I will start with my latest buy.
A staton kit, very poorly made with chinese bearings one of which squealed from the get go.
They offer a large gas tank to fit on top of the channel,
on the site it is shown mounted on the channel, BUT not on a bike, they also state that the kits come with the mounting hole predrilled... it was not
The reason that the tank is not shown on a bike is that the tank is so tall that the seat would be far to high to ride.
The channel is very short placing the engine right under the seat
His site askes you what engine you plan to use so that you will be sent the right throttle cable, they sent me a cable that fits nothing I own, I have a lot of engines and kits.
Having contacted staton to find out why he sold me a wreck, he was disinterested and rude offering no explaination or replacment of the bearing or throttle cable.
The mount to the bike is the standard trashware bent u shape that will warp over time from the engine weight.
Overall a very poor kit, little better than a chinese kit.
I had expected better from an American made kit.
Wow, that's not my experience. I have a staton kit with a tanaka 33 on it and it has been solid.
The mounting bracket is awesome. The bearings have never been a problem.
You sound a little bitter, it may be clouding your judgement.
Did you specify which engine you were going to mount to the kit? The throttle cable that came with my kit has fit 2 engines without any problems. I ride a 20 mile commute to work and back and the never had a problem with it.
His site documents the mounting procedure very well and provides many pictures. I am not mechanically inclined and I mounted the kit and have been riding it since last October without any problems.
It has been solid! Spend some time on this site and you quickly realize how poorly made most china girl mounting kits are. It takes skill to mount a china girl and get it aligned and running properly. I bought a Staton friction drive because I didn't want to tinker, I just wanted to ride. That is exactly what I have done.
Time to get ready to work and head out on my Staton equipped Phatcruiser.
How did you ride the Staton kit in the rain? Friction drive doesn't work in the rain. I smell a rat.