Taco 44 - WB 820 project

R

race

Active Member
#1
#1
Hello all -

New guy here with a lot of questions. Have been trying to read up on everything I can find and several of you have been helping me via pm (thanks all) but I figured I would try posting on the main forum. Am trying to put together my first bike. Have secured a Taco 44 rolling chassis and looks like I have found a West Bend 820 to go in it. I went with a CCW rotation engine so that I could keep the pull start on the right side. It looks like the Taco 44 has a 60 tooth rear sprocket. On the engine end I have been told Max Torque clutches are a good way to go. (I believe the Tacos use a #35 chain? Don't know if you need to specify that when ordering gears/sprockets)

My first question is how many teeth should I go with on the clutch sprocket? And this also leads to what size gears on the jack shaft and what final drive ratio am I even aiming for? I will probably want to stay with the 60 tooth sprocket on the rear wheel for ground clearance when laying the bike over in turns.

I will be mostly riding on dirt tracks so I will probably favor good acceleration out of corners over screaming top speed ... within reason. Any suggestions?
(BTW - Are there terms to differentiate between the two gears that go on the jack shaft?)

Next question ... on the Taco 5"wheels what is the largest, widest tire you can go with? And what is a good tread pattern choice for mostly dirt riding? Right now it has a set of 5 x 4.10 x 3.50 tires. Made by Ton-Keep? See pic.

Bonus question - I noticed that the top flat plate (upper crown?) of the forks can just make contact with the top frame tubes at full lock. See pic. Does anyone make a rubber bumper / fork stop or something along those lines?

Thanks

five inch wheels.jpg

full lock contact.jpg
 
minibikin'

minibikin'

Sho-nuff
#2
#2
Nice bike. Stock rear sprocket is #35 chain. 60 tooth i believe. The nice thing about the 44 is you have a jackshaft to make gear changes a little less costly (about $10 per sprocket)

I'm not a westbend guru, but I know they scream pretty good. I would think you want the static gearing around 7:1 but that's purely a guess. If you email Jim Donovan at Max Torque, he can get you a clutch and possibly close on gear.

5" tires are pretty limited. There maybe some variety in the lawn care side of things, but I'm not familiar.

No one makes a bump stop for the upper tree that i'm aware of. Try some automotive door edge trim?
 
R

race

Active Member
#4
#4
Hey thanks guys. I will contact Jim at Max Torque and try to figure out the gears and a good clutch to go with.

If anyone has a good link for 5" tire choices please post. I never realized from only looking at pics how narrow the 5" tires are. That 820 Bender is going to light up the rear every chance it gets.

For the forks, I may just get a small slab of rubber and carve up some fork stops. Hopefully I never have any big time 'tank slappers' where they are really needed. :p
 
R

race

Active Member
#5
#5
Just realized (haven't seen it yet but the seller informed me) my 820 has a step down taper PTO? which will force an outboard clutch sprocket / chain line? ... and probably put my leg closer than I want to a hungry chain. Will this be a big deal or no?

And on the two chains - jack to clutch and jack to rear sprocket - are you all using a chain with a master link or a one piece chain using a chain breaker? If it matters it will be #35 gauge chains.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top