Wednesday, April 15th

So close! Eli and I went straight to the garage after class this morning with a sense of determination. Because he is leaving for college visits tomorrow, Eli and I really wanted to finish the bike today. When we arrived, we observed how much progress we had made yesterday. Almost immediately after we arrived, Patrick sent us to the store to get a few things. First, we needed a new screw for the chain cover. As we said yesterday, one particular screw was extremely hard to take off. We eventually did, but stripped the screw so we needed a new one. We also needed a new brake line, because the original brake line was sitting right where we planned to mount the gas tank. So, we went to Pep Boys first in search of a new screw, which we found with ease. Then we headed to Atlanta Cycling, where we asked for a new brake line, which was given to us. We then headed back to the shop to hopefully finish the bike.
Once at the shop, we went to work screwing in the brand new screw, which didn't take long. We then spent some time measuring how long to make the brake and attaching it. Once we had the brake on and made sure the brake was fully operational, we installed a chain guard, which covers the chain linked to the sprocket we installed yesterday. We then installed the "Kill Switch". This device is basically an ignition for the bike. It has a button you push to turn the motor on and off. To install this, we had to measure out on the actual handlebars of the bike and drill a hole to install it in. We then had to attach the throttle to the kill switch in order to make the bike move. Once this was done, we had to run a cord from the kill switch into the carburetor. This was like surgery, as the parts inside the carburetor are extremely fragile and small. With the throttle line installed, we then needed to figure out where a few more cords from the kill switch went. These wires are what send electrical signals to the motor. After some tinkering and research, we figured out what wire went where. Next was the installation of the muffler, which was a bit problematic. Once we installed it, we realized it blocked the pedal from moving, as it is located under the bike. So, we had to bend the muffler into place with brute force, which we eventually did. With the muffler installed, we now needed to do some touching up. There were wires from brakes and kill switches everywhere. So, our trusty friend, zip tie, came to the rescue. However, we did encounter a slight problem with the clutch line connected to the bike. Unlike the other wires, which we could bend and form to the bike, the clutch line had to remain straight. This was because it is a pressure oriented wire. Basically, if we bent it, the clutch would not do its job. So, we spent time figuring out what to do. Patrick helped us out by telling us we needed to cut it to where it was short enough that it wasn't in the way. After careful measurements, we cut the clutch line and tied it to the bike. We are ready to go!
Eli and I decided to wait to put fuel into it until we meet next after his college visits. We are both so surprised at how hard we worked, and how much easier the gas powered motor was to install versus the electric one. We think this is because we pretty much understood how bikes worked by the time we got around to the gas powered bike. It feels so good to finally have what we wanted, two motor bikes. Granted, we may not yet have a gas powered bike, as we have not put some fuel into it to test it. Hopefully it works!