Got my DIY kit and things went smoothly putting it together but whenever i try to start it up the chain tensioner keeps on bending into the spokes and stopping everything. I have taken off the back tire and trued it up and all is good. Does anybody have any idea what to do about this?, I have thought about drilling a hole trhough the middle of the chain tensioner and through the frame and putting a bolt in it but I will save that for a last resort, also has anyone not even used the chain tensioner, just get the bike chain and engine chain at equal lengths and let it go that way?

Do you have the tensioner cranked down nice and tight onto the chainstay? Looking down from the top, is the tensioner aligned with the path of the chain, and is it at a perpendicular angle to the ground? It almost sounds like it's at an angle, and the burst of tension from the motor kicking in is pulling it out of place and into the spokes. Speaking of which, you have to be careful if that happens, you can end up having to re-spoke or buy a new wheel if that happens at speed.

put a sheetmetal screw thru the tentioner brkt and frame because nomatter how tight you tighten those brkt bolts it still moves.i eliminated my tensioner pully and my bike never ran better but i dont recomend it its hard to do.

Make sure the tensioner roller is aligned with the chain, use pliers or a pipe wrench to tweak it as needed.

Until recently, I have never had to "pin" a tensioner....I did on my latest bike just to try it.

Finally- DON'T OVERTIGHTEN THE CHAIN!!!!!
1/2"-3/4" freeplay will work nicely.

You can put pennies between the tension roller clamp and the frame bar. It takes a total of four (4); two (2) on each side of the bar. As you tighten up the clamp the pennies will bend and dig into the frame material preventing any rotation.

Also, removing the chain tensioner increases the efficiency of the drive system tremendously. "Sometimes" this can be accomplished as easily as changing the rear sproket and changing the angle of the engine mounting in the frame. Keep in mind that the chain will stretch as it breaks in.

One last note....make sure the chain is tight enough. You can run a some what slack chain up to about 20-25 mph, but if get up to 35-40 mph you'll likely lose the chain.

Just my 4 cents worth

I have never lost a chain or had any problems with the 3/4" of slack...the only thing I lost was half the noise and all the tensioner hassles.

I like the penny idea, I have always used cupped washers, think I'll give the pennies a shot on the next one.

hey, if i have the time and patience, overall would you suggest just not using the chain tensioner at all?

No- the chain will loosen, some a LOT and unless you like removing links/adding half links, ect, the best way to go is set up the tensioner right or use the skate wheel mod and use it.

Bikeguy Joe, could you please describe the skate wheel mod? I've been thinking about putting one on, and wanted to get some more info/tips about it.

I used a 1" x 5/16" bolt, a nut and some washers. (you will need to match the bolt to the bearing s you use, some may be different size.) I took the old tensioner roller off, and put the skate wheel on. You install it with red loctite and make the nut and bolt finger tight, just enough to capture the bearings, but not enough to bind them. The new roller sits at the bottom of the "adjustment range".

I then modified the tensioner by drilling four holes in the side where it goes on the frame (chainstay) and put a self tapping screw in the side of the whole works.

The chain is adjusted by sliding the tensioner toward the rear.

Has anyone had problems with the chain riding up and not wanting to mesh with the sprocket teeth. I may have a little alignment issue to work on, but read somewhere that you can file the edges of the teeth to help with engagment. Has anyone tried this ?

Also, is the sprocket supposed to be flat or slightly dish shaped.
The one I received is flat, which brings the chain real close to the side of the tire.