Boy oh boy

Since I'm finished with the Green Maxi, I've turned my attention back to the Maxi Taxi and I'm having some troubles. I swapped out the spoke rims for Moby mags, but I can't seem to get the brakes to work. I need a new cable for the front because the adjuster is broken, but I also need to replace the shoes in my brake plate with new ones. I had heard that Leleu brake plates swap in, and they do, but they don't quite seem to engage the brakes, so it could be that my shoes are very worn (and they are) and the cables are very stretched (also true) so I've got a few more hurdles to go there including making sure everything lines up nicely. I haven't been able to quite get the spacers right for the rear wheel, and it could be that my 2.25 gazelle is too wide for a maxi swing arm, but it just barely clears. I have one of those lame chrome box arms, but I don't want to use it because it is so ugly, but I will if I have to, I suppose.

Not only have the wheels been acting up, but my engine is very tight and almost locked up. I can feel something binding, and it isn't the piston. I'm pretty sure the crank or some other internals not meshing. It has a stock puch roller crank, and I love those very much, but I think it's a bit wonky. At any rate, I have to drop the motor and open it up to take a look. I tried to piece together an e50 with left over parts I had, and that was a bad idea I think. I've got an E50 bottom end that I haven't touched, so I think I might just drop some cash on a DMP or Top crank and start over with that bottom end in the matched case I have all my guts in now. I'm hoping to have this as my daily commute machine in Seattle. It's got a Metra65 on it with a 19mm PHBG and Boss pipe, and I will be running side covers so I feel that I ought to do okay in the rain. It's been a while since I've dealt with the frustrating parts of moped building, my last few bikes have gone pretty painlessly. I'm spoiled I guess.

I also have my second Bravo to attend to. I've got a weak spark, but it won't pop with fuel in the cylinder, so I think it must need a good electrical overhaul. Sadly, you have to drop the engine to do this, unless someone can give me another method, that is what I'm going to have to do. I might just sell my second Bravo in Seattle for cheap, someone might want it, and it could be fixed and be a decent loaner, or donate its variator and nice forks to a ciao project.

A 1978 Pooch Maxi!

The car show was today, and I entered the Green Maxi. The registration table wanted to put my moped in "Special Interest" when I filled out my form, but I asked to be in Foreign Motorcycle class because I wanted to compete with other cycles, not just low rider bicycles and wagons. I was approached by at least 2 dozen people while I was cleaning it and told them all more information than they wanted to hear about the bike, and in 100% of each and every conversation the phrase "...with $4 dollar a gallon gas..." was said by the other party, including several times by one fellow. I hate hearing that. At any rate, the judges were quite impressed with my bike, they didn't think it was a 78, they thought it was an 08 until I pointed it out on the Vin tag. I took first place :) Very satisfied. Take that!

Maxi Taxi 2.0

I've finished the green bike, as you saw earlier, and now I'm putting my attention back to my Yellow Maxi. I cracked the case and swapped out the stock crank for a Puch Roller crank from an 86 maxi. As I was sealing the case back up, I noticed that the threads on the clutch side of the crank were slightly damaged and the nut wouldn't thread properly. For once in my life I did the right thing and didn't try to force it on, only making it worse. Instead, I found and ordered an odd Die size 10mm x 1.0 and it arrived today, with which I straighted the threads after about 10 minutes of work. So the engine should be solid by tonight, but I am waiting on a shim for my PHBG. I was tired of 15bing on my Metra, so I bought an intake from TreatsHQ (no relation) and now I need to replace a shot plastic intake bushing that was on the 19 PHBG that I salvaged off a scooter. It is on the way from Seattle mopeds, so that will be the final piece in this puzzle, I hope. I converted my Motobecane mags to the bike, and I think it has a very Euro look to it. I like it, but I think I will drop the long seat a bit like I did with the Red Maxi. I do want to leave room so I can still run my saddle bags, as I intend this to be my daily rider in Seattle.

Oh yeah, I got some good pedals for the bike too, I need to swap those on.

I'm also going to be working on my GPS mount, and I'd like it to be swappable between my bikes if easy, so a little bit of a puzzler there.

Shutter

I had my friend Ryan take some pictures of my peds with a nice camera. Here are a few of my favorites. I also fixed the horn on the green maxi so it doesn't honk constantly.

Spoke too soon

I had been trying to true up the rear wheel on my polished rims and I was not having any luck, I kept finding dead spokes, and as I would tighten them I would break the nipple's threads, so I realized that of course, I had all of them way too tight. I took them all lose and started over only to discover that I had cracked the rim. Wow. So I took it off, and replaced it with another that I had sitting around. I spent a good amount of time to today messing with the wheel, but I got it together and as true as I could ever make it, and promptly took the bike on a 30 mile ride. It runs great, that number 11 cylinder and single ring piston make for about 34mph with good acceleration. I'm quite pleased with this bike, and I'm willing to bet I can get a trophy for this at the car show. Thus ends the majority of the work on this bike, (I need to rewire the switch to fix the horn, waiting on a chrome boss pipe) and I've begun giving the Maxi Taxi a redo. V2.0 on it's way.

Puch #11

A stock 3 shoe clutch, but a bushing crank, and a single ring piston in a #11 High Torque cylinder. Odd?

Pictures!

You might remember a few posts ago when I said I picked up a Bravo. Well, I have it, and haven't done anything with it, and wouldn't you know it, I soon found another one, so I just had to get it. It's been so long since I've had twinsies that I just needed to. So I'm back up to 7 mopeds after moving with only 4 and 1/2. :) I don't plan on keeping them, but bringing them to Seattle and letting them go. Although, I was looking at some of Benji's goodies for Vespa, and that 64cc kit seems to look pretty tempting, I do like the lines of a Bravo, and you just can't be a variator, so who knows. I'm sure I'll sell one, but I might have to keep the second one and kit it. It has 288 miles on it, and is in very very good shape. It's missing the left rear cover and the tool kit, but other than that, seems very complete. When I was in Seattle visiting, someone had a really nice red Bravo (I think, I'm not too learned on Vespa yet) and it was quick and had about half a dozen mirrors or so. It makes me want a nice quick little vespa, even though I do have the Maxi Taxi (which is undergoing some revisions shortly, as soon as I finish up the Green maxi). How many Puch's does a guy need, anyway? And since I've moved back home for the summer, one of my old high school friends (who has a nice two stroke RD400 that he has put a lot of work into) said to me "My cousin has a moped, I'll bet he would give it to me." He said he picked it up and it wouldn't start, that it had been setting for about 10 years, so I gave him a little Italian moped advice about wiring, and he came rolling up to my shop today on it. He says "How big of a cylinder can we put on here?" which was music to my ears. Looks like it's time for a fast Motron!