Sachs Saxonette Luxus

Ian

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
Cheers
Ian

Chris Baird

> 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:
http://hunter.apana.org.au/~cjb/Ima...ttery_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