new tires for the AMF

Thanks to everyone that posted up and filled me in on the tire size. As most of you suggested, I do not have stock AMF wheels. These are 80's BMX mags, which I kind of like.

I picked up some new Kenda tires for them this week and got them mounted last night. I think they look a lot better now that they are cleaned up.





I'm still working on cleaning up the axles and bearings. I hope to have those done soon, so I can put the wheels/tires back on the bike.

new project

Sorry for the posting delay. For the last few months I was working on building a car for the 24 Hours of Lemons race. Now that the race is finished, I'm ready to work on mopeds again.

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a really cheap AMF Roadmaster. I found it on CL and immediately fell in love with the mags and dry rotted 80's BMX tires. I just had to pick it up and find out what it was all about.

Last night I took both wheels apart in an attempt to rebuild them. I think most of the bearings are salvageable, but I probably need at least one axle (10mm x 1.00 x 140mm).

The tires/tubes are definitely shot. I'm going to shop for new ones today. However, the size listing is interesting. Both tires said 20 x 2.125, but the wheels are only ~16-3/4" OD. I'll have to see what I can find on that subject.

Pics:

trip down to the river

The Newport is running better now. It's not great, but it is better. I can at least keep up with traffic. So, I decided to take a quick trip down to the river and see how my latest round of tuning worked out. I can get the bike up to 3/4 throttle now. I ended up upjetting and playing around with the needle some. I think I was experiencing a lean bog, because it doesn't make any noise like a 4-stroke. It just starts to slow down and die out.

One of my friends just asked me, "why now?" I'm not sure. My gaskets could be breaking down and I could have a minor air leak. I've checked it thoroughly with carb cleaner and I'm not coming up with anything. So, who knows.

Quick photo of the bike/bridge:

difference between four stroking and lean bogging?

Well, I finally got my Newport put back together after finding the crunchy metal bits inside my engine. I was really excited to ride it...it's been since the Cranks rally. That's just too long.

I was excited to find out that the bike fired up and idled great after just 3 kicks. I quickly called another local mopeder and we went for a ride around town. The bike seemed great at first, but I quickly realized that the problem I had before this all started was still there. It pulls nicely up to nearly half throttle and then it falls on its face. If I left off a bit...it'll start to accelerate again. It definitely bogs out, but I have no idea if it is four stroking or lean bogging. What the heck is the difference? I mean, I know conceptually what the difference is, but I have no idea how to tell the difference while riding the bike. I feel like this is something I should know by now. Don't you?

After I got home, I realized that in my haste to ride this bike again, I completely forgot to:
A. Put any ATF in it. Nice job!
B. Tighten my spark plug more than just by hand. Again, nice job!

I fixed those items and took it out again, but it didn't seem to make a difference.

So, last night I checked the bike for air leaks. It may be leaking slightly between the cylinder and the head. I could hear a faint drop in RPM as I sprayed carb cleaner around that area. I was comparing that to spray carb cleaner right on the metal mesh air filter. I could definitely hear a drop in RPM there.

I then tightened up the head a little more and up-jetted from 82 to 86 on the main jet. I also down-jetted from 50 to 40 on the idle jet. I've been wanting to do that for a while.

I wonder if my crank ended up failing because I was actually running lean (air leak?), when I initially thought I was running rich. See...knowing the difference between four stroking and lean bogging really could have helped me out.

BTW, my Pinto is currently doing something similar. It doesn't run above half throttle. I've even heard it backfire a few times. Do you know how lame it is to ride kitted bikes at 20-25 mph?

Old LA Times article about the Pinto

Thanks to doubleaey:

crunchy metal bits in my e50

Well, it looks like I found the source of my problem. The connecting rod bearing failed on the crank side. There are crunchy metal bits all over the inside of my e50. The rod has about 2mm of play in it now. I bet that is why the piston hit the head and put those dents in it.

