Home Alone with Mopeds.: May 2013

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Way #167 to split hobbit cases + Derbi on a pallet?!

I used a vice to help me with a particularly tight hobbit case. If you have a table top vice, this is pretty fast and easy.

Dont crank too hard or fast, dont crack your cases.

I used a large flat head for leverage to prevent this side from pinching shut while the other side opens. Be careful not to mess up the case gasket mating surface.

Once the cases are split a centimeter or so, use a mallet and hammer on the crank while holding the case. Should come right apart.

WHOA Special delivery!

Looks like an 88 to me.

1 hour later, Dom rides this beast home. Happy camper.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Getting to know Mopeds no one likes FEATURING: The 1995 Hero Majestic Panther.

Been pretty busy at the shop but snapped a few pics this week. A few things perked my attention, particularly a Hero Majestic Panther (HAHAH). So I see a decent amount of posts about these bikes and while I'm sure I cant explain how to make them go 50 mph, I can at least list what I have learned about them. Hero Majestics are Indian made mopeds that were as far as I can tell, manufactured from 1994-2008 give or take a few years. They came in 4 different models, Ankur, Panther, Gizmo, and Pacer. I have never seen a pacer in person, but from the pictures it seems to not be much different that a Panther other than the paint and decals. I first worked on a Hero Majestic at Austin Mopeds. They had bought a few that were still boxed up, these were all early 2000's models. According to the manuals that came with the peds, there were 3 different models. Ankur - 20 mph model, Panther - 25mph model, and Gizmo - 30 mph model.I have seen pictures of these having top tanks that resemble Morini Pacer tanks. These came with strange engines that had a Bingesque clone carb, CDI, and what looked to be a Batavus Laura M48 clutch assembly. It was case inducted like an M48 so I assumed all Hero Majestics were Indian Laura M48 clones. Unfortunately I have no photos of the engine internals because it was a few years ago. So talking to other people about them, I learned that many people have found a "Honda Hobbit like clutch" in theirs.....HRM. So the other day we got a 1995 Panther in and I was excited to dig into it. Sure enough, it had the Hobbit/Derbi looking clutch. Kinda cool you can put clutch springs on these! This engine resemble more of a Peugeot 102 engine, is not case inducted, and has a vespa dellorto 12:12 clone carb with air mixture screw. If the crank taper is the same size, you could throw this upgraded clutch setup on your 102 maybe?! WHO KNOWS. Weird little bikes. I included a bunch of photos of the engine and the proper clutch shim order.

Ankur

Panther

Pacer

Gizmo

Huh?

From left to right, the whole clutch assembly with shims.

4. Note: there are 2 felt shim things in each side of the clutch bell.

8. Clutch looks very familiar. HRMM

Where have I seen these CDIs before?

Tired of building maxis?!

Photo update: Moped related film photos of the last few months.

Here are some 35mm photos from the last few months. They were taken mostly with a Olympus XA2 and were taken anywhere from Kansas to Tennessee. I took most of them personally but a few were taken by my girlfriend.