April 14, 2015

            The gas powered bike is now on its way to completion. This time, Campbell and I have embraced that this kind of project is new to us both and therefore will not underestimate the time it will take us. As there is no manual that came with this kit, we have been following instructional videos from various websites. Though it can be very frustrating, I really do enjoy figuring things out through common sense and intuition.  Having no manual has prolonged the process, but has given Campbell and I a genuine experience in engineering. We have to bend original parts and sometimes create our own parts to make things work. It isn’t just following instructions.

            In the morning, we picked up what seemed to be a useless scrap of metal that had a small chance of holding our motorbike together. However, with some spray nine, water, and a lot a lot a lot of wd-40, hope was restored. Jumping right into our second project, Campbell and I disassembled the rear wheel and began installing the sprocket. It was very difficult to bolt the sprocket to the wheel without bending any spokes and keeping the sprocket in the center of the wheel.  The spokes are also thinner than what is suggested, but Campbell and I can only hope that it will not fall apart.

            The engine was easy to install. The only modification that we had to make was shaving off a bump on the bike’s frame that was in the way. The motor is mounted directly on the frame so I am very curious to find out whether or not that will vibrate the bike excessively or if it has no affect. Next, Campbell and I installed the clutch handle onto the bike and connected the wire to the engine so you may disconnect the chain from the engine immediately if necessary. Mr. Hwang then visited the garage to see how things were going. Campbell and I were able to witness Mr. Hwang in total euphoria as he squealed with joy when he tested the electric bike. It was adorable to say the least.

            Problems arouse when Campbell and I attempted to install the chain on the motor. A video illustrated that we must remove covers on a side that had nothing to do with the chain. We naturally followed these instructions, which resulted in no results and a million questions. We decided to ditch the video for a second and took off the parts that made since. After figuring out how to attach the chain to the gear inside of the engine, we were left puzzled about how to break the chain and thread it through. After some mangling and a lot of hammering we broke the chain, threaded it through, and then reattached it. The chain tension part is a whole other story, but it all worked out.

            These past two days have been very long, and have required a lot of labor. The gas powered bike is on its way, but as Patrick said, “assembling the bike is one thing, but getting it to run is the other”. We are crossing our fingers. Tomorrow should be a lot like the past two days. If we re lucky we will be able to finish the gas powered bike and test it over the weekend. Things are going great and I said before, all the bumps we have run into we have been able to get over. Let’s hope the pattern continues.