How much did your build cost?

GoldenMotor.com

graydog8josh

Member
Nov 23, 2012
450
4
18
Starkville,MS
I wanted to know what people spend on their kits or non-kits so i can get an idea of the motorbike economy.
these are the figures i have:
2 stroke 49cc kit: ~$135 Boygofast(with shipping)
4 stroke kit: $390(with shipping)
electric hub kit $713 golden motors(with battery and shipping)
frictiondrive kit ebay $340 (with shipping)
morini $399/660/805 3hp/9.4hp/11.9hp piratecycles/ treatland (not including shipping or fabrication cost)
harbor freight 212 cc $119 not including shipping or fabrication costs
lifan 125cc $285 pccmotor.com not including shipping or fabrication costs

can anyone dispute this????
has anyone done a morini or harbor frieght for less than $1000 with fabrication
if anyone would share their project cost breakdown
 

graydog8josh

Member
Nov 23, 2012
450
4
18
Starkville,MS
If you have a 2 stroke kit, and you buy a harbor freight engine I don't see why you couldn't just use what's in the kit and make the hf work for you.
 
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NunyaBidness

Active Member
Jun 29, 2008
1,062
2
38
memphis tn
My first build was pretty cheap. The 2-stroke kit I got from ebay for ~125, think it was ~$150 or so with shipping. The bike it went on I got from a friends, family owned, pawn shop, for $19.20. It was a decent mountain bike and everything on the bike worked well, no tune up needed.
 

bigbutterbean

Active Member
Jan 31, 2011
2,417
3
38
Lebanon, PA
I'm not going to attempt to figure out what my other two bikes cost to build, because I can't remember everything. I will tell you what my current build cost me, what I estimate the actual value of parts to be, what parts and engine I'm using, and what I'm going to value the complete bike at (not that I would ever sell it). The parts and engine cost me right around $800. I estimate the actual value of all the parts to be at least $1000, because I got some parts for free or at a discounted price. Now for parts. 98cc Lifan engine, American made Schwinn cruiser frame, Suzuki K10 hudraulic motorcycle forks, Worksman seat, Worksman steel front wheel with drum brake, handlebars of unknown origin, Huffy rear wheel with coaster brake, Howard sprocket adapter, Moped headlight, OSI soft motorcycle saddlebags, 4 liter gas tank from luckyearlybird, Crow cycles center kickstand, some seatpost clamp type luggage rack, spring loaded chain tensioner from ebay, kmc 410 chain, custom made jackshaft transmission. I will value the complete bike at $2000.
 
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chainmaker

Well-Known Member
Jan 19, 2010
2,634
69
48
Ma USA
My first bike with a Zoom china kit was around 1000 but I made changes along the way which bumped up the bill. My hf 79 which turned into a whizzer was priced in the neighborhood of the new 250 cc motorcycles. My current build When done, I will have been able to build a nice bobber but my basement is my shop and I have no access with out going up a flight of stairs, and as I've gotten more into building these bikes I don't feel the need for a motorcycle I can drive my bikes anywhere a motorcycle can go besides the highway.
 

Mr. Minecraft

Visionary
Jan 13, 2012
349
0
0
San Diego
After being in the goped/dirt bike scene for a few years, I built my first bike which was a real POS that barely went together correctly. It was all stock, the bike was 170 and the kit was 180, but we had to replace some parts and make a few things so after it was "done" it cost me around $400.






After getting into gopeds again, I built another motorbike because i just cant shake the addiction of motor bikes ;). It was the same type of bike but I knew what to do this time. I replaced all hardware that came with the kit, and had the correct parts ready. After it was done it cost about $500.






Then after buying yet another goped and getting pulled over a bunch, I built myself a HS fourstroke that i was going to use as my only bike untill a new thing comes along. I put everything i wanted on it since it will be my last bike for a while. Felt bike, custom exhaust, billet crank, sprocket adapter, speedometer, tach, etc. After it was done, I spent about $1,000. This bike is now my pride and joy (besides my PC).










Hope I had some useful info!
 

Dan

Staff
May 25, 2008
12,765
115
48
58
Moosylvania
Josh, my favorite build so far is a HF on a Kmart $200 riverside

I made the mounts with a drill press, old kit parts and a former friend made the gear reduction. The pipe is electrical conduit and a plumber's rubber blow bag as a muffler.

The engine was $99, muffler $12. Mounts around $10. Kit parts I had on hand, figure 40 or 50 bucks.

so engine/drive train, around $170. Bike $200. Total, $370 or there abouts.

