Sachs Saxonette Luxus

Quoted message said:

Anyone use or know someone that uses one of these ?
Interested to know some of the pro's & cons of such a
bike. Suggestions of webs sites that feature reviews,
comment or trip reports using the above also most welcome

I'll try to make general comments, not being a Sachs owner,
but as someone 'reasonably satisfied' with Rotary's DIY
petrol engine. From the looks of web-searching, the two
engines appear very simular.

Try not to do much heavy riding for the first 700 kms or so
while the engine is being run-in, and you gain experience
fixing problems as they come.

Replacing a flat rear wheel is a chore, at least in
comparison to other bikes with quick-release hubs.. "Mr Tuffy"-
type tire liners are a _must_. On long-ride days in hot
weather, I've managed to have the rear tire tube /melt/ on
me-- so good tubes are an idea, too. Often, breaking the
chain will be necessary to get enough access to the wheel
and/or motor.

Note that thanks to the engine, it weighs over twice as much
as a typical bike: 30 kgs.

Don't expect great acceleration out of the engine, however
it does keep its speed well. When my engine was fully run-in
(about 1400 kms), it could manage an extended-period crusing
speed of 27-29 km/h on flats. (The Rotary clutch, at least,
hates being pushed at 30 or above. Of course freewheeling
faster than that is fine.)

I've managed about 200 kms per day of touring-type travel
on a fully-loaded bike camping tour. (That was pushing
human endurance a little, though. I'm _glad_ I bought a
decent seat. 🙂

Don't ever use petrol-station 2-stroke. Thanks to the
advice of a local Go-Kart/Rotary mechanic, I used
"Repsol" 2T Standard as the 1:50 fuel oil for the first
1000 kilometres. Afterwards, we moved to using Repsol's
2T "Sintetico"/Synthetic in a 1:60-70. After 3000 kms,
the engine runs _smooth_, starts are usually only one or
two pulls, and I've not noticed a single cylinder-
related problem.

Fuel consumption is no where near the proported 125
kms/litre as Rotary claims. I've only seen about 70
kms/litre.

I always carry a 1 litre water bottle with emergency fuel.
It's the underslung bottle in this picture: hunter.a-hunter.a-Open ↗
pana.org.au/~cjb/Image/Bike/battery_ubolt.jpg

Starter rip-cords break. As a replacement, I've been able to
use regular lawn-mower cord from a hardware store. The fix
can be done 'on the side of the road' if you have the tools.
If the Sachs mechanism is anything like the Rotary, be
_very_ careful the spring doesn't jump out-- or you'll spend
2 hours trying to rewind the thing...

It's mostly the older guys, often European immigrants, who
will come up to you and ask about the bike. P-licence-
platers seemingly harass you less from a normal cyclist
experience. And everyone uses the word "cheat!" :-)

Since November, I've done about 3000 kms in commuting,
touring, and camping. A bit over a month ago I went on a Newcastle->Taree-

Quoted message said:

Glouster->Armidale->Glouster->Newcastle ride. All up, it

was 5 days of riding time, 40 hours of bum-on-seat, and
covered about 1100 kms. I even managed to bump into aus.bike
old-timer Linze while in Armidale. I did keep a journal and
had a digital camera with
me... I've just been slack writing up a report. 🙂

--
Chris

Hey Chris Thanks for details msg. I'll take your points on-
board. Keep on cheating ! Cheers Ian

"Chris Baird" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Anyone use or know someone that uses one of these ?
Interested to
know some of the pro's & cons of such a bike.
Suggestions of webs sites that feature reviews, comment
or trip reports using the above also most welcome

I'll try to make general comments, not being a Sachs
owner, but as someone 'reasonably satisfied' with Rotary's
DIY petrol engine. From the looks of web-searching, the
two engines appear very simular.

Try not to do much heavy riding for the first 700 kms or
so while the engine is being run-in, and you gain
experience fixing problems as they come.

Replacing a flat rear wheel is a chore, at least in
comparison to other bikes with quick-release hubs.. "Mr
Tuffy"-type tire liners are a _must_. On long-ride days in
hot weather, I've managed to have the rear tire tube
/melt/ on me-- so good tubes are an idea, too. Often,
breaking the chain will be necessary to get enough access
to the wheel and/or motor.

Note that thanks to the engine, it weighs over twice as
much as a typical bike: 30 kgs.

Don't expect great acceleration out of the engine, however
it does keep its speed well. When my engine was fully run-
in (about 1400 kms), it could manage an extended-period
crusing speed of 27-29 km/h on flats. (The Rotary clutch,
at least, hates being pushed at 30 or above. Of course
freewheeling faster than that is fine.)

