My Beach Cruiser

[Easy Rider]

Since it looks like I won't be getting new ski gear this year because my skiing buddy is going to be out of commission for this winter. I decided to turn my most comfortable bike into a super lazy man cruiser! I picked this bike up along with a matching green lady's beach cruiser both for $150. That was probably one of the few times of me being at the right place at the right time. The original owner was selling her x-husband's stuff dirt cheap. So being the sentimental fool what I am, I knew I had to help her out and take them off her hands.
So far I've already placed my order fo another MP3 with a bike rack fo my 48v 10ah LifePo4 battery.
It has a springer front fork that I thought was a joke but it actually works and works pretty darn good!
I still have the original fenders. I'm thinking of putting them back on because I'm not fond of getting pebble sprayed.
What are your opinions on fenders on electric bikes? They don't vibrate as much as gassers but there's always still a chance of front wheel lock ups.

 

[Easy Rider]

This was my first choice of the bikes (GT LTS) I was going to convert . This bike would be a sweet electric but mounting the battery on the cruiser would be a lot easier.

 

[wheelbender6]

The GT LTS is a great bike for mounting a China girl 2 stroke in the frame. I've seen some nice ones on the web.

 

[GearNut]

The bike looks good. Get rid of the springer or reinforce it. They are known for breaking at the pivot bolt holes as the pivot holes are just punched through the tubing's walls. A pivot sleeve needs to be welded in to each fork leg to strengthen them.

 

[Easy Rider]

The GT LTS is a great bike for mounting a China girl 2 stroke in the frame. I've seen some nice ones on the web.

This is what mine looked like 5 years ago. I had an air cooled 5.8 Morini.
It was a fun bike to ride back then but it was pretty loud.

 

[Easy Rider]

The bike looks good. Get rid of the springer or reinforce it. They are known for breaking at the pivot bolt holes as the pivot holes are just punched through the tubing's walls. A pivot sleeve needs to be welded in to each fork leg to strengthen them.

Thanks for the safety info. Last thing I want to do is kiss the pavement because I don't heal as fast as I use to.
After looking at the bike's forks and reading your post, I'm not exactly positive on what needs to be strengthen.

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

The critical part on these springer forks is the main fork pivot. In the picture I've marked this with an arrow. The good forks will have the main pivot bolt riding in a bushing that's welded solidly to the fork. The bad ones will just have a raw punch hole. The bad ones tend to break, bend and otherwise fail, - they are junk.

If you've got one of the good ones it pays to take the bolt out and grease it from time to time. On the fork that I have the bolt actually threads into one of the bushings and is locked in place with a locknut which means that it's possible to adjust the fork for zero sideplay.

 

[Easy Rider]

Thanks, I'll take it apart this weekend since my kit is coming from the slow boat from China.

 

[Easy Rider]

I finally had a chance to do a little bit of work on the bike today. I got the hub and rack on. I was going to use my stock rim but its only a single wall rim. I'm still debating on it because I want both rims to match.

 

[paul]

great looking motorized bicycle easy rider, looks comfy also

 

[Easy Rider]

Thanks Paul, I picked up a Marin Quake 7.9 for $500 plus my electric plane and controller. I was going to put the motor on that but the cruiser is so much more comfortable that I'm sticking to my original plan.
My son is eye balling the Quake so I might as well let him have it.

 

[Easy Rider]

Now that the dust has settled with Bikenut, I decided to do a little bit of work on the bike. I wasn't very fond of the Golden Motor's skinny rim so I've been searching Craigslist for a pair of downhill rims. For the last few weeks I didn't find a single 36 hole rim then out if the blue someone posted a pair of 36h Alex double-wall downhill rims! I got them for $60/pair.
I laced them up and took them to the local bike shop to get true. $10 each.
I also bought another battery. I thought I'd try one of those NiCoMn Battery pack. The best cased one I could find was a 15ah battery. Hopefully I can get at least 25 miles with this battery.

 

[Easy Rider]

The only thing left is to replace my springer forks. I've been looking for a pair like these but they only make them with 1 1/8". My bike needs a fork with a 1" stem. I love these forks but the only down fall is they can not accommodate a disc brake.

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

Now that the dust has settled with Bikenut, I decided to do a little bit of work on the bike. I wasn't very fond of the Golden Motor's skinny rim so I've been searching Craigslist for a pair of downhill rims. For the last few weeks I didn't find a single 36 hole rim then out if the blue someone posted a pair of 36h Alex double-wall downhill rims! I got them for $60/pair.
I laced them up and took them to the local bike shop to get true. $10 each.
I also bought another battery. I thought I'd try one of those NiCoMn Battery pack. The best cased one I could find was a 15ah battery. Hopefully I can get at least 25 miles with this battery.

That's a seriously nice looking bike Easy Rider. Shame about those forks not being available with an inch stem because they look to be pretty darn amazing.
Is there anyway to modify them to take an inch stem, - or is that getting into more re-engineering than you'd want to consider?

 

[Easy Rider]

Is there anyway to modify them to take an inch stem, - or is that getting into more re-engineering than you'd want to consider?

It would take a lot of machine work and welding which I have access to a full machine shop. I was thinking of cutting the 1 1/8' stem off and weld a 1" stem on. However after looking at the forks more, I realized I would have to either machine a new top bracket that clamps on to the stem, make a sleeve for the top mount or set the stem in place and weld it.
I think I'd be better off buying a new frame or forks OR using my full suspension down hill bike as a last resort.
I've even entertained the thought of using Monark forks but that isn't really my style. I'm open to any good ideas if you have one.

 

[paul]

let me know what you think of the new motorized bicycle battery. they are lighter supposedly then a lifepo 4, 15ah you should be able to get 25 miles with, I have a 15ah battery and get that much easy. nice clean build easyrider

 

[kevyleven007]

Looks good! I would just keep the springers you have on there now. Nothing wrong with that. Did you get that rack from bms battery? I like it

 

[Easy Rider]

Looks good! I would just keep the springers you have on there now. Nothing wrong with that. Did you get that rack from bms battery? I like it

You're right, I think it would be ok to keep using the springer forks because electric bikes don't vibrate like petrol engines.
The rack did come from BMS Batteries. I was surprised how nice it's built. I installed my rear light under the battery. It also has a top rack which I plan on making a bag for my 20ah battery off my BoXer and mounting both batteries for those long rides. I'm hoping I can get 60+ miles per ride with both batteries fully charged.

 

[Easy Rider]

let me know what you think of the new motorized bicycle battery. they are lighter supposedly then a lifepo 4, 15ah you should be able to get 25 miles with, I have a 15ah battery and get that much easy. nice clean build easyrider

Thanks Paul,
I'll give you the run down on my mileage and performance once the battery comes in. I found out that with the Golden Motor hubs, you have to get a 30 amp continuous discharge battery. I made the costly mistake of buying a 15 amp continuous discharge battery. At least it gets 12-14 miles per charge.

 

[Easy Rider]

Re: Mileage

With the new battery, I got 23.4 miles (on flat ground). I did notice that after 5 miles the battery meter's green light only stayed on when I let off th throttle. I did destroy the bike rack. I mounted both batteries on it and after the third curb I jumped, the rack collapsed. I'll post pictures later.