Happy New Year 2013

** Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu **

 

Happy New Year From Japan!!

 

...May this year bring two stroke fortune and fame... 

 

Back In Paradise

Back in Hawaii for a short vacation. Aside from soaking up some sun and surf, I checked up on some bikes I left behind at my family houses throughout the island:

Mopeders

Mopeders is a moped group here in Japan.  Majority of their members are based around Tokyo and Osaka.  They hold meetings and rallies similar to those from the States.  I hope to join up with them one of these days.  For more information check out www.mopeders.com.  Here is a video of their latest rally in Tokyo:

Looks like a lot of fun!!

16th Scooter Meeting 2012 in Akigase (Part II)

Moto Champ Magazine's 16th Scooter Meeting 2012 in Akigase featured a 1/32 mile shoot out.  Pros and amateurs alike were welcome to test their bikes and tuning skills down the track.  The entry fee was 5,000 yen (about $60).  Each competitor had five runs throughout the day.  Best time wins and featured in the next Moto Champ Magazine.

Overall it was a great event.  There were a lot of incredibly fast bikes.  And a few just for looks and fun.  I only wish that there were a similar event back in Hawaii.  We islanders need an outlet to exercise our speed demons and motor bike tuning skills.  Better a track than the local roads and freeways.

16th Scooter Meeting 2012 in Akigase (Part I)

Best Mag Ever!!

This is a two part series of an awesome scooter event I attended this past Veteran's Day weekend.  It was Moto Champ Magazine's 16th Scooter Meeting 2012 in Akigase, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.  If you remember from my previous post, Moto Champ is a magazine devoted to all kinds of motor bikes especially scooters like the Honda Monkey, Dio, Zoomer (Ruckus), and Yamaha Jog.  This event was one of many happenings Moto Champ Magazine sponsors throughout the year.  The 16th Scooter Meeting 2012 in Akigase featured a 1/32 mile shoot out as well as a skills course and parts swap meet.  Along with my moto-crazed friend Soma-san, we traveled about 2 hours to Saitama to see what it was all about.

For Otaku Use Only

Japan Street Legal

My Puch is finally Japan street legal!!  Got my Japanese license plate, insurance, and registration from the local city office this past week.  So get ready for the misadventures of Moped Luau in Japan!!

STAY TUNED!!

Kanji Plate desuyo!!

Puch ZA50 21 Tooth Sprocket Fit Up

I wanted to share my experiences on fitting up a 21 tooth front sprocket onto a ZA50 motor.  I know a lot of Hawaii tuners like GotRigid? been using them for years but I never got a chance to run them because they weren't as readily available back then as they are now.  I did some research on the normal forums and asked our local Puch community on methods used for fit up.  Here's my lessons learned:

Soma-san's Corner

The two-stroke obsession spans across the globe. When I moved to Japan, I met my friend Japanese Soma-san.  He is a fellow two-stoke head like me!!  Like most Japanese, he is crazy into his hobby.  He owns a good amount of bikes.  He has:  two Honda MB5s, a Honda MB8, a Suzuki Z, and Yamaha 250Z.  He has tons of parts.  He even has parts under is desk in the office.  When I say parts, I mean two engines, a frame, a fairing, a exhaust, etc.  This guys is crazy!!  Like me!!  I turned him on to Treatland USA and now he is straight up lost his mind!!

Honda MB5 in its natural habitat

Two-Stroke Tuner's Handbook

Feed Your Brain!!

Anyone who is serious about two-stroke tuning read or came across Gordon Jennings "Two-Stroke Tuner's Handbook".  Although it was originally published in 1973, a lot of the information still pertains today.  It's a extremely technical book.  I felt like I was reading my old college engineering books!!  If you didn't get a chance to read it or a lot of the stuff is just flying over your head as did mines, some section I thought worth reading were:

• Squish Bands
• Expansion Chamber
• Port Timing
• Cylinder Porting (Gorr) p.90
• Reed Valves
• Intake Port Shape
• Cylinder Scavenging
• Port-Edge Chamfers
• Subtleties p.121
• Carburetion, Ignition

Puch ZA50 Motor Case & Transmission Gaskets

Here are scanned copies of a case gasket and transmission cover gasket for the Puch ZA50 motor.  These gaskets are available at Treats or 1977 Mopeds.  If you don't what to any spend money or just too impatient for an order, you can download the PDF file here.  Print it onto your gasket material then cut out using a xacto knife and scissors.  The key to making these types of gaskets is to use the correct size paper hole punchers for the bolt holes.

Mr. Two-Stroke

“…You have to know what you are doing with a two stroke, you don’t with a four stroke.  With a two stroke you are doing it yourself, with a four stroke you buy the pistons, buy the cam shafts and just take it apart and put it back together.  There is less skill, it’s just fitting…”

An quote from an article featuring world renown two-stroke tuner Stan Stephens.  Read the whole article here.

