Mounting a Chainsaw on a Bicycle

Spoogle

Spoogle

New Member
So, I'm a poor college student and I've been thinking about doing this for some time now, and I've got a few questions.

-How many cc's should it be?
-Will it be exceedingly difficult?
-How fast will it be able to go?(I weigh about 150lbs)
-And lastly, and this is probably a stupid question, will it be possible to get the thing registered? Will I even have to?

Thanks in advanced.
 
I don't know about a chainsaw, never done one, but a chinagirl kit would would cheaper and easier than buying a chainsaw, and probably faster/stronger. With a cs you would fab your own mounts, you need to buy sprockets, probably a new clutch as the chainsaw clutch would burn out, then the gearing/gas tank. Unless you do friction drive, thats just a bracket holding the motor onto the wheel.
 
A DYI (do it yourself) project like you're talking about will probably be more expensive, require more fabrication and be less reliable than one of the 2 stroke engine kits available from a number of vendors.
Unless you have access to specialized tools, drills, welders, grinders, etc. and the skills to use them, designing a one-off installation of a chain saw engine to your bike will be a challenge. I'd explore other options. There are plenty available with a little research.
Tom
 
I've heard mostly bad about the Grubee GT5 kits, but mine seems to be running fine an dandy. The dax f80 kits, and the RAW motors seem to have good reviews. thatsdax.com/pistonbikes.com/rawmotors.com There are many many different vendors, find someone with a good rep ad go for it.
 
I'd have to disagree with the negative opinions on using a chainsaw. A chainsaw for friction drive can be put together in about 6 hours or less with drills, bolts, nuts, scrap metal, and something to cut metal. A chainsaw powered bike with the same cc's will be faster and have more torque that a chinagirl powered bike.The chainsaw bikes I've made are very reliable and I've got about 50 dollars max in any of them. They are a bit louder than a china engine, but the noise is behind you so it's not loud to you while your riding. Older chainsaws are built tougher and are better to use than newer ones like wildthings,ect,ect, I'm talking about a magnesium case chainsaw or a good 1980's plastic saw. I put together a china girl engine for my buddy and it was nothing but problems, he still rides the 40cc chainsaw bike I built for him that does 40mph and it's going on 4 years now. It was a plastic poulan wood shark, it's one of the quitest chainsaw bikes I've built. A chain driven chainsaw bike would be a pain in the arse to build, but would probably be reliable. I'm not sure on your states laws , but there's a section somewhere on here that has state statutes and laws. If you have redneck cops where you live with nothing better to do then you might want to get a kit. If the police are cool and are out looking for real criminals, go for the chainsaw or snowblower engine.
Kevin
 
Last edited:
That's the spirit Kev1n, a little good 'ol American can-do! Search the DIY pages for homemade friction drives, there are many of them and look for Deacon's many builds. These small engines can be made quieter with mufflers as well. DIY is the heart of motorized bicycles.
 
I stand by my opinion. IF, you have the tools and skill, then a DYI project will certainly have some advantages, none the least is that you can say, "I built that".
Nevertheless The OP is obviously a new comer to our hobby, a student and if I understand him correctly, a little pinched for cash.

Advising him to embark on a project that could well prove to be more than he can handle is a disservice. Anyone with rudimentary mechanical ability will most likely be able to bolt together a kit. Not true when it comes to fabricating mounts, sprocket adapters, throttles and possibly a clutch linkage of some design endeavoring to adapt a chain saw/ snow blower engine to a bicycle. Doing so could require the services of a machinist a welder or both, expenses that the young man might not be able to afford.