I'm planning to look over my crank options and determine which one to get. Funds are a little low right now after finishing up my Pinto build, so I may have to go with a stock one. Anyone have a spare they want to sell me? I think I just sold one to someone else about 2 months ago. I knew I should have kept that thing.

dents in my metrakit piston

A couple of weeks prior to the Cranks rally in Milwaukee, my newport started running poorly. It basically wouldn't do anything above half throttle. I figured it was jet related because that is usually where the main jet kicks in. However, that seemed odd because I've never changed the jetting on this bike before, regardless of the weather. So, during the weeks leading up to the rally, I worked on the bike quite a bit, but never solved the problem. I ended up taking it anyway, because it was the only bike I had and it would at least go 30.

Well, fast forward to the rally and the newport was just getting slower by the minute...until...I heard some loud, metal crunching noised and it died.

Last weekend I took the engine out and started to investigate. So far I have the head and the cylinder off and the only thing I found was some build up of carbon and possibly a little bit of metal in the dished area of the head. I also found these two dents in the top of my piston, in the same area where the build up was. Any thoughts? The cylinder and the piston both look good otherwise. There is no sign that they seized. The rings looks good, too.

My next step is to split the case halves and see if there are any problems in there. If not, I think I am going to clean up the top of the piston with dremel/file and put it all back together. Is the piston salvageable?

pinto gila project done

I think the few people that left comments on my last post about my gila kit being loud convinced me that it is just the ringing of the cylinder. I plan to add the dampeners to it this evening and take it for a spin to start the break in process.

Last night I was able to get a few pictures of the finished product:













And a couple of pictures with the sunset in the background:



I accidentally shot this one with the flash on, but I think it made for an interesting effect:

Gila kit first start = loud?

I finished up the wiring on the pinto last night and decided to try to fire the bike. It only took about 2-3 kicks and it fired right up, but it was loud...like a ringing loud...or something is hitting something it shouldn't loud. Any thoughts on this?

Two of my thoughts:
1. I didn't do anything with those rubber blocks that come with the kit. I read on 1977 Mopeds that they are for sound dampening. Where do these blocks go? Will they really help with what I am hearing?
2. I remember reading something about "make sure you grind this down" or "make sure you take this off or this will happen", but I can't remember what it was. I'll have to go back and see what I can find. It was definitely in regards to the Gila kit, but I don't remember what it was.

I used all of the gaskets that came with the kit, except for the extra intake gasket. Why did it come with 2 intake gaskets?

Is it possible that I don't have enough clearance between the piston and the head? It turns over smoothly by hand.

Any comments would be appreciated. I'm not very interested in blowing up this $200 kit before I even get to ride it.

pinto tail light

I added the tail light last night. I hope it is bright enough. Has anyone used these yet (Tun from treats)? It's 12V with either .1w tail or 2w brake. I wasn't sure which wire was which, so I went with yellow for power and black for ground. I guess I'll try the red once I get the bike running. I'm just not sure how the 12V LED setup is going to work on my 6V system.

The light is super small and it was really easy to find a place to stash it. I'm not sure where I am going to put my license plate now though. I may have to make a custome bracket for both. Or maybe I'll get one of those 1977 Mopeds license plate hangers that bolt to the shock.

pinto wiring

I started wiring the pinto last night. It took me a lot longer than I thought it would to pull the old wiring out. It was tucked up nicely under the tank and I had to remove quite a few brackets before it was free enough to remove.

It's nice to finally have a decent soldering iron. It makes a huge difference. This is part of my headlight wiring with solder and heat shrink.



The location for my kill switch, also with solder and heat shrink. Yes, I know I need clean around it.



I hope to get my tail light mounted next.

dellorto race edition

After getting the engine mounted to the frame, I was able to get the carb and intake put on. I'm happy with how it turned out. It's low profile and I think it will work well.





Just the right amount of clearance on the Malossi air filter.



I believe this is the first time I have ever been able to get a fuel line to go completely downhill from the petcock to the carb without making any hard 90 degree turns. I always hate fighting that problem.

I was also able to get good routing on my throttle cable. I'm glad I picked up an extra one of those 90 degree cable parts the last time I was at Handy Bikes in OH.



