Researching for the best motorized bicycle kits

GoldenMotor.com
Sep 4, 2009
980
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Texas
Hi Marv,

Most of the summer I've been riding a Trek 800 with a Thatsdax friction drive kit and Honda 35cc engine. It's been a reliable and easy setup, except when the roads are wet. The roller slips when wet.

Joe
Try tightening down the friction roller with the air pressure down to like 25 LBS then air up the tire I bet it wouldn't slip then.
 

motor_bike_fanatic

New Member
Jul 26, 2011
377
2
0
Pennsylvania
every two stroke bicycle engine is a crap shot. There are a lot of people will tell you one of two things. They will either tell you that all 2 stroke chinese bicycle engines are junk, or they will tell you that you have to tear every single engine apart and do this or do that to it, and if you dont, its not going to last. it kind of upsets me a little, because it seems that people have one bad experience and they either want to boycott the seller or go around telling everyone that all 2 stroke kits are junk. Now, there are some kits and some engines that are junk, and there are also some bad sellers out there. If you went to Starbucks and they didnt make the coffee up to your standards, would you boycott Starbucks? No, probably not. This is the same concept. The truth is, the factories where these engines are made do not have quality control. They just make the engines and ship them out. Does that mean every engine is bad? Absolutely not. some run great out of the box and last. some run ok and dont last long. some do need torn apart and have this or that done. For what these kits and engines cost, is it really worth *****ing about if you get a bad one, or if it breaks down in a few months? No. I have had 4 engines and two bikes. My first engine was a grubee 48cc and lasted a year. would have lasted longer had i used the proper oil. had a grubee 66cc, only used it for a couple months because a mounting bolt snapped. had an engine with a centrifugal clutch, and the one way bearing failed. engine i have now is a 68.5cc from bgf, had it almost a year, and its the best engine i have had so far. So I have had some bad experiences. Am I going around saying all kits are junk? No. Because what matters to me is the ride. Some days I get to ride, some days I dont. But even on the days I dont get to ride, I know that I will ride another day. A lot of people on this site have lost sight of the true spirit of riding.
 

motor_bike_fanatic

New Member
Jul 26, 2011
377
2
0
Pennsylvania
Found it, thanks. Im spying an expansion chamber for 35 bucks. I have a modded pocketbike pipe now, but wondered what a pipe made for a bicycle would do. might get it when i have some extra cash. give it a try, if it doesnt do any better, I can always re-sell it and go back to the pipe I have now.
 

motor_bike_fanatic

New Member
Jul 26, 2011
377
2
0
Pennsylvania
I just looked up some info on motorkote. the page i looked at recommended an ounce for every ten ounces of fuel in a car, but i dont think thats what we want for our engines. I was thinking something like a capful per gallon for an HT engine?
 
Sep 4, 2009
980
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Sep 4, 2009
980
4
18
62
Texas
I just looked up some info on motorkote. the page i looked at recommended an ounce for every ten ounces of fuel in a car, but i dont think thats what we want for our engines. I was thinking something like a capful per gallon for an HT engine?

Yepper a capfull would do just fine and you will notice the difference almost immediately. Or just a small squirt in a tank once would do it bonds to the metal not mix with the oil supposed to last 3 oil changes and that's in a big truck (like 50k miles!)

Warning break in your engine for the rings to seat before you use this stuff to get full power!
 
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bighat

Member
May 8, 2011
38
0
6
Ontario, Canada
If you like to get greasy, tinker, rebuild, problem solve and spend money, go for the $1.99 HT special. If you want something clean, simple and reliable, get yourself a friction drive. Personally, I've kissed chain drives goodbye. Waaay too much work and disappointment.
 

Rocco

New Member
Apr 19, 2012
1
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0
Ohio
Hey Dave, I'm new to this whole motorized bike thing and I was wondering if, since your post here, have you had any problems with any kit from zoombikes? And what kind of bicycle did you use to mount it to?
 

ChopperDave

New Member
Jul 10, 2010
173
8
0
Washington State
Hey Dave, I'm new to this whole motorized bike thing and I was wondering if, since your post here, have you had any problems with any kit from zoombikes? And what kind of bicycle did you use to mount it to?
I have two, both 66cc one black mounted to a Cadillac Fleetwood and one raw on a 36 Roadmaster both work fine
 

nightcruiser

New Member
Mar 25, 2011
1,180
2
0
USA
IMHO the bottom line on these china 2-strokes is "they're cheap", both in cost and in quality. The kits dont cost much, and the QC isn't very good, but replacement parts are cheap when you need to repair.

In China there are "factories" where the castings are made, and then there are numerous "assembly lines" were the products are finished and assembled. The kits dont come out of one "factory" completely assembled like a car in Detroit... The quality of finish put on the parts depends on the people doing the finishing work, they get paid by piece work so turning out more parts per day is what they are aiming for. For this reason the quality on any given item can vary from kit to kit, even from the same company.

What I have done is simply come to this realization and accept the situation for what it is worth. This means basically if you want to be able to ride your bike reliably you should probably build up a spare motor (its cheap enough) and have it ready and waiting in case the motor you are running fails. At that point you just swap motors and get your bike rolling right away, then rip apart the blown up one and repair it and hold it as a spare ASAP. Otherwise you may have some down time while you repair your motor if it does fail, which is pretty likely, depending on how hard/much you ride, how well your bike is built, and the quality of parts you got to start with...
 

Bikeguy Joe

Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
Jan 8, 2008
11,837
252
63
up north now
Wow, that's an advertisement if I ever read one!

I know several members that have gotten 10,000+ miles out of a cheap (under 150.00 dollars) chinese kit. With no rollers or tires to replace....where did you say the engine was manufactured on the bumblebee kit?
 

nightcruiser

New Member
Mar 25, 2011
1,180
2
0
USA
Ya if you have a chinese kit you probally wil need a spare engine. If you have a bumblebeebolton you will get 3,000 miles with out any problems. you will have to change ur drive wheel at a 1,000 miles but thats one bolt its easy..The bumble bees dont have all those parts to break and go wrong( like a clutch or gears). I have 5,000 miles on mine and have never been left along side the road. AMERICAN MADE!!!!! Ya!!1 Check em out! I swear by mine. they are just so simple theres nothing to bust or break theres a drive wheel and the engine thats it no more parts..nice and simple..so you guys with those chinese kits i hope your mechanical inclined..lol..i used to ride one ( a chinese kit) till it broke down and i seen a guy riding a bumblebeebolton around..
Not everyone wants a friction drive, so what may be good for you isn't for others....
And if you are not mechanically inclined you probably shouldn't set out to build a motorized bicycle in the first place IMHO....
 
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roadkill61

New Member
Apr 28, 2014
1
0
0
charlottesville,va.
Hey Marv, this is my first post, my username has a secret clue to my age. I'm a newbie to motorbicycling, and also have been searching around for the best available kit, or dealer. No definitive results found, as of yet. We, [her & I & 2 dogs} will be moving to Florida soon as this house gets sold, probably toward Pensacola area. I'm interested to read what you come up with. Also, Thank You, bikeguyJoey, if you're still here, five pages of replies, no Best Buys decided upon. I'll keep looking, reading, thinking, nothing better to do...I sure wish I could find a Honda 2 stroke bicycle engine, I'd have a back up getaway to my tacoma. Ya'll enjoy your rides, I can't ride my State Bike, single speed, coaster brake anywhere around here...can't wait to get back to the flats, near salt water!