Which kit?

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chad223

New Member
Sep 20, 2010
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So I've heard several people say the Grubee kit is good. But today I came across a kit on ebay by "Lucky Early Bird" that looks nice, It has an angled spark plug for better ignition. It looks like it might be the same kit that "Boy Go Fast" sells. I feel like if I get the Grubee it will be one of those "I should've got a Hemi" situations, but I don't want to get something that's going to break after 100 miles.
 

Allen_Wrench

Resident Mad Scientist
Feb 6, 2010
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So I've heard several people say the Grubee kit is good. But today I came across a kit on ebay by "Lucky Early Bird" that looks nice, It has an angled spark plug for better ignition. It looks like it might be the same kit that "Boy Go Fast" sells. I feel like if I get the Grubee it will be one of those "I should've got a Hemi" situations, but I don't want to get something that's going to break after 100 miles.
I can't say I myself that I've heard of "Lucky Early Bird". But I can't help being reminded of what they say about what the Early Bird gets. Ni hao, meiyu shi qing. Xiexie.
 

Donavan321

New Member
Sep 27, 2012
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Appleton, Wisconsin
Hello there! I personally HAVE ordered kits from luckyearlybird. The first kit I got which was on my first bike build was awesome! But the muffler always fell apart! :mad: It was cheap. BUT I recently ordered a L.E.B kit for my buddy and the seller seems to have packed in higher quality mufflers. My buddys kit was missing the clutch lock screw when it had arrived though. The motors are of pretty good quality I'd say. Order a kit from Rose326a 140.00 with free shippping kits always come exactly with what's pictured. THE down side is every motr you get you will need to pull the clutch cover off and adjust the clutch so it freewheels one motor I got came with the clutch "frozen" the grease had dried ..so I removed the flower nut, clutch plate, spring and then there were 3 pins which the plate sits on.. I jammed the clucth gear with a flathead to prevent it from turning, then I used another flathead and wedged it between two of the pins and then carefully broke it free. it freewheeled, I re greased it, put it all back together. MOST of the time you just have to remove the flower nut because it's screwed on too tight. and fired her up after the build was complete. Other than that her kits have never been missing any pieces and they usually fire right up, you crank in the idle a little bit but she fires. I've never sent a motor back. BUT also, most of her motors have magnetos that DO NOT have white wires..you could always buy a different magneto but, I never power lights with my motors so I don't need a white wire. Everyone always asks me about the kits and I always point in them in the direction of rose326a. Others have ordered from Boygofast. There are some other sellers too with good feedback but I haven't oredered from them. Hope this helps! Also I have experienced bikeberry kits(AWESOME!! WELL WORTH IT) and Kingsmotorbikes(blew up after a year, terrible service) HAPPY RIDING! :) pino.
 

Bikeguy Joe

Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
Jan 8, 2008
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Just because the kit says "grubee" on it doesn't always (or necessarily) make it a better kit. Sometimes, a kit will have better components like the throttle, or the muffler. However, the basic chinese bicycle engine kit is somewhat of a crap shoot when it comes to quality control.

Better to learn a bit about them, and buy one for a good price. You'll be tweaking and making mods and adjustments as you go no matter what you buy.

P.S., there are those that will tell you the kits by bikeberry, boy go fast, lucky early bird, ect. are somehow worse than others, and vice versa.
 

Donavan321

New Member
Sep 27, 2012
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Appleton, Wisconsin
Bikeguy is right! I'd say most of the kits are made the same way, sellers are just in competition with each other. The kits could look different but end up being the same cheap ass engine. It's all about experiencing it for yourself. I'd say out of the eBay vendors I've used Rose326a is the best! The kits are of fair quality. Give stuff a try, learn as you go along. That's what I did :) Grubee is just a name in my opinion, it's no different. Most motor kits are made in china but some manufacturers will tear the engines apart and rebuild them with american grade parts such as bearings. Bike berry kits have Japanese ball bearings for example. And Dax sells U.S made kits. Which is why there a little more expensive. You get what you pay for. Another factor of how long the engine will last is how well it's maintained too. Most people here on the forum recommend synthetic oil. I don't use it but I will be soon! I mixed a little in some gas I had. So, good luck!
 

Donavan321

New Member
Sep 27, 2012
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Appleton, Wisconsin
Bikeguy is right! I'd say most of the kits are made the same way, sellers are just in competition with each other. The kits could look different but end up being the same cheap ass engine. It's all about experiencing it for yourself. I'd say out of the eBay vendors I've used Rose326a is the best! The kits are of fair quality. Give stuff a try, learn as you go along. That's what I did :) Grubee is just a name in my opinion, it's no different. Most motor kits are made in china but some manufacturers will tear the engines apart and rebuild them with american grade parts such as bearings. Bike berry kits have Japanese ball bearings for example. And Dax sells U.S made kits. Which is why there a little more expensive. You get what you pay for. Another factor of how long the engine will last is how well it's maintained too. Most people here on the forum recommend synthetic oil. I don't use it but I will be soon! I mixed a little in some gas I had. So, good luck!
I've used a grubee skyhawk(kingsmotorbikes) as well as a grubee flying horse(bikeberry) The flying horse outlived the skyhawk by a long shot!
 

nightcruiser

New Member
Mar 25, 2011
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I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this yet, but one advantage of having a "name brand" kit like Grubee or Flying Horse is you KNOW what you got. Unfortunately, as similar as all these motors are from the various vendors, they can be a little different. The size and spacing of the head studs can be different, the hight of the pin in the piston can be different, etc etc. This means not all replacement parts fit on all motors. If you have a name brand motor vendors will be able to sell you the right parts, and chances are when you get them they will fit. If you buy some random brand kit and the vendor doesn't have a full range of parts available, or is no longer selling parts and kits when you need them, then you have to roll the dice and order parts and hope they will fit when you get them. I've seen some threads from frustrated fellows that order stuff that doesn't end up fitting, since shipping is a big part of the cost when buying parts this can be a real bummer....
Good luck whatever you decide to buy....
 

