Massimo/MudStar MB200S review/ugrades

LIVIT

Well-Known Member
Got the new swingarm mounted. Got tire aligned right. But still having chain alignment issues. In first pic that's with engine mounted in engine plate holes. 2nd pic shows engine moved to left around 9/16". The frame is not bent, it's actually surprisingly very straight. Problem is, either the engine plate slots were drilled off or the plate was welded wrong. What really pisses me off. Whoever assembled it new this, so they tried to compensate by bending the swingarm, putting axle in a angle with a bind, bent rim etc... so wth Massimo. I'm already talking with their tech supervisor etc.... Dayum it, I want to ride it. I don't have a welder and not very knowledgable in that yet. I could drill holes in engine plate, but don't really like that idea much. Will update again.
 

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f4radar

Well-Known Member
I don't know, it kinda looks like the right side axle could be adjusted back a little further to line that sprocket up a little better.
 

LIVIT

Well-Known Member
I don't know, it kinda looks like the right side axle could be adjusted back a little further to line that sprocket up a little better.
With the engine mounted on engine plate,. in order to get even close to being right, I have to pull drum side all the way back and push sprocket side all the way forward and it's still out of alignment. Doing this gives me no chain adjustment, puts brakes on a bind etc... 2nd pic I moved engine over off engine mount about 9/16" and yeah I did not have it perfectly square for sure. But it shows what the issue is. I know trying to get a good idea of what I'm talking about is hard with just those pics. But as always appreciate help and input brother.

Update: Massimo head tech called me. They're talking sending me a whole new frame. So the "Mini Series" continues !
 
Whoa i said the "Ultimate Lemon bike" it is sad i was more right than i envisioned ....... I can see how the plate might have been reversed before welding and in an attempt to cover it up your swing arm was "adjusted" to compensate ,it seems you got the "one off" since no one else has had this problem (admittedly small sample size ) and it happened in .....China as i said before .
The Zerk fitting i am glad to hear is worth it , now i just have to dig out a 1/16" pipe tap ,see i i have a Zerk laying around and do it .

LIVIT ,
For $700 from TSC you can get a https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/hobart-handler-140-mig-wire-welder 120V 15 Amp plug in
it comes with the gas shield system built in and you do not need to use the gas it handles .035" Flux Core/Inner Shield wire just fine , the caveat is get several packs of copper contact tips for it !! Flux core wire being tubular with the flux inside has a habit of "bubbling" in the contact tip jamming it (usually ) un recover-ably from time to time requiring a new tip !
I have run cheaper MIG machines and you get what you pay for !!!
The Hobart is worth the money !!!! Top quality and Far better than the cheap ones trust me on this ......
Get one and some scrap steel to work with ,start with lap welds on flat bar and break them apart so you can see the penetration of the welds .....


The learning curve is not that great !! Watch the puddle of molten metal and work the stinger in small circles rather than just a straight line , you want an even outside edge (toe`s) and a slightly concave middle on 1/4" flat bar ,on tubing chamfer the edges with a little flat cut surface left and straight run with the stinger ,it will leave a raised center you just grind flat .... Poke a hole thru no biggie just fill in using short "bursts " around the edges and it will fill in !!

I cut a VW bus apart for the trans axle to build a Trike for my father used a 83` Honda CB 1000C bike for the front end and oh what a gem i built 6' wide 13' long 1378 Lb with him on it !
He was about your size and when he stepped on the running board it did not Lean like the Bug trans axle Trikes do . A heavy wall Sq 2" x 2" tube frame all welded by a Hobart 135 Flux Core welder ,took me 9 month to to cut up and build , rig and wire before it was sent to a Master sheet smith for the polished diamond plate alum skin OMG !! A 4' x 4' bed on the back ,a tapered sloped storage box , an up right racing fiberglass racing seat on a pedestal with storage under it (flip forward) and a socket-ed inline second seat over the top of the storage box !! He dubbed it the Silver Gator and every trike concours he went to it took top prize !! OHH I wish i had pictures to post !!!!!! He did the entire "Dragon " in second gear while the Bugs were shifting madly up and down !!
Every single joint was bend miter cut with a Porter Cable Portaband saw (flood did not kill that baby !! ) over 40 yr old :D !! This was before 4" angle grinder cutoff wheels ......... All welded with a Hobart 135 and .035" Flux Core wire ......
He died on that trike a massive heart attack and went off a 70' cliff outside Murphy NC , he was found half way down , the bike in the creek at the bottom upside down ! The only damage was the font forks bent under the front bending the diamond plate cap and one rear fender with a slight kink and the diamond plate tool box on it slightly crushed ....... I have it here and the frame is still straight and true .








 
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LIVIT

Well-Known Member
I for sure got the ultimate "Lemon" I did find out yesterday that the CS person that told me they assembled them there, was mistaken. Massimo assembles their 4wheelers and side by sides but not the minis. So understand CS being mistaken. This made me feel somewhat better. The powers that be at Massimo, are aware and following the youtube vids I'm in collaboration with my friend on. Also this thread and our new Facebook forum. I have not blown them up on the other social media platforms, but they are aware of how detrimental all this could be, if I so choose. I feel they are sincere in truly wanting to get my situation resolved.

Once I actually have it up and running. I will start doing other upgrades. I will look at putting bearings in the swingarm, along with zerk (grease fittings) even the high dollar TM do not have bearings in their swingarms and it's another upgrade needed on them. I will be putting a zerk fitting on the TAV driven shaft, near bearing support. 12" heavy duty shocks with adjustable pre load. I'm also doing a performance upgrade to the Wildcat 223 I'm using.

