Ideal combination?

GoldenMotor.com

rkw

New Member
May 25, 2010
6
0
0
oregon
I bought a motor (jet 68cc) and now need to get a bike. But I have a couple of questions.
Is a steel frame mandatory or can I use a newer, fatter alumnium one?
Is it advisable to get a multiple speed bike or to keep it simple?
Is it easy to add disc brakes?

I am an old guy who sees $10 a gallon gas coming, and wants to prepare.
And this might be a lot of fun.
I look foreward to meeting folks on the forum.
Rkw
 

AZMotorbiker

New Member
May 20, 2010
29
0
0
Chandler, Arizona
I bought a motor (jet 68cc) and now need to get a bike. But I have a couple of questions.
Is a steel frame mandatory or can I use a newer, fatter alumnium one?
Is it advisable to get a multiple speed bike or to keep it simple?
Is it easy to add disc brakes?

I am an old guy who sees $10 a gallon gas coming, and wants to prepare.
And this might be a lot of fun.
I look foreward to meeting folks on the forum.
Rkw
You can mount an engine to just about any kind of bike. For simplicity though, a steel frame makes things easier, at least it did for me. I would have had to drill a hole in my aluminum Trek for my build, and aluminum frames can crack easily, so I opted not to do that. The steel framed Diamondback didn't need any drilling whatsoever, the stock engine bolted right on.

I'd say keep it simple (i.e. single speed). Mine is a multiple speed bike and I was ready to rip the damn deraileur off and throw it across the garage during my build. But we took our time and got the drive chain mounted with the original multi speed manual mechanics intact.

Don't know about the disc brakes. I still have the stock brakes on my bike. .duh.

Hope that helps!

-AZ
 

rkw

New Member
May 25, 2010
6
0
0
oregon
I made an offer on a very tall urban 700. I am a big guy.
Thanks for the heads up on the multi speed bikes. I will probabally add more brake capacity.
I have a very gifted friend with a good shop to help me over the bumps.
Thanks for the useful input
 

Gator Wrestler

New Member
Jan 22, 2009
124
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0
Springfield LA
The hub size of the single speed presents a potential problem. The sprocket hole may not fit on the hub without enlarging and the brake arm will have to be modified to work with the sprocket. I have found it more simple to use a multi speed rear wheel even on a single speed bike. IMHO
 

slowpoke

New Member
May 12, 2010
14
0
0
North Texas
rkw, from another old guy, my pick was a single speed, steel frame Schwinn Delmar Cruiser. Unless you plan to do some pedaling with the clutch disengaged, I don't see the need for a multispeed bike.

I had two issues with the cruiser bike, both have been addressed elsewhere in the forum. (1) the lower tube, or downtube is a larger diameter, so the front mount on the engine didn't fit. I took the hard way, and made a "saddle clamp" from a piece of steel pipe sawed down the middle, with a piece of 1 1/2" flat bar bent and welded to the saddle clamp, and welded to another piece of flat steel which was drilled and bolted to the front engine mount. Others, smarter than me, have used an auto muffler clamp and a little welding. (2) The coaster brake dust cover on the cruiser didn't fit through the hole in the drive sprocket. I used a piece of 1/8" aluminum cut from a piece of scrap. sawed, rasped and drilled to fit. Elsewhere on the forum, there's a "coaster brake dust cap mod", where the original dust cap was just ground down to fit through the sprocket. Sounds a lot easier than my approach, but I wanted to try the makeshift fix anyway. Whatever bike you choose, Happy motorized biking!

slowpoke
 

rkw

New Member
May 25, 2010
6
0
0
oregon
rkw, from another old guy, my pick was a single speed, steel frame Schwinn Delmar Cruiser. Unless you plan to do some pedaling with the clutch disengaged, I don't see the need for a multispeed bike.

I had two issues with the cruiser bike, both have been addressed elsewhere in the forum. (1) the lower tube, or downtube is a larger diameter, so the front mount on the engine didn't fit. I took the hard way, and made a "saddle clamp" from a piece of steel pipe sawed down the middle, with a piece of 1 1/2" flat bar bent and welded to the saddle clamp, and welded to another piece of flat steel which was drilled and bolted to the front engine mount. Others, smarter than me, have used an auto muffler clamp and a little welding. (2) The coaster brake dust cover on the cruiser didn't fit through the hole in the drive sprocket. I used a piece of 1/8" aluminum cut from a piece of scrap. sawed, rasped and drilled to fit. Elsewhere on the forum, there's a "coaster brake dust cap mod", where the original dust cap was just ground down to fit through the sprocket. Sounds a lot easier than my approach, but I wanted to try the makeshift fix anyway. Whatever bike you choose, Happy motorized biking!

slowpoke
Thanks for the info. Even though I have a good shop handy I am daunted by the time this project will take.

RKW
 

Cabinfever1977

New Member
Mar 23, 2009
2,288
1
0
Upstate,NY
I would use a steel multispeed bike,side pull caliper brakes,front suspention only.
Even if you don't use all of the multi gears you wont have to worry about a coaster brake hub wheel exploding or breaking on you, and if will be easier to adjust your engine side chain since you will have a derailer on the other side.

I had a coaster brake wheel and the hub exploded the first week of low speed riding,so i replaced it with a mountain bike wheel even tho i have a single speed.

Now that i received tickets for having a engine on my bike and now i have no engine i wished i bought a multispeed bike.