Your kit reliability experience needed!!! chinese or name brand motors

In terms of reliability, in terms of my Powerkings "80cc", The drive chain is terrible. Much lubed and "loosening of links". I mean, like 20 siezed links. 3/4 of the were loosened up with bending. If you take a loose chain and make this shape ----^---- with the links, then bend them side to side, normally the loosen immediately. But I've got 3 or 4 stubborn ones that wreak havoc with vibration and noise. Soon will get a better chain.

Also still fighting to get it to run smooth. I raised the float level just a hair, and it seemed to improve a little (thank you BikeGuy Joe) but still cuts out under light load. Will raise it a hair more soon.

Right now battling flat rear tires. My old MTB tires were to wide at 2.1" and the drivechain rubbed through sidewall. So I got a brand new Specialized 1.5" one, no more chain rub! But I keep pinch flatting. First left me stranded because tube of patch cement was empty. Not used up, I mean completely wrinkle-free unused but empty!!! Rode home 3 miles on rim destroying tire. Today, another flat. This time 6 miles from home. Took bus 11 miles, 2 miles to work on rim..tire destroyed. I'm thinking the really wide MTB rims aren't letting the tire "puff up" so the side profile is too short (even at 80 psi) But 3 miles on one tire and 6 on the other!!! Just ordered some flat free tires similar to wheelbarrow ones, but for bikes, bye bye flats!!!! See links, but there are more than these two suppliers out there.
How come nobody knows and is telling about these!!!

Air Free Tires - Bicycle
Flat-Free Bicycle & Wheelchair Tires

Wow. I ...um...can't wait to get my Dax kit? I'm glad I can fix things...

The hot seller is Tanaka33 2 cycle, and the Tanaka28 is under development, to replace the Zenoah/Redmax26cc.

The Tanaka40 was a bit much for my taste, with more disadvantages than advantages.

In 4 cycles, Subaru35 is quieter, lighter, has a smaller footprint than the Honda, and I've heard that Honda35 has some kind of "problem" with warranties when the engine wasn't installed by one of their licensed dealers or agents. I'm avoiding them presently, till some improvements happen to fuel capacity.

All crank first or second pull out of the box.

I cancelled my dax titan order after waiting 30 days for a an order that was supposed to ship after 15 business days. But at least duane sent my refund promptly thru paypal. Decided to get a staton inside chain drive with a mitsubishi43tle Hopefully I wont hve to wait another month! lol
I think when you give a vendor your money, he has an obligation to fulfill in a timely manor. Big dissapointment!

jg767 said:

I think when you give a vendor your money, he has an obligation to fulfill in a timely manor. Big dissapointment!

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Here here!!
It's been over a month now that i ordered flat-free tires from airfreetires.com...and after 3 weeks of nothing shipped, I called and left a message to cancel because I didn't know what was going on. Were they out of stock? Had them but not shipping on purpose? Then I got an email saying, um, we got your explicit message, um, so what's going on now? So I blasted off an email....no response, next week, I blast off another phone message. You have my money and aren't giving a product nor a refund! Got another email which was simply a re-send of previous email...
WTF!!
You have my money. You haven't sent tires.
Do you have tires?
If not, refund 2 weeks ago please!

Sorry to rant, but these people don't know what is going on with their own stuff!

I'm quite happy with the China Girl two stroke engines. Last major failure was of a chinese spark plug that I failed to replace with a Jap or USA plug. Prior to one other self inflicted incident-overevved engine on a steep downslope using a 50tooth rear sprocket-I have never had an engine fail that was run as designed.

I have ridden countless miles on forestry service roads, old stage coach roads in Colorado Mountains in hot weather. Doing long hauls in New Mexico touring the Navajo nation in 100 deg temps and the only major and consistent problem I have are FLAT tires. My engines were flawless and never quit on me. In fact a Kings Power engine was my favorite engine of all time. I rode that engine so hard up a mountain that the exahust header was red and the head permamenty changed colors. The castor oil in the mix protected the engine from seizing and the engine still runs great today. Loctite is your friend and makes for a trouble free ride.

hey everybody,
ive been doing a little research among all of the different types of engines available for our bikes.....and what i have found for the most part, is that the rear mounted engines (which personally, i think look like leaf blowers minus the long plastic tube) which are often pull-start motors, like a lawn mower, give much better fuel economy and reliability than that of the much cooler looking midframe-mounted chinese or japanese engines.....
long story short...does anyone have a "leaf-blower" type rear mount engine, and if so, tell us about it!
Personally, I am in the market for ANY kind of engine/motor, and i have even considered electric over gas powered due to maintenance, but eventually ruled electric out because i dont have a long enough extension cord! lol......
but seriously, for the money, are the rear mount, golden eagle or subaru type motors more bang for the buck?
i know that they cost more initially, but in the long haul, what are we talking about as far as rebuilding a chinese motor anyway?

