Why start with crap? Top Quality DIY for $347
- Thread starter KCvale
- Start date
I here of that alot about the throttle cables..there fun when they run though..i usually dont have any problems like that with mine..all i have to do is change a drive wheel every 2,000miles..clean the exhaust and im good..clean the carb every once in a while of course! Hope ya get her running soon! there a blast!
The newbies is who this was for as I mentioned, I would have loved this tip when I started out and I'll say it again...
If you want to build something you don't have to mess with much before you start or constantly dick with after that will even go together pretty easy that is my formula and they run a LONG time.
Just a tip and not meant to be everyone's standard, it's just my baseline standard and I shared a deal I found is all, and at $350 DIY one heck of a bike.
Everyone has a different definition of what they consider to be reliable quality components based upon their expectations.
I personally am not a fan of the China Girl type 2-stroke motors that are made out of Chinacheapoesium metal. I prefer a micro 4-stroke engine like they use on upper end commercial grade lawn equipment such as string trimmers and back-pack blowers (Note: I said upper end commercial duty equipment. I'm not talking about those cheapo $99 special Wal-mart sale string trimmers and the motors used in them). I prefer a good solid chain drive (driving the hub not just bolted to the darn spokes !!!) where there is no flimsy chain tensioner to break, bend or wear out and instead prefer an adjustable motor mount where you loosen the mounts for the motor or the gear box attached to the motor and slide it back to give just barely enough chain slack to work the chain on or off and then slide the mounts back up to tighten the chain and then tighten down the mounting bolts tight. No chain tensioner needed.
I've never had a real affection for coaster brakes but much prefer a quality set of V-pull brakes with high end performance pads or better yet disk brakes with quality calipers and pads.
As far as the bike itself so long as it is built sturdy enough and isn't brittle I'm mainly looking at how its geometry is set-up and all the finer details such as how it is set-up as far as component compatibility (brake mounts available, bottom bracket type, head type, derail-er mounting configuration, fender mounting, cargo rack mounting, etc . . .).
Hopefully fairly soon I'm going to be making my own frames from stainless steel square tube. Getting set-up for that right now so I can make what I want how I want it. Using stock frames is just getting too limiting even with doing hack-and-weld jobs on them to get them to suit my needs and I don't want to pay thousands upon thousands of dollars to custom frame builders and I've got more time then money especially when school is out for three months in the summer and about a month long break starting a little before Christmas and going through the first half of every January. My student days are over but I work two jobs and one of them is at a school so when school is out my work is cut in half with only one of my two jobs being active and my open time for projects doubles.
I personally am not a fan of the China Girl type 2-stroke motors that are made out of Chinacheapoesium metal. I prefer a micro 4-stroke engine like they use on upper end commercial grade lawn equipment such as string trimmers and back-pack blowers (Note: I said upper end commercial duty equipment. I'm not talking about those cheapo $99 special Wal-mart sale string trimmers and the motors used in them). I prefer a good solid chain drive (driving the hub not just bolted to the darn spokes !!!) where there is no flimsy chain tensioner to break, bend or wear out and instead prefer an adjustable motor mount where you loosen the mounts for the motor or the gear box attached to the motor and slide it back to give just barely enough chain slack to work the chain on or off and then slide the mounts back up to tighten the chain and then tighten down the mounting bolts tight. No chain tensioner needed.
I've never had a real affection for coaster brakes but much prefer a quality set of V-pull brakes with high end performance pads or better yet disk brakes with quality calipers and pads.
As far as the bike itself so long as it is built sturdy enough and isn't brittle I'm mainly looking at how its geometry is set-up and all the finer details such as how it is set-up as far as component compatibility (brake mounts available, bottom bracket type, head type, derail-er mounting configuration, fender mounting, cargo rack mounting, etc . . .).
Hopefully fairly soon I'm going to be making my own frames from stainless steel square tube. Getting set-up for that right now so I can make what I want how I want it. Using stock frames is just getting too limiting even with doing hack-and-weld jobs on them to get them to suit my needs and I don't want to pay thousands upon thousands of dollars to custom frame builders and I've got more time then money especially when school is out for three months in the summer and about a month long break starting a little before Christmas and going through the first half of every January. My student days are over but I work two jobs and one of them is at a school so when school is out my work is cut in half with only one of my two jobs being active and my open time for projects doubles.
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Ocho Ninja found a Micargi with a 2 stroke on craigslist and we went to check it out. whoever put it together did a REAL bad job of it. (drilled the frame.) The guy wanted $225, so we talked him down to $120 and took it. The first stop after that was to my buddies at the muffler shop to get the holes welded back in. ($10.) He's planing on putting his 4 stroke on it and using the 2 stroke engine to do a "for sale" build with another frame.
Now, I said all of that to say this. The Micargi is a cool looking bike BUT, You gotta know, The Micargi factory is in china, (Guangdong Province,) like everything else is today, It's MADE IN CHINA. In fact, my Huffy has 12 guage spokes and steel rims. the micargi has smaller spokes and aluminum rims. The Micargi IS a cooler looking frame than the Huffy, But I say china crap is china crap and whatever type of china crap ya want to buy it's still gonna be china crap. So I'm just wondering what makes Micargi china crap better than Huffy china crap.
fatdaddy.
