WARNING!!! ICE BEAR DRIVETRAIN PROBLEMS!!! By wildman (Read 20,627 times)

[wolfhound]

David, mine is out of warrenty. IBs warrenty is not the best I have seen. My dealer is a close
personal friend. He tried to talk me out of buying mine as he had had simular problems but
I bought it and learned a lesson. I run mine here on my place, mail box and back. and may put a gocart rear end on it. I envy you the mechanical abilities that I wish I had. It is still fun to ride now and then but my TGB Del.50 and my Tank Touring 150 give me much better and
trouble free servcice. I do tend to agree with your diagnosis.

[wildman]

wolfhound
I'll keep you all posted w/ pics & info as I proceed into it... If the new unit has 2 radial ball bearings on the output shaft we'll know this was an isolated problem, but if the new unit only has 1 radial ball bearing on the output shaft, that'll be a good indication that it's a design & or an engineering flaw...

David Sr.

[wolfhound]

Thanks, wildman. There has been such a long list of problems, minor and major, on my IB150-8 that I still tend to think that IB was put on the market with little quality control the first year.
Hopefully for the sake of other buyers, they have cleaned up their act for the 2010 and 2011
models.

[wildman]

OK Doc's
Here's some pics of my Left side Engine Case Warranty replacement... I opened the Final Drive unit to investigate as to whether or not it had 2 Radial Ball Bearings on the Final Output Shaft, & as I suspected the replacement unit only had 1 Radial Ball Bearing on the Final Drive Output Shaft, Cover end of Shaft (which as I said before is the reason I believe the finals drive unit blew apart on the BEAR)... So after investigating & inspecting the Final Drive Unit & Forward/ Reverse Gear Box Unit, I installed a second Japanese Open C3 #6004 Deep Groove Radial Ball Bearing into the Final Drive Unit for the Final Output Shaft... So now the Final Drive Unit has the same number of bearing & the same support for the shafts & gears as any GY6 two wheel Scooter engine.

Below is the Final Drive Exposed... Note Circled is the Final Drive Output Shaft & the missing Radial Ball Bearing...

Above is the Final Drive Exposed... Note Circled is the Final Output Shaft w/ a Radial Ball Bearing installed...

Tomorrow I'll split engine case from the BEAR & reassemble to the new Left Side Engine Case Replacement... Hopefully I'll get the BEAR back to life in a couple of days...

David Sr.

[rapidjim]

Nov 27, 2010 10:08:38 GMT -6 wolfhound said:

Thanks, wildman. There has been such a long list of problems, minor and major, on my IB150-8 that I still tend to think that IB was put on the market with little quality control the first year.
Hopefully for the sake of other buyers, they have cleaned up their act for the 2010 and 2011
models.

I tend to agree with you on the issue of putting the trike on the market to soon without extensive testing. I just became an IB dealer this year and in my opinion they have done better in this area from what I have read on previous problems. What drew me to IB was the 300cc trikes. With the 150's they admit it was a poor design, but instead of redesigning, they elected to remove the reverse gear for 2010 models. Now the 150 is light enough that reverse is not really needed. Hindsight is not always the best.

There was also a mention of warranty problems. Keep this in mind when talking about warranty issues. The warranty is only as good as the DEALER you buy from. IB does not deal directly with the end customer, that is what they rely on their dealers for. Just like Car manufactures, you deal with a dealer not the factory/distributor. We all know there is good and bad dealers out there. I personally have not had one issue with IB, including warranty parts for customers that bought their machine from another dealer. As I said in another thread, one of my first Magnums had a bent rear hub out of the crate. I called my rep and there was not one in stock in CA, however one was Fed Exed to me directly from the factory in China and they payed the shipping.

Jim/Owner
Rapid Repair

[Alleyoop]

Wildman,
VERY NICE!!! Good job my man, and yes that Bearing that you put in should of been there to begin with. Now I see what you meant about the missing bearing that could cause the problem you ran into. Hope to hear good news soon and the BLUE STREAK streaking again:)
Alleyoop

[wildman]

I'd bet that most if all the 150cc trikes w/ the forward/ reverse gear box are missing that radial ball bearing, because I believe it was purposely left out... I believe they figure it wasn't needed, because they probably figured the double needle bearings in the forward/ reverse drum gear would be enough support for the end of the final drive output shaft, but it's not because those needle bearing in the drum gear is only there to stabilize the end of the output shaft... I also believe this is the primary cause of the shuddering & jumping & also excessive vibrations...

Right now I'm splitting the original trike engine, just about ready to re assembling to the replacement case.. I thinking I'm going to install the Taiwanese 59mm bore kit...

Al
I forgot to tell you guys, when I re assembled the final drive unit I geared it up from 3 to 1 ratio to 2 1/4 to 1 gear ratio...

David Sr.

[Alleyoop]

David Sr.,
ALRIGHT!!! 2 1/4 what is that around 16/38. I was going to put in 16/37 gears this weekend but I caught a nasty cold and cough from a wake and funeral last Sunday and Monday. So as soon as I get better maybe during the week or next weekend I will put them in.
Alleyoop

[wildman]

Al
2 1/4 to 1 is 16/36... I've got a really, really tall set of gears coming, they're
1 15/16 to 1 or 18/35... I've been looking for 2 to 1 (18/36) to try, but haven't found any yet, so I'm trying the 18/35 for now... I'll probably try them in the Longbo because it's lighter then the BEAR... I think 18/35 will be to tall for the BEAR....

Well, I've got the BEAR'S bottom end back together, starting the top end now...

David Sr.

[Alleyoop]

David,
WOW! 18/35, what do you want to do 80MPH:) Great you are almost done putting the engine back and on the frame. I will take a guess and say you well have the Blue Streak up and running by tomorrow:)
Alleyoop

[wildman]

Al
80 mph would be nice, but that ain't happening!!!

No it's not in the frame yet... Earlier I put the bottom end together, after dinner I went to work on the top end (piston, bore, & up)... I think I decided to to stay w/ the original 57.4mm bore (150cc)... The rings are still in real good shape & bore looked good too... So that's what I put back on... I'll need to check the compression, but the last time I checked it it was 175 + lb., so if it's still near that I'll save the 59mm bore kit for a rainy day when it really needs it...

David Sr.

[wildman]

OK Doc's
The Big Bad Blue Bear is on the Prowl Once Again!!!!!! Got the final drive fixed, the engine assembled w/ left engine case replacement, & mounted back in the trike... 1:00 am got it fired up, first time it's been fired up in 6 months... Seem to be running real good, & tires turn in forward & reverse, that's a +... Hope to give it a test run in the PM between the rain drops...

David Sr.

[Alleyoop]

David Sr.,
That is FANTASTIC!!! Nice going, I knew you would get it up and running by today. Hope it goes well testing it out IN between the rain drops. Here it was raining all day, not heavy just real light rain. Let us know how the Taller Gears are and how much of an improvement on your top end.
Alleyoop

[rapidjim]

Good Job. Glad to hear it is back together. To bad your dealer didn't get the right parts to you the first time.

Let us know how it runs and if you can feel an improvement with the new bearing installed.

Jim

[wildman]

I don't know, looks like the only shot at a test run might only be between 4 - 6:00 pm , we've got flood watch for next couple of days... I could put some Styrofoam in the belly w/ flotation paddle tires ;D ;D... I don't know maybe I'll get brave, but I might melt if I get wet ;D ;D...

David Sr.