in this thread I will talk about my moped. I just bought it two days ago. it's a Puch Magnum II and was manufactured in 1980. it goes probably about 35, but doesn't have a speedometer so I can't tell for sure (the stock one only goes up to 30 anyway).
here are some pictures:
http://www.thehomerow.net/~brain/moped.jpg
http://www.thehomerow.net/~brain/moped2.jpg
I plan on cleaning this shit out of this thing. it is going to shine and look so slick when I am done with it. this Winter I will probably repaint the fuel tank. I've ordered a bunch of parts to fix stuff like some fuel leaking from the bowl of the carburetor. I'm pretty pumped on fixing this thing up and learning about two-stroke engines.
oh, and I paid 600 USD for it.
here are some pictures:
http://www.thehomerow.net/~brain/moped.jpg
http://www.thehomerow.net/~brain/moped2.jpg
I plan on cleaning this shit out of this thing. it is going to shine and look so slick when I am done with it. this Winter I will probably repaint the fuel tank. I've ordered a bunch of parts to fix stuff like some fuel leaking from the bowl of the carburetor. I'm pretty pumped on fixing this thing up and learning about two-stroke engines.
oh, and I paid 600 USD for it.
sounds like a fun project!
2-stroke? Wow.
And an honest-to-Science moped. I haven't seen one in forever. Awesome!
And an honest-to-Science moped. I haven't seen one in forever. Awesome!
I don't think they are legally permitted to exceed 30mph in a lot of states
you are correct, nestor. no one has to know, though! when you get them registered there is no inspection of anything, just a $40 fee :).
2-stroke indeed! kind of terrible re: pollution, but oh well.
2-stroke indeed! kind of terrible re: pollution, but oh well.
> honest-to-Science
i've never heard this before. :D
i've never heard this before. :D
I fixed the shit out of this thing today! so there was a leak in the bowl of my carb (the fuel flows into here) because the gasket was old and shitty. so I put a new gasket on. then for some reason no fuel was getting into the bowl at all. so I went through the entire route from the tank to the bowl:
- fuel line, top half: fine
- fuel filter: fine
- fuel line, bottom half: fine
- banjo (thing fuel line attaches to on the carb): fine
but still no fuel in the bowl! now there is a piece inside the bowl called the float, which does just that: it floats. the way it works is that when the bowl is empty, it hangs down and opens a little hole to let fuel in. when the bowl fills up, it floats up with the fuel and closes the hole so fuel stops flowing in. the float in my carb was kind of weird in that it was always down (in the letting fuel in position) and seemed too hard to push up (I didn't think having gas in the bowl would be enough to cause it to float). this seemed weird, because in the position it was stuck in (down), it should have been constantly letting fuel in. but still, nothing!
so I replaced the float. it was pretty simple to take one out of another spare carb and put it in this one, but that still didn't solve the problem. so I went back to the beginning and took almost everything off of this part of the carb and put it back together, piece by piece, and blew through the banjo to see if air could flow through after each step:
- first the banjo: air travels fine
- banjo + carb: fine
- banjo + carb + float: fine
so I put the bowl back on, hooked up the fuel line, held down the primer (a little button to manually push the float down so the bowl fills up with fuel), and the bowl filled! I have no idea what the problem was, but it was probably just a tiny piece of dirt or something stuck somewhere along the line. I was pretty much constantly spraying carb cleaner into each piece in hopes of knocking something out.
this was pretty satisfying to do all of this and then have it start up and ride down the street!
- fuel line, top half: fine
- fuel filter: fine
- fuel line, bottom half: fine
- banjo (thing fuel line attaches to on the carb): fine
but still no fuel in the bowl! now there is a piece inside the bowl called the float, which does just that: it floats. the way it works is that when the bowl is empty, it hangs down and opens a little hole to let fuel in. when the bowl fills up, it floats up with the fuel and closes the hole so fuel stops flowing in. the float in my carb was kind of weird in that it was always down (in the letting fuel in position) and seemed too hard to push up (I didn't think having gas in the bowl would be enough to cause it to float). this seemed weird, because in the position it was stuck in (down), it should have been constantly letting fuel in. but still, nothing!
so I replaced the float. it was pretty simple to take one out of another spare carb and put it in this one, but that still didn't solve the problem. so I went back to the beginning and took almost everything off of this part of the carb and put it back together, piece by piece, and blew through the banjo to see if air could flow through after each step:
- first the banjo: air travels fine
- banjo + carb: fine
- banjo + carb + float: fine
so I put the bowl back on, hooked up the fuel line, held down the primer (a little button to manually push the float down so the bowl fills up with fuel), and the bowl filled! I have no idea what the problem was, but it was probably just a tiny piece of dirt or something stuck somewhere along the line. I was pretty much constantly spraying carb cleaner into each piece in hopes of knocking something out.
this was pretty satisfying to do all of this and then have it start up and ride down the street!
carb diagram for reference: http://www.themopedjunkyard.com/bingpuch.html
to-do list for moped:
waiting on new bars to arrive in the mail!
