New guy, need a bit of help!

J

jetblast96

New Member
Hey everyone, I'm new to this forum so I'll give a quick introduction: I'm Mike, I'm 15 (finally old enough to legally use a mb) and I live in central NJ. I have always had a passion for motors, building, and biking, so the thought of being able to make a mb sounds like a fantastic idea to me. I just need a little bit of help getting started.
Okay so first, I am looking to just have a basic bike. I am not going to ride anywhere outside my neighborhood and just want something to take for a spin and enjoy building. My only picky thing is no coaster brakes. Now is a good time to say that I would like to keep a $400 budget. I feel that a beach cruiser style bike fits my needs well. I have already decided on an engine after tons of research and I think a Raw motors 50cc 2 stroke kit will be perfect and I have heard great things about it. Cost is about $150, leaving $250 for the bike and other necesities. My question is what cruiser bikes people have had an easy installation with. I have no machine shop and would like to have no heavy modifications.

So, what bike can fit the description?

Besides that, I don't have any other questions for now. There is one thing though: I am really really concerned about the legality of these bikes. I have been all over the forums and have seen contradicting opinions in NJ such as "register, insure, and get a license, it is worth the money and the crazy trouble" and "forget the cops, registering and everything else is a waste of time and money, just ride and play dumb if anything happens". I have no clue what to do; I am familiar with how to operate a bike or motorbike safely in traffic, and it's not like I am going to ride outside of my little suburban neighborhood.
Anyway thats enough of my babbling now, I hope I could get a bit of advice... thanks in advance!

Mike
 
PS: For any engine kit you buy, swap as many nuts and bolts as you can with american ones from home depot. ESPECIALLY the ones for the rear sprocket assembly (rag joint).
 
To avoid a coaster brake you'll probably want a multi-speed cruiser- then you have the cantilever handbrake fittings on the frame- You'll want to get a dual handle brake lever, to make life easier and safer while also fiddling with a clutch handle- about $15- at vendors here and on ebay.

I started with a Micargi