50cc

This weekend I should be getting some new handle bars and a longer seat for my Swinger. Below is the model, I will have the same handle bars, but a different style seat. I saw this about a month ago and wanted to try it. Tell me what you think. Just an update, but I will probably not get my Metra Kit working again and will have to settle for 35MPH on my Stock Setup...Boo!!

    So after a month or so of riding my Metra Kit I managed to brake it yesterday. Yep, broken beyond repair of my capable hands. I first soft seized it about two weeks ago which hurt it a little, but last night I put the final nail in the coffin. I stripped my exhaust threads and tried to have them fixed at a hardware store. Bad idea, but good intentions. They told me I could drill out the old stud and re-thread it, so we tried it there, but the damn thing would not come out. I spent an hour or so trying to fix it with all the tools available at the hardware store. I am upset about it, but not paranoid. It's just a kit and my MOPED is still functional. Now if I wrecked or broke off parts of my frame I would have been up shit creek. I decided this was my opportunity to make a 50/50 moped. That's a 50cc engine that can go 50 mph. This is not an easy feat, and actually few people can do it because of the dremeling skills needed. I don't believe I possess these skills just yet, but I did have an extra cylinder head to try it on. So as soon as I get a stupid exhaust gasket, that's one reason why I broke my Metra, I can try out my bored out cylinder and case. I took pictures of the case and will post them later. I spent 3 hours taking apart my engine and dremeling the damn thing. I'm just hoping the moped will run and I could actually care less if I hit 50. 40 mph would satisfy me. I kind of scratched it a bit on the inside and don't know if it will work. Here's hoping! 50/50 club here I come!

    These are so freaking sweet that they get a there own post. I just installed them about 5 minutes ago. I had to use some elbow grease and muscle, but they are on. These pedal arms has been my enemy since day 1. I have had 3 different left arms since I bought this ped. The first one was stripped, the second one was welded on which I broke, and now the third one which isn't meant to fit a Puch is jimmy rigged on. It works and looks sweet so I can't complain.   
    I am getting some more parts tomorrow which will help my ped idle better and have more torque. I have given up trying to break 50 mph seeing that I only do it to compete with Dallas. It's a constant struggle and a money pit.  As soon as one of us hits a new mark, the other is right behind. I remember when 40 mph was our goal. If this keeps up I would be hitting 60 mph by the end of the summer. Right now I can cruise around 45 and after re-gearing for torque I should be hovering near 42, but be the fastest person to 40 in town. I usually drive my ped in the city(stop and go traffic). Very rare do I make long trips, however last week I did travel a bit down to Lake Monroe on my ped. I got on a little highway where the speed limit was 50 mph. I was fine because it was mostly down hill and I held near 50 mph. I won't be able to go alone anymore since I can only go 42ish, but whatever. I'm just excited to see all my hard work on this little ped that could only go 23 mph stock now race up to 40 mph and up. It's very rewarding to fix something. I recommend hobbies to anyone needing self confidence. See you on the road!

    So after a week of despair I finally got back on my moped. It had undergone some maintenance and upgrades which left it sitting in my room for a bit. Today I got all the parts in the mail and took it out for a ride and it was great. I love having my moped back in running condition. I upgraded the handles, the carb and most importantly the pipe. I still need to fix my pedals, but right now its ridable. I will take pictures tomorrow and upload them to the photo album. 

    It's not GPS certified, but kind of is. My buddy Dallas left me a voice message the other day that his moped registered 50.6 mph at the Kalamazoo Rally. He got in last night and we went for a ride. He was all hyped up that his moped hit 50+ and told me that I would have a hard time catching up to him. To his surprise and very much mine too, when we hit a strait away I pulled ahead of him and he couldn't catch up. I knew I was fast, but not 50 mph fast. I guess now that my kit is broken-in it can pull faster rpms. Let's just say Dallas was not in the chipper of moods last night.
    We discussed how much we were sitting on and he has put over $1200 in his moped. More than twice what I have put into mine. He told me that once he got the rest of his upgrades I would not be a challenge anymore, but he's not the only one with something in the mail. I have a larger carb in the mail and with that comes more power! I'm hoping with the change in carbs I will be hitting mid 50's. I am also awaiting for some cosmetics. I am trying to get a new, longer seat and new pedal/pedal arms.

    Today I broke 45mph! I was out riding with Dallas and of course we were racing. Well I don't disappoint. I am technically the fastest in town right now and enjoy every moment of it, but my ped is starting to need repairs. The other day my pedal arm broke and have a bolt for a pedal. Also my seat decided after 30 years to tear on me yesterday. I taped it up for today's ride, but am going to sow it tonight. Early this week I went on a nasty ride and ended up covering the lower part of my moped in mud. I luckily didn't track any inside my apartment, but it's still on the ped. So it looks as if my moped needs some TLC. That and a bigger carb. I just bought a 16mm carb to boost my torque and top-end. I saw it online for half the regular price so I bought it. I should be getting it later this week and will post updates. 

