 Cheers!
Hello,
I have posted here a couple of times but I just realized that I hadn't introduced myself. I built my first motorized bike about 4 years ago in Calgary, Alberta. I dug around and these were the best pictures that I had of that first bike. The bike looks basically the same today. I have added a Thudbuster shock absorbing seat post, which I really like. Also there is no longer an air valve on the rear wheel. I grew tired of flat tires but I liked the white walls so I purchased a 'NoMorFlats' tube and installed it on the rear wheel. It gives the ride a slightly mushy feel, sort of like riding on an under inflated tire. However I feel it is an excellent compromise since flat tires are a thing of the past and I have put a many miles on it since the change.
The bike itself is a Jeep commemorative edition. Sadly I have not seen another one and I don't know who the actual manufacturer is. The engine fits it perfectly without need of spacers.
The motor shown is a 49cc I purchased through the local newspaper and thus of unknown Chinese origin. I have modified it a little. The plug wire is an automotive one and it is longer which allowed me to hide the ignition box under the motor in the V of the frame. I polished, ported and matched the intake and exhaust. Since the motor was aluminum I polished it as well.
I wasn’t happy with how the tank fit on the frame so I carved a couple of plugs from bondo, created a mold from them and formed the fiberglass pieces you see here. The fourth pic is of the plugs molds and parts. The chrome rear fender seemed out of place after this so I formed a new fender out of fiberglass over a foam core. Unfortunately the mold for the centerpiece is now in storage a thousand miles away so I could not craft another one even if I wished to. So far the fiberglass parts have proven durable and have caused no difficulties.
One tip I may offer (if it hasn’t already been mentioned) is the use of color-coded zip ties to manage all the wires and cables. I was fortunate to find a batch of green ones that matched the bikes color nicely. Also the gas tank sports a strip of chrome door guard protector and finishes it off nicely.
I used to live near the outskirts of my city and I spent a great deal of time tooling around the countryside. This bike has performed excellently and I have had a blast riding it and solving the few problems that were presented.
More recently I moved to Vancouver, B.C. and had some extra time on my hands so I was looking for a project. It had been a few years so I checked out the motorized biking forums to see what was new. I stumbled upon the Sickbikeparts.com shift kit and instantly knew what my next project would be. I had always wanted gears on my first bike. The next question was what type of bike to build? I had spent so much time trying to make the gas tank blend in on the first bike that I knew I wanted something with a built in tank. I looked at the Electra Indy and realized that there probably wasn't enough room behind the seat post for the shift kit. Then I came across the Felt bikes and I knew I had to have one. The model I chose was the Kingpin and it is the second bike in the pictures. I still have much more planned for this bike. I ordered a Nuvinci hub and it is currently being built into a wheel. I would also like some springer front forks and some sort of discrete lighting system.
Thank you in advance for all the knowledge and camaraderie that is at this site.
Last edited by Clotho : 08-06-2008 at 02:10 AM.
Reason: spelling
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