Hello from Florida

Hello! I am new to the board and new to the hobby. I first saw a motored bike at a campground will camping with my family. I was intrigued with the concept and started researching it online. I love to “tinker” with stuff and I am excited about building a motored bike. Not to mention the rising gas prices are killing me. I only live 4 miles form work so commuting with my new project would be awesome.

I live in Marinna Florida (in the panhandle) and would love any advice and pointer to get me going. I am searching around the thrift stores and garage sales for a bike. Any advice on the best brands to look for (easiest instillation, most durable parts). Also, I am overwhelmed by the selection of kits out there. From eBay, to dedicated websites there seems to be a wide variety of kits to purchase. I want to start with a simple project and then to play the mods down the road.

Thanks for all the help and anyone in my area give me a shout I would love to meet up and check out your projects for some ideas and advise!

welcome to the site. as far as bikes i am partial to schwinns however any bike you can find that has the room for the motor is fine. as far as bicycle engine kits i like dax which their is a link to his site on the left. reason for this he is always available for questions, he stands behind his products and is also a supporter of the site. glad to have you with us and look forward to hearing about you build. its a great hobby and a great form of transportation

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thanks for the encouragement and the advise. I think i like the engine from dax, but is there a real "felt" difference between the 50cc and the 70cc. I also saw where they take 10 days to ship. Should I go ahead and order my engine while I search for a bike or get a bike first and then work on looking around at the different engine options?

Thanks again for the advise it is all really appreciated!

Welcome walker to the forum, glad you could join us
I have a 80cc (67.5cc) and I've been very happy with it. Some guy's say the 50cc rev's faster and is faster then the 70cc. But the 70cc seem's to get you up hill's a little better. I think getting a kit from a dealer is better then e-bay, seems to be alot of missing parts and trouble getting help from e-bay kit's. ThatsDax has been very helpful to the guy's in the forum and alway's takes care of any problems right away.
Here is a link to what bike to get a hope it is helpful. Any bike can be used especialy if you can weld. But the diamond frame bike seems to need little or no mod's to get the motor to fit.

What kind of bike would you recommend?

Welcome to the forum. There are some real motorized bicycle enthusiasts here. Looks like you've already recieved all the good advice. Glad to have you with us....................

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Welcome fellow Floridian,
I built an "80 cc" on a single speed Sun Kruzer a month ago and have been impressed with the power. Today we built a "49cc" on a 6 speed Manhatten cruiser. The newest one has not been broken in yet so it's hard for me to compare it to the Sun which has 50 miles on it and the rings well seated. What I did notice right away was that the Manhatten 6 speed (49) was far easier to ride as a bicycle with the lower gearing.
I have heard the same thing as far as the faster reving due to the shorter stoke/faster rev but have no real opinion until the 49 is broken in. The ones that I am retailing are all on new bikes but I have numerous old Schwinns and am seriously considering an 80 on an old Continental with flat bars. The frames and wheels are solid as a rock and the old steel tubing will accept any of the chinese motors without any frame adapters and/or drilling.
The other plus to mounting a kit on a derailure shifted bike is that the hub flanges are (usually) small enough to easily accept the motor driven sprocket assembly with no hub or driven sproket modifications. Coaster brake, 3 speed, etc. hubs are a pain in the ass to deal with.
Keep checking this board as there are many people here with good ideas.....we are all learning as we go. ****, that's half the fun of it!
If you're ever in DeLand stop by and say Hi.

Well said !!! welcome have a blast, ask lots of questions and expect lots of great answers !!!! building it i almost as fun as riding it !!! IT's A Great feeling !!!!!

I think I have a bike to work with. Tell me what you think...

It is a blue Huffy Stone Mountain. I got it from a friend and has been sitting for a while. I spent all day Saturday tearing it down and cleaning it up. I hope to get some new bearings for it this week and replace the chain and all cables. The rear wheel seems to be a little out of shape and I think I may need to replace it. The thing I like the best is the front forks have suspension to them.

Any tips or improvement to help as I reassemble the bike?

Welcome to the Forum from a fellow Floridian (Gainesvile). I have both 50cc and 70cc. Not much difference in the two from what I can tell.

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Welcome to the group cwalker. Enjoy the ride...Kelly

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