Ordered the parts today for the motorized bicycle I will be building in the coming weeks. Hopefully these wheels designed for motorized bikes will work well. Disc brakes, an absolute necessity on a bicycle that can do every bit of 45 mph. Comes with a 36 tooth drive sprocket installed. If you're using a regular bicycle wheel the way that the dryer sprocket is installed is a real pain in the butt and it installs directly to the spokes. And if you break a spoke like those have a tendency to do... You have to take it off of the wheel which is a big pain in the ass. I got the phantom 85 motor kit which is said to be the fastest and most powerful bicycle motor kit available. It was 300 bucks so hopefully it's worth the money. I will be adding pictures to this thread as the build progresses.
Taking every bolt off of this engine for two reasons.... One to make sure there are no metal shavings in areas where there should not be.... two, to check the torque on the bolts and to apply thread lock to them. Here you can see the bevel gear which it is good to apply more grease to. They put a miserly little dab on the drive gear. Here is my work area on the front porch. Not exactly a well-equipped shop but you do need to have a place to spread everything out and keep an eye on it. Here is the engine now fully assembled including the aftermarket and improved chain tensioner which is the black hardware attached to the casing. I'm not the world's best mechanic but I do have probably more mechanical ability than the average person does. People get these motor kits and don't understand that you have to assemble the top end and that the directions are pretty much non-existent and you either need to be patient and watch YouTube videos or have experience doing it. When they are assembled properly and all the bolts have the right torque and thread lock, you are much more likely to have a satisfactory experience. And the motors are very cheap and the parts are easily replaceable. Basically if you're not mechanically inclined and don't like to tinker you should get an e-bike instead of a gas one. But what real man doesn't like to hear the sound of a motor thumping? Probably the same sort that doesn't like to hear gunfire, cannon fire, or explosions for their entertainment. Lol It seems like someone should be able to make a nice little boat motor out of these to push a small boat at a decent rate of speed up River
It's coming along. I'm using this steel surly troll frame set, it was $500 for the frame and fork back in 2010. Made it in Taiwan but even so it's a very high quality frame with a lot of engineering thought put into it. Not your average Taiwanese bicycle that makes it to Walmart shelves. But anyhow I want to get my money out of it because it's been sitting idle for the last 4 years. I had to remove a suspension fork that I'm not going to use because I'm going to use the orange non suspension fork that came with the frame set. It has room to fit up to 3-in tires and braze ons to fit all sorts of racks and fenders and disc or rim brakes. I'm going with disc brakes at least on the front. I had to remove and clean the old headset bearings and all of the hardware to reinstall the new fork. I take my time when I do such work so I do it correctly. Every bolt is removed and cleaned and greased prior to reassembly. As you can see I'm not the most organized but it works for me. Ready to start fitting the engine and wheels. I have some Wheels to mark it up on but I have to order the one that I want off of Amazon even though I had previously ordered it with some other company that pissed me off so I canceled that order and now there will be some delay.... But like I said I'm not in the big hurry. Probably spending more money on this than I should, but what the hell it's a hobby.
Hydraulic disc brake on the front that will have an oversized 203 mm rotor. Plenty of stopping power. And you better respect a front break or you will be going over the bars.
So many people build these bikes and they start with an old clapped out Walmart beach cruiser that's probably been sitting out in the weather for years. And then if they put it on an old back wheel that probably has loose spokes and Rusty spokes and or the wheel is warped.... It will never be right because you're starting with garbage to begin with. And then they run it with nothing but the back coaster break which is bad for two reasons... Number one a coaster break is not meant to operate at such speeds, number two this is the brake where you have to pedal backwards... Should you lose your chain on the bicycle side now you have no brakes at all. Any motorized bicycle should have at least a front brake and preferably a disc brake at that.