i love japan, dont get me wrong!....every car that has ever lasted me a long time without major repair bills was JAPANESE..ie toyota, honda, etc...

im just saying that if these chinese engines are not up to par with the rest of em, lets be honest here!, im just looking for the best investment since i dont have time or money for breakdowns.....

the engine kit im considering will be a birthday gift from my girlfriend, and maybe my sister as well(if it is so expensive)
i've never had a silver spoon in my mouth....ive worked for 98.9% of everything i have ever had, with seldom help from my family (parents are low income teachers, and divorced = no money!)... and so when it comes to this, i definitley want to make sure im making the right decision!
does anybody know what engine is going to be the best for reliability? im probably looking at 50-60 miles/week.....what do you think?
thanks,
dave

Beachcruiser. Welcome To The Forum. I Have Only Been On The Forum Approx 3 Months. I Think "bamabikeguy" Has Put On Over 12,000 Miles. You Mite Enjoy Clicking On His Name And Reading His Posts. Good Luck, Ron

I've been putting 2 to 3 hundred miles a week since early spring of this year, started with a robin subaru35cc and a golden eagle settup, immediately had to invest in a heavy duty 36 spoke 105 gauge rear wheel as I kept breaking spokes from the torque stress at the drive ring, especially in stop ad go traffic in the city.The motorwas very dependable, but I needed more power so I got the tanaka 40cc 2 stroke, also very reliable and only 250 dollars. THe only downside is it's much louder. I now have the mitsu 43cc 2 stroke, has the power of the tanaka(2.2 hp) and is as quiet or quieter tha the robin subaru and is very smooth running. From what I've heard about the chinese frme mount 2 strokes I woud avoid, they're not nearly as reliable, and not really much cheaper than a quality japanese name brand motor, especially in the long run.

I bought a Chinese 4 stroke kit. The engine's not the problem. The el-cheapo Chinese gearbox on it stripped out on my first ride. I'd avoid any Chinese kit and go with whatever kits have either a Honda or Robin-Subaru engine. But be aware that some of the small Honda engines are made in (I think) Thailand. Robin-Subaru and Tanaka are by far the most reliable engines. But these kits are always rack mount, no center frame mount, which would be ideal, but not available.

starrunner said:

I bought a Chinese 4 stroke kit. The engine's not the problem. The el-cheapo Chinese gearbox on it stripped out on my first ride. I'd avoid any Chinese kit and go with whatever kits have either a Honda or Robin-Subaru engine. But be aware that some of the small Honda engines are made in (I think) Thailand. Robin-Subaru and Tanaka are by far the most reliable engines. But these kits are always rack mount, no center frame mount, which would be ideal, but not available.

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There are two gearboxes a GruBee and one that has the shape of the figure 8. I understand the the GruBee is the only one to buy. Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience this is supposed to be a just fun hobby. It is true that the china frame mount is not the most reliable but as a general rule it works pretty well for the money. Out of five I have built only one went south and I was not riding so it was new and it could have been pushed too far. He called me out on the road and said he could not figure out what could be the problem and had just kept trying to start. When I got it apart all the rollers from the big end were jammed into everything, I will never understand anyone that will just keep trying when there has to be that much bad noise coming from down there. Oh well, Have fun, Dave

Yes, it's definitely the figure-8 shaped gearbox that's bad. It's the one included in the kit called JL Hoot, so if you actually see the name JL Hoot, you'll be guaranteed to have a problem. In my case, the name never came up and it wasn't what I ordered, but it's what I got. Took me some checking around and investigating to figure out all this, but now I know.

Okay I missed this thread so I need to throw my motor into the mix. I have a little over 1000 miles on my motor and it gets stronger everytime I take it out. It has the power to climb hills or you can gear it for some good top speed. I think with a 44 tooth it could hit 50mph. I have a 5.8hp 50cc 2 cycle Morini. It's been bulletproof except for a few snapped spokes due to some rough terrain riding.