If he's mechanically inclined, has some prior design and fabrication experience and wants something completely unique, then by all means he should give it his best shot. If not, then he should go the kit route and gain some motorized bicycle experience. Later, he might surprise us all with a stand-out bike that he built himself.
Tom
 
I totally agree with 2DOOR, It's much cheaper and much much easier to go to a good quality vendor, spend 200 on an engine kit that has everything you need to install it on a bike, and you can be riding in no time.
Fabricating a chainsaw onto a bike will be a pain in the ass, it will cause many headaches, and reliability will probably be horrible.
You can have a fully functioning riding on the road motorized bike for under 300 if you are cheap. Add things like a good center-stand, springer front end, better brakes, blah blah blah, you can spend upwards of 750.

Forget the headache, go to piston bikes, get a motor from them, and mount it on a good bike, and you'll have plenty of good reliable (ish) miles ahead of you.

And registering will vary depending on where you live. Some require the motor to be under 50 cc, so you will obviously buy the 49cc kit. Some require a special HP rating to be registered (like 5HP). Some say if it's self propelled, it will be registered. Get with a law enforcement officer in your town and ask him/her what your local requirements are. And if you can, insure it. I pay 16$ a year on mine. That's a small price to pay if I hit someone or something...
 
If you have the tools and ability to build from scratch or know somebody that can help you, I'd say ( give it the old college try). If you don't I'd suggest buying a used motorised bike off craigslist. I did a quick search and found a few nice bikes in Maine, you'll end up saving money and headaches in the long run because somebody already got all the bugs out and is taking a hit on the resale.
Good luck and keep us posted, Kevin
Motorized Bicycle 4-stroke rear mount
bicycle with motor
Nice GasBike ~GREAT DEAL~
 
Here ya go lad, have a look through these threads and decide for yourself.
Good luck with it!

See link in killercanuck's post below
thanx kc
 
Last edited:
Yer link was null happyV. Some good reading here Spoogle:

Chainsaw Engine Search

Yea, it's like the guys have been saying. If you already have a chainsaw engine and some scrap metal(and something to cut it with), you can slap something together to rip around on...

If you saw a chainsaw bike one time and are thinking of that... Go with a kit motor that'll bolt on and you'll be tearing up the neighborhood in a day.

It's hard to recommend one or the other, without knowing what you can/can't do, eh?

gl.
 
Darn, building a chainsaw bike is a lot of fun if you take your time and do it right. Took me 6 months before i got mine to work right. Still actually working on mine though. There's still some bugs i have to iron out. I don't agree with the clutches burning out though. With a little prep they seem to be very strong. At least mine seems to be quite strong anyway. The shoes and clutch cup have not turned blue, warped, or cracked in any way shape or form. Other pluses are these things have an incredible mid range and top end hit that i have not had with the china girl engines. As an example i could be going 8mph when the mid range of the engine kicks in it rockets up to 21mph in very little time. Top speed with mine so far has been 36 mph in 4th gear. I'm too chicken to go any faster (I like shifting ability BTW). Just some personal experiences i'd thought i'd share.
 
i built a chain saw bike with ZERO $ when i was 13 lol

to this day it was the fastes bike i ever built !!!!

it was a haro bmx bike with about a 70cc saw motor on it direct drive , that thing was dangerously fast !

the saw came from the trash
the bike i had
the hardware was in my dads garge shop
the mount was bolt on spring loaded pivot type
the throttle was a break lvr through the trigger

i spent 0$ and all parts came from crapola i found in my dads garage ! i swear to you that bike did 50mph easy !!! it would smoke my moded china girl in seconds flat if i still had it !!! it would even take it off the line too !!

i got pulled over when i was 15 (rode it for 2 years with out a single prob) i was pulled over for speeding !!!! i was going 50 something in a school zone posted for 20 ! ( hey i was young and coming home from school trying to impress the girly's by going fast) the cops took it and i had to go to court lol never got it back the impound fee was more than the bike was worth .
 
Last edited:
I built a chain saw bike recently in my final year project

This is the fastest bike I have ever built !!!!

it was a Atlas bike with about a 60cc saw motor on it direct drive.

bought the chainsaw from olx
used my brothers bike

I rode it 50 KM and the highest speed was 50.

Found a detailed guide here
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top