In about a month my Surf and Bank fishing Guide service biz will be getting busy and the cash flow from it is going into building a nice shop. After that I will start looking at getting a rod welder, but it for sure will not be anything costing me $700 !!! Enough on that off topic stuff.
 
I finally found the the PM function and will use it hence forth for off topic !! Sorry guys :eek: !! If i could go back and edit out the off topic i would without hesitation ..............

I like the idea of swing arm bearings , it has been a while since i pulled apart the Comet TAV2 back plate and i do not have the clone yet so i wonder if the bearings are far enough apart to make a Zerk useful . But i can see the wisdom of greasing Chinese bearings ,any one care to enlighten me about the clone driven shaft bearing spacing ?

I see the idea of longer shocks has grown on you what changed your mind or are you going to change the mounting points on the frame ,if you care to share .
 
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LIVIT

Well-Known Member
As I previously posted "standard size is 11"-12" " so my mind has not changed. With an adjustable preload, I will be able to adjust most of the spring suppression from my weight out. So not really expecting any other change. Other than the rear squat from spring suppression.
 
Then why did you have doubt`s with these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09HTVWGKW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 ? I measured the stock shocks Installed on the bike and came up with 10.5" from center to center of the mounting bolts , the above referenced shocks are 12.6 " center to center Unloaded , a change of + 2.1" from the stock ones Loaded but at the approximate 45 degree angle of the shock mounting , the change of the lift is about +1" in the frame geometry and far less than the previously calculated 2.4 degrees of rake change , it now is .95 degrees of change in front end rake angle . And yes i made a mistake in my calculations in the first place by using the shock length at a 90 degree angle in that calculation not the approx 45 degree angle of the shock mounting ........ I am not getting on your case or trying to be a smart a$$ ,i am just curious that is all .
 
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LIVIT

Well-Known Member
I'm not going to read back thru all the posts to find it. But I do recall you saying something about them being 13.5". I could easily be mistaken. It don't matter, if they were that length. I did post that the swingarm to chain geometry with the stock shocks or upgraded longer shocks was not going to be an issue. The only issue I do see, is if you go to a much smaller sprocket than the stock 50T then your going to have chain clearance issues around swingarm. Now after looking at them, I personally would not want air shocks. But that's a personal choice. Moving on !!

Massimo is suppose to be shipping me a new frame today per call I got from my CS agent today. I do regret being stubborn and insisting on parts. I could of probably had this resolved awhile ago, if I had just gone with getting a whole new bike, Lesson learned !!!
 
Stubbornness has it`s merits i deal two such on a daily basis :D.
Glad they are shipping the frame to you !

I got a nice surprise the lift plate from Hent ,i ordered the raw finish and they sent me the painted one ! It is quite well made ,i am glad you suggested it , it is definitely high quality work . But now i have to clearance the foot rest bar and screw up the paint , laughing manically with angle grinder in hand or just go at it with the the band saw and finish with car color touch up brush on .

TAV arrived and checked , mine has a spacer bushing that covers the seals of the bearings with clearance for the shaft but i guess it will not hurt to drill thru and put in a Zerk any way ,if it will not take grease i will know the spacer has shifted or pull a bearing ,the inner seals and groove the bushing All around to the hole and notch the ends of the bushing then never worry about it .
Yellow spring for driven (came with a red) check . The list is getting smaller ... 9T sprocket ,60T and two packs of chain to go ......Then the work really starts .
The reason i went for the air shocks and that specific set is that i can adjust them "infinitely " , let all the air out and run just the springs or i can remove the springs and run totally on the air pre load i set . With a total lack of padding on my skinny butt it will make a difference !
 
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I checked mine and it has the welded mount .
I just checked pics on TSC for the MB200S and in that picture the guard mount is flat bar bolted to the arm at the inset nut in the arm on the frame and then bolted to the chain guard so it could shift back and forth in theory and the bolt fall out ..... The welded mount is a better solution being immovable and cheaper to do , cost of weld vs cost of threaded insert and extra bolt . They took the bolt flat bar and bent the end and welded it to the top of the arm saving maybe $1.............
1674268777708.png
Which is the new arm ?
 
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LIVIT

Well-Known Member
Finally got my "new" frame yesterday. Box was undamaged, and it had enough bubble wrap around frame that it would of taken a lot to damage it, so with that being said. The frame is damaged ! Bent foot peg mount, foot or tire print on motor plate, paint gouged away to bare metal. This damage has all the appearances of having been done intentionally. You would think with all the issues I've patiently dealt with, that I would of gotten an undamaged in anyway frame. Depending on what Management at Massimo has to say to me today. I may be done with this one !
 

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I know you are getting frustrated Dale.

One would think, in the interest of quality control, inventory management, and space management, that once built and painted, these frames would be stored neatly by hanging somehow.

After seeing your new frame, and not knowing the conditions in their factory in China, or if even same location as built, it makes me wonder if they had the frames stored 'all piled up', or stacked on top of one another, like in a container.
 

LIVIT

Well-Known Member
I was told it was taken off a new crated bike at Massimo. Frustrated is putting it mildly my friend. VP at Massimo is suppose to contact me Monday. We shall see, where it goes from here. The only positives so far, the CS rep has done their best to make this right. The engine is a good one it seems. But currently, I cannot suggest anyone buying a MB200S, the QC at manufacturer is terribly lacking. Someone at Massimo I feel did not care or purposely sabotaged my new frame. I think it appears to of been purposely damaged.
 
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