How Did You Get Started With Motorized Bicycles?

rohmell

rohmell

Active Member
I was just wondering about how other members here got started with motorizing their bicycles.

Did you just wake up one day and say to yourself, 'I'm gonna build a motorized bicycle'?

Or maybe you saw someone riding a MB, and that piqued your interest?

For me, it was that I had a bunch of 2 cycle engines lying around from snowblowers and such, and I had a few bicycles lying around, and I decided to join the two, but before I did that, I did some Google research, found out that there are ready-made kits available, and also found this forum, so I decided to go the Chinese Engine Kit route, and leave the snowblower engines on the side.
 
december in MA is generally pretty cold. walking or riding my 20" bike 3 miles each way to visit my mother 2-3 times a week wasn't very fun and i heard a weird buzzing noise coming from behind me,looked back and saw a guy on a mountain bike fly by me and i needed one.
 
I have always liked riding and wrenching bicycles. I saw an ad for a motor kit on craigslist. I did some searches on google, found the forums, and the rest is history.
It was probably three months between the time I saw the motorkit ad on craigslist and taking delivery of my first kit.
 
I saw a guy riding a bike with a Chinese kit on it. Then I found this forun. Then I put a weedeater engine on my recumbent.
 
Did you just wake up one day and say to yourself, 'I'm gonna build a motorized bicycle'?
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Yes. Buddy of mine was into bikes when we were teens. He mentioned sticking a weedeater engine on a bicycle but never did it. I thought about it ever since, but never had the money when I had the time.

10 years later I was actually shopping around for weedeaters, but the engines all seemed puny. Then a guy on a Ford Festiva forum posted a link to this site and now I am hooked. It may be the death of me, and that'd be OK. :)
 
rohmell said:
I was just wondering about how other members here got started with motorizing their bicycles.
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Got tired of high fuel prices. School is about 4.7 miles away and alot of my driving is around town. So when I can I will park the 07 tacoma and cruise

brad
 
Nov. 2009

I was looking around on ebay and came across BGF Motorized Bicycle Kits, I had been playing around with a home built GoKart that was wicked fast and I was actually looking for GX200 Honda parts when I stumbled onto the kit add, I put it in my watch list and looked at it everyday for a couple of days until I just couldn't take it anymore and ordered it not really knowing for sure what I was getting into.........!

I knew it had to be china made and I knew some of the parts had to be a little roughly made or possibly junk, but since I'm a full blown tinker'er I figured I could do something with it for the $116 or so bucks it all cost at that time.

After I got the engine mounted and running and also after I had replaced the rear mounting studs several times because of the rubber I was putting under them to " dampen the vibrations " I finally found this forum, and with a bit of help from several of the ole pro's here (Bairdco, 2 Door, Jim, Venice, Norm, and several others )I was able to get all the mounting issues worked out and get the carb. tuned properly by end of March or first of April 2010....., I've put 2 more bikes together since then and have really enjoyed the "RIDE" up to now and have no doubt I will continue to enjoy it until I can't do it anymore. someone that hasn't had the pleasure of one of these MB's just dont understand how much fun it really is to take a cruise on one of them.

Lots of water under the bridge now, but it has been an excellent ride so far even with all the bumps in the road and the blown engines and broke parts in the onset of this adventure.

Happy Safe Fun Riding is what it's all about and I wish this for all......

Peace, Shan
 
My son moved home from Atlanta. He rode a peddle bicycle from Orlando, Fl to Lawrenceville, GA (about 60 miles N of Atlanta). I went to Atlanta to pick him up and found he hadn't a license for the past 14 years. He got a job about a mile away from home. One day he asked how hard it would be for me to build a electric bike. (AL laws..no license under 150CC, no insurance, no registration, no tag). I remember while in Viet Nam their primary form of transportation was on two wheels...thousands upon thousands. One thing I remember seeing was a bicycle with a front over the wheel engine (Solex). I searched and found this rather inexpensive China engine that was affordable for him. That was about June of 2009. Since then I've built 6 bikes (5 engines) virtually all trouble free. Did some more search and found two different forums, joined both and here I am today. By the way he got his license back after 800.00 plus dollars.
 
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I was looking for a bicycle online for Carol. Some rat bat turd stole her bike right out of her garage in broad day light. I ran across thatsdax's web site. I was in love, enthroled and addicted at first site! 15 or so builds later and man! Love em even more.

So far I have learned small engine repair. Bicycle repair and maintenance. Complex math to create reduction gears. To machine parts with out complex tools or skills. But mostly, MBs gave me you guys. You all ain't all that fun to look at, but a blast to know.

(and I wonder why I get so many hate PMs, snork)

.flg.
 
