First motor

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woogie_man

New Member
Aug 9, 2013
223
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Fargo, ND
Ok sorry if this seems like a dumb question to you guys, but I have been reading for a few days now and my head is starting to hurt :p

I have a new stretch bike coming to me next week. I am planning on dropping a motor in it as soon as I can so I can get some riding in before the snow starts to fly up here. I have seen many people talk about the china motors and what not, but started to wonder about a good US made motor? Would like something that is easy to get parts for, super relible, and fairly easy to maintain.

I have no problems working on the motor or anything like that. I have been looking through bikeberry, pirate cycles, and piston bikes for different options and what not. To me they all kind of look the same.

What I am planning on doing with the bike is ride it to work as much as I can. Plan on maybe around 10-12 miles one way with it, and then of course cruising around town and what not.

Went though and re-read the "motor sticky" and aside from the oil debate I am thinking I have this down. Or atleast I hope I do :( All the motors are probably from the same place, QC can tend to suck, and doesn't matter where you get it from as they are all virtually the same. correct?

Any help would be great, as I feel I need an ice pack for my head.


Chris
 
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crassius

crassius

Well-Known Member
Sep 30, 2012
4,032
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USA
as a general rule, reliability depends on how many spares you have ready to go : (
 
bluegoatwoods

bluegoatwoods

Active Member
Jul 29, 2012
1,581
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Central Illinois
Also, it's not a dumb question. Those who know the answer don't need to ask. Those who don't know the answer need to ask. Nothing wrong with that.

But it also looks as though you're beginning to see the answer; they're all about the same. And while they're not Cadillac engines, they're pretty likeable all the same. I'm talking about the chinese two strokes here. There's a four stroke sub-group here. But I can't speak for those engines, never having had one.

Some prefer the four strokes for reliability. But some of us like the two strokes. I say that they're worth the lack of polish in exchange for the excellent price.

Someone above, crassius I think, mentioned having spares. I think it was a bit tongue-in-cheek. But that's exactly what I've done. There's a brand new engine kit sitting in my attic waiting for the day that I need a part. When that day comes I'll put it on my bike and order a new one to replace in my spare parts box.

They're inexpensive enough to justify it. That's pretty cool.
 
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woogie_man

New Member
Aug 9, 2013
223
0
0
Fargo, ND
Yeah looking at the motors and plan on doing the basic cleaning and polishing internals. So may be a fun project anyway...and have been looking at the fuel ratios as well radically the higher ratios.
 
D

dumpstercrusher

New Member
May 20, 2013
261
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Glen Burnie, Maryland
ive heard if u want reliability that u shoukd go with a 4 stroke. Now i have a built 2 stroke that i bought the motor as a whole and have put about 350-400 miles on so far. Only things ive been tinkering with is fuel cap ventilation, rear V brake adjustments (love the ease of front disk brakes) and a little bit of jet tuning. I love the feel of a manual clutch than an auto clutch so that should give u an idea. I dont know if 4 strokes can have a manual clutch. Now ive heard the 99cc predator engine was reliable and pretty fast. If i were to do another build, id either get dax's gt50 motor thats 9hp (dont know if thats the correct name) or go with a morini motor thats around the same hp. I personally like the motor to be fast for 'just in case purposes' even though i cruise at 25mph-30.
 
maniac57

maniac57

Old, Fat, and still faster than you
Oct 8, 2011
4,484
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memphis Tn
Ride it right and a china girl is every bit as reliable as any other engine.
Don't scream her guts out 24/7 and she will happily burble along for years.
I recently sold a bike with over 10k on it and it's still running fine for the new owner.
Very simple and few moving parts means reliability if you approach it with the right attitude.
Remember, she's built to putt, not speed. Keep her below 6-7k and unless it breaks right away, they just run forever!
 
D

dumpstercrusher

New Member
May 20, 2013
261
0
0
Glen Burnie, Maryland
maniac57 said:
Ride it right and a china girl is every bit as reliable as any other engine.
Don't scream her guts out 24/7 and she will happily burble along for years.
I recently sold a bike with over 10k on it and it's still running fine for the new owner.
Very simple and few moving parts means reliability if you approach it with the right attitude.
Remember, she's built to putt, not speed. Keep her below 6-7k and unless it breaks right away, they just run forever!
Click to expand...
wow, impressive! 10k miles? now that def gives me hope in the long run. bad thing is, its hard to tell the rpms without a proper rpm gauge
 
maniac57

maniac57

Old, Fat, and still faster than you
Oct 8, 2011
4,484
22
0
memphis Tn
Just feel the sweet spot. Cruise her nice and calm and she burbles along happy as a clam, Rev her too far and she will feel unhappy and tell you about it.
Ignore her and she will throw a fit (and chunks of piston out the pipe)
Treat her gentle and she will run her heart out for you.
 
maniac57

maniac57

Old, Fat, and still faster than you
Oct 8, 2011
4,484
22
0
memphis Tn
It works!
I used to have a Ford that would not run unless you had a package of hot dogs on the dash.
I had to threaten to hold a weenie roast to get it to run!
 
