How to Fix a Broken Minimoto or PocketBike

No matter the age, maintenance or style of bike you choose, sooner or later you'll find that you need some support or advice. We are happy to offer our owners technical support via our fantastic website POCKETBIKE MANUAL highlighted below, for owners bikes, no matter which model they choose. In the first instance, please visit the site your question, or query, and we'll try to help you as soon as we can.

The following list are common question owners have when owning and riding their bikes. Although we offer these tried and tested solutions to the common problems, we cannot be held responsible for any work/alterations you carry out to your bike. We also highly recommend that you visit the POCKETBIKE MANUAL, which can also offer you invaluable advice.

Common questions

I need a helmet for my Pocketbike
My front pinion (chain sprocket) has sheared
My bike is very difficult to start or wont start at all
My pull starter has broken / spring has come out
My back wheel wont turn
My bike keeps cutting out
Can I improve the performance of my bike for racing
Where can I get parts and spares for my bike
Can I buy different decal (graphics) sticker packs from for my bike
What oil should I be using
I've lost my manual, and I need to fix my pocket bike, can I get another one? POCKETBOOK MANUAL,

A. This is usually caused by one of three things, over reving with the brake on, chain too tight/loose or rear wheel mis-aligned. Firstly, you will need to purchase a new pinion, either the 6 tooth stock pinion which comes with the bike or a 7,8 or 9 tooth racing pinion. Take a look at our parts section. To replace the pinion follow these steps.

You undo the outer chain guard case of the pinion cover and remove. Put a large screwdriver or rod into the hole in the clutch drum at an angle, this catches the holes in the inner drum to ensure the clutch doesn't spin and turn the bike over! Normally, you would remove a 6 tooth pinion out of the bell housing by unscrewing it anti-clockwise using a 14mm sprocket.

If you can't get hold of the sheared pinion with pliers to unscrew it, this needs to be very very carefully drilled out using a small bore metal drill, don't touch the edges/sides as you'll damage the screw threads . Once removed this part, simply screw in the new pinion in clockwise using a socket wrench.

Mini Pocket Bike / Atv Quad / Mini Dirt Bike Performance 7 Tooth Pinion Gear / Clutch Drum 47cc 49cc

A. There are several reasons why your bike may not start, the following should help.

Occasionally, a bike straight from the factory can be a little hard to start, this is mainly because the carburettor is dry (i.e. has no fuel) and residual oil has built up around the bottom of the spark plug/cylinder or the spark plug gap is incorrectly set at the factory. Don't worry, its a new bike and these things are sent to try us all.

1. Ensure that the fuel mix is correct 30:1 to run in (or following the manual ratio period)) then once you've used up 5 or 6 tank fulls you can move to a 40:1 or even 50:1 ratio.

2. The white fuel valve, on the right hand side of the bike on the fuel pipe, should be turned to the upright position and the fuel pipe leading from the tank to the engine should be free from kinks or blockages.

3. The choke lever (on the right of the drivers side beside the white valve) is set to upright position (this may differ from the manual)

4. Next use a flat screwdriver to rotate the carb screw valve (on the left of the bike, with the spring on it) which should be screwed right in THEN outwards 3 or 4 half turns to ensure its not too far out.

5. Whilst pulling the manual start, rotate the throttle about a quarter/half of its full rotation, repeat until the bike starts.

If it still wont start adjust the screw valve a little more and repeat step 5 again.....top

!! MY BIKE STILL WONT START !!

Next check the spark plug.
6. Firstly make sure its screwed into the bike correctly and that the plug lead is plugged in correctly (you may need to carefully remove the plastic fairing to do this). There is also a sping attachment inside the rubber cover on the lead that occasionally isn't a snug fit and needs a bit of coaxing onto the top of the spark plug. Check these areas then try to start the bike again following step 5.

7. Next you will need to remove the spark plug. To check it is sparking (otherwise it wont ignite the fuel in the cylinder), hold the plug next to the metal frame of the bike, make sure the electrical lead is still firmly attached to the plug then pull the starter. You should see a spark. Next check the plug gap with feeler guages. The plug gap should ideally be between 0.6 - 0.8 mm. As for the spark plug itself, we recommend NGK spark plugs, either B9ES (with a longer thread) or B7HS (shorter thread) for normal use. BR9EIX (longer thread) or B7HS-10 (shorter thread) for competition riding.

8a. If you do see a spark, then the plug is ok, pour about 5 or 6 ml of fuel into the cylinder (where the spark plug goes) then quickly re-attach the plug to the bike, ensure the lead is plugged in and repeat step 5.