Yes you can but probably not in California, or at least not without all sorts of regulations on them that increase the cost of manufacture. You can get them starting around $100
I hate to say it but I have to.... That is hogwash. The two stroke is still very common here. Of course we all know how dirty a two-stroke is but there are also many great advantages to one. Have they done away entirely with two-stroke motors in the UK? I'm sure gas powered weed eaters and chainsaws are likely still two stroke there? I once heard engines explained to me in this manner..... Let's say you have the same size motor pushing the same vehicle at 45 mph. One of those motors is a diesel and one of them is a four-stroke and one of them is a two-stroke..... The diesel motor will be pushing low RPMs but with a lot of force.... The RPMs of the four stroke will be slightly higher doing the same work.... Now a two-stroke has the highest RPMs of all. This naturally means that a two stroke will need more maintenance than the other two motors. There are plenty of examples of diesel motorcycles that are highly sought after. There are even diesel motors that are two stroke in their operation..... Probably considered the worst sort of motor of all by those who are interested in prohibiting such things. Two strokes are much cheaper and simpler. And they will give you max power off the line if you're talking about propelling a vehicle. My dirt bike is an air cooled, single cylinder 230cc four stroke engine. If my same bike had the same motor and the same exact gearing but it was a two-stroke 230 CC.... It would smoke my ass off of a line, but I would smoke it on down the road
New 2 stroke outboards are banned all over Europe because they pollute the waterways. You can still use old ones as far as I'm aware. I don't think anyone makes 2 stroke bikes anymore. Petrol chainsaws and strimmers are still 2 stroke but a lot of people have moved on to electric now because they are quieter, cheaper, cleaner, lighter and require a lot less maintenance. My chainsaw, hedge trimmer and strimmer (weed whacker) are all electric and I wouldn't even consider going back to petrol. Many river boats are now electric too for all the above reasons.
It really all does depend on what you want and the cost of production and initial purchase price and maintenance and operation. I'm still sticking with gas for my money. Maybe that will change one day but I'm still not seeing the cost advantage to electric at this point. Plus I have mechanicing in my blood.... I just like to sit down and take things apart and clean them and reassemble them and make them work properly.
This little magician who should be named Houdini... Manages to get off of his 15 ft steel cable. And today when I was leaving on my dirt bike he was loose.... So I ran him around the property several times to see how fast he could go... He's all tuckered out now. I don't believe in letting dogs run loose because they can either get into trouble or they can cause an accident, or be killed. I think people who purposefully let their dogs run loose in the city are the same sort of trashy people that would throw their trash on the ground right next to a garbage can. Here he is just waiting on his next time to get off the leash.. .
Back in the day like the early '80s some of the fastest motorcycles on the planet were Japanese two stroke sport bikes. Do you do motorcycles? I almost bought a Yamaha V-Star 1100 the other day. It was an '07 with only 3,300 miles on it and it was in immaculate condition. The guy only wanted 2650 and it was only about 20 miles from my house. I'm still kind of kicking myself in the ass that I didn't because that bike was worth twice as much. I could have rode it for a year or two and easily got my money back and then a grand or more. That's a cruiser type bike that resembles a Harley and it's probably a 6 or 700 lb bike. If I do get another bike it will be either another dual sport or a cruiser. I have no interest in a sport bike that can go 180 mph because if I got such a bike eventually I would be tempted to go 180 mph and I don't need to do that.
I haven't owned a bike since I passed my driving test. I like a cage around me when I go out on the road with all the halfwits. They are great fun to ride but not really a practical method of transport. If I were ever to buy another it would probably be a vintage British motorbike. Something like an old Royal Enfield Silver Bullet.
