Atomik 70cc assembly advice

[Wendell]

Hi guys.
I'm putting together my first bike and there are a few things that don't seem right to me that I'd appreciate some advice on.

The oil on the chain is covered with tiny iron spheres, maybe 30 of them per link. They're magnetic, non-crushable, about a third of a mm in diameter. They seem to be purposely in the oil because there's no sign of them anywhere else on the bike or its container.

The rear shock bolts have a few mm of space between the shock and the mounting bracket. Is that normal? Should I put spacers/washers in the gaps?

Can I put in the rear disk pads without taking off the rear wheel? (Incidently, I can't see why the rear pads weren't mounted at the factory.)
Thanks.

 

[Ingleburn]

Well I'm no expert but have put a few bikes together. Dont like the sound of the chain so i,d be taking it off and washing it in kero to get all those balls off it.As for the rear shock mine were the same and I just tightened it to close the gap but would like to hear from someone who knows if spacers or washers should be used. The rear pads are left out in case customs want to check for asbestos I think and you dont have to remove the rear wheel, just undo to 2 mounting bolts on the bracket and take the caliper off to install the pads. Hope this helps and I,m sure more will post and add there 2 cents worth

 

[numroe]

Chain: Not normal. Clean and re-oil as per Ingleburn's advice.

Shock bolts: Firstly you need bolts with *longer* shanks so *no* thread is bearing on anything. Ideally the nuts tighten up hard against the shank (end of the thread), but the shock ends are free to move laterally. This removes fatiguing loads off your shock so it will last longer. I used SS on my daughter's bike - only because they dont rust. Nickle plated hi-tens would be ok too.

Pads: No wheel has to be removed to install pads on any bike I've worked on. Just remove the caliper, install pads, and re-fit the caliper (using medium strength loctite). Sometimes it's a brain teaser to install the pad clip retainer. I sometimes grind the edges of the pad plates to make them fit properly. Sometimes I leave the clip out (in china bikes). You have to look and decide. Quality control in that dept is not good.


See also: http://www.miniriders.com.au/forum/minibike-reviews/14605-pitpro-140xr-reviews.html#post153143

 

[Ingleburn]

Thanks numroe didnt know that bout shock bolts. Guess i better undo mine and redo as per your tip.

 

[numroe]

.... all in all its a pretty fast bike for a 70cc! keeps up pretty good with my mates 125

Funny post. Hey what possessed you to buy a bike with the 70cc auto clutch, N up 4 down, kids engine? I mean if you want to ride with your mates on 125s.

 

[hickmanioz]

it was $280 thats why

 

[hickmanioz]

im self employed too, so the faster i go the bigger the risk of injury, which also means $0 income if something was to happen

 

[numroe]

I bought some alum bars off MSO for my daughter's 70cc. Much better bend. No idea how strong.

$280. Cool. That leaves you with plenty of cash to buy better tyres, rim lock, bars, (softer) grips, fork oil, and RC66 Fastace shock to make your motox70 bike handle semi decent and be way safer. Assuming you already have boots, helmet, gloves etc.

I agree with you. If you have no money to do handling upgrades and don't want to get hurt, then limiting speed is probably your only option. Oh yeah and as you pointed out, avoiding riding off 2m drops helps too.

If i sound like a "dad", then that's probably because I have 3 kids, mortgage and I am self employed.

 

[Ingleburn]

Hey 2 funny. Was thinking bout getting my 8 yr old one as he has outgrown his 50cc but hey hes so mad he would have stayed with it over the cliff. Taking him to Appin this weekend to show him the diff between grass and dirt. Watch this space for the vid should be a crack.

 

[cass38a]

Hickmanioz you should watch your language, the post a couple up is a discrace. If the mods see this they should delete it

 

[hickmanioz]

sorry didnt know language was a problem, ill try keep it cleaner.

 

[Ingleburn]

Yeah I,m surprised its still here but hey I bet you get a pm pretty soon letting you know bout the rules. Gave me a good chuckle though, pretty colourful for this site.

 

[Wendell]