8b. If there was no spark, dry off the plug incase of dampness (WD40 is good), try altering the plug gap width and if that fails replace the spark plug wih a new one. Pour about 5 or 6 ml of fuel into the cylinder (where the spark plug goes) then quickly re-attach the plug to the bike, ensure the lead is plugged in and repeat step 5.

Following these steps will get the bike going - remember it is a cold start or maybe a brand new bike, it will need to be run in as per the manual

Mini Pocket Bike / ATV Metal Pull Start 49cc PULLSTART

A. The sping is certainly a tough nut to crack but not TOO tough! Here's how you do it.

Undo the starter and remove. Then undo the inner workings of the starter, remove pawl, bolt, spring and washers (remembering sequence that they came out though!) and carefully put to one side.

Starting with the straightest part of the spring, hold the white inner pull start disc, place the 'bent' tab of the sping into the slot on the white disc and start to coil anti-clockwise. The spring is very strong and will need both hands to keep in place, using your thumbs as a guide. Keep coiling the spring anti-clockwise whilst turning the disc clockwise. Eventually the spring will be set back inside the white disc.

Re-attach and tie the cord to the disc with the cord going through the hole on the pull start housing and make sure that the other end of the cord is tied to the plastic 'T' pull handle.

Wind the cord around the plastic disc in an anti-clockwise direction. Place the white disc onto the spiggot in the houseing, replace the spring, washers and screw in the bolt.

Twist the disc until the slack is taken up, the pull start should now work.

** If all this fails or you would like to buy a new pull start, we have them available on our parts page following the link below

Mini Pocket Bike / ATV Metal Pull Start 49cc PULLSTART

A. Does the back wheel turn if you just push the bike?

If it doesn't then something has either seized (ouch) or the front pinion has twisted/sheared and lodged the chain stick in the front bell housing.

If the wheel does turn, then it is probably one of two things.

Firstly does the bike start OK, idles OK and revs well? If not it may be that the fuel/air mix is incorrectly set and the bike doesn't have enough revs to engage the clutch. See here for adjusting the idle/fuel mix.

If the bike starts OK, idles OK and revs well but has no movement then it sounds like its a clutch problem. The clutch on these bikes is centrifugal which meens it only engages (i.e. turns the wheel) at high revs. You will need to either adjust the clutch, replace a broken clutch spring, or replace the clutch all together.

To see the clutch, and identify the problem, remove the chain guard, then loosen the chain and remove from the sprocket/pinion. Then loosen the clutch housing and remove it together with the clutch bell housing. You will be able to the the three clutch springs and three clutch shoes.

A. This is usually a maintenance problem and down poor fuel mixture and/or a faulty spark plug. Remove the spark plug and check for discolouration of the plug end. if it is brown, black or heavily deposited, replace it with a new one. When replacing the plug ensure that the plug gap width is set to .2 or .3 of a mm, make sure the spark plug is firmly screwed into the bike correctly and that the plug lead is plugged in correctly (you may need to carefully remove the plastic fairing to do this). There is also a spring attachment inside the rubber cover on the lead that occasionally isn't a snug fit and needs a bit of coaxing onto the top of the spark plug.

Also, Sometimes a vacuum in the fuel tank causes little/no fuel to enter the chamber. Just dont screw the fuel cap on TOO TIGHTLY.

A. You most certainly can. You can add carbon reeds, order extra sprockets, racing clutch springs, improved grips, carbs and a lot more

Pocket Bike Performance Parts, Click Here.

A. There are a wide variety of pocketbike spares available to you. For more advice, we recommend the POCKETBOOK MANUAL website.

Pocket Bike Performance Parts, Click Here

A. If you want to go for something a little different, we can print vinyl decals for your mini moto to any style, wording or pattern you might like.

If you want lettering on your bike Click here to order stick on vinyl lettering for a quotation

A range of alternative graphics decal sticker packs, at excellent prices, For Epic Decals, Click Here

A. You need to use a 2 stroke fully synthetic oil, this will provide good lubrication and less wear to your spark plug, housing etc and make your bike easier to start.Initially you should use a 25:1 mix of fuel to oil. Once you've used up 5 or 6 tank fulls you can move to a 40:1 or even 50:1 ratio

WoodlandPRO Synthetic 2-Cycle Engine Oil Mix (6.4 oz. Bottle), the Perfect oil for your Pocket Bike, Click Here