One more picture...I like the location of the coil pack on the Pinto. It makes for a nice, short straight line between point A and point B.

site down

Sorry about the site being down for a couple of days. I've been trying to get the redirect figured out, so leftovermopeds.com automatically goes here. After a few days of bad advice, I finally got it straightened out.

In the meantime, I have made a ton of progress on the Pinto. I'm really just down to getting the chain on and doing the wiring. I'll post some pictures tonight. The Destroyer looks great.

Gila case work

So, a few weeks ago I did all the work on grinding the transfers for the Gila kit that is going on my latest Pinto project. I then carefully reassembled the engine, sealed it all up, and locktited in the engine studs, only to find that I didn't do any clearance work for the lower part of the cylinder that slides into the engine. Damn. I thought about trying the clay method to close off the crank area while I ground down the rest of the case, but a friend of mine talked me out of that. He said that I really need to take it back apart and do it the right way. I'm definitely glad I listed to him. There is no way I could have done all of that work with the cases still together.

I spent probably 3 hours this weekend working on the cases. I used my angle grinder to hit the larger areas and then went back with my dremel tool to dial it in. I think I put the cases together and took them apart for test fitting about 5 times before I finally got it. It was a long process of removing and reinstalling the engine studs, test fitting, find the problem areas, and doing more grinding. I finally got it to a point where I was happy with it though.

Here is what it looked like when I was finished:


One of the halves:


Partially assembled:


Mmm...Gila:






I'm anxious to get the kick stand mounted and put the engine on the bike. I'm tired of having the pinto leaning up against my wall without a stand.

Free Spirit

Last week I found this Sears Free Spirit on CL. A buddy of mine was nice enough to pick it up for me on the way to his camping spot for the weekend. He delivered it to me tonight and it is pretty nice. It only has 1200 miles on it. It's a 2HP model. It has a title. And it only needs a few maintenance items. Not bad.

This bike will go to another friend of mine. I tried to hook him up with that yellow motobecane, but he was having a hard time getting it running. This bike should work out much better for him.

cross country mopeders

A guy and a girl that were traveling from Manhattan to Nevada to go to the Burning Man had put up a post on Moped Army asking for anyone that might be able to help with tools and possibly a place to stay somewhere along their path. I sent them a text and let them know that I wasn't directly on their way, but I definitely had enough tools to help them out. A few days later I got a call and they said they were hoping to stop by to get some help with their tail light and possibly exhaust pipe.

They arrived last night at 8:30-ish on a Motomarina Sebring and a Honda MB5. Both bikes were stock and for the most part they were holding up well. The MB5 is running in the low 40's with all the gear, but the Sebring would only do 27. That's not very fast when you are traveling that many miles.

I helped them out with whatever I could...and gave them a place to crash for the night...and sent them off with a "good luck" this morning. What a crazy adventure!

They were both super nice. I really hope they are able to make it without too much trouble.

Here are a couple of pictures of their bikes:

Cranks rally

Here are the pictures from the rally over the weekend:
LINK

My buddy and I drove up from IL to hang out with those guys at the Rockerbox Vintage Motorcycle Show. It was a really cool show and I got to see all kinds of bikes that I have never seen before.

Unfortunately, we didn't have a ton of time, so we weren't able to hang out until 5 for the long ride. But we did get to see quite a bit of Milwaukee by heading out on our own.

Some highlights:






Parked near the lake:


A couple of weeks before the rally, my Newport started running poorly at half throttle. It had started to get hot/humid out, so I figured it was a jetting issue. Well, after going over ALL of the maintenance on the bike and changing jets and needle settings, I still wasn't able to figure it out. As my buddy and I rode around Milwaukee, the bike just kept getting slower and slower. Eventually, the engine starting making really bad noises and it eventually grenaded. This is where it stopped. :(


I'm going to work on the Pinto for a while and I'll eventually be tearing into the Newport again to find out what went wrong.

tail light for the pinto

Treats finally got the tail light back in stock that I've been wanting for the pinto. I think it will work out well underneath the frame/seat.

New format

I've been working on mopeds a ton lately and I don't feel like my site reflects that very well.  I'm going to try a single blog where I can keep track of my doings.  I think it will work out better for the people that want to see what I am up to these days.