what is a good brand for a motor kit

GoldenMotor.com

mikeread

New Member
May 29, 2010
7
0
0
kansas city, MO
Right now I'm looking at geting a kit from bikemotorkit.com or bikeberry.com but before I buy I want to make sure I am getting a good kit. I'm looking at getting a 60cc or larger motor and don't want to pay over $200.
Any thoughs?
Thanks
 

city of angels

New Member
May 24, 2009
470
0
0
tucson az
usabikemotors.com has a starfire motor for around 185. plus tax i really like them ihave mine for around 4 months on my trike and i really like it
 

moronic_kaos

New Member
Apr 6, 2010
225
0
0
Connecticut
I got one off eBay from a guy called BoyGoFast. Love the motor, but hate the kit.

If you're using a cruiser bike, look at what they're giving you for an extended frame adapter. If it's a piece of sheet metal with a long bolt going through it, that's no good (they want you to drill through your frame and run that bolt through it). What you want to see is a muffler clamp-looking thing (U-bolt) and a peice of sheet metal, as the u-bolt just clamps around the frame.

Also check out the exhaust. I got a black one & there was no way to take it apart to clean, and the end ended up popping off after less than 10 miles. Plus the black painted exhaust usually starts peeling when it gets hot and looks like crap.

I hear that the black clutch lever is supposed to be a little more beefy than the stock one with the chrome handle, but I've never seen the black one

Gas tanks come in 2 or 3 sizes, get the biggest one you can for obvious reasons.

Brass pet-cocks (gas shutoff valves) SUCK! It's nice that the filter is inside the tank and out of the way, but its like having a piece of shrapnel stuck out of the bottom of the gas tank. Every time I pedal it digs a hole in my pants, and sometimes my leg will bump it to the off position accidentally.

Chain tensioner. This is quite the interesting topic. There's two different ones that I've seen. There's one with 2 bolts and one that has 4 and uses 2 brackets on the back. I personally recommend the one with 2 bolts, as the one with 4 though it looks like it should be beefier, but the bolts are actually quite small and you can never torque them enough without stripping them. Wrap the frame where it mounts to with gasket paper and you wont have all the problems with it moving that others have had on this board.

Chain size is another issue. There's two different kinds, a 415 chain (heavy) and another that's like a bicycle chain. The bicycle chain one a lot of people hate because everything has to be aligned so perfectly for it not to fall off.

As for the motors, there's a few things to look for but it's hard to get good info before buying. I like square clutch pucks (the pads inside the clutch are either square or round, the square have slightly more contact area), clutch arms that don't have a slot, just a hole (pain to install, but less of a chance of snapping), thicker studs are always nice. Don't know if it's true but a lot of sites talk about having thicker studs.

And I like the straight heads believe it or not. The slant heads (heads where the CORRECTION: SPARK PLUG (got it right this time) is installed at an angle) get all cracked up on the inside and someone told me they sometimes come warped. These motors have some real cheap casting jobs, and the less complicated and curvy they are, the better. I've done a conversion and the difference in power isn't noticeable, so I don't find it worth risking the integrity of the motor. Clearance would only be an issue if using a very small mountain bike frame, or maybe a certain style of chopper bike.

Oh. I've seen motors that have no intake piece (angled pipe fitting between carburetor and motor), though I'm told they don't sell these anymore. DO NOT BUY THESE!!! They suck to work on. Every time you want to get the carb off for cleaning or whatever, you have to unbolt the cylinder and pull it up about an inch for it to clear the clutch cable run.
 
Last edited:

K.i.p

New Member
Nov 8, 2009
339
1
0
CNY
"slant heads (heads where the piston is installed at an angle) ".....um no. I think you meant spark plug.
 

moronic_kaos

New Member
Apr 6, 2010
225
0
0
Connecticut
Wow, I think I made that correction on the wrong thread. There was another where I was talking about rounded top and flat top spark plugs :oops:

So much for that...
 
Last edited:

city of angels

New Member
May 24, 2009
470
0
0
tucson az
well let me tell you about this kit is give you the option to run duall brakes set uplus it has the new speed carbutator plus it has one of the best chain set up i have seen is better than the 415 chain