I know it's all about the looks ( which I love ) but has anyone had any experience with these bikes? I've seen only a couple of reviews.
Michael Blast Greaser
- Thread starter AshleyBrayson
- Start date
I really like the look of them, first time I've heard of them though!
Resurrecting an old thread with my first post. I just bought a second hand greaser and it certainly attracts some attention. I fitted a 52 volt battery and 30 amp KT controller with a KT03 lcd display to give it a bit more grunt. This is an early example, notice it has two 100mm bottom brackets, there is only one on the newer models.
Being an early import it came with a Wuxing 76X left hand half twist throttle and a 500 watt bafang geared motor with 135mm drop out. It was restricted to around 20mph with an integrated controller in a hailong battery holder, which I think was Lishui and a 36 volt battery. It also had a basic display called “good times” which didn’t allow me to change any of the P and C settings. It has Tektro single pot hydraulic brakes 180mm front, 160mm rear which are adequate for the weight and they were set up American style with front on the left and rear on the right. There aren’t any brake switches fitted.
I built the new battery box and the new controller is mounted on an aluminium plate inside the fuel tank where the old battery used to sit together with all of the wiring, so it has a clean look. The rear rack and panniers are not Michael Blast accessories, but put on by the previous owner and I think they suit the image of the bike very well, so I’m going to leave them on.
The rear spokes need some attention because the rear wheel is a bit wobbly and they probably haven’t been tightened since new. I’m going to open up the motor to check the plastic drive wheels and I’m thinking about oil cooling the motor with automatic transmission fluid, but haven’t made up my mind on that modification yet.
I feel like I need to dress for the occasion when I ride it. So a new period style bike helmet is required and I’ll have to dig out my old leather jacket from the back of the wardrobe.
It’s definitely only a tarmac bike. It rides lovely on the road and the saddle is very comfy. But when I took it on a gravel track that huge aluminium frame was bone shaking and didn’t handle at all well off road. The down turned handlebars means the riding position is not efficient, but I tried them up turned and the bike just didn’t look right. And it’s all about the looks.
Bumblebee bikes are currently doing good deals on new 250 watt Greasers with springer forks. I am assuming the new bikes don’t have throttles to comply with the latest version of UK law. My bike is Hunter Green, but my favourite is Indian Red.
.
Being an early import it came with a Wuxing 76X left hand half twist throttle and a 500 watt bafang geared motor with 135mm drop out. It was restricted to around 20mph with an integrated controller in a hailong battery holder, which I think was Lishui and a 36 volt battery. It also had a basic display called “good times” which didn’t allow me to change any of the P and C settings. It has Tektro single pot hydraulic brakes 180mm front, 160mm rear which are adequate for the weight and they were set up American style with front on the left and rear on the right. There aren’t any brake switches fitted.
I built the new battery box and the new controller is mounted on an aluminium plate inside the fuel tank where the old battery used to sit together with all of the wiring, so it has a clean look. The rear rack and panniers are not Michael Blast accessories, but put on by the previous owner and I think they suit the image of the bike very well, so I’m going to leave them on.
The rear spokes need some attention because the rear wheel is a bit wobbly and they probably haven’t been tightened since new. I’m going to open up the motor to check the plastic drive wheels and I’m thinking about oil cooling the motor with automatic transmission fluid, but haven’t made up my mind on that modification yet.
I feel like I need to dress for the occasion when I ride it. So a new period style bike helmet is required and I’ll have to dig out my old leather jacket from the back of the wardrobe.
It’s definitely only a tarmac bike. It rides lovely on the road and the saddle is very comfy. But when I took it on a gravel track that huge aluminium frame was bone shaking and didn’t handle at all well off road. The down turned handlebars means the riding position is not efficient, but I tried them up turned and the bike just didn’t look right. And it’s all about the looks.
Bumblebee bikes are currently doing good deals on new 250 watt Greasers with springer forks. I am assuming the new bikes don’t have throttles to comply with the latest version of UK law. My bike is Hunter Green, but my favourite is Indian Red.
.
Last edited:
The motor is a BFSWX02 (10) with a 7 speed freewheel. The date marked on the circuit board is 27th May 2015. I stripped it down today for an inspection to see what condition it is in and was pleased to find it looked as good as new with no apparent wear on the planet gears. So it’s going back together as it is. I have decided against drilling through the disk brake holes to oil cool it. I’m not sure it’s necessary, but time will tell.
Last edited:
Not much grease on the sun gear and planetary gears, as it is apart worthwhile giving it a slap of more grease. It will even run a bit quieter.
I fitted an extension lead for the charger and a 125v ac marine switch to power off the controller so I don’t need to keep removing the cover to charge the battery. I’m currently looking for an appropriate bung to put over the end of the XLR connector. I used the hole that was for the original battery charger connector to mount the switch, so I didn’t need to drill an additional hole in the battery cover.
Last edited:
I would be tempted to give the battery better support. Unless you know the detail of what is inside the blue shrinkwrap, best to assume not much cell support, in which case it may be mostly the cell interconnections taking the loads when going over bumps.
Either fill the gap underneath or add a full length shelf of sufficient stiffness to take the load off the battery pack. Support just at the ends of about 5kg of battery is not ideal!
I've owned a Greaser 'S' (Springer front fork) for about a year now. Nice bike - lots of fun to ride and a real head turner. However, I noticed the front disc brake was getting increasingly noisy, and cleaning it and centring the caliper etc didn't help. Eventually I noticed that the rotor had been put on the wrong way round at assembly, and was contra-rotating to the direction arrow! Rotor now on the correct way round!
Picture of her last summer:
Picture of her last summer:
Related Articles
-
MTF Enterprises announces acquisition of EMU Electric Bikes- Started by: Pedelecs
-
Wisper 806T folding bike wins Which? ‘Best Buy’- Started by: Pedelecs
-
Sustrans calls for protected cycle lanes- Started by: Pedelecs
-
Amazon launch their first UK e-cargo micromobility hub- Started by: Pedelecs