It's me the original poster, thanks to all for the advice.
Yeah that 15 minute claim is a joke, between the two of us we'd be up to about 10 man hours. That's with moderate mechanical experience, and very good problem solving abilities (so take this as a warning!). At least the forks were already in, the ad said they weren't.
Some of my difficulties: I asked here if the rear pads could go in without the wheel coming off (the front pads were no problems, they're a different design) because when I went to undo the housing bolts, the open-ended 12mm spanner (only an open-ender would get in there) was too loose. It would have been alright if the bolt wasn't overtightened at the factory. 7/16 (imperial) was too small. I didn't have an open-ended 11mm, but my calculator told me that the 7/16 equals 11.11mm, so an 11mm would be too small anyway. Out of interest I tested another "12mm" nut on the bike with the 12mm spanner and it too was similarly loose. I tried tapping the 12mm with a hammer but it started to burr. So, that failing, I had to take the rear wheel off, which allowed me to put it in the vice and undo the burring nut with a big shifter. (Now that the wheel was off I didn't have to undo that bolt to get the pads in, but thought I may as well loosen it while I had the chance. According to you guys I should have been able to get the pads in just by removing those two bolts (with the wheel still on the bike). I may well be wrong, but I'm not convinced I could have. I never put it to test afterwards because it would have been just for interest, and I'd had enough by that point!)
Getting the rear wheel back on was fun, the spacers on the axle are real tight, so one of us had to lever the swingarm apart while the other squeezed the far right hand spacer in, then the edge of the spacer got caught in the swingarm axle slot. It doesn't sound like a big deal but it took us ages to get it in. So I'd hate to get a flat when I'm out riding and have to take the wheel off by myself. I'm thinking that goo you squirt into the tyres to fill punctures from the inside would be a good investment - does anyone know how well it works?

It beats me how everybody (judging by the positive feedback on ebay) get the bikes to a rideable stage. Unless rideable means no rear brake!

Here's a tip: I got an email from the seller saying I'd need at least two people (not counting the courier people) to unload the bike otherwise it'd go back to the depot at my expense. This was the first mention of needing people at my end, and the email arrived 6 hours AFTER the bike arrived. (And if I hadn't been online at the time you could add many more hours/days to that.) It does take two people to get it out of the truck and carry it, though the driver helped. According to the email the driver isn't allowed to help.

I hope my experiences have helped someone. Just the battery to go now, and the dirty chain I mentioned, and it should be complete (apart from putting proper oil etc. in it).

 

[hickmanioz]

atomik are terrible at emailing, they sometimes take 2 weeks to answer a query, before riding you best get a heavy duty tube for the tyres as they dont last long, with the rear tyre coming on and off ive never had a drama with that, u sure u got the correct spacers on each side of the wheel? also, dont get used to the electric start as it wont last very long!

i left my bike in the shed for a good 3 months, but to my suprise it started FIRST go kick starting, so the engines are pretty damn reliable

 

[cass38a]

My bike would have only taken about 15 minutes to get ridable. I had assembled including locktight on all the bolts, changed the oil, re greased the headstem and swingarm bearings. And had it going in about 3.5 - 4 hours. My mso did have the pads in though.

 

[numroe]

It's me the original poster, thanks to all for the advice. Yeah that 15 minute claim is a joke ...
... I hope my experiences have helped someone. Just the battery to go now, and the dirty chain I mentioned, and it should be complete (apart from putting proper oil etc. in it).

I must admit I read that with a smile.

Jap "fun" bikes (eg. 230cc 4 strokes and smaller) are designed to be near ready to ride. But Jap and Euro race bikes need a full pull-down and prep and even re-jetting before they are race ready. So the "pain" of a new china bike depends on your history and expectations and also how reliable you want your bike to be in the long run. The Atomik prices on ebay look to good too be true. And they are not true, since the buyers have to complete the manufacturing which takes time.

The supplied mini toolkit goes straight in the garbage bin. Don't even open it. I have good tools (snapon etc) and I never have a problem removing China fasteners except for some tight allen bolts which sometimes have stripped heads thanks to the dudes at the China factory.

Some people are very used to pulling out dirt bike wheels and changing tubes, tires, brake pads, and cleaning and lubing bearings, axles, etc, so such things do get much easier with experience.

The swingarm is tight on the axle spacers on my daughter's motox70 bike, but with one of my heels on the ground and the wheel balanced on my toe, I can flex the swing arms open a few mm with my hands while holding the spacers in place. You roll the chain on from the bottom up, after the axle is installed.

Funny you said "just the battery to go now", since I found removing the stock bolt on the battery bracket to be the most tedious job on the bike. After installing the battery I installed a SS allen bolt in the bracket so I could remove the battery quickly if necessary. But as it turns out our 70cc electric start works first go every single time so I never needed to touch the battery.

When warm this engine starts so quick and easy it's funny. Re-setting (loosening) the valve clearances probably helped it start so easy. As someone wrote earlier, this little engine makes great torque. With that engine, plus good nobby tires and the rekluse style centrifugal clutch, it's impossible for my daughter to stall the bike. Love it!

 

[hickmanioz]

hhahaha spot on with the battery!!!!!!!! i totally forgot about how fukd up that was to get in, my mate had to cut a bigger hole for the screws to go in, was a total pain in the fukn arse, but as u said, the better tools you have the easier it is, but alas the bike still runs bloody good especially for $280!