And OH YEAH, Before I started with all the accessories, my basic build cost about $250.00
Now, I said all of that to say this. The Micargi is a cool looking bike BUT, You gotta know, The Micargi factory is in china, (Guangdong Province,) like everything else is today, It's MADE IN CHINA. In fact, my Huffy has 12 guage spokes and steel rims. the micargi has smaller spokes and aluminum rims. The Micargi IS a cooler looking frame than the Huffy, But I say china crap is china crap and whatever type of china crap ya want to buy it's still gonna be china crap. So I'm just wondering what makes Micargi china crap better than Huffy china crap.
fatdaddy.
And OH YEAH, Before I started with all the accessories, my basic build cost about $250.00
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My personal experience with Micargi frames is that they tend to crack over time. (I don't know about all of their models), but I've seen far too many cracked Micargi bikes in my shop to ever use them myself. (no matter how inexpensive they are).
Also... I hate to dis any of Pauls parts because SBP is a quality company, & I rely on them for good parts for my bikes; but those front 'universal' mounts they have allow too much engine vibrations & tend to also crack over time.
Also... I hate to dis any of Pauls parts because SBP is a quality company, & I rely on them for good parts for my bikes; but those front 'universal' mounts they have allow too much engine vibrations & tend to also crack over time.
chain drive is not the problem, its the crappy tensioners and misaligned sprockets that mess things up. china kits are all hit and miss, grubee is not much better if any. i do not like any cheap bikes because the brakes and controls are poor quality and will break easily, not to mention they never stay correctly adjusted for long. just get an old specialized or schwinn off craigslist.
And I agree wth you, Mostly. Even a cheapo kit will peform well enough if put together properly. Alignment is EVERYTHING.
The thing is, If you get some old bike yer gonna wind up replacing most of the controls anyway. AND, If ya want a cruiser frame, Specialized don't make em, and an old Schwinn cruiser frame is gonna bust the bank. Just sayin.
fatdaddy.
You tell em 2stroker. I've also got A LOT of miles on 2 strokes and the ONLY time I've been stranded is because of a sidewall blowout, No patching that up.
fatdaddy.
2strokes are just more reliable. If someone told me that a four stroke was more reliable than a 2stroke. I would tell them well obviously you have never ridden a 2 stroke then. Your oil is in your gas they are made to run faster at higher rpms so the quality of the motor has to be stronger to with stand the performance of the engine..cheaply casted aluminum blocks with flaws just dont cut it as reliable for me..I will stick with my 2stroke. We all read the same post here guys. How many 2strokes are broken vs. 4strokes on this forum..that speaks for it's self..Do i gotta take the time and make a list..i recently broke my foot and have all the time in the world for the next few days..lol..Four stoke's are reliable dont get me wrong guys..the staton..honda..are at the top of the list but the fact is they aren't as reliable as a 2stroke..atleast my personal experiance and opinion and information i have collected off this forum over time would lead me to think so..
If you told me you got 2,000miles outta 4stroke with no problems..i would say lucky you!
you should talk to the large amount of guys wit 10-15k miles on there 4 stroke kits
i want some nice miles out of my next engine so 4 stroke it is
i want some nice miles out of my next engine so 4 stroke it is
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i got 2000 miles on my four stroke this summer commuting back and forth to work every day, never been late, never been stranded. but look at a good quality four stroke motocross engine and a good quality 2 stroke motocross engine, the smoker will have to be rebuilt atleast twice as often, many time 3 or four times before the thumper will even begin to need an overhaul. while 2 stroke are high power, high rpm motors, that also leads to high wear and high heat.
You might want to try some mild steel first. Stainless tubing eats notcher cutters and tools. It's cool but rarely worth the extra trouble unless you want it polished and naked.
Chain upgrade is mandatory unless you like welts. I bough a box of HD#40 at a local hardware store for about 22$. It's enough for two bikes and has been stone reliable so far. Chain problems are usually due to chinese quality, not the design. Any engineer will tell you chain is MUCH more efficient than friction. Have you ever seen a motorcycle with a drive roller? Wonder why....? The ONLY advantage friction has is ease of mounting and simplified drivetrain. Both work but I'll stick with chains.
SIMPLIFIED DRIVETRAIN? WHAT DRIVETRAIN? You can't call a "roller" a drivetrain. It takes less mechanical ability to set one up and is less efficient. Should I say it? Well, Should I? I WILL.
A friction drive is for people with less mechanical ability and have more money to spend on something less efficient because it's EASY. Then want to put down chain drives like it's stone age tech.
A chain drive takes a good degree of ability and can be done for almost half the price and is efficient as he!!. BUT, of course, ya gotta have the ability to do it. And I don't even need to talk about if the tire gets wet. OH YEAH, THATS EFFICIENT.
Sorry about my tirade. I usually have a little more diplomacy. I don't go around knocking anyones ride. I'm just tired of friction riders trying to convince everyone how EFFICIENT they are. WELL, THEY'RE NOT. So yeah maniac, We agree.
fatdaddy.
Yeah Jonny, with the high tech stuff belts are being made of now, A belt drive is a do'able alternative. If it does break it's usually not as easy as a chain to replace, but at least it's an EFFICIENT way to power a wheel.
fatdaddy.