Puch Second Run: Post Disaster

One step backward, two steps forward.  After the epic meltdown of my Powerdynamo stator coil, I installed a new one I ordered from TreatsHq (it came in less than a week).  I re-timed it and tuned the carb a little more.  Still need to continue tuning cause there still some dead spots in the powerband.  But its getting there:

Puch ZA50 Clutch Rebuild Part 2: Second Gear

My second gear clutch was surprisingly in great shape compared to my first gear clutch.  The clutch shoe lining were all intact and not cracked.  I previously lightened the shoes without taking them apart by drilling numerous holes via a drill press.  (Note:  Optimal location to lighten the clutch shoes is along the outer edge as shown below because it has the most "metal mass" that can be removed.  Also, you want to take out the most "metal mass" toward "that side" of the linkage hole pivot point to optimize the "lightening" effect on the clutch.   The outer edge of the pivot point has the most mass that produces the centrifugal force which the clutch shoes needs to generate to overcome the  centripetal force created by the clutch spring.  When this happens the clutch will engage.  Less mass on the shoes means you need more angular velocity to generate the centrifugal force.   Hence, the clutch shoes will engage at a higher RPM giving you that longer "stall".  Anyway, enough physics!!)  As I did with the first gear clutch, I banged out the linkages:

All blown up!!

Puch ZA50 Clutch Rebuild Part 1: First Gear

I was forced to rebuild my clutches after a total destruction of my first gear clutch shoes by my Gilardoni kit.

Puch ZA50 Clutch Installation Tool

Getting springs on a Puch ZA50 stock clutch isn't a walk in the park.  Many of us shy away from cutting or reinstalling new springs onto our clutches because of the difficulty and hassle to get them on.  But by doing either spring modification, it can greatly benefit a ZA50 motor's performance.  For a long time, I've been thinking of a way to easily reinstall springs onto these clutches.  I've been looking for a better way ever since I ruined the elasticity of my first springs by installing them with a bunch of screwdrivers.  In the past, we used a D-sized MagLite flashlights or a worn down skateboard wheel to get them on. But these methods usually meant more than one pair of hands to do it.  I've even saw someone use their bare hands to get them on.  Ouch!!  I just don't have that kind of hands!!  With a design in mind I had for years, I finally decided to try to make life easier for all us ZA50 modders:

Get The Lead Out!

Videos to get the modding juices flowing!!...GET TUNING!!

Island Built Scooters

A few videos I recently saw from Guam and the 808 State that got me excited about scooters again!!  The first set is a Yamaha JOG.  The second one is a SMC Rexy.  And, the third one is a Honda Dio (?).  Unfortunately, the second one is a four-stroker but it still represent.

Moto Champu Zasshi

Living in Japan, I have the luxury of accessing the many scooter magazines (zasshi) this moter-bike crazed country has to offer.  Scooter or moped magazines are a rarity back in the States especially Hawaii.  One of my favorite magazines here is "Moto Champu".  Moto Champu (or Moto Champ) features a lot of bikes like the Honda Monkey, Dio ZX, and Yamaha Jog ZR.  The content is all in Japanese but it's worth buying for the pictures alone.

I can read this.  It's the Kanji for book.

Curtis (Got Rigid?) Rigid Maxi

A short clip of the famous Rigid Maxi in action:

Curtis (Got Rigid?) Rigid Maxi from gza710 on Vimeo.

Puch Swap Meet

In 2009, as I was cleaning out my garage, I decided to unload some extra Puch parts I had lying around.  So I posted an ad on Craigslist to see if there were any demand for these parts.  It was also a good excuse to find out if there were other "Puch Heads" still left on the island.  I knew a few people that still had their mopeds.  Curtis (aka GotRigid?*) still had his mopeds but was on indefinite hiatus from the scene.  I knew Gene (aka geners b*) recently bought my friend's rigid Maxi and Brian (aka butnut*) was working on his first Maxi customization.  Other than them, I felt like I was the only one keeping the Puch scene alive.  I was wrong.  I got a flood of inquires for the parts from people all over the island.  This got me excited to find out that there were still some Puch tuners out there.  So I figured, if there was such a high demand for these parts, why not get all of us together and we can have a Puch swap meet.  I posted a message to bring your parts and bikes on the various moped forums.  And the rest is history: (*Moped Army user names)

A Brief History Of Hawaii's Moped Scene

This is a brief history of Hawaii's moped scene told through my personal recollections, experiences, and stories throughout the years.  This post's perspective is bias towards Puch mopeds because that was the model I grew up with.

Back in the early 80's, Puch mopeds ruled the streets of Hawaii.  Puch riders used a lot of ingenuity to make their mopeds fast.  They would modify them by boring, porting, polishing, cutting, d-restricting, and re-gearing stock parts to gain as much speed out of them.  At least 50mph with just 49cc magnum bore cylinder with L-ring piston setup.  If they were running big bore kits, the only ones available were the 65cc Zeta or the 70cc Autista.  (Check out some pics from GotRigid?'s site of a Puch cruise back then.)  The Puch moped's closest competition was the Tracs, Tomos, and the Honda Express*.  (*A popular choice among neighborhood paperboys who for some reason always had the fastest bikes!!).