Hi everyone,
I am working on fixing up a Giant Lafree Sport. I am a volunteer with the Maryland-National Capital Park Police, just outside of Washington, D.C. The Lafree was left abandoned in one of our parks and brought in to our abandoned property section. Usually bikes that are picked up are held for 90 days waiting to be claimed. If no one claims them, they end up going to the recycler. I spotted the Lafree and convinced my supervisor to allow me to pull the bike to fix it up for the use of the department. I have brought it home and stripped it to the frame. Amazingly, despite being exposed to the elements for a long time, the motor still works.
The only hiccup I've had is when I opened up the transmission, all the parts spilled out unexpectedly. I did get the motor back together, save a few u-shaped magnets. Does anyone have an exploded view of the Lafree's transmission? I was thinking since I did have the transmission open that I could remove the pieces that cause the motor to cut out at 20 mph (32 kph) per our government's regulations. Will the motor still work if I take these pieces out? If not, could I fabricate something to make the sensor "think" the cutout is still there?
I'm looking forward to getting this pedelec fully restored and put into our department's service. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress.
David C.
Damascus, Maryland, United States
I am working on fixing up a Giant Lafree Sport. I am a volunteer with the Maryland-National Capital Park Police, just outside of Washington, D.C. The Lafree was left abandoned in one of our parks and brought in to our abandoned property section. Usually bikes that are picked up are held for 90 days waiting to be claimed. If no one claims them, they end up going to the recycler. I spotted the Lafree and convinced my supervisor to allow me to pull the bike to fix it up for the use of the department. I have brought it home and stripped it to the frame. Amazingly, despite being exposed to the elements for a long time, the motor still works.
The only hiccup I've had is when I opened up the transmission, all the parts spilled out unexpectedly. I did get the motor back together, save a few u-shaped magnets. Does anyone have an exploded view of the Lafree's transmission? I was thinking since I did have the transmission open that I could remove the pieces that cause the motor to cut out at 20 mph (32 kph) per our government's regulations. Will the motor still work if I take these pieces out? If not, could I fabricate something to make the sensor "think" the cutout is still there?
I'm looking forward to getting this pedelec fully restored and put into our department's service. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress.
David C.
Damascus, Maryland, United States