9 posts tagged “motobecane”
While driving home from Louisville I had the brilliant idea of how NOT to spend any more unnecessary money on mopeds. I still needed one to get me to classes and work, but I didn't need two. I looked at the cost analysis between the Pintomos and the Moby. The Pintomos would have at least cost me $75 to get back on the road safely. The Moby however only needed nuts and bolts, so a total of $2 to get me back on the road safely. The catch is I needed several parts off my Pintomos to make the Moby run. I got home from the 2 hour drive and made the decision to say goodbye to my Pintomos. It had served me well and I enjoyed building and riding it, but the recent cylinder issue just cost too much. I don't have the time, money, or space to maintain 2+ mopeds anymore. With graduation approaching and the job search beginning I need to focus on more important things than that extra 3mph. I began work last night on the Moby and finished up today. Here it is, the Super Moby! Still 50cc, but definitely closing in on 40mph! I will be taking it out later to test the longevity of my work. Enjoy
I have 3 strong runners sitting outside my apartment. Each with their own quarks and feel. I recently upgraded both Tomos' and put a smaller carb on the Moby. Here are the specs:
Bumblebee: Stock cylinder, larger carb/intake, geared out for top speed, expansion chamber for top speed. As of right now it's not dialed in and tops out near 40mph. Still a great ped and my first project. More mods to come!
Moby: Did a small piston mod last month and I didn't notice much. I downgraded the carb to try and get some lowend back. I haven't really messed with it, but hopefully soon. Still a strong runner and a good loaner to friends for small town rides.
Red Tomos: Purchased for my Father and recently got upgraded. I tossed the old exhuast and threw on a ripper. I removed the air filter and upjetted accordingly. Now this thing is pure fun. It's a quick 30+mph and should have the power to pull my father up the driveway. I can't wait for him to ride this. I cleaned it up, installed a new seat and rear rack. The rear brakes are messed up, but nothing a small trip to Indy couldn't fix.
I will definitely post pictures this week of both mopeds.I just haven't got around to setting up my camera. So, this weekend I got my NEW TIRES and had them installed on both peds. If any of you have ever tried to install bicycle tires I'm sure you can imagine moped tires, which are twice as thick. I was not in the mood to do them myself. For $12 you can't beat that deal. So, with our recently upgraded mopeds Jenn and I went to an open house at the local Honda Motorcycle Dealership. I thought they would laugh at our rides, but most people seemed really interested. We entered for some raffle prizes, but didn't win anything. I did however eat three free hotdogs and two cokes. After the open house Jenn and I went for a 20 minute ride around B-Town and it was awesome. Both mopeds are in great working order and are ready for the moped rally in Louisville.
Jenn is a bit faster off the line, but I catch up when she tops out at 35mph. Early today while my mom and Mrs. Heleringer were in town I hit 40mph leading them to my apartment. Now that was AWESOME! I don't think anytime soon I'm going to be purchasing speed upgrades because they are running so well. I know deep down I want a 65cc Metra Kit, which would allow me to hit 50mph, but my budget is running tight. If the government ends up giving every tax payer the extra $600 then I might just have too, but only under that circumstance.
Last night with the help of the "Bropeds" I saw for the first time 35+mph on the Moby! I went over late last night and had Dallas and Kate take a look at my Moby. At first Dallas and I thought I would need a bigger carb, but after an hour of tinkering with a larger carb and not being able to fit it properly we were just about to give up. That is until Kate recommended using my original carb and just limiting the air intake with some duck tape. Well sure enough 15 minutes later I was cruising the backstreets of B-Town at 35MPH!
Today Jenn and I both rode the Moby over to Dallas' to drop off some tools and we hit 35mph on the flats with 2 people! This bike is damn strong and freaking me out. Here I thought I needed $100 worth of new parts to get this thing running and 3 strips of duck tape solve all its engine problems. I think Jenn's Moby is also faster than my Puch, which was not suppose to happen! Oh well, I'm just really excited we both have mopeds that start up and cruise around town. Pictures coming tomorrow!
The weather was so beautiful today that I had to work outside on the mopeds. My Puch is running great, but is in desperate need of a tank flushing. Some of the cleaning chemicals reacted with the gas and left a slimy film in the mixture. The bike still runs well, but I should clean it before Spring Break.
With one moped running I decided to give Jenn's Moby another try. I changed the spark plug, cleaned the cylinder head, and jimmy rigged an air filter for the carb. Last time I tried to start Jenn's Moby it wouldn't idle, but NOW she does. I went outside after all the prepping and she started right up. It was the air filter or lack there of which wouldn't let it idle last time.
Now I told Jenn when I dropped her off at work at 4 that if the Moby was running I would pick her up with that. Well I did, and boy was she excited. It's not running perfect, but well enough to ride. I was so excited when I saw Jenn smile when I picked her up. She even surprised me when we got home and said she wanted to go riding. So we took turns switching between mopeds and rode all over campus. I'm hoping soon I can upgrade her carb and then we can both cruise at 30mph. Right now the Moby tops out at 20 and only 15 with two people on it. Good for teaching Jenn how to ride, but SLOW in traffic...lol.
So I get back from my parent's this weekend only to find that the Moby DOES RUN, but needs new parts. The Evapo-Rust did wonders and now the gas tank is sparkling clean. I was able to get it to run for about 10 seconds of uncontrollable speed. I spent about 2 hours prepping and trying to get it running. I am so tired of it not running in it's current state. It was bitter cold at 15 degrees today and I am just not in the mood to continue smelling like gasoline. The Moby is going to hibernate for the next couple of months until I get the necessary funds to fix it. It needs a new carb, condenser, and tires. I'm thinking about putting this on hold until maybe summer. If I can get my Puch finished and in running condition then I'm sure I can wait.
For the Puch I still need to get some new jets and dremel bits. I hope to get them this week and just maybe have it running this weekend. Who knows?
I recently drained the Motobecane tank only to find rust heaven. I thought I cleaned it out well enough last week with some carb cleaner, wd-40 and water. I was wrong. The gas was very rusty and the tank looked bad. So I decided to clean it with some professional stuff, Evapo-Rust. The only problem is I bought the 32 oz container thinking I could swish it around. Well, swishing doesn't do a thing. Evapo-Rust is awesome and I'm positive the bottom of my tank is perfectly clean, but this stuff only works when the rust is submerged into the liquid. So, I have to go back to the store and purchase a gallon. Another cool thing about this rust remover is that it can be reused, so after the Moby I'm going to clean my Puch tank. I was hoping to start the Moby before this weekend, but I sure that is no longer going to happen.
Since the weather is not cooperating with me and it's going to be snowy the next few days I am going to finish modifying my Puch. I'm going to get the dremel bits and bore that sucker out. I think I'm also going to have to purchase some more jets because its going to be running lean once I finish the 15mm boring. I really hope to have some videos of both peds next week.
I am still working on Jenn's Moby at this time and hope to have it running before March. It will hopefully be my first restoration of a non-running moped to a running one.