that's a sweet bike and looks plenty fast. I had strongly considered purchasing a Royal Enfield Himalayan 400 to begin with. That is a bike similar to mine but it weighs 100 lb more and it was just too large to fit in my van, also it's considered more of an adventure bike over a dual sport because it has more passenger and cargo capacity. So I got the KLX 230 instead. Royal enfields are now made in India and I've heard some spotty things about quality control but I have also heard they have improved a lot. It's the oldest continuously operating motorcycle company on the planet. They have quite a few brand new bikes that keep it to a reasonable price of $6,000 or less. Plenty of people have Road the Royal Enfield Himalayan on Cross Continental trips. I like my bike because it can go anywhere and I purposely seek out dirt roads and back roads and avoid highways as much as possible. If I still lived in Tampa where the traffic is terrible I probably never would have bought it. Plus this little cow Town has roads that tend to be in deplorable condition so a dirt bike is perfect for that
About 20% closer to the full build. My parts came in today. It's starting to look like a bike now. The front wheel is all but ready to go except for the brake rotor and the installation of the hydraulic front brake. Many thousands of miles has this front wheel bin ran. It is a Maverick Cross Ride that I bought 12 years ago. It has an insane amount of miles on it for a bicycle part. This bike is going to be a pretty special build by the time it is done.
Almost done. Damn exhaust pipe didn't want to clear the down tube of the bike and I had to take a 4 lb sledge hammer and beat the hell out of it. And then they didn't give me the mounting bolts when I bought the brake and the rotor. You would think somewhere between buying the brake and the rotor they could throw the damn bolts in there.
Well the frame in the front fork for $500 12 years ago. The front wheel was $140 12 years ago. The back wheel was $70 and it's brand new and designed for motorized bikes. The engine was 300 and the crank set was $50 and the hydraulic brake was $50 and the pedals were $12 and the grips were $12. Handlebar and stem and seat post and seat I already had. So I figure maybe $600 in parts I bought recently. But it's a hobby and it gives me something to do. But if I'm going to build it, I want to build it right and not use a rusted out beach cruiser with some sketchy ass Wheels, like a lot of people build these. If you're going to be going up to 45 miles an hour on a bicycle you better have some parts that are up to the task. I put chain tensioners on the back axle which makes life much easier with a single speed. Now I just need to hook up the drive chain and the clutch and the throttle and the gas tank and the electronics and it's good. Probably a couple two or three more days cuz I only have about an hour or two a day to work on it.
Gas tank is on and the CDI for the spark plug is hooked up, as is the kill switch. Just a few more extremely annoying bugs to work out and it's ready for its first run. Hooked up the motor drive chain today and of course even with its spring loaded tensioner, I could not get the right tension on the bicycle chain side.... So of course I ordered a chain tensioner for that side as well. Trying to get two chains to have the perfect tension on a single speed is the very definition of impossible without chain tensioners. In addition to being frustrating, a thrown chain can also cause a crash. And of course the throttle cable on the thumb throttle is a bit too long so I have to figure out what to do there. If it isn't one thing it's always another.
The moment of truth is at hand. I am fixing to see the culmination of my several weeks of front porch tinkering effort come to life. I was only waiting on my handy dandy chain tensioner to be delivered from Amazon via my friendly local mail carrier, you can see the purple pulley wheel on the bicycle chain side with the green chain. Naturally this was another $20 part but I'm too far into let it go at this point.
I read some years ago that around here anything 49cc or less required a valid driver's license and anything larger requires a motorcycle endorsement. So I'm good to go on both of those. I asked the cops that come into my work what they think of them and they said as long as people aren't writing them stupid or riding around at 2:00 a.m. with no lights on they Don't really Care. The store where I work is in town and occasionally I hear some moronic tweakers riding around at about 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. with no lights on a loud ass two-stroke in a neighborhood. And then they probably talk about what *******s the police are when they get pulled over and searched. The first test ride did not go very well. I got a few blocks on it and the damn clutch wants to lock up on me. Then the motor shifted and it was unrideable. So I propped it up against the fence post by the cow pasture and walked home for my van because I wasn't going to walk the bike two blocks having to hold the back wheel off the ground. It is disappointing but I will figure out what's going on. Just not today. Time to go ride my real motorcycle before nap time and work at 10:00 p.m.