Seen folks build with dumpster dives for $0. Some uber cool builds for around $1,500
 
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graydog8josh

Member
Nov 23, 2012
450
4
18
Starkville,MS
My first bike with a Zoom china kit was around 1000 but I made changes along the way which bumped up the bill. My hf 79 which turned into a whizzer was priced in the neighborhood of the new 250 cc motorcycles. My current build When done, I will have been able to build a nice bobber but my basement is my shop and I have no access with out going up a flight of stairs, and as I've gotten more into building these bikes I don't feel the need for a motorcycle I can drive my bikes anywhere a motorcycle can go besides the highway.
chainmaker-- Costs?
 

Dan

Staff
May 25, 2008
12,765
115
48
58
Moosylvania
Josh, I have a rule. I never do the math. If you think about this logically, a motorized bicycle is a poor second to a moped or scooter. The great joy of this is your build is a one of a kind piece of functional art. No kidding, I take my bikes inside my local Graingers to buy parts for the next build. Just because there will be a ton of folks who offer some really great ideas. Employees and customers. That is the fun! To build some thing cool. All your own and just plain cool.

I think I have the coolest motorized bicycle ever made. At rallies, no one ever takes pics of mine to post. 'cause there is way better then mine, but my baby is the sweetest motorized bicycle ever built in my wee lil brain and just beautiful.

Screw the cost. Build some thing awesome, call her "she" and enjoy the ride.
 

graydog8josh

Member
Nov 23, 2012
450
4
18
Starkville,MS
I'm not bothered by costs, I'm just interested in it. Being in engineering i am prone to thinking about the math. I think any idea can be logical its taking costs and design and ingenuity that turns fantasies into tangible things. So to rephrase im primarily interested in the costs and execution. but no one can tell me how much something costs without doing it, because that isnt the question i asked.
 

culvercityclassic

Well-Known Member
Sep 27, 2009
3,115
177
63
Culver City, Ca
My last build I have less then a grand in it... Had some parts left over and made about 65% of the the custom parts. Now the labor was at least 40 hours.

One of my race bikes has more then 1500.00 in parts alone, labor on that was 60 hours. What kind of price do you put on labor?
 

Dan

Staff
May 25, 2008
12,765
115
48
58
Moosylvania
As soon as I posted that I felt it was kinda tart, Josh.

Cost does matter. I only meant to convey as a hobby and not a need, that I avoid it (cost) because it hinders my own meanderings of design.

Didn't mean to go off your topic. Just one of my favorite things to sit and ponder.
I honestly see designing and building motorized bicycles as more art then science. Or God forbid, math. (I hate math but oddly enough am a 48 yr old freshman in Precision Manufacturing)
 

biknut

Well-Known Member
Sep 28, 2010
6,631
409
83
Dallas
I've made a bike for $350, and another for $450. That included buying the bicycle. But if you're talking about a dependable bike that you can ride all over town and not have to be working on all the time, that's going to be at least $1000.
 

bigbutterbean

Active Member
Jan 31, 2011
2,417
3
38
Lebanon, PA
I have seen some builds that cost a lot that I thought were just "ok", and I have also seen some "budget builds" that I thought were awesome. My conclusion? Cost doesn't mean nearly as much as the ability to execute a well thought out design. Just my $0.02.
 

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
264
63
living the dream in southern california
i don't think any of my bikes cost me over $500 to build.

everything on my bikes is top quality, from the seats to the brake cables. i don't skimp on anything, and you're not gonna find any cheap garbage on any of my bikes.

i find it amazing how much people spend to build a cookie-cutter walmart bike, when mine usually cost much less, and sell for 5 times more.

it's all about fabricating parts yourself and knowing where to score the deals.

my current build is using all parts i had laying around, most of it is almost new, or vintage parts i found over the years (like a superpratic b throttle that runs about $100 on ebay, i scored 6 of them for 70 bucks :) ) so all the money's been spent a while ago, so it doesn't seem like i'm paying anything for it.

i figure i'll put $100 more into it for cables, a petcock, and a plug wire...
 
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Bikeguy Joe

Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
Jan 8, 2008
11,837
252
63
up north now
6 builds, all chinese 2 stroke kits, all under 200 dollars ready to ride. two of them were around 130 ready to ride (bought kits cheap, put them on 25 dollar bikes.

1 Bike Bug build, cost me 80 bucks at the flea market for the engine, and I put it on my Next that I already had, but bought new, so...