Star.. I would feel your pain..But..I keep telling and will continue to keep telling those that wish to buy a 4 stroke in frame kit that currently the Gear boxes are not good. Yet people keep buying them. I do not get it !!! The HS engines are very good and bullet proof. The gear boxes are poor. The only Bullet proof engine and gear box setup that I know of is the Titan which I sell and that is why I sell it. That is the reason I do not sell the in frame 4 stroke setup. Not yet. I have an in Frame 4 stroke In Beta Test with Gear box set up similar to the Titan and it is an inline setup with direction the same as the engine. It too is bullet proof but is still in Beta test. It will not become available until next year spring some time. Until then.. I do not know what to tell you except this. If the in frame 4 stroke engines with gear boxes were a good setup, we would be selling them. You can go to my website and see that we are not selling them. Axiomatic. There may be a guy or two out there for what ever reason has lucked out and got a setup that works. But again.. We do not sell them. That should tell you a lot. Thanks..Enjoy the ride...

Easy Rider said:

Okay I missed this thread so I need to throw my motor into the mix. I have a little over 1000 miles on my motor and it gets stronger everytime I take it out. It has the power to climb hills or you can gear it for some good top speed. I think with a 44 tooth it could hit 50mph. I have a 5.8hp 50cc 2 cycle Morini. It's been bulletproof except for a few snapped spokes due to some rough terrain riding.

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You're the second Morini powered bike I've seen on Youtube. Absolutely great way to go. A superior alternative to the clone engines.
YouTube - Motorized bicycle with Italian moped engine

starrunner said:

You're the second Morini powered bike I've seen on Youtube. Absolutely great way to go. A superior alternative to the clone engines.
YouTube - Motorized bicycle with Italian moped engine

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There's at least 3 more people I know that use the Morini motors. Two with the 3 hp and Lean Dean and I with the 5.8 hp motors.

thatsdax said:

Star.. I would feel your pain..But..I keep telling and will continue to keep telling those that wish to buy a 4 stroke in frame kit that currently the Gear boxes are not good. Yet people keep buying them. I do not get it !!! The HS engines are very good and bullet proof. The gear boxes are poor. The only Bullet proof engine and gear box setup that I know of is the Titan which I sell and that is why I sell it. That is the reason I do not sell the in frame 4 stroke setup. Not yet. I have an in Frame 4 stroke In Beta Test with Gear box set up similar to the Titan and it is an inline setup with direction the same as the engine. It too is bullet proof but is still in Beta test. It will not become available until next year spring some time. Until then.. I do not know what to tell you except this. If the in frame 4 stroke engines with gear boxes were a good setup, we would be selling them. You can go to my website and see that we are not selling them. Axiomatic. There may be a guy or two out there for what ever reason has lucked out and got a setup that works. But again.. We do not sell them. That should tell you a lot. Thanks..Enjoy the ride...

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Dax, I'm aware that the so-called Grubee gearbox is a step above the Hoot one that I got, but the Grubee gearbox was the one I was SUPPOSED to get, but that's an old story. I'm sure the Grubee would have failed too. I'm fairly certain the only truly dependable gearboxes are strictly American-made ones like you and Staton have. If I could simply buy one of those good quality gearboxes and bolt on my engine, I'd be doing great, but the way you guys are set up, it's an entire kit or nothing, so there's that big gray zone. Staton's might bolt on to the engine I have, but probably wouldn't fit in with my frame mount setup. Since the Chinese are actually making decent engines, it would be nice to be able to have a source for a good gearbox to go with them. In my case, I'm out over $300 for a kit, but if you don't have all the parts, it's worthless. I can't go fork out another $400 for an entirely new kit and buy another engine just like what I have. All those $$$ add up quickly.

Easy Rider said:

There's at least 3 more people I know that use the Morini motors. Two with the 3 hp and Lean Dean and I with the 5.8 hp motors.

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The one I gave a link to (RayKelley) said the Morini sprocket matched up perfectly with the Chinese sprocket and chain that came with the original bike kit he bought. He said the original 2 stroke blew up.

I have a Staton GXH 50 Honda friction drive kit on a stretch Kustom Cruiser Slick Daddy, and this baby go's!!!!! 40+ mph! I just heard about the hybrid David has. Gotta check it out. Here's my new ride. Sorry, I have to resize my pictures to show. Gotta go!

Yes.. You have heard right.. 500-6000 miles. Depends on how you treat the motor. I know guys that can tear a motor up in 100 miles, does not matter who makes it. Bench test rotation for Dax 2 stroke motors is 10,000 km. If you get 6000 miles or more out of a 200usd engine, that is great for sure !! And this is common with the dax 2 strokes. I do have some customers with 8000 miles or more. I have over 4000 miles on mine. It is smooth and fast... You can buy a Titan for twice as much. It is a 4 stroke and very durable. But again, more expensive. The Titan is a Caddy, the GT or good times 2 stroke is the Chevy. So..It depends on what you want.. A Chevy or a Caddy.. Enjoy the ride...