I've managed about 200 kms per day of touring-type travel
on a fully-loaded bike camping tour. (That was pushing
human endurance a little, though. I'm _glad_ I bought a
decent seat. 🙂

Don't ever use petrol-station 2-stroke. Thanks to the
advice of a local Go-Kart/Rotary mechanic, I used "Repsol"
2T Standard as the 1:50 fuel oil for the first 1000
kilometres. Afterwards, we moved to using Repsol's 2T
"Sintetico"/Synthetic in a 1:60-70. After 3000 kms, the
engine runs _smooth_, starts are usually only one or two
pulls, and I've not noticed a single cylinder-related
problem.

Fuel consumption is no where near the proported 125
kms/litre as Rotary claims. I've only seen about 70
kms/litre.

I always carry a 1 litre water bottle with emergency fuel.
It's the underslung bottle in this picture: hunter-hunter-Open ↗
.apana.org.au/~cjb/Image/Bike/battery_ubolt.jpg

Starter rip-cords break. As a replacement, I've been able
to use regular lawn-mower cord from a hardware store. The
fix can be done 'on the side of the road' if you have the
tools. If the Sachs mechanism is anything like the Rotary,
be _very_ careful the spring doesn't jump out-- or you'll
spend 2 hours trying to rewind the thing...

It's mostly the older guys, often European immigrants, who
will come up to you and ask about the bike. P-licence-
platers seemingly harass you less from a normal cyclist
experience. And everyone uses the word "cheat!" :-)

Since November, I've done about 3000 kms in commuting,
touring, and camping. A bit over a month ago I went on a
Newcastle->Taree-> Glouster->Armidale->Glouster->Newcastle
ride. All up, it was 5 days of riding time, 40 hours of
bum-on-seat, and covered about 1100 kms. I even managed to
bump into aus.bike old-timer Linze while in Armidale. I
did keep a journal and had a digital camera with
me... I've just been slack writing up a report. 🙂

--
Chris

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Chris Baird
> Anyone use or know someone that uses one of these ?

Quoted message said:

Interested to know some of the pro's & cons of such a
bike. Suggestions of webs sites that feature reviews,
comment or trip reports using the above also most welcome

I'll try to make general comments, not being a Sachs owner,
but as someone 'reasonably satisfied' with Rotary's DIY
petrol engine. From the looks of web-searching, the two
engines appear very simular.

Try not to do much heavy riding for the first 700 kms or so
while the engine is being run-in, and you gain experience
fixing problems as they come.

Replacing a flat rear wheel is a chore, at least in
comparison to other bikes with quick-release hubs.. "Mr Tuffy"-
type tire liners are a _must_. On long-ride days in hot
weather, I've managed to have the rear tire tube /melt/ on
me-- so good tubes are an idea, too. Often, breaking the
chain will be necessary to get enough access to the wheel
and/or motor.

Note that thanks to the engine, it weighs over twice as much
as a typical bike: 30 kgs.

Don't expect great acceleration out of the engine, however
it does keep its speed well. When my engine was fully run-in
(about 1400 kms), it could manage an extended-period crusing
speed of 27-29 km/h on flats. (The Rotary clutch, at least,
hates being pushed at 30 or above. Of course freewheeling
faster than that is fine.)

I've managed about 200 kms per day of touring-type travel
on a fully-loaded bike camping tour. (That was pushing
human endurance a little, though. I'm _glad_ I bought a
decent seat. 🙂

Don't ever use petrol-station 2-stroke. Thanks to the
advice of a local Go-Kart/Rotary mechanic, I used
"Repsol" 2T Standard as the 1:50 fuel oil for the first
1000 kilometres. Afterwards, we moved to using Repsol's
2T "Sintetico"/Synthetic in a 1:60-70. After 3000 kms,
the engine runs _smooth_, starts are usually only one or
two pulls, and I've not noticed a single cylinder-
related problem.

Fuel consumption is no where near the proported 125
kms/litre as Rotary claims. I've only seen about 70
kms/litre.

I always carry a 1 litre water bottle with emergency fuel.
It's the underslung bottle in this picture: hunter.a-hunter.a-Open ↗
pana.org.au/~cjb/Image/Bike/battery_ubolt.jpg

Starter rip-cords break. As a replacement, I've been able to
use regular lawn-mower cord from a hardware store. The fix
can be done 'on the side of the road' if you have the tools.
If the Sachs mechanism is anything like the Rotary, be
_very_ careful the spring doesn't jump out-- or you'll spend
2 hours trying to rewind the thing...

It's mostly the older guys, often European immigrants, who
will come up to you and ask about the bike. P-licence-
platers seemingly harass you less from a normal cyclist
experience. And everyone uses the word "cheat!" :-)

Since November, I've done about 3000 kms in commuting,
touring, and camping. A bit over a month ago I went on a Newcastle->Taree-

Quoted message said:

Glouster->Armidale->Glouster->Newcastle ride. All up, it

was 5 days of riding time, 40 hours of bum-on-seat, and
covered about 1100 kms. I even managed to bump into aus.bike
old-timer Linze while in Armidale. I did keep a journal and
had a digital camera with
me... I've just been slack writing up a report. 🙂

--
Chris