L

lenny9651

New Member
Apr 7, 2013
59
0
0
florida
i have only used 66cc grubee engines, i have several bike and i have never had a major problem with the internals of the engine, i have cracked a carb and broken some bolts, i did have to change a burned out magneto,but the engine itself has been very reliable
 
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woogie_man

New Member
Aug 9, 2013
223
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0
Fargo, ND
Lol...ok so keep some weenies with me at all times then lol


And man is pirate cycles hard to get a hold of! And motor ordered!! Now to wait...
 
Last edited:
maniac57

maniac57

Old, Fat, and still faster than you
Oct 8, 2011
4,484
22
0
memphis Tn
lenny9651 said:
i have only used 66cc grubee engines, i have several bike and i have never had a major problem with the internals of the engine, i have cracked a carb and broken some bolts, i did have to change a burned out magneto,but the engine itself has been very reliable
Click to expand...

My current kit is number 25 or 26 and the only failure I ever had was one bad magneto coil, which the vendor replaced free.
I remove the jug and rinse out the crankcase on all new engines because of the debris from china manufacturing known to be found. I also open up the gaskets to full port size before buttoning up.
Check the piston circlips to be sure they are in right too. I have found several not fully in the groove and waiting to come loose in the cylinder, which would have killed the engine very quickly.
Nothing magic, just check it all out and put it back together clean and tight.
Run 32:1 for the first three or four tanks of fuel, then switch to 40:1 and enjoy!
Wait till it's fully broken in before you bother trying to tune it. They need 300-40 miles to get settled.
 
RicksRides

RicksRides

Member
Feb 22, 2012
864
6
18
osceola IN
woogie_man said:
Ok sorry if this seems like a dumb question to you guys, but I have been reading for a few days now and my head is starting to hurt :p

I have a new stretch bike coming to me next week. I am planning on dropping a motor in it as soon as I can so I can get some riding in before the snow starts to fly up here. I have seen many people talk about the china motors and what not, but started to wonder about a good US made motor? Would like something that is easy to get parts for, super relible, and fairly easy to maintain.

I have no problems working on the motor or anything like that. I have been looking through bikeberry, pirate cycles, and piston bikes for different options and what not. To me they all kind of look the same.

What I am planning on doing with the bike is ride it to work as much as I can. Plan on maybe around 10-12 miles one way with it, and then of course cruising around town and what not.

Went though and re-read the "motor sticky" and aside from the oil debate I am thinking I have this down. Or atleast I hope I do :( All the motors are probably from the same place, QC can tend to suck, and doesn't matter where you get it from as they are all virtually the same. correct?

Any help would be great, as I feel I need an ice pack for my head.


Chris
Click to expand...
Want a good american made engine find a little toro snoblower remove the 3hp tehcumseh from it.
Between my children and myself we have over 5100 miles on my toro friction drive and have yet to have any issues with it
 
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woogie_man

New Member
Aug 9, 2013
223
0
0
Fargo, ND
Have a 66/80cc flying horse motor coming, along with a boost bottle as well. Should be here by the end of the week or so......so well maybe have to call in sick to work or something to get everything built.
 
bluegoatwoods

bluegoatwoods

Active Member
Jul 29, 2012
1,581
6
38
Central Illinois
You'll enjoy it. It's also likely to frustrate you from time to time as well. That's a shame, but it's not all that bad. As you get to know your bike and engine you'll find yourself riding more and fixing less.

Maybe the biggest problem for newbies is engine movement. See to it that that engine stays exactly where you put it and you'll skate on by a lot of the trouble that makes people pull their hair out.

Have fun with it and best of luck.
 
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woogie_man

New Member
Aug 9, 2013
223
0
0
Fargo, ND
Can't wait for it to be honest. I am planning on getting some lock tight from work tonight and plan on choosing all the bolts with it. And possibly replacing all the bolts from the get go.
 
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