Motorized 20" Cruiser

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FordRanchero289

New Member
Sep 7, 2014
12
0
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Groves, Texas
So I'm thinking about making a 20" cruiser that's motorized. I have a frame in mind and I have a motor in mind. It's gonna be a standard 20" beach cruiser frame from streetlowrider (link below) and it'll have a springer front end and a 15" ape hanger handle bar on it. The motor in mind is a Black 80cc 2-stroke (link below) with a slant head for more compression and also so that the spark plug will allow the engine to fit with out hitting the backbone. It'll have a 2L gas tank because it's a smaller bike (I have 1gal tanks on all my other bikes). I'll probably put a 32 tooth sprocket on it because the motor won't be straining to drive with a 20" compared to a 26" wheel. It will mostly be blacked out just cuz black looks good but will also have a ton of chrome cuz chrome is my favorite color lol. It might get a banana seat... I'm still debating on that one. Probably just gonna put a smaller cruiser seat on it. The frame says metallic black, but I'm gonna repaint it just black. What do y'all think I should add??

http://www.streetlowrider.com/shop/p2021/20"-Lowrider-Frame-Metallic-Black/product_info.html

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BLACK-NEW-C...ies&hash=item2a3df9ac68&vxp=mtr#ht_6255wt_902
 
Last edited:

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
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Littleton, Colorado
Good luck with your project, Ranchero. Show us some photos of the build and keep us informed on your progress.

By the way. I loved the Hi-Po 289s. Those solid lifters sounded so sweet.

Tom
 

FordRanchero289

New Member
Sep 7, 2014
12
0
0
Groves, Texas
Yeah. I'm a Ford guy by heart and blood. I've got a 1965 F100 longbed that turns 50 years old this month. It has a mid-70s sedan 460 7.5L V8 that had a measly 202 gross hp. Now, it has 570ish hp and 680ish ft/lbs of torque and is still naturally aspirated. It's is paired with a C6 automatic 3-speed and does nearly 170mph. It's cool.
 

HotRodRob

New Member
Apr 14, 2013
77
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0
Western KY
Haha Wow, You pretty much described one of my current builds to a tee. I used a black Micargi Jetta and black 66cc kit. I'm using a big sprung gel cruiser seat instead of a banana seat and I'm using the stock chrome Jetta handlebars on a new black triple tree and stem. It has a chrome crank and sprocket. I'm using the bigger peanut tank with some chrome car door trim around the rim where the top and bottom half of the tank goes together. It spruces up the tank a little and goes with the other chrome bits. The motor is a tight fit and not the easiest build but very rewarding when you get the final product.

You're gonna need either a short intake or an offset intake. I'm using the RT carb with a short billet intake and its a tight fit. I can only use the stock air filter because the aftermarket one is just a little too big and I cant find anything that would fit. I needed to use an NT carb top cable inlet instead of the longer one that comes on the RT because of space and to use my standard throttle cable.

My bike is pretty much all together but I'm still waiting on my custom sprocket from kings. I live in a really flat area. So I went with a 26 tooth. Using the gear ratio calculator I found that the difference between common ratios of the 26" tire and the 20" tire to be about 10 teeth. In other words to get a close ratio similar to the stock 44t on a 26" tire, you would need to use a 34t on the 20 inch wheel. So, your idea of going with a 32t is right on.

I'm a short, light guy and the 20" fits sooo nice. The seat is nice and low. More like an actual moped. Instead of being way too tall and awkward feeling for my size, like my first Mab was. It was a 26" beach cruiser and even with a low laid back seat post(as well as a shortened frame seat post tube) I still couldn't get both feet flat comfortably while on the seat.

One thing I think you should add is a tail/brake light with turn signals. It makes a huge difference when you do. Makes people able to see you and know what you are doing better. It especially helps when turning left while someone is behind you. They will see what you plan on doing and not try to pass you just as you go for the turn. I use these cheap setups I found on amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Bicycle-Bike-...sim_sg_31?ie=UTF8&refRID=08GGM1PNKNQPV7JTB6H0
It gets the job done for a lot cheaper than putting something together from separate components. The controller/switch isn't the greatest looking thing but does the job pretty good. The only bad thing other than being made out of cheap plastic and the looks of the controller is that while you have a signal on the horn also will play until you switch it off. Its quite annoying to me but a quick snip of the speaker wire took care of that. I never used the horn on it anyways because its not loud enough to be herd by anyone other than you and anyone a few feet away. It has lights that come on, on the controller to let you know the brake light or turn signal is on.

I guess great minds think alike haha. You've got some good ideas going. Can't wait to see some pics.
 

FordRanchero289

New Member
Sep 7, 2014
12
0
0
Groves, Texas
It'll be a while before I get the frame and motor. I gotta sell a couple of things to get the money first. I'm selling a minibike, a 6.5hp B&S ohv, and a peerless 700 trasmission right now and hopefully that'll be enough to get what I need. I did kinda figure I had to get a smaller intake because my 80cc on my 24" Huffy, the way I centered and lined up the motor was by putting the carb and everything on and put it up to the seat post.Also, I think I'm gonna have to get a different exhaust because, compared to my 24", it'll be hitting the front tire when I turn right. What kinda trim did you use? I actually tried polished alum. trim from a ford sedan but it just kinda got a little too dented up. Like you said, "great minds think alike" lol. I'm almost 18 and I fit really well on my 24", but I kinda wanted a smaller one just cuz I think it'll be cool. And if I have a younger kid visit, maybe he can ride it, with a throttle restriction lol. I was thinking of just putting my 50T on it and use it like a dirt bike and tear up the ground but then I decided just to keep the plan to be a fast, mini cruiser. Do you have any pictures of your 20" build?? I would love to see them just so I know what i'm getting myself into.
 

