Hey everyone.
I saw someone riding a motorized bike in town a few weeks ago. It was a 2-stroke, and it seemed too impractical so I just kind of dismissed it.
For some reason, I stumbled into reading about the bikes earlier this week, and when I read about the 4-stroke setups, I realized that this would actually be a pretty fun and handy thing to have, especially with the gas mileage.
So I've decided to do my first build, and I've been doing a bunch of research both here and on motoredbikes.com. Thing is, it's kind of hard to compile everything I've learned into an actual list of what's necessary for me to get my build on my way.
So right now my plan of attack is:
But I have questions for each.
What IS an appropriate bike? What sort of dimensions do I need to make sure the bike meets? I know practically nothing about bikes. I'm good with my hands and tools, but I wouldn't know what to look for in a bike as far as how things like sprockets should line up and whatnot.
Also, what KIND of bike do I want? Should I look for a cruiser, or would a mountain bike be a better choice? If I use a mountain bike, what sort of off-roading should I expect to be able to do? Also, should I go for a bike with rear suspension, or should I avoid that altogether?
So when it comes to a kit, which kit do you recommend? I'm giving myself a hard budget of $500, so that pretty much eliminates the EZM kits. Is the Grubee 4G kit a good choice? If so, is bicycle-engines.com reliable enough to order from them and not get shafted?
Does the kit come with everything I need? I'm sure I'll have to stop by the hardware store a couple few times for nuts and bolts, but is there anything it's totally missing that I'd have to order? Or is there anything missing that will be a significant cost? Can I expect the build to be $380 for kit + cost of bike from pawn shop + ~$25?
Finally, I want the bike to sound decently quiet and lower pitched. I don't need a 40 mph top end, so I'm fine with sacrificing performance, but is there a "bolt on" technique (or just using different exhaust) that's moderately successful with having to fab my own parts?
So are there any threads or websites that just sort of... walk you through every single step of planning and building the bike?
Thanks in advance, and sorry about all the questions!
I saw someone riding a motorized bike in town a few weeks ago. It was a 2-stroke, and it seemed too impractical so I just kind of dismissed it.
For some reason, I stumbled into reading about the bikes earlier this week, and when I read about the 4-stroke setups, I realized that this would actually be a pretty fun and handy thing to have, especially with the gas mileage.
So I've decided to do my first build, and I've been doing a bunch of research both here and on motoredbikes.com. Thing is, it's kind of hard to compile everything I've learned into an actual list of what's necessary for me to get my build on my way.
So right now my plan of attack is:
- find an appropriate bike at a pawn shop
- order a 4-stroke kit
- build and go
But I have questions for each.
What IS an appropriate bike? What sort of dimensions do I need to make sure the bike meets? I know practically nothing about bikes. I'm good with my hands and tools, but I wouldn't know what to look for in a bike as far as how things like sprockets should line up and whatnot.
Also, what KIND of bike do I want? Should I look for a cruiser, or would a mountain bike be a better choice? If I use a mountain bike, what sort of off-roading should I expect to be able to do? Also, should I go for a bike with rear suspension, or should I avoid that altogether?
So when it comes to a kit, which kit do you recommend? I'm giving myself a hard budget of $500, so that pretty much eliminates the EZM kits. Is the Grubee 4G kit a good choice? If so, is bicycle-engines.com reliable enough to order from them and not get shafted?
Does the kit come with everything I need? I'm sure I'll have to stop by the hardware store a couple few times for nuts and bolts, but is there anything it's totally missing that I'd have to order? Or is there anything missing that will be a significant cost? Can I expect the build to be $380 for kit + cost of bike from pawn shop + ~$25?
Finally, I want the bike to sound decently quiet and lower pitched. I don't need a 40 mph top end, so I'm fine with sacrificing performance, but is there a "bolt on" technique (or just using different exhaust) that's moderately successful with having to fab my own parts?
So are there any threads or websites that just sort of... walk you through every single step of planning and building the bike?
Thanks in advance, and sorry about all the questions!