Mozenrath

New Member
Jan 13, 2011
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California
I've never read of any actual proof that Grubees are any better than other motors. The only advantage seems to be that you know better what you're getting into, and compatible replacement parts are widely available. Other than that, a Grubee is not necessarily any better than any other HT bike engine. I've never owned a Grubee, so I may be wrong.

To be honest, I'd suggest not even buying a kit and instead buying the motor by itself and all the parts separately. That way you can start out with quality parts that will last you. Most of the parts that come with the kits will work for a few weeks, but in the long run will cause you problems and need to be replaced. Buy better quality parts & mounting hardware, do a teardown of the motor to polish/clean/fix it, mount everything properly, and you'll have yourself a bike that you'll actually have fun riding instead of having to constantly fix things.

There's nothing wrong with getting a kit if you're a first-timer, but be prepared to replace the plug wire/fuel line/fuel valve/clutch cable/spark plug/mounting hardware/air filter/idle screw/sprocket bolts/chain tensioner.
 

Bikeguy Joe

Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
Jan 8, 2008
11,837
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I got a couple from thatsdax, and a few from kingsmotors. They weren't "perfect", just properly prepped and broken in, then maintained.

I'll brag, I've never had a tensioner go into the spokes, never broke a chain, throttle, ect. No cdi going bad, carb issues (once set up).The worst was running out of gas once and having to re-tighten a few nuts and bolts.

Guess I'm "lucky".
 

MotorBicycleRacing

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2010
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Grubee is just a name in my opinion, it's no different.

Most motor kits are made in china

And Dax sells U.S made kits. Which is why there a little more expensive. You get what you pay for.
ALL the 2 stroke motor kits are made in China.

I don't know why that 2 stroke kit on www.thatsdax.com has a "Made in USA" sticker on it because every part in that photo was made and assembled in China.

The "Made in USA" sticker was probably printed in China too!

Kits from Dax are pretty much the same as any other kit you can buy.

Grubee is just a name in my opinion, it's no different.

but some manufacturers will tear the engines apart and rebuild them with american grade parts such as bearings. Bike berry kits have Japanese ball bearings for example.
If Bikeberry kits have Japanese bearings they are installed in China and no
kit box seller in the USA is tearing engines apart and rebuilding them with american grade parts.

Bikeberry like most sellers do not even open the kit box from China before
they ship them out.

Chris Hill in Canada used to upgrade motors but he has been out of business
for a long time.

Arrow Motorized Cycles is the only seller that is upgrading motors that I know of in the USA
and they sell for $499 which includes a lot of upgraded parts and an expansion chamber.
 
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nightcruiser

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Mar 25, 2011
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I got a couple from thatsdax, and a few from kingsmotors. They weren't "perfect", just properly prepped and broken in, then maintained.

I'll brag, I've never had a tensioner go into the spokes, never broke a chain, throttle, ect. No cdi going bad, carb issues (once set up).The worst was running out of gas once and having to re-tighten a few nuts and bolts.

Guess I'm "lucky".
If this thread was about how successful you are with your builds and how proper break-in and maintenance can keep your motor running strong I would be right there with you. But this thread was started by a newbie asking if one kit was better than the other and why. Others have explained that the kits are all made and assembled in China and they are all pretty much about the same. I simply pointed out they may be similar, but not the SAME when it comes to buying parts. Now I understand you are proud of your builds and ability to fabricate and "be creative with repairs", and apparently have never broke a chain or needed a replacement part, but I assume you read the forum like I do and understand that newbies generally don't have the same experience. There's a learning curve with these kits and generally before a newbie figures it all out they go through some trials and tribulations and might even need a part or two along the way. If you're beyond that good for you, but my guess is a most newbies wont be, and eventually even you may need a part or two. If not, good for you, but it's laughable to assert these kits are somehow solid as a rock and finding replacement parts is a non-issue...
 

Bikeguy Joe

Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
Jan 8, 2008
11,837
252
63
up north now
Nobody "asserted" anything. I will add that I never had a problem, even when I was a "noob" at these.

Hope you feel better.

wow.
 

nightcruiser

New Member
Mar 25, 2011
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Nobody "asserted" anything. I will add that I never had a problem, even when I was a "noob" at these.

Hope you feel better.

wow.
I was just trying to point out to the OP that the quality of the motors are pretty much the same but parts may not all fit together, why you insist on inserting tales of your infallibility into the mix is beyond me...
Have a good one...
 

Donavan321

New Member
Sep 27, 2012
238
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0
Appleton, Wisconsin
can we be civil? The kits are made in china big farking whoop. They're fun, they're great learning experiences for younger kids. I've replaced parts on mine, some broken some just for upgrades but that's normal things wear down. That's life. Nothing lasts forever. If we're all going to argue over something so dumb maybe we need to step back and relax.
 

Donavan321

New Member
Sep 27, 2012
238
0
0
Appleton, Wisconsin
I got a couple from thatsdax, and a few from kingsmotors. They weren't "perfect", just properly prepped and broken in, then maintained.

I'll brag, I've never had a tensioner go into the spokes, never broke a chain, throttle, ect. No cdi going bad, carb issues (once set up).The worst was running out of gas once and having to re-tighten a few nuts and bolts.

Guess I'm "lucky".
Me either! Except for the tensioner issue...but that's long been resolved, some people run into the strangest issues. I think the time the motor will last will depend on how well it's maintained and a rider's riding habits. Agree?