Heathkit Boonie Bike 2 speed - how it work?
- Thread starter cfh
- Start date
Here's my mock-up for the TAV30 plastic clutch cover decal (i will have them printed on sticky white vinyl). I would have *loved* to use the original Boonie bike metal clutch cover, but it really does not fit well with a torque converter. so making new decals for the new plastic TC cover is best idea i have...
Got some time today to work on the Boonie bike. first up, that damn kickstand! i hate not having a kickstand. And online original Boonie bike kickstands were *way* too much money. So for $10 i bought one of those weld-on stands, and welded it up. Can out great and worked awesome, i now have a kickstand! (aw it's the simple things...)
Next up was an issue i was really struggling with. It was related to the china-made Comet clone TAV30 torque converter. If i gassed it, even lightly, i would get this incredible shake and skip. It seemed like the motor, but i knew it wasn't the motor. I figured it was the torque converter. I made a post asking about this question in another thread, and the only suggestion was to try moving the driven unit spring to another of the 3 positions. I tried all 3 positions, and the problem still existed. what the hell???
So i drove the bike over to my buddy's shop, and let him ride the bike. "The chain is skipping!" Hmmm... how could that be, the chains were in good condition, new sprockets, proper tension. But what he said made sense, as the noise did indeed sound like the chain was skipping. But how? I *knew* it couldn't be the chain from the jackshaft to the rear wheel - that chain, if anything, was too tight. But how could the short chain from the torque converter to the jack shaft skip???
"That motor plate is flexing!", sez my buddy, "and the TC to JS chain is skipping." I'm like, "you're freaking nuts, there's no way." But sure enough, using just a screw driver, he demonstrated how much the motor plate could indeed flex. But enough to make the chain skip? I was not a believer.
So my buddy disappears and comes back with a triangle piece of wood, and jams it between the bottom of the TC aluminum mount plate and the motor plate. Starts up the bike, and rides. the noise is reduced dramatically! i couldn't believe it.
So we spin the bike over, and weld in a brace across the bottom of the motor plate...
So i drove the bike over to my buddy's shop, and let him ride the bike. "The chain is skipping!" Hmmm... how could that be, the chains were in good condition, new sprockets, proper tension. But what he said made sense, as the noise did indeed sound like the chain was skipping. But how? I *knew* it couldn't be the chain from the jackshaft to the rear wheel - that chain, if anything, was too tight. But how could the short chain from the torque converter to the jack shaft skip???
"That motor plate is flexing!", sez my buddy, "and the TC to JS chain is skipping." I'm like, "you're freaking nuts, there's no way." But sure enough, using just a screw driver, he demonstrated how much the motor plate could indeed flex. But enough to make the chain skip? I was not a believer.
So my buddy disappears and comes back with a triangle piece of wood, and jams it between the bottom of the TC aluminum mount plate and the motor plate. Starts up the bike, and rides. the noise is reduced dramatically! i couldn't believe it.
So we spin the bike over, and weld in a brace across the bottom of the motor plate...
With this new bottom plate welded brace, i ride the bike. No more noise, it rides smooth as silk! so i let my buddy ride it, and it's better for him, but it still skips! what the hell?? What was the difference? Well the difference was weight. I come in at about 180, he comes in at about 220 pounds. and that additional weight stressed the torque converter enough to still flex the motor plate enough to skip the chain. So what do we do, we weld in another brace!
Here's the bike with all the welding mods and the new kickstand. I rode it for about 3 miles, and frankly, this is the best this boonie bike has ever ridden in my ownership time. The handling (which i was bitching about before) is improved, and the "floor" of the bike just feels stiffer. The entire bike is more stable!
Next up is to disassemble the bike, and get it a new finish. because it's looking rather tired about now...
Next up is to disassemble the bike, and get it a new finish. because it's looking rather tired about now...
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yea i would have never thought the motor plate would flex (at all) either. I mean i would like to think i do a "mean" Tecumseh, but that was nuts. I guess it's the torque converter that pushed the motor plate over the edge. with a clutch you don't get that sudden burst of power like you do with a TC. But the whole conversion to the TAV30 really made the bike a lot more usable. In it's old format it was just, frankly, lame. Now it's a decent ride.
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Seats are my sore spot. Everybody that does seats takes forever to do it and it’s really expensive. And I’m afraid I’ll lose the heathkit silkscreening on the back. So as of right now, no, I’ll keep the seat original. I know it has a couple tears, but it’s not bothering me that much.
My wife has made a couple seats for me. She needs some more practice, but she’s getting better. The one advantage to her is that she’s pretty quick. I tell her I want a seat and pretty much within a week, I have it. That works with my high impatience level. I just have to get her skill set tuned up a little bit, which will come with practice
Everyone I’ve asked to do seats are like three months wait time and $150. I’m already too deep in the hole on this bike. Another 150 is really pushing me over the financial edge. Minibikes suck like this. It is so easy to get in too deep. Theyre just not worth anything. it’s no problem to get in over your head.
My wife has made a couple seats for me. She needs some more practice, but she’s getting better. The one advantage to her is that she’s pretty quick. I tell her I want a seat and pretty much within a week, I have it. That works with my high impatience level. I just have to get her skill set tuned up a little bit, which will come with practice
Everyone I’ve asked to do seats are like three months wait time and $150. I’m already too deep in the hole on this bike. Another 150 is really pushing me over the financial edge. Minibikes suck like this. It is so easy to get in too deep. Theyre just not worth anything. it’s no problem to get in over your head.
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