How Long Has Your 2stroke Lasted?

O

oceanotter

New Member
So my first experience with a 2 stroke was unfortunate. A Chinese eBay purchase that I bought to set my roommate up with a temporary means of transportation 10 miles a day. It gave me a lot of trouble from start to finish as the bike was not ideal for mounting a motor on and the motor and parts itself were always coming lose or breaking off.

I've since gotten a ZB-JET80-SR from http://www.zoombicycles.com/66cc-80cc-bicycle-racing-engine-parts-bundle-silver.html which seems to be much better built, but I haven't had a chance to install it yet as I have been busy with work.


So tell me about your experiences! How long do your motors last? Anyone use a 2 stroke to commute? How did you solve some of the common issues with these motors?
 
My oldest motor was purchased back in 2005. It's mounted on a Diamondback Della Cruz.

I started getting a little bored with the cruiser so I purchased my HardRock MTB. After I got my HardRock I did not ride the Della Cruz often. Just once in a while I will take it for a quick spin.

That motor has somewhere around 30,000 miles on it. It does have a little blow by but it still runs strong.

I also have a 48cc starfire purchased in 2009. I used that motor on a Huffy cruiser. Then I mounted on a Specialized Rock Hopper. Not sure how many miles I have on that one i did not keep a very good track.

I just recently gave that motor and bike away to a good friend in Mexico. He needed better transportation for work.

All I have now is my 2011 66cc starfire that is still going strong on my Hardrock which was purchased used when I bought my Hardrock. And I have my 2005 motor.

So in ten years I ran only three motors and they still run. Never did any major work to them other then my 2005 motor I did change the base gasket once. And three magnetos went out on that one.

My 66cc starfire on my hardrock I bought it used for $20 on craigslist. Guy said it was junk and no good? Ran for me just fine and is still going strong.

I gave the 48cc away and now only have two left. And I plan on running them another 10 years.
 
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With the stuff I put my engines thru I can get about 6 months of really hard use out of them before it's time to re hone the cylinder and install a new set of rings. Even at 10,000 rpm on a daily basis the bottom end hasn't shown any signs of wear. Running these or any engine at nearly twice their original max rpm does drastically reduce the life span of the rings and cylinder walls, but if I was to set up the engine closer to stock or leave it stock it would considerably increase the life expectancy of the whole engine and I could see one of these lasting over 10 years if the bike isn't ridden hard and fast everywhere ya go. The newer engines have improved a LOT in the last year or so and with these better quality parts and all, these engines should last a really long time if taken care of.
 
I don't know Dave? I ride my engines hard and always have. I've run them wide open for entire tanks. I have raced everyone of these motors.

I thought I have made enough videos over the years to show how hard I ride them.
 
I'm nowhere near to being in Dave31's league when it comes to milage but I have two engines/bikes with over 2000 miles on them. I don't ride hard but I do long cruises, 50 plus miles is normal. I don't use my bikes to commute but I'd feel confident if I had to.

2000 might not sound like much compared with some of the members but actually that's a lot of miles on a bicycle. I've never had a major failure with any of my engines. I've replaced one magneto coil and one CDI since getting into the hobby in 07.

Tom
 
I recently did the math on one of these motors with a life expectancy of 1000 miles. With a purchase price of $200, plus cost of fuel, it works out to around $0.10 a mile... From the sounds of it I need to redo my math.
 
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