I woke up one morning and said, "Hey, I'm going to build a motorized bicycle."
And that's all I have to say about that.
Tom
 
I lost my license (No not DUI or anything like that. Mine is a bloodthirsty crime...I didn't pay my city taxes. {Gasps}) so I moved to Sc. and needed a way around I was going to hook a chainsaw motor to my kids bike. I googled "Chainsaw bike" and had a few good Ideas how to do it, Then I saw a video on Youtube about a 49cc motorized bike. I then started to look for the kits. I found this site with the vendors here and ordered my first kit. Meanwhile my wife is like a squirrel nattering "it ain't gonna work, it ain't gonna work."
When my kit arrived, and I spent three hours in the backyard; I emerged with a Motorized Bike!! I mixed the fuel and hopped on, peddled down the road let the clutch out and....nothing! My wife in her glory yells "TOLD YOU SO!!!" Well I looked at the bike for a minute and realized A-DUH I forgot about the choke!!
So I lifted the choke lever peddled a few feet and.... Pop away she went!!! Every time I rode past my wife...it ain't gonna work, it ain't gonna work. I slept on the couch for awhile, but it was worth it.;) The rest is history. I have four builds under my belt and I ain't stopping.
 
lots a great stories ... myself i have always been a biker , i love two wheels, i have sold all the motorcycles that i have owned a time or two , but the one constant thing in my life is that i have always owned some sort of bicycle ,
it started in the late 1970's when i saw a ad for a bike engine in a comic book , that started the ember , in the 80's i saw a staton inc ad , but never could afford one , and then i rekindled the flame when i got a PC and the net , on and off , looking and thinking about it , actually looking at bike motors i came across this forum , last month i bought a staton , put it on this month and i am a motorized biker ...
.cs.
Keith
 
The thing about building these bikes in this day and age is that the ingenuity and creativity of our ancestors is reawakening. Those folks that take the time to piece together a machine from old parts, fabricate parts what ever or however putting together a machine that works. Well that is refreshing, regardless to rather it is a Indian clone, boardie or huffy with a bolt on kit. The Individualism and creativity shows threw on the end project.

That’s a good thing in this modern age of carbon copy products. Most anybody with credit can go down to the store and get a turn key motorcycle, scooter or moped now days. My hat goes off to each and every one of you that have built your own little machine.

I posted this in another thread but I think it fits here just as well.
 
My Daughter had her car layed up and needed a car to get Grandson to day care and her to work. A rental cost her $400 a week, so I said use our car and I would ride my bike to work [about 2 1/2 miles]. It never failed that the wind was in my face, and a hill on the way was killing my old legs. Having coffee on a Sunday morning feeling sorry for myself, I saw the kits of ebay. I almost wet my pants laughing, but my wife says what the heck for the price. The original kit is still running 3 years later for an old guy next door, and I just strated with my new 66cc on a new bike. I will get pictures of it soon. I road a 650 Honda in between, but insurance costs pushed that idea out too. Now we are back to one car and the super "Chitty".
 
When gas hit three dollars per gallon the first time, I opted to "go green" and begin taking the bus to work. My workplace provides free bus passes. Before that, I had been driving my van, paying for gas, and paying for a full day's worth of downtown parking. (ouch)

To get to work on time, I must wake shortly after 5 am in the morning. (ouch) There is only one bus route that, at that time of day, runs hourly out to where I live. The #24. On one bus trip I had a very downtrodden looking homeless fellow sit next to me. He smelled more like five homeless fellows. Suddenly I despised taking the bus too.

Looking at him I thought "That's me if I don't keep my job." But I knew there had to be at least one other option available to me. Gas too expensive now. Parking just went up again. Electric bikes - nowhere to plug 'em in at work. Walking? Pedalling? no no no no.
I remembered my motor-swapping youth, did research online, and here I am.
 
brnotOne day I was doing dishes, (yes men do dishes) and looking out the kitchen window this guy go's by on an MB, and I said to myself, I have got to have one of those! I did some looking online and bought my first motor kit from Bikeberry, and the rest is history. That was three years ago, and two builds, and now I just keep perfecting my bikes, making them better every chance I get! Thanks to this site and all the great guy,s and there ideas, I am addicted to this hobby-sport! Thanks guys and have a good night. Tim
 
When I was 15 or so, I rode my 12 speed Peugeot touring bike about 40 miles daily. One day, I saw someone zip along with a motorized BMX bike into a gas station. Asked how much to fill it and he said 50 cents. It looked like a weed whacker motor, but I was piqued nonetheless. A few years ago, still riding a bicycle daily about 30 miles, I decided to take the plunge, as I had an extra couple hundred bucks. Picked up a china girl kit, and it's been an unstoppable addiction ever since.

To this day, I ride bicycles as my only mode of transportation, but now - they're mostly all motorized.
 
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