- new bars
- new (custom) switches for lights, horn, and kill
- new grips
- mirror
- tighten clutch lever/cable
- adjust/learn about drum brakes
waiting for nothing in particular
- possibly put an air filter on the carb
- fix centerstand (it goes too far forward now, so both wheels touch the ground when it's on the stand; the bike should rock back and forth on the stand, which is useful for kickstarting it)
- get a rack and pannier bags
- get one side panel thing (I don't know what to call these; they go under the front half of the seat and I'm missing one)
- repair rips in seat
- get rust off of rims
- possibly get a new rear tire (there are some cracks in the sidewalls)
- possibly get new shocks or adjust existing ones (I think they're too soft or something)
waiting for Winter
- clean out fuel tank (fill with vinegar or something else to clean out rust)
- paint fuel tank, fenders, and whatever else
waiting on new bars to arrive in the mail!
- new bars
- new (custom) switches for lights, horn, and kill
- new grips
- mirror
- tighten clutch lever/cable
- adjust/learn about drum brakes
waiting for nothing in particular
- possibly put an air filter on the carb
- fix centerstand (it goes too far forward now, so both wheels touch the ground when it's on the stand; the bike should rock back and forth on the stand, which is useful for kickstarting it)
- get a rack and pannier bags
- get one side panel thing (I don't know what to call these; they go under the front half of the seat and I'm missing one)
- repair rips in seat
- get rust off of rims
- possibly get a new rear tire (there are some cracks in the sidewalls)
- possibly get new shocks or adjust existing ones (I think they're too soft or something)
waiting for Winter
- clean out fuel tank (fill with vinegar or something else to clean out rust)
- paint fuel tank, fenders, and whatever else
If you wanna get it running well asap, clean out the tank. Lotta crap gets stuck/grows/whatever in there if it sits for a few years. Could cause issues later.
And drum brakes are easy, I'm sure you can get that part done in a few hours. :)
And drum brakes are easy, I'm sure you can get that part done in a few hours. :)
it looks beautiful, asemi. just the kind of bike i would get, i like the look a lot!
the tank is actually relatively clean right now. I put a fuel filter on the fuel line today and there is barely anything (just a tiny bit of very fine rust-colored stuff) in it after riding pretty much all day.
I still don't know how drum brakes work! I'm sure I can figure it out though.
thanks, nestor! top tank mopeds are crucial. feeling the tank between your knees while riding is so nice. it will look a hell of a lot nicer with new bars, etc. and a new paint job :).
I still don't know how drum brakes work! I'm sure I can figure it out though.
thanks, nestor! top tank mopeds are crucial. feeling the tank between your knees while riding is so nice. it will look a hell of a lot nicer with new bars, etc. and a new paint job :).
haha, now i want one!
post more pics as work gets done, i like this work diary!
post more pics as work gets done, i like this work diary!
my helmet arrived this morning from California (I ordered it on Tuesday!). I ordered it from leatherup.com and I thought the least I could do is mention them every time I talk about my helmet. I got a black visor too so I look kind of riciulous(ly awesome?).
http://thehomerow.net/~brain/Photo%2029 .jpg
will definitely post more, nestor!
http://thehomerow.net/~brain/Photo%2029 .jpg
will definitely post more, nestor!
Nice asemi!
I cleaned the front rim today. I also was able to scrape the spraypaint off of most of the front fork so it's the original chrome now! much nicer-looking.
it's been stalling a little bit like right after I start it up. like I'll start it up, ride for a minute, stop, and it will stall. I need to figure out what the deal is.
it's been stalling a little bit like right after I start it up. like I'll start it up, ride for a minute, stop, and it will stall. I need to figure out what the deal is.
oh, and the front brake is kind of loose now :/. both of the barrel adjusters are all the way in whatever direction makes it the tightest, but I feel like I'm missing some way of adjusting them. off to Google…
just bought a pack of new cables (brakes, clutch, and throttle) and a high flow air filter. I need to get some different sized jets for my carburetor in case the air filter screws up the fuel/air mix in the carb. right now there's no air filter on there and it kink of sketches me out.
(I am spending way too much money on this thing.)
i was going to say.. :)
but hey, it sounds like you are learning a lot and having fun. keep at it, i say!
but hey, it sounds like you are learning a lot and having fun. keep at it, i say!
definitely on both counts.
Found this today, and figured the moped crew would enjoy.
http://www.ridleymotorcycles.com/motorbike/
http://www.ridleymotorcycles.com/motorbike/
neat.
I just recently ordered a 70cc kit for my moped. and a new exhaust pipe. I am going to go so fast.
I just recently ordered a 70cc kit for my moped. and a new exhaust pipe. I am going to go so fast.