Beach cruiser!!!!

GoldenMotor.com

Aymen95

New Member
Aug 10, 2011
6
0
0
california
okay so tomorrow morning im buying my friends beach cruiser that has a 80cc motor already installed he said its almost new works perfect so of course score for me but then he said that i can stall the engine if i dont press clutch while i break? he said the bike has breaks where you pedal backwords to stop but if i do that while the motor is on without doing stuff with the clutch it will stall the bike can somebody explain what i have to do to break but not stall it and what does stall mean?also how do i turn it off when im done thank you
 

decoherence

New Member
Aug 23, 2010
476
2
0
sebring,fl
it is called a "coaster" brake.
remember when you were a little kid slamming the brakes & skidding.
peddling down the road. then peddle backwards. it doesn't even actually go backwards. once you try to go back,the brakes kick in.
it isn't exclusive to motorised bikes. any 6 year old child that stills has training wheels can use em.

now the clutch:
i don't know if you can drive a manual transmission car or truck.
well anyway, you can't stop the car unless you press the clutch.
same thing.
if it doesn't have front brakes, get them.

i have a coaster brake & i have never used it on purpose.

"stall" means exactly as it sounds. you stop moving.
because you are stopping the tire from moving with the brakes but, the engine is trying to turn the engine.

to turn it of: there should be a kill switch on or next to the throttle.

you friend should be able to show you all this in about 60 seconds.

make sure you get your friend to show you how to mix up the gas & oil ratios.

also ask them if there is anything that needs special attention.

good luck.
 

Aymen95

New Member
Aug 10, 2011
6
0
0
california
thank you yeah he said he will explain it to me when he gets here but im so impatient ,im set and confident right now but i loaned my 200 bucks to my dad last week and he is soppused to send me through western union in a couple hours if he doesnt im screwed and somebody else will buy the aweseome bike :( btw how much would front breaks cost then?
 

momentummotorgroup

New Member
Apr 10, 2009
198
0
0
grand rapids, michigan
First off. Invest in some caliper or V brakes because if you slam on that coaster and are relying on it as your sole means of stopping on an 80cc bike you can A) lock the coaster brake up, meaning suddenly your pedals will start pedalling without you doing it, and no stopping. B) The chain on the pedal side can break or pop off meaning again you have no brakes. I use beach cruisers and always have an extra caliper brake on board as a back up.

As far as stalling it out goes, that's not a big issue. The kill switches on these kits are crap anyhow, and when they fail they more or less short the electrical and the bike won't go anymore anyways. If this is your introduction to the MB world, you should get past the illusion of it being a motorcycle. it's not. These are pedal assist engines, meaning you shouldn't be firing it off from a dead stop anyways w/o pedalling.. ((unless you really like changing our and adjusting clutches)). Also remember that beach cruisers aren't built to go 50 mph and if you torque on the engines with wild abandon you'll be buying a new kit or throwing it back up on craiglsist as scrap in no time flat. Don't worry about getting to places fast on these things. These engines need attention and a healthy amount of respect and understanding in order for you to get the best out of your money. I've got over a dozen builds under my belt now, and with the exception of 3 I totally disregarded that kill switch. You should be concerned with brakes, lights, mirrors, a horn and a helmet. Loctite the engine mounts and blue loctite the other nuts and bolts as vibration WILL SHAKE THINGS LOOSE.

As far as your mix goes, there's an easy way to get aroubnd that heady math. It's Opti-2, and it's sold at most ACE hardware locations. 1 packet (about $2.00) to one gallon of gas for all 2-stroke motors and it goes. No adjustments necessary. The trick behind that is to clean the engine out of all the gunk from the previous oil the last owner used because putting in a full synthetic without a flush will cause all that crap to come loose and muck up the works.. I will tell you that all of the builds I've run with nothing but Opti run as smooth today as they did 4+ years ago when I started building with minimal engine wear and little to no grime associated with two strokes. Hope this helps you a lil bit. There are a TON of folks on here that have run the gamut of things that can go wrong, and we're all here to help along the way.
 

Aymen95

New Member
Aug 10, 2011
6
0
0
california
thanks so much bro when i have any problems ill come to you i just hope that i dont eat **** going to fast and accidently hit the back breaks or something ill go to my local bike shop hes a greedy cocksocker though i hope he doesnt charge more then 10 bucks for front brakes
 

Fulltimer

New Member
Aug 13, 2010
1,321
3
0
77
Saint Augustine, FL
There are disc brakes also. But from the sound of things you won't be able to afford them right now. Another thing you can do is look around (and ask friends) for junk bikes that have front "V" brakes on them. Free parts are always good. If they work probably all you would need is to replace the brake pads. The above is how I got my free "V" brakes. Now I have a disc brake though.

Good luck and ask as many questions as you need.

Terry
 

momentummotorgroup

New Member
Apr 10, 2009
198
0
0
grand rapids, michigan
yeah. most bike shops are pretty craptacular at wanting to help us out. I have *1 SHOP* in a 50 mile radius that will work with me, and that's begrudgedly..

You can always find spare parts for cheap on craigslist doing a search for bikes or hit eBay up for the stuff.. I always hit craigslist as you can find tosser bikes for $20 or so and get $$$$ parts off of them.. For the cheapo brakes try for the V brakes.. more stopping power than caliper brakes.. I usually run a rear caliper off the fender mount on my cruisers in tandem with the coaster and have gotten by nicely. If you do front brakes remember not to slam on them too hard cuz if they catch like they're supposed to you'll throw yourself over the handlebars..
 

Fulltimer

New Member
Aug 13, 2010
1,321
3
0
77
Saint Augustine, FL
Agree 100% on NOT clamping down on the front brakes! If you look on the right side of this page (or any actually) you will see an ad for Venice Motor Bikes. He has a ton of experience building stretched cruisers like our Dyno Roadsters. His name is Norm and he is a great guy to work with. He also has a can't beat Monark Fork from back in the 50's. I just gone one and had him get me a disc brake for the Monark.

Terry
 

RandyWhite

New Member
Jul 23, 2011
91
0
0
Idaho
I agree with John there. Most (not all) bike shops will refuse to work on your bike. Some won't even sell you parts.

I happened to get lucky. Of the 3 local bike shops, 1 loves my bike and actually inspired them to stock electric bikes. the second is ok with then as long as the specific tech doesn't mind. The third is notoriously against motored or electric, so I didn't tell them about the motor.

You have 2 options. Get real good at figuring out what parts you need and buy them online. Or do what I do. Don't tell the bike shop it's motorized.

Tell them what model it is and they can usually figure out what you need. Most shops have an ok return policy, so if the part doesn't fit you can get it swapped out. If they ask you to bring the bike to them, just say you live out of town =)