just yet, but I/we got to thinking about the possibility that the bike is just running too frickin' Rich at times while on the road. This can cause the engine to bog out and not run up to the full potential of power. (and here I kept thinking it was running too Lean!) Anyhow, I readjusted the main jet again to lean it out some more, and... Perfect o! Running like a Champ again! ;D
I didn't mention this last night but, we had a that VERY hot place of a time with that magneto magnet. I fixed the threads and dad got the magnet and keyway set back OK, but the engine wouldn't start for Nothing! I felt like the Timing was off. We had fuel, we had Spark, but No Fire up. What the that VERY hot place, huh? Finally I convinced my dad about the Timing thought I had, and what if the Spark was coming at Bottom Dead Center instead of Top Dead Center? Turns out we had the magnet installed Backwards! LOL! It took an hour or more to realize that, but it turns out that I was correct. The timing was off. 180ยบ in fact. Anyhow, I had a great night on the bike this evening! I got another 15 or so miles in tonight and she ran Great the whole time. I'm up to 517 Miles on this bike since I put it together in mid April of this year. IMHO, that's a lot of miles on a little bike with an engine installed.
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Post by Cowboy Camper on Aug 1, 2009 13:44:24 GMT -6
Got another 20 miles in last night. Up to 537 Miles on it now. We would have gone cruising today, but we got a little rained out. Rats! (only 13 more miles to hit the 550 mark) The clutch chatter was there almost the whole time, but I'm getting better practice at getting the fuel valve into the right position. She's really touchy. A little bit off one way or the other, and she'll either Starve for fuel or Choke on too much. If the fuel is set just right, she'll go 28 - 30 MPH really good and strong even with the chattering noise. So the noise is more of an inconvenience / annoyance at this point. I gotta get that clutch cable set again, and I'm sure she'll be just fine.
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Post by Cowboy Camper on Aug 6, 2009 20:58:31 GMT -6
I got the clutch cable set right and the chatter noise is Gone! Still have to mess with the fuel valve to keep it running OK. I'm a bit stumped on that one. BUT! : I hit an All Time Speed Record this evening on a ride with my neighbor friend. Get this..... 32.1 MPH. ! Wow. When she's running good, she's running pretty dang Good! ;D
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