BoyGoFast ebay friction drive

I've wondered about that kit myself, looked at it several times, my concern is....what kind of bearing are those for the roller shaft, I know that engine is a good one because it is just a pocket bike engine that is widely used and can be bought for a bit over $100

It looks to me like that type of roller that is used on that kit may actually be pretty good even if wte as long a the right type treadd tire was used and the pressure of the roller on the tire was right.

I've never had a friction drive bike so I have no room to give any advice on the matter, I have watched Thats Dax'es videos and I think he has an excellent friction drive kit for $149.00, it looks to be very well made....

I'm sure here are those on here that have tried the BGF kit but I dont know who they are.

If the price is the factor i ay you may give it a try, but if if you can spend $360 I say go with the Thats Dax kit and then get the 4+ HP cag 2 smoker engine he sells and I'll bet you'll have a very good set up.

Best wishes.

Peace

I agree with Mapbike about the engine, it is a Mitsubishi clone, and is very good, plus there are plenty of upgrade and replacement parts available for it from pocket bike/ scooter vendors on the web.

I don't know about the roller, though, it looks like a roller for use with a toothed belt, like on a conveyor.

Dammit, I shoulda picked some up when it was $199 with free shipping.

rohmell said:

I agree with Mapbike about the engine, it is a Mitsubishi clone, and is very good, plus there are plenty of upgrade and replacement parts available for it from pocket bike/ scooter vendors on the web.

I don't know about the roller, though, it looks like a roller for use with a toothed belt, like on a conveyor.

Dammit, I shoulda picked some up when it was $199 with free shipping.

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That roller kinda bothered me too when I saw it the first time, but somewhere I remember reading that someone had said that the roller was better than the knurled roller on a wet tire and that with correct pressure it didn'yt slip when the bike went through water, looks like if the tire had any tread at all on it that BGF roller would bite into the tread better than the knurled type.........I could be wrong here since I have never owned a friction drive, but I do remember seeing this said about the BGF kit in comparison to a kit with a knurled roller.

Peace

If the price ever comes back down to $199 shipped (maybe in the middle of winter?) I'll pick one up and give it a whirl.

I've seen this kit, a guy out my way bought one. I was less than impressed, it seemed roughly made and not finished very well and I'd have doubts about bearing quality. The drive spindle is a fluted metal roller and to me it looked like it was cast so I doubt it's very hard or will wear well.

BTW, I know it's become common to call some engines that are made in China 'clones' but it's a bit of a reach to call engines like on this kit a Mitsubishi clone. The Mits TLE series engines are better quality in every way and are fitted with an advanced two barrel carburetor that induces secondary air into a stratified scavenging system which passes EPA and CARB II certification requirements and also greatly reduces exhaust noise.

happyvalley said:

I've seen this kit, a guy out my way bought one. I was less than impressed, it seemed roughly made and not finished very well and I'd have doubts about bearing quality. The drive spindle is a fluted metal roller and to me it looked like it was cast so I doubt it's very hard or will wear well.

BTW, I know it's become common to call some engines that are made in China 'clones' but it's a bit of a reach to call engines like on this kit a Mitsubishi clone. The Mits TLE series engines are better quality in every way and are fitted with an advanced two barrel carburetor that induces secondary air into a stratified scavenging system which passes EPA and CARB II certification requirements and also greatly reduces exhaust noise.

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Maybe it's an older model clone............the chinese are known for taking the older models and cloning them because they are normally simpler and cheaper to make.......

I have a China scooter 150cc with the GY6 Honda Cloned engine which the chinese are still turning out left & right.......it is older technology and fairly inexpensive, so maybe the engine mentioned in these post that is on that BGF friction set up is an older model clone of the Mits. engine before all the EPA junk technology was added to make it "legal"...........not saying this is the case for sure, just curious based on what the chinese do on other engines.........it is for sure a clone of something for the most part......or people who have them and know the engines well wouldnt make the claim I would think.

Just curiosity and my $.02 nothing more nothing less...!

Peace

I took a look at the photos on BGF's listing and when you compare the quality of workmanship to the Staton drive I have, it's night and day. I'm not against saving a few bucks, but the BGF drive looks pretty questionable IMO.

gobigkahuna said:

I took a look at the photos on BGF's listing and when you compare the quality of workmanship to the Staton drive I have, it's night and day. I'm not against saving a few bucks, but the BGF drive looks pretty questionable IMO.

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Yeah I know what you mean, the thing that concerns me the most I guess is the quality of the bearings, I cant tell from the pics what type they are and if they could be upgraded easily in the future or if it would take a full blown redo of the shaft/bearing set up to get it in a more durable working order.

I think the kit that Thats Dax has looks pretty good and that is likelty the route I would go for a friction drive, with maybe one of the 49cc engines like is on the BGF set up, that might make a good combination.......Shrug?

Peace

mapbike said:

Yeah I know what you mean, the thing that concerns me the most I guess is the quality of the bearings, I cant tell from the pics what type they are and if they could be upgraded easily in the future or if it would take a full blown redo of the shaft/bearing set up to get it in a more durable working order.

I think the kit that Thats Dax has looks pretty good and that is likelty the route I would go for a friction drive, with maybe one of the 49cc engines like is on the BGF set up, that might make a good combination.......Shrug?

Peace

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The DAX kit looks very good, and to be honest if he had it in stock when I was ready to order I would have bought one. To be honest, I don't see a whole lot of difference between the two (although I'm sure David and Duane would disagree). The Subaru EH035 has been a no-brainer motor. Perhaps a bit under powered for my weight (it will move me from a dead stop, but not without complaining) but otherwise has been everything I had hoped for.

If I had the time and the right tools, I would have built a FD myself. Wouldn't be anywhere's near the quality of a DAX/Staton drive, but at least I'd know what kind of bearings and materials were used (unlike the BGF kit).

gobigkahuna said:

The DAX kit looks very good, and to be honest if he had it in stock when I was ready to order I would have bought one. To be honest, I don't see a whole lot of difference between the two (although I'm sure David and Duane would disagree). The Subaru EH035 has been a no-brainer motor. Perhaps a bit under powered for my weight (it will move me from a dead stop, but not without complaining) but otherwise has been everything I had hoped for.

If I had the time and the right tools, I would have built a FD myself. Wouldn't be anywhere's near the quality of a DAX/Staton drive, but at least I'd know what kind of bearings and materials were used (unlike the BGF kit).

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Well, on the build it yourself thing.... I do have the tools and the ability to build a friction drive set up up but time is my biggest problem right now, I have very little of it to spare and that is why I tend to just buy stuff lately rather than make it myself, it does cost more sometimes but it is so much quicker and easier to just buy it and go..........

eventually when I get somethings in order and "if the Lords willing and the creek dont rise" as we say in these parts, I hope to have the time to make some things up I have in mind, but until then I'll just buy what I need for the most part and make do with that and help out the other fella a bit.....

Peace