Long trip planned-- advice welcome!

ferball said:
Maybe not the best advice, but it is how I roll. The twenty inch rear wheel is loads of fun and handles nicely at cruising speed, the rake makes it less twitchy, I did mention proper gearing on a 20inch, because yes it will run slower if you don't figure out the new gear ratios, but my HT turning a 6 speed rear cassette on a 20 inch gives me a pretty nice range of speeds/torques.

And as far as being broke down in the middle of nowhere, worse case scenario you can peddle.
:-||
Now I am not sure I would take my 20 inch rear wheel model on a 1000 mile road trip, but hey just thought I would throw the idea out there, not to mention if you start looking into DIY weed whacker/chainsaw friction drive stuff on a 20 inch it can eliminate the need for a gear box. Again I never said it was good advice, but the thread asked for advice, didn't specify if it had to be good.
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Ferball,im sorry if I came off a little hard on you(no insult intended)....
John
 
i dont think bike reliability is something to be worried about. i ride a $75 huffy cranbrook from walmart that i have had for almost a year and the only thing i have changed is to put in a wider pedal crank for better engine clearance. the standard pedals had plenty of clearance, but i was using an engine with a centrifugal clutch. as far as the engine, i have had 48cc engines and a 66cc engine and never noticed any real big difference between the two. first thing is make sure whatever engine you choose is well broken in before taking a 1000 mile trip. i would take an extra engine just in case. i personally have done 100 miles in one day on a 48cc engine. that was about 6 hours of riding for me, with maybe a one hour break after the first 50. you could probably go 100 miles without stopping, then take an hour break, stretch the legs, eat, walk around, and maybe get in another hour or two before making camp for the night. dont run at WOT constantly. take oil and a gas can with you. buy a bigger gas tank, or you will be refueling every 100 miles. unless you are going to register and insure your vehicle, keep an eye out for cops. research your states laws, as well as any other state you might be riding in. any hand tools you use to build the bike, take them on the road. 14g spokes are fine as long as you mount the sprocket correctly. in the event that you do break down and cant repair on the road, have an alternate way home. the more i think about it, 100 niles a day is decent. a 1000 mile trip could be done in ten days. then another ten days to get home.
 
About the subaru kit above-- I don't have the cash right this second, waiting for that sweet birthday money to come early summer (gotta love grandmas). Either way, I think I'd rather buy the $380 EZ kit that they will guarantee against defects than a used one from someone I don't know and wouldn't for sure know where to find. I'm not saying I don't trust that person (I don't know him), just that I'd be more comfy going with an official vendor.

As far as the bike reliability, I'll think and read up a bit more on that issue. Thanks for input
 
ilyasemail said:
I was thinking I'd buy some cheaper tires and reinforce them on the inside with duct tape and electrical. Read a thread about someone doing this successfully. Either way, replacing some tubes wouldn't be a big deal on the road.

I'm definitely set on the EZ Qmatic and an upgraded back wheel with 12 gauge spokes. Gonna start looking for a frame that will fit me and the engine soon.
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Your ideas on tires is going to teach you some life lessons the
hard way probably at the very worst time LOL
I thought you were an older guy........money from Grandma....lol

Get the best tires like schwalbe marathons with max puncture resistance
along with high quality tubes.
Nothing worse than having your tires let you down when you are
out on the road. Tires are the weak link on a reliable motorbike.

ilyasemail said:
I'm pretty much convinced about the 4-stroke from E-Z. Their site says $380 for the kit, which isn't unreasonable, and they are located not far from where I live so I could save on shipping.

This means I have to figure out how to stick a 4-stroke into a mountain bike frame (like I said before, a cruiser isn't an option because I may be pedaling a fair bit of this). From what I've read so far, it seems very doable with the right frame.

Worst case scenario (e.g. gearbox blows up), I'll stash the engine somewhere along the road and continue along pedaling manually.
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I don't think that E-Z Cruisers in Dana Point sells EZ Motorbike Q Matic which costs more
than $380????
They have another 4 stroke kit.
Please give a link to the actual kit on their website. What gearbox does it use?

4 strokes use 9" wide cranks to clear the motor and gearbox.

$75 huffy cranbrook from walmart [ bad idea ] using a Chinese 2 stroke to ride the West Coast is
doable if you are Bairdco LOL but not a good idea for you.

ilyasemail said:
. Either way, I think I'd rather buy the $380 EZ kit that they will guarantee against defects than a used one from someone I don't know and wouldn't for sure know where to find. I'm not saying I don't trust that person (I don't know him), just that I'd be more comfy going with an official vendor.
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Some guys from Dana Point with a Chinese kit against an almost brand new GEBE
kit with a Robin Subaru at about half price?
giving advice to noobs lol is a hard road to hoe......PM me your phone # and I will give you
some advice. No time to type it out. Google Augiedawg LOL
 
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i'm with a previous poster, tow a small trailer containing a replacement ht engine...they are cheap enough so a spare would be great as long as you don't forget the tools you'll need as a replacement.
 
ilyasemail said:
I was thinking I'd buy some cheaper tires and reinforce them on the inside with duct tape and electrical. Read a thread about someone doing this successfully. Either way, replacing some tubes wouldn't be a big deal on the road.

I'm definitely set on the EZ Qmatic and an upgraded back wheel with 12 gauge spokes. Gonna start looking for a frame that will fit me and the engine soon.
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If you are truly serious about this trip,dont try and reinforce some cheap tires with duct tape or whatever nonsence you have heard....Spend the 45.00 each on some good tires and it will save you butt in the end....It sounds like you are trying to take the cheap way out on a very serious long trip and that just isnt going to cut it....Save you money up,get the right equiptment and have a fun,enjoyable trouble free journey....
John
 
Bimoped, I'll take your advice on the tires, that issue seems to come up a lot around here. The kit is the following: EZ Cruizer: Leading Seller of Gas and Electric Bikes in Southern California

It doesn't say what gearbox so I emailed them asking. They responded, "We have the bulletproof 5:1 ratio gear box that you want. TRUST ME you do not want to purchase the 4:1 ratio motor it will last you one ride and the bearing inside the clutch will disintegrate."

Can you tell from the image which one it is? And yes, giving advice to noobs is tough (know this well from my work), so thanks for bearing with me while I learn this stuff
 
ilyasemail said:
The kit is the following: EZ Cruizer: Leading Seller of Gas and Electric Bikes in Southern California

It doesn't say what gearbox so I emailed them asking. They responded, "We have the bulletproof 5:1 ratio gear box that you want. TRUST ME you do not want to purchase the 4:1 ratio motor it will last you one ride and the bearing inside the clutch will disintegrate."
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It's a Grubee G4 gearbox. 5 to 1 ratio
It is not an EZ Motorbike Q matic.
EZ Motorbikes lawyers are surely firing off letters to E-Z Cruisers about their name LOL

It is true what they say about the 4 to 1 ratio G4

Bicycle-Engines.com are the main importer of that kit
They are out of stock until May or until they change the date yet again. lol

You really should get that GEBE belt drive with the Robin Subaru 35cc 4 stroke motor
for your San Diego to Canada trip.
 
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one thing I have done with duct tape is this. i have lined the rim with duct tape. this is NOT for reinforcing the tire walls. it is for extra protection between the spokeheads and the inner tube. my reason for doing this is because i had a problem once in the past with my spokeheads puncturing my tube. the duct tape also seems to slow the progression of rust. its just something i thought i would share. not saying its something everyone needs to do.
 
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