I'm in sunny Southern California and just getting into motorized biking. I'm converting a Diamondback Wildwood Deluxe mountainbike for use as a commutor - I work about a two miles from my home and normally, I drive a 15 mpg Volvo to and from work. The ride to work is downhill all the way, but coming home, I've got a couple of killer hills to climb. With the price of gas these days, a motorized bike will save me a small fortune in gas costs!
So far, I've installed a rear rack mounted 2-liter fuel tank, mounted a 44 tooth drive sprocket on the rear wheel, attached a twist throttle/engine kill switch and dual brake lever on the right side of the handlebar, and mounted the clutch lever on the left side handlebar. I'll be picking up a 48cc engine kit next month (any suggestions on a reliable source to order from?) Now here's the problem I've run into: the bike has a 8-speed sprocket set and I'm having trouble finding a gear shifter to mount on the LEFT side of the handlebar. The original shifter was made to mount on the right side and the 3-speed shifter was on the left. I've removed the front derailleur to make room for the engine mounting, so I don't really need the three speed shifter. Does anyone make an 8-speed shifter that works on the left side of the bar? Or is there a manufacturer the makes a shifter that'll mount on either side? So far I've only found shifters (for the rear deraileur) that mount on the RIGHT side...
Looking forward to completing this project by the end of the year. I'm sure I'll be relying on this forum for LOTS of info!
So far, I've installed a rear rack mounted 2-liter fuel tank, mounted a 44 tooth drive sprocket on the rear wheel, attached a twist throttle/engine kill switch and dual brake lever on the right side of the handlebar, and mounted the clutch lever on the left side handlebar. I'll be picking up a 48cc engine kit next month (any suggestions on a reliable source to order from?) Now here's the problem I've run into: the bike has a 8-speed sprocket set and I'm having trouble finding a gear shifter to mount on the LEFT side of the handlebar. The original shifter was made to mount on the right side and the 3-speed shifter was on the left. I've removed the front derailleur to make room for the engine mounting, so I don't really need the three speed shifter. Does anyone make an 8-speed shifter that works on the left side of the bar? Or is there a manufacturer the makes a shifter that'll mount on either side? So far I've only found shifters (for the rear deraileur) that mount on the RIGHT side...
Looking forward to completing this project by the end of the year. I'm sure I'll be relying on this forum for LOTS of info!
