Best bike to start with?

GoldenMotor.com

ran49

New Member
Mar 5, 2008
186
1
0
So.In.
Hey Guys
New to the forum and as of now I have neither a motor kit or a bicycle I think would be suitable for conversion.Presently own a huffy mountain bike 10 speed with grip twist shift(both grips).I would think a new bike from walmart at under a $100 would be the way to go.
Any preferred bikes or particular features one would look for in a bike.Also anywhere better than ebay for kits or any kits to avoid.

Wow sure is a forum for everything . Thanks,Ron
 

Ilikeabikea

Active Member
Jan 27, 2008
2,322
0
36
68
Ptown, Texas
Look for a bike with round tubes. The oddball shaped tubing of many bikes now days makes it motorizng more labor intensive. I'm sure others will chime in. Welcome to the forum. You'll find lots of help here.......................
 

paul

Well-Known Member
Dec 23, 2007
5,547
44
48
66
Kalamazoo, MI
welcome to the forum. glad to have you with us! a couple of us bought schwinn jauguars and pretty happy with them. for the money its a nice cruiser
 

Bikeguy Joe

Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
Jan 8, 2008
11,837
252
63
up north now
Round smaller tubing.
No rear suspension.
A "diamond frame" type seems to vibrate less in my experience.

Now about those WalMart bikes...I looked at a couple there and the Huffy Cranbrook had the WORST welding I've ever seen on a bicycle....stay away from that one.

Oh yeah, coaster brakes make life slightly more difficult when assembling the kit, but nothing bad.
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
Coaster brake are a pain in the butt to install but...

I like them because I can apply it with with my foot instead of having more levers up front. If you buy a cheap cruiser, I would take off the front fender and put on a second hand brake immediately. It is an inexpensive addition but nice to have for better control and for the inevitable bike chain break at the worst possible moment. A coaster brake and a front hand brake is ideal in my opinion, which is worth less than some of the others here.

As for kits, I have the boy go fast kit from ebay. If you assemble it correctly it seems to be fine. I assembled mine wrong and it was a mess. Go slow in your assembly and consult this forum for instructions. If you have questions ask here. The people on this forum will actually answer technical questions and be happy to do so. You might even get a laugh or two along the way.

As for the additional work for the coaster brake, it amounts to enlarging the hole in the new rear sprocket. I drew a circle around the hole about a quarter inch thick. Then I went to home depot and bought a metal rasp for my drill. I sat down and enlarged the hole without any fancy tools or expertise. It isn't perfectly round but it doesn't have to be. It just has to be more or less centered so that the sprocket can be centered on the rear wheel. YOu also have to bend the coaster brake arm enough to clear the bolts again not a big deal if you have access to a vise. I didn't so I bent mine with a sledge hammer and a big pipe for an anvil.

One thing to remember when you get frustrated is that even I could do it, so you can do it to.

Do not believe that you can install this kit in four hours, that is someone's marketing tool, but it is well worth the time and effort to see the look an people's faces when you cruise by them. Not to mention just shear fun of a slower paced world you actually feel part of again. You aren't insulated in a rolling bubble on these bikes you are part of the enviornment as you tool along.

One more thing on the bike, oversized tubes look stronger but they are harder to fit the engine to. A nice standard sized tube is best. Get a bike with the standard 'slice of pie opening' in front of the seat down tube, if possible for ease of fitting. 26" is better all the way around. Though my first install was into 24". the bike looked great because the complete opening was full of engine. It looked more like a mini motorcycle but alas it I looked like a clown on it lol. Not only that it wasn't as stable as the larger bike.

Welcome to our world..

Oh if you are handy with tools look at the bike thrift shop and you can build a custom bike for peanuts. In my opinion its a lot more fun but also a lot more work.

My transylvainia chopper built form several junk shop bikes. parts cost probably under fifty bucks with lots of parts left on the curb for other builders to pick up.
[/URL][/IMG]
 
Last edited:

Norman

LORD VADER Moderator
Jan 16, 2008
2,606
7
38
71
pampa texas
I can hear the song "born to be wild" looking at that paint job.
Deacon is right he's learned alot from the school of hard knocks. You will have fun ask what ever you like we will help. PM if you want me or anyone I'll do my best to answer any and all questions and if I can't I'll lie so good you will think it the truth. By the way welcome.
Norman
 

Bikeguy Joe

Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
Jan 8, 2008
11,837
252
63
up north now
Coaster brake are a pain in the butt to install but...
As for the additional work for the coaster brake, it amounts to enlarging the hole in the new rear sprocket.
I found it way easier to take the bearing cap off and grind the flange off of the outter edge, two minutes with a bench grinder, and that's being very exacting so it just fits inside the sprocket hole.