HotRodRob

New Member
Apr 14, 2013
77
0
0
Western KY
What is your 24" huffy? Cranbrook? Mountain Bike? Before I decided on the 20" Jetta I wanted to do a 24" Cranbrook frame build. I chose the Micargi Jettta because I already had some parts for it and that made the Jetta build a little cheaper than the cranny would have been. I'd like to see your 24" huffy. Sounds cool too. Gotta link or pics? I'll probably end up building one some day but other builds just seem to happen and that one stays on the back burner. There aren't many examples that I could find of the 24" cranbrook.

On the jetta frame I don't think I could put the carb on until after I had the motor in the frame. I did have the intake on tho. I also had to take out the front motor mount studs and angle it weird to get it in. Then I could set it down on the frame at the right angle. Also where the front motor mount goes to the frame bar isn't perfectly round because there is a slight bend where the mount sits. My front motor mount had some casting boogers which also didn't help mounting. So I busted out the files and dremel to fix the casting imperfections. This helped and made the motor fit on that bottom bar better. Can't use a chain guard(I didn't want it anyway) because the motor sits close to the crank sprocket.

I thought the same thing about the factory exhaust. I have a triple tree on my bike and the stock exhaust looks like it would fit and have room from the front tire. I don't know how it would be with other forks though. I'm not building this bike for speed(this is my quick bike http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=55562[the first two posts are mainly my introduction but #3 gets to the bike]). I just wanted a cruiser that I could let a friend go on rides with me and to just putt around the park/pits/downtown. The main reason for my jetta build is to have something to ride that way I can finally finish the bmx. I ordered the flexible poo poo pipe from kings. Its hideous and has a tiny hole where the header meets the cylinder. The paint/chrome on it is also horrible. But I plan to open up the header a little and use black exhaust wrap to hide the uglyness. I think it will look pretty rad tho and will be a breeze to mount.

The trim on the tank I used is the chrome plastic flexible car door trim. Kinda like this(http://www.amazon.com/Cowles-T5605-...d=1411186522&sr=8-1&keywords=chrome+door+trim) but not exactly what I got. I think I found mine at autozone or advanced auto.

I used to ride nothing but bmx bikes when I was younger, so this 20" jetta feel right at home. I took it for a ride as a pedal bike and she rode super smooth and nice. I like the lower center of gravity as well.

Sound like you have a good plan and I think you will really like the way it feels. I am gonna do a little work on my jetta this weekend and will snap some pics and start a thread about it. Then I'll let you know the link to it. I'd still like to see your huffy.
 

FordRanchero289

New Member
Sep 7, 2014
12
0
0
Groves, Texas
My Huffy is a 24" Giod Vibrations. It's from 1990 and is one of the last American made and American welded frames. It also has the steel rims that came out in the 1990s but mines one of the last "Made in USA" stamps. It's black with white decals and I have mountain bike tires on it right now cuz walmart didn't have 24" cruiser tires. I have an old iPod 2G right now so I don't have a camera par se. But, as soon as I have a friend come over, I'll get him to take some pictures of it and then I'll upload them. I actually need to go to oriellys auto parts here soon so I'll see if they have some flexible trim. I actually just got my new clutch pads for my 80cc cuz I got it 2nd hand and it previously had nearly 4000 miles On the whizzer is what my neighbor said. I've probably put 300 miles on my 26" and only about 30-40 on my Huffy. It's been on 3 bikes lol and still works like new. And then I wanted a new motor and then I stumbled upon that 20" frame online and for only 50-60$, that's cheap lol. And I have a ton of 20" parts from all my previous bmx and training bikes and side-of-the-road bikes so all I need is that frame and a springer front fork and that 80cc black kit. In sure they have a 24" good vibrations on eBay or amazon. I know they also make a 26" frame too but if you want to do a 24" build, this is a great bike. You will need to modify the tube where the front engine mount is cuz my tube was a little too wide, so I just took a rubber mallet and on the side where the mount went, hit the tube and then was able to mount it. On the 24" fame, I wasn't able to fit my chain guard either but I didn't want it on there too. And on the 24", I have a 32T sproket but I figure a 36-38T would be perfect. I don't have much torque or high rpm's and so I need to get a larger sprocket and so I think a 36T would be perfect for me.
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
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Littleton, Colorado
Here's a little 24" Huffy I built for my nephew. The engine looks huge in that tight little frame but everything fit quite well. Actually it was sweet bike with the suspension fork.
Unfortunately my nephew, 14, ran it without oil, seized the engine then left the bike laying on its side outdoors in the snow. I retrieved it, put a new top end on the engine and sold it.

Tom
 

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FordRanchero289

New Member
Sep 7, 2014
12
0
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Groves, Texas
That's really cool. I actually like my china girl on my 24" huffy cruiser than on my 26" elite cruiser. The hardest part was fitting the engine in the frame and also respoking the hub from the 26" to my 24" rim. That took forever but I got it as true as I could. I'll get some pics up as soon asi possibly can. I also got the perfect place for it cuz of the background. It'll look like it came from a magaine lol.
 

curtisfox

Well-Known Member
Dec 29, 2008
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minesota
Sounds like a kool build can't waite to see what you come up with. Often thought about doing a 20" ..................Curt