    This past weekend I received my 65cc Metra Kit in the mail along with some other goodies. I was out of town for most of it, but come Monday morning I found the time to case match and install this bad boy. I was a nervous wreck dremeling into my engine, but knew it had to be done if I wanted maximum power. I was suppose to split the case to do it properly, but took a shortcut. I was able to successfully port it and not get metal shavings into the crank area. I used newspaper and plastic to block the opening to the crank. Nothing bad has happened thus far so I'm hoping for the best. Anywho, Monday I put the kit on and began tuning it. My first attempt at starting the bike was a success. It fired right up and was music to my ears. I had put in extra oil and increased the size of my jet to an 80. I could not go fast, but could feel the power difference. It was really boggy and would die if I didn't hold the throttle all the way open. This is because too much oil was in the mix for the size jet I was using. I wanted to be really cautious for the first attempt. I was satisfied for the day and called it quits.
    Now on Tuesday I went over to Dallas' to try to fix my bogging problem. My plugs were black and oily. I spent the better part of the day over there with no real success. I changed jet sizes, raised and lowered my carb needle and even cried a bit with no results...no I didn't really cry, but was sad. I went home that day with a boggy moped and a broken pedal. My stupid pedal broke while at the Louisville Rally and I had JB welded it back on. Well that didn't hold too long.
    Today was the day I shit my pants. I drained the transmission fluid and replaced it with brand spankin new stuff, cleaned up the carb, switch the jet to a size 74 and gave it a whirl! Well to my welcomed surprised it ran beautifully. So beautiful I challenged my buddy Dallas to a race. Now Dallas has two main mopeds: a 2005 Tomos he paid someone to port so it could hit 40 pretty quickly and his 1978 Puch Pinto he also paid someone to make go fast. Now on his Pinto I will give him props because he has spent about $1,000 on. Now about that race. I am still breaking in my kit so I didn't want to blow it up, I asked him to race his Tomos. His Tomos was the quickest bike in town until his Pinto. I have gone on so many rides before where he kicks my ass I get bored. Well, not anymore. He was sure of himself that my bike was slower. We went out to our race track and he said good luck catching up to him. We both took off at the same time and he pulled ahead, but not for long. No shit 10 seconds into the race I caught up to him and blasted the shit out of his ped. I flew by him. He said that bike has been gps'ed at 39mph, well I had to at least hit 43mph or more. I was so hyped at that moment. I have been slower then him since I met him, but not anymore. I let off the throttle as soon as I passed him because I was still nervous about blowing up my kit. He still couldn't believe I beat him so we went to another straight away and I blasted him again. He was so stunned he challenged me to an uphill race. Now if we start on a hill he would smoke me, but we started on a flat going 35 and guess what, I beat him again. Now at first he was a bit upset, but then he remembered he had his Pinto that can probably beat me.
    Well I am pretty happy with my ped right now and am going to be breaking it in some more before I go WOT all the time. I still need to find a new pedal crank and maybe another pipe before I call it quits on modding my puch swinger. I have my eye set on that p.o.s. Tomos in Indy and when I get my refund check it is mine for sure. Until then I need to save some molahh!!

    Well earlier today I went up to Indy convinced I would be bringing home another moped. I was wrong. I got up there around noon and spent the better part of an hour looking at their inventory. I was suppose to buy a early 2000's Tomos, but the one I thought I was getting was really a 1993 beat up piece of shit. It was in worse condition then anything I have bought before. So I made the decision not to get anything and save my money! Just kidding. I didn't buy anything there, but did purchase my first KIT. I ordered a 65cc Metra Kit this afternoon with some other goodies. If everything goes to plan I should be hitting 45mph in about 3 weeks. I am getting the parts this weekend, but will be home then. So when I go back next week I will install everything and then begin the break-in procedure. I will need to put over 100 miles on the kit before I can really blast it. I figured this won't be too difficult being summer and 70 degrees outside. So now I wait... I will document my kit installation with pictures when I do it. I will have to grind the case a bit to allow maximum performance. Oh goodie!

   

    So this past weekend I attended my first moped rally and I must admit it was fun. I met a lot of interesting people with the same passion of fixing 30 year old mopeds as myself. It was exciting to see what other people had done to their bikes and to learn some new tricks. The one thing I came away with from that rally is I need more speed. Almost 1/3 of the bikes there had kits on them that would hit speeds of 40mph+. It didn't bother me until we were traveling the back hills of Indiana and I was getting blasted on every turn. I was determined to speed up my bike and I was until I saw another beauty.
    Today I went to Indy and looked at a moped shop with 10+ bikes needing homes. If I had the money and space I would have bought 5, but just one really caught my attention. It's a black Tomos, made in the early 2000's. I have wanted one since I saw Dallas' but thought they would be $500. Well this one is dirty, but has it all there. A two-speed engine, lower seat, speedo, rims, and style. I just love the look of these bikes and have to have one. So this week I am going back up there in Jenn's Jeep to pick it up. He offered it to me for such a small price I didn't have a choice. Let's just say I could buy 3 for what I paid for my Puch. I am thinking of going up on Monday or Tuesday and when I get back I will take photos. I am not straying from my studies for those reading this and wondering, but rather taking a much needed break. It's actually helping me. I am now motivated to finish all of my projects before Monday so I can go pick it up.