Weed Eater Friction Drive Bicycle

landuse

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I have been having some withdrawal symptoms since I finished my minibike, so I have now decided what my new project is going to be. A friction driven weed eater bicycle!! I have already gotten started with the whole project.

I have decided to use an old Mitsubishi T50 engine that I got off a trimmer. As far as I can tell, it is a 26cc engine. I just hope it has enough guts for what I am going to use it for. I also decided to be a little more elaborate than your average back yard friction drive that you see on the net and on YouTube. I have decided to try and duplicate the Staton/DAX friction drive setup.

So far, I have cut the steel plate into 3 equal sections and welded them together to make the U shaped housing that everything is going to bolt to. I then measured the bolt pattern of the clutch housing for the motor, and drilled the holes for that. Due to the rotation of the engine, it is going to be mounted on the right hand side of the bike. (I hope I got that right).Trying to get it all not to warp too much was difficult.

I then cut lengths of steel strips and welded them together for the U bracket that bolts onto the bike frame. As a protection for the bike, I cut strips of rubber off an old car mat and drilled holes in that to fit my bracket.

I am going to have to use a contact I have at a machine shop to drill out the holes in the housing for me to fit the bearings into. He is also going to machine the steel bar I have into the roller that will attach to the clutch drum. He only opens shop again tomorrow, so I will get hold of him within a few days.

Well, that is where I am at the moment. I have included a few pics of everything mocked up together.
 

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STOP RIGHT NOW!!

My Mitsubishi TLE 43 engine runs counterclockwise; yours prolly does too.

If you mount the engine on the right side, your bike will run backwards!:giggle:

Anyway, good design, my friend.

Your clutch should work well. To improve its life, do not throttle the engine from a standing start. Run for 5 seconds, then apply throttle.

Good luck, and we'll be watching you progress.:)
 
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I checked a few times, and the engine runs clockwise if you are looking at the clutch shoes. I pulled the starter rope slowly to see which way the shoes turned. Did I check correctly?

Thanks for the compliments.
 
well, assuming the mount holes are correct, VXB has bearings by the bushel
for cheap in any size you chose. It appears to be a 56mm clutch for which you
can get a clutch drum & spacer from Staton-inc. not so cheap, but the only
source I know. Slotted struts can be made from just about anything. on my
bikes I've made plate alu brackets that use clevis pins to attach the struts at
the bottom. These also serve as hitch mounts for my trailer.
If for some reason the mount holes do turn out to be on the wrong side, you
can always pivot the channel 180 degrees to get them on the other side.
Good luck, what you have so far looks good.
 
well, assuming the mount holes are correct, VXB has bearings by the bushel
for cheap in any size you chose. It appears to be a 56mm clutch for which you
can get a clutch drum & spacer from Staton-inc. not so cheap, but the only
source I know. Slotted struts can be made from just about anything. on my
bikes I've made plate alu brackets that use clevis pins to attach the struts at
the bottom. These also serve as hitch mounts for my trailer.
If for some reason the mount holes do turn out to be on the wrong side, you
can always pivot the channel 180 degrees to get them on the other side.
Good luck, what you have so far looks good.

Thanks Rawly old! You are correct, it is a 56mm clutch that I got. I am going to use the drum that came with the weed eater though, and weld or braize a shaft onto it. The roller will then fit on that. I am still trying to come up with a few ideas on the easiest way for me to do it. I have attached a pic of the part that I am thinking of using (a bit modified however) to bolt onto the channel direct. There is a bearing in there already, and I won't have to hasstle with too much fabrication. I am not too sure yet though.

I like your idea about the clevis pins. I might just do that. It will make it easier for removal if I have to. Thanks.

I will keep you all updated on the progress
 

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I thought I would share a pic or two of me welding the U channel together.
 

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Wish I could weld, nice work.
I've built a FD using a 26cc engine; the problem I perceive is that they're
a bit under powered for a channel setup. One of the things I've done with
these small weed whackers was to thread one of those textured Chinese
aluminum bike pegs right onto the shaft as a roller when a shaft is too small,
I snip a bit of alu sheet as a bushing and secure it with JB epoxy. While the
glue is still green simply screw it to shaft cutting thread as goes.
I then mount this eng. to a lever which mounts to the seat stay. To start
off one lifts the lever pulling the roller down onto the wheel while pedaling.
( no recoil starter required) I wish I could show you a picture, but they're
gone with my previous PC. A company call Bumble Bee bike motors makes
something similar.
The only reason I mention this is that used whacker engines are cheap.
easy to come by, but not necessarily durable enough to devote a great deal
of labor to the build.
 
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