Sunday, February 28, 2010

Centrifugal Clutch Installation Guide

1. Start by removing the right side engine cover by unscrewing the 5 screws.
Be careful with the gasket, it might stick a little bit.







2. Unscrew the big screw that keeps the small gear in place.
You'll need to block the gears rotation, for this, use a piece of copper wire so you don't damage the teeth.
A screwdriver alone might not be enough, use a wrench to help.








3. use the gear puller that comes with the engine kit, it's packed alone in a plastic bag.
Screw it by hand on the gear (it's threaded inside)
Then use a wrench to unscrew the whole, the gear should slowly pop out as you turn the wrench.
Once the gear is removed, remove the pin on the axle too using small pliers.





4. At this point, you need to install the new side cover but the studs from the big wheel won't allow it to fit.
You'll have to grind them to allow a perfect clearance with the side cover.
Be sure to mask with tape the center of the clutch cover to prevent any metal particles to get inside the clutch.







5. Now the new side cover fits perfectly, don't forget to intall the gasket.
I reused the same 3 bolts for the back but i used the 2 that come with the clutch kit for the front (they're shorter)





6. Now it's time to install the new centrifugal clutch, just slip it on and screw it in place (you might need to block the sprocket on the other side to prevent any rotation).
Don't forget the washers.





7. Then you just have to install the final cover, once again you'll have some clearance issues so I decided to cut some gaskets out of thick carboard, this will prevent the cover from touching the centrifugal clutch.
Rotate the engine to be sure the spacing is good.




8. DONE !
Put your home made gaskets in place using the remaining screws (2 long ones at the front, 2 short ones at the back).

You're ready to go !
No more messing wth the clutch lever (you might want to get rid of the clutch lever on the left side of the engine).

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Finally attached the sprocket on the rear wheel.


I've read in the engine manual that they suggest to glue the sprocket on the hub with 5 min epoxy.
The thing is, the sprocket sits on the base of the spokes, I thought the surface wasn't big enough to have a nice epoxy bond.
So i cut away a ring of fabric (It's actually a fake Shamwow that some guy sold me in the street, i'm such an ass to have bought that) that i soaked with epoxy.
I used NU-LUSTRE-55 instead, same epoxy but dries in 24h :)

On the sprocket side, i carved little lines with my Dremel to have even better bond.
Once soaked, the ring of fake shamwow thickness is almost nothing so the alignment with the chain won't change.
Then I bolted the backplates and the whole assembly seems very strong !

Sunday, February 14, 2010

The dismantled NEW DEPARTURE hub, i had to open it to remove all the sand from the sandblast and give it a good cleaning.
This is the rims after beeing sandblasted, looking cool !
The metal has been badly attacked by rust but the guy managed to clean it good.
for all your sandblasting and powdercoating works in MONTREAL :
RELEASE COATINGS 5505, rue de Marseille, Montreal, QC.
www.releasecoatings.ca

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Done with the tank, the black lines are stickers, the gold letter have been cut out of vinyl sticker too then the black outline is handpainted.
Everything got a semi gloss clear coat, the fork on the foreground is ready to be painted.

Wooden gas tank in progress


The gas tank is made of plywood but the inside is coatd with fiberglass and the outside with pure epoxy resin.
The structure is a basic frame with planking, no need to make it super strong since the fiberglass will do the rest.
The color I chose for the tank is a basic primer color (brik)

pre-mockup of the board tracker



Here's the first assembly, the gas tank is a piece of cardboard as a place holder to give an idea of the final silouhette.
note the sweet springer fork and the big 28 inches wheels.
then engine looks tiny !
Noe i realise that adding 2 inches in lenght on the frame makes it WAY longer.