Four stroke friction drive love

bighat

bighat

Member
I'm friggin' lovin' my new four stroke friction drive. Oh, she is a beauty! There's no looking back now. Why didn't anyone tell me how sweet, easy and reliable these kits were? Well, now I'm telling anyone who'll listen. Ya get what ya pay for. daxtitdaxtitdaxtitI'd post some proud pics but I dropped my camera on the driveway and it shattered into oblivion. I laughed quite boisterously at that and went for a cruise. http://motorbicycling.com/images/smilies/daxtit.gif
 
i love mine . have a honda gx35 on a stanton fd thing saved me alot of skin back on the 20th i was just enjoying a nice 30 mile an hour cruise in the bike lane and some guy in a big van decided he wanted my lane also ,anywho the guy was doin 45 or 50 and slammed into me most of the impact i think was taken by the motor since it hangs so far out so i only lost a small amount of skin . amazingly after such a hit this setup is still runnin strong! its my first time being hit on a bicycle i have to admit i was pretty shocked he just sped off by not even to stop and see if i was okay.
 
Just completed my 1st 4 stroke in-frame build on the Point Beach. Will be posting pics soon. Wife decided she wanted a MB so I decided on a FD for ease of installation. I know that a FD set-up isn't as cool looking as an in-frame set-up, but I did't/don't want to hassle with all the nuances of an in-frame set-up again. Ease of installation/.xx.operation & easy maintenance is more important to us than the coolness factor. .cs. .we.
 
They did not look too cool being pushed by their unhappy owners as I cruised passed them. I've been there myself and won't go back. So, yes, I agree wholeheartedly with you.cvlt1
 
I like 'em too.

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Who says they don't look good - :)
 
Nice unit, Mike.

It's a townie frame, right?
with the BB forward a bit?

imo, a nice basket on the front for utility would be an excellent addition.
Best
rc
 
Nice to hear. I just assembled a Bumble Bee Bolt On this week and I've ridden it about 20 miles so far. It is super easy/fast to install, only took me about 15 minutes. It rides really smooth. It takes a couple minutes to get used to engaging/disengaging the friction drive on the wheel. It goes about 25-28 MPH on a flat surface. One disappointing thing about it; it has zero hill climbing ability. Even the smallest of slopes will drag the speed way down. I still enjoy riding it though.

Does your Honda GX35 do well on hills?
 
The Honda eats the hills around here for breakfast. I do use the one inch roller though. This makes for a lower top speed, which is about 25 MPH.
 
When I get my next friction drive going I'm thinking of putting the Bumble Bee Bolt On (BBBO) on my kids bike so that we can ride together. It should do much better for her lightweight frame.

Do you ride your Honda GX35 on a daily basis? Is it your ride to work?
How many miles do you have on it?

I'm planning on riding mine 22 miles to work (and 22 back). After checking out the BBBO I came to the conclusion that it wasn't right for that type of trip every day. So I'm hoping that stepping up to the Honda I might make it feasible.
 
Work? LOL! I ride almost every day as long as it's dry and not metal snapping cold. Did take her out to T.O and back once, (about 60 miles). I do cool down stops but 20 miles is easy if one is doing the proper daily/ weekly maintenance. Go above and beyond in that regard myself. Of course there's much to take into consideration: bike, rider weight, terrain, wind, roller size... You can download the GX35 manual for free from the Honda website. Search "Honda GX35 manual" and you'll find it.
 
I ordered my 4 stroke Friction Drive from Staton last week. It's supposed to be here on Tuesday. I'll update you when I get it installed.
 
Staton has a well built friction kit; although the kill switch and thumb throttle remind me of the quality you'd expect to find in a cheaper chineeze kit.

Knowing beforehand that my 25cc/.93 drive roller choice wouldn't break any speed or power records, I went with an engine onhand just because I wanted to try propane. Guess maybe King Of The Hill got to me.....

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While this is shown on a Schwinn, it is now installed on a Trek Cruiser and that's a great feature of this kit as transfer from one bike to another is minimal effort.

Update: Just remembered this pic of the TREK.

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Intergrated a concealed kill switch into the faux tank panel and used a GoPed thumb throttle to clean the kit up a bit. Have a center stand on order.

Have another 2 stroke weed whacker engine setting out in the garage that I hope to build similar to a BumbleBee just to do it. Unlike the Staton, don't think I'll care that it'll need manual engagement/disengagement anytime I stop.
 
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