old guy needs some help.

M

Martin 1940D28

New Member
Hi folks, This will be a new endeavor for me. Am interested in building a nice motorbike, something similar looking to the "Whizzers' I remember as a teen in the mid 1950's that a couple of my neighbors rode daily. I just prefer a nice "4 stroke" engine from past experiences, not all bad. I will be using an older 26" balloon tire bike as a base. As you may have figured, "I've got one foot in the grave, the other on a banana peel", so I don't have enough time to try everything out there. I would like a top notch "kit" from the get go, that will last for a while, cruise me on quiet back roads at about 25 MPH maximum, climb a hill or 2 or 3 etc. I'm 6'2" tall, weigh around 200 to 210 lbs. and am a fairly mechanical "Hot Rodder". My budget doesn't restrict me as much as my time left. Thanks in advance for your help Folks. Jay
 
Don't give up so easily on the 2 stroke HT. I have one on my 1948 Roadmaster and it is a pleasure to ride. Little maintance other than chain luibe and high miles 1.5k +
With a stock 44t and 66cc engine it climbs hills fine(I weigh 166 lbs).
Also run 32/1 mixture after break in. Just a pleasure to cruise on @ 23 MPH.
Also the c-clutch is a major +, I only use the hand clutch to start.

PS: I am 67 and ride it daily!

Martin 1940D28 said:
Hi folks, This will be a new endeavor for me. Am interested in building a nice motorbike, something similar looking to the "Whizzers' I remember as a teen in the mid 1950's that a couple of my neighbors rode daily. I just prefer a nice "4 stroke" engine from past experiences, not all bad. I will be using an older 26" balloon tire bike as a base. As you may have figured, "I've got one foot in the grave, the other on a banana peel", so I don't have enough time to try everything out there. I would like a top notch "kit" from the get go, that will last for a while, cruise me on quiet back roads at about 25 MPH maximum, climb a hill or 2 or 3 etc. I'm 6'2" tall, weigh around 200 to 210 lbs. and am a fairly mechanical "Hot Rodder". My budget doesn't restrict me as much as my time left. Thanks in advance for your help Folks. Jay
Click to expand...
 
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Thanks Russell for the reply. There is a lot more to this game, with all the "goodies" that are available than I imagined. Will have to spend more time reading. Thanks again.
 
This my Roadmaster that I have two years on. Also have built several others.
It has a auto clutch(centrifgual).
 

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The Grubee 4G belt drive is a very nice kit if you are looking for something Whizzer-like.

Don't get the Grubee 4G mixed up with the cheaper 4 stroke kits with geared transmissions, the quality just isn't there.
 
Go to pirate cycles and shoot Justin an email he'll set you up with a 11.4 hp Morini on a micargi frame . Don't worry u'll climb those hills easy 25
 
Thanks for the replies, folks. "Wild Alaskan", Pirate Cycles is a real interesting site, not too far from me. Rolo, thanks for the reply, Russell, that "Roadmaster" is superb. Thanks again. Martin.
 
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Pirate cycles has a no bull worksman just ready for a bolt on 2 smoker if u want a little more bang for ur buck buy a gt50 from that's dax
 
Wow old man! You sound like me! You didn't give your age but I'll give you mine. I am 65 years old, 6'3", used to be just over 210# but have slid down to about 190 now. Built and raced dirt track cars in my younger days. I don't even like to raise the hood of a car any more but these bikes are a real trip. Me and my brother have built a total of 7 of them. I built the first one 2 years ago all by myself just to see if I could do it. When my brother saw it he freaked, and said, "I want one". So I helped him build one and he ended up building 5, one for every member of his family and I built a 2nd one, (I live alone). Me, my brother and his wife ride them together every chance we get. We never stop laughing about how people react when we go by. They stop dead in there tracks and there jaw hits the ground.......Now for the advice. (1) Go with a simple 2 stroke. Fairly easy to build, much more common, easyer to get help if you have a problem because there is so many people out there that have built them, and they are more powerfull than you would think. (2) Forget the cruiser. Go with a mountian bike. The coaster brake is a real nightmare to deal with. The rear hub on a crusier is as big round, and in some cases bigger round than the center hole in the spocket. The rear hub on a mountian bike isn't much bigger than a pencil and the sproket fits nicly on the spokes. Good luck, and have fun old man.
 
Thanks guys, I'm heeding every word you say. Crashvester, guess I've got about 5 years on you. Wild Alaskan was close but not correct about the birthdate. I'll let you guys know what I decide. Believe it or not, I'm still a quite active "Hot Rodder". Thanks again. Martin 1940D28.
 
I'm 73, built 2 motorbikes when I was in my 20's. I have been working on a chopper with a donut spare tire from a car, its the same size as the Swhinn chopper. I weigh 220 , my son weighs 300 and the tires on the Chinese bikes look a little flat when we get on them. Brigs and Stratton made a 1/2 horse, 7/8 horse ,1 and 1/2 horse and a 2 horse engine all legal in California. I have them all and was thinking about a friction wheel to keep the noise down and make things simple. We have a store bought electric bicycle that is fast enough for a old guy but we want to smell the burning oil and schlack from under the head gasket. Gives me a lot to think about, good luck with yours.
 
One kit that has not been mentioned yet.....
A 4 stroke kit by EZM.
EZ MOTORBIKE COMPANY

Straightforward to install, proven dependable by many members here, but priced a bit more than other kits.
Keep in mind that quality is not cheap and cheap is not quality.
 
Hello again Jay; In my last post I may have sounded a little rude saying things like, forget this, or go with that. I am sorry for that. I have been involved in building 7 bikes. Only one was a cruiser, the other 6 were mountian bikes. I understand that you have a vintage balloon tire bike you want to use. That bike probably has value as is. Let me tell you a few things I found out about building a cruiser. I already told you about the rear hub being so big that the sprocket doesn't want to fit. I told you the coaster brake is a problem, we were lucky and all we had to do was put it in a vice and bend it. Somthing else about these type bikes is that they have fenders. The front part of the rear fender and the chain want to occupy the same space. We tried bending it but that didn't work because there is a tire in there, so we had to cut it off. Then the tire and the chain want to rub each other. With a balloon tire bike this will be serious. Mountian bikes have streight down tubes that make a (V) shape and the cruisers front down bar is bent outward resembleing a pot belly. The motor fits nicely in the (V) shape, but not so nice in the cruiser. You may have to do some modifying here too. These bikes do vibrate alot and those darn fenders aren't made to take that. We have had the rivets that conect the fender to its mounting brackets pop out. Not a big fix but its going to destroy the value of your vintage bike. I would advise you to get a mountian bike at a yard sale for your first build. Yes , I said at a yard sale. Get an older style mountian bike with round bars. This is what the motor mounts fit. The newer bikes have egg shaped bars and thats not good. Just trying to help Jay....Give me a wrench and I'll build you anything.... Give me a computer and I'll pull my hair out... I am computer il-idiot.
 
Nashville Kat said:
Russell- did you have to use wider cranks or did the centrifical clutch clear by itself?
Click to expand...

Sorry, I have been away for a while. Yes I did have to slightly offset one side of the crank. I just put it in a vise and bent it. Works great and pedals true.
 
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