PatNoPed
New Member
I thought that this bicycle engine craze was going to be the perfect solution for me. I have pedaled thousands of sweaty miles on my trek road bike (human powered). To be able to throttle my bicycle all the way to my destination and arive still freshly showered was a dream come true...
Twenty miles into my first ride, the little plastic chain tensioner wheel bails, chain wraps into the rear wheel and locks me up hard. Had I been in traffic, I woulda been messed up but luckily I'm just bummed out and my bicycle is a mangled metal mess. The links on the chain were twisted and it was junk. My mechanic picked me up and put together a new chain for me. I was able to ride it home from his shop that day. Excited with new parts I head out the next day. Engine is sluggish, stalling out left and right, idle screw does nothing, choke does nothing and I'm peddaling!?! Limp back to the shop and we discover a blown intake gasket AND a freshly missing idle screw. A new gasket is made from proper material and a replacement idle screw adjusted. It ran great, idled smooth, and I rode it home again, happy. The next day (today) I try again and a jackhammer type noise starts creeping into my head. I pull over to try to figure out what the **** is making such a racket and I discover that the actual engine casting has cracked where the front engine mount bolts screw into the engine. Not only did it crack but it cracked in half and broke off! The bolt had nothing to hold onto so it jumped ship too. The noise I was hearing was the engine jackhammering my frame. It was barely holdin on to my bicycle! I don't know how I made it home without the entire engine falling off but I did. I can't ride it anywhere now. To add insult to this already expensive injury the infamous "leaky gas cap" has stained and ruined my sun cruiser paint job. I'm glad I took the time to try to make it look nice. So what's next??? I can't rely on this to get me anywhere, ESPECIALLY school or a job (the main 2 reasons I got into this hobby). If I don't totally break down I'll be filty with grease and covered in leaky gas by the time I get there. I'd rather sweat and pedal! My bicycle engine honeymoon is over and the big question for me has been answered. Reliable transportation? No. All my parts and enthusiasm I left on the side of A1A. Feel free to use them for your own bicycle and ego repairs. Good luck to all of you, hopefully you'll have better luck than I did.
Patrick

Twenty miles into my first ride, the little plastic chain tensioner wheel bails, chain wraps into the rear wheel and locks me up hard. Had I been in traffic, I woulda been messed up but luckily I'm just bummed out and my bicycle is a mangled metal mess. The links on the chain were twisted and it was junk. My mechanic picked me up and put together a new chain for me. I was able to ride it home from his shop that day. Excited with new parts I head out the next day. Engine is sluggish, stalling out left and right, idle screw does nothing, choke does nothing and I'm peddaling!?! Limp back to the shop and we discover a blown intake gasket AND a freshly missing idle screw. A new gasket is made from proper material and a replacement idle screw adjusted. It ran great, idled smooth, and I rode it home again, happy. The next day (today) I try again and a jackhammer type noise starts creeping into my head. I pull over to try to figure out what the **** is making such a racket and I discover that the actual engine casting has cracked where the front engine mount bolts screw into the engine. Not only did it crack but it cracked in half and broke off! The bolt had nothing to hold onto so it jumped ship too. The noise I was hearing was the engine jackhammering my frame. It was barely holdin on to my bicycle! I don't know how I made it home without the entire engine falling off but I did. I can't ride it anywhere now. To add insult to this already expensive injury the infamous "leaky gas cap" has stained and ruined my sun cruiser paint job. I'm glad I took the time to try to make it look nice. So what's next??? I can't rely on this to get me anywhere, ESPECIALLY school or a job (the main 2 reasons I got into this hobby). If I don't totally break down I'll be filty with grease and covered in leaky gas by the time I get there. I'd rather sweat and pedal! My bicycle engine honeymoon is over and the big question for me has been answered. Reliable transportation? No. All my parts and enthusiasm I left on the side of A1A. Feel free to use them for your own bicycle and ego repairs. Good luck to all of you, hopefully you'll have better luck than I did.
Patrick