Deacon- that bike looks better every time I see it, how did you manage that Captain America paint job?
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
I just freehanded an impressionistic looking faded old glory look. It's craft paint with about two coats of that clear top coat auto paint you recommended.
 

angus

New Member
Feb 27, 2008
11
0
0
As another individual new to motorized bicycles, I purchased an old cruiser for fitting the engine. I ended up going through the whole bike making it ready (enjoyable but not motorizing the bike!). My input would be to consider an appropriate new bicycle for the first build to more immediately satisfy the enthusiasm for power. :) Note my reference to 'first build'! It is very easy to catch this bug... for me, much to the chagrin of my wife! rotfl
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
I can hear the song "born to be wild" looking at that paint job.
Deacon is right he's learned alot from the school of hard knocks. You will have fun ask what ever you like we will help. PM if you want me or anyone I'll do my best to answer any and all questions and if I can't I'll lie so good you will think it the truth. By the way welcome.
Norman
A man starts out ignorant on any new endeavor, if he doesn't ask and learn from his mistakes he moves right along to stupid....
deacon's dad...
 

ran49

New Member
Mar 5, 2008
186
1
0
So.In.
Great forum.Thanks for all the responses.Well I ordered 70cc 2 stroke from Boygofast and shortly afterward read where there are higher quality kits available,oh well I'll make it work.For a bike I'm looking at a Kulana moon dog cruiser from walmart.Any thoughts?
Thanks again,Ron
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
It looks pretty good to me. I don't think there are a lot of differences in the motor itself. My kit from him had a new designed engine but the controls weren't the best. I made it work just fine and you can to. Good luck... go slow and ask lots of questions if in doubt. the directions suck eggs but the guys here can keep you on the right rack.

Keep your receipt on the bike if the engine isn't going into the frame you can take it back. They say if there is 15" of clearance it will fit just fine.
 
Last edited:

Bikeguy Joe

Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
Jan 8, 2008
11,837
252
63
up north now
You can mount one on a Moon Dog but you'll have to drill a hole in the frame and use the special mount...if your kit comes with one. If it doesn't, there are easy ways to make one.
 

Norman

LORD VADER Moderator
Jan 16, 2008
2,606
7
38
71
pampa texas
I built a bike for a friend in Borger, Texas and his wife is riding it and won't let him have a turn so watch out, you might end up building two. But that can be a very good thing. Bike rides out into the country and parking under a big shade tree where no one can see. I better stop I'm having darkside thoughts.
Norman :ride2:
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
It looks really nice but I don't have a clue what the tube sizes are. So far I have tried engines to three bikes. The sissy schwinn the tubes had to be covered to fit.. The huge mountain bike and it would have required drilling holes ect so I moved back to the schwinn the engine is now on an older cruiser and the tubes were a pretty close fit. The say a lot of the new ones have larger tubes for some reason. But not all of them so It's really a crap shoot for me anyway. Someone might know though.
 

paul

Well-Known Member
Dec 23, 2007
5,547
44
48
66
Kalamazoo, MI
i think it is an awesome looking bicycle and will be even nicer with a bicycle engine on it. i like the ducktail fenders. if you get it i for one will be excited to see pictures when you finish your build
 

Ilikeabikea

Active Member
Jan 27, 2008
2,322
0
36
68
Ptown, Texas
I'm with Cruiser. That is a cool bike. A motor would make it much cooler. That style of frame would probably warrant a bit creativity for the front motor mount. But very doable.
............
 

ran49

New Member
Mar 5, 2008
186
1
0
So.In.
Well here's another i find appealing, only in addition to a front mount situation I guess the gas tank brackets would have to be altered.
I can't believe all the different frames available.Geez! Wearing me out.
I should receive my motor kit in a few days and maybe after looking at the mounts I'll become less ambitious. Ron