Hello Hello!!

M

Miro87043

New Member
I've decided to enter the great world of motorized bicycling. I've been riding, building and rebuilding bicycles and motorcycles for a few years now and have been looking for a new project. After a long two days of deciding whether to build a bike or motorcycle next, I decided to split the difference and here I am.
I've got a Northwoods Ridgedale cruiser and a Grubee SkyHawk 66/80cc Angle Fire on order.
After search your great forums here, I see this build has been done at least a couple of times and I gather it won't a strictly bolt on project. It seems to be popular opinion around here that the mounts included suck and probably won't fit my frame anyways. I've seen the u-bolt solution, but I'd really like to get one of those sweet mounts that the Manic Mechanic makes if he's still making them. I looked at pirate cycles site the he links to and I didn't see them. Should I give him a call?
My other thought is putting a front brake on the bike. I don't like the idea of just having a coaster brake. Could somebody recommend a good caliper brake that fits these fat cruiser wheels?
The other thing like to do maybe sometime down the line is put a disc brake on the front instead. It seems to me that a motorized bike would put a lot of stress on a caliper brake. Do the break often, or ever?

Thanks for any advice,
Micah
dance1
 
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Howdy Miro, welcome. Some one better versed will be able to answer your questions. Some great folks here.
 
Welcome to the forum. Most members recommend using a front brake, no matter what kind of brake you have on the rear.
You can pick up a caliper front brake that will fit your cruiser at a bike shop that sells BMX bikes and parts. Spookytooth and some of the other on-line engine kit supplier also sell them.
 
Okay, I got the motor mounted and the rear wheel together. My next problem is mounting the tank. The Northwoods Ridgdale is aluminum and has a way oversized top bar. The studs are to close together to fit around. I found that if I bent them out a little bit they would work in the front, but I'll have to find a longer strap. The rear of the tank is another story. The top tube is wider in the back and interferes with both the studs on the tank and the fuel valve. It looks like I may have touse an offset on the fuel valve get it off the top tube and I'm not sure of the best way to secure the rear of the tank. Any ideas???
I found a lot of info about mounting the engeine but can't find anything about mounting the gas tank to an oversized frame.
 
Alright...
I got the tank mounted. I cut the studs short and used plumbers strapping from stud to stud.
I had the whole bike together and got it running but I couldn't get that damn rag joint perfect. I threw the chain a couple and ruined it. I gave up on the rag joint and ordered one of the Manic Mechanics spocket adapters and a 415 chain.
Presto!

But...
Now the rear hub is giving me problems. I'd rode the bike a couple miles and it had play in it. I tightened it and 5 miles later it was loose again. I took it apart and the retainer on the left side was busted into many pieces and bearings had fallen out. It's a CB 110 copy. I ordered some replacement bearings (bag of 144 for 6.99) and figured I'd put twice as many bearings since there's no retainer. Twice the surface area=less wear.
I curious as to what caused this problem in the first place though. There's no noticeable wear other than a broken retainer. The other 2 sets of bearings were fine. I'm wondering if it's just a ****ty hub and I shouldn't just start over with a genuine shimano.

Any tips would be greatly appriciated.
Micah
 
Welcome Micah,I don't have alot of expereience in your problem.Have you checked in the other threads on this forum?
I'm sure you'll get your answers some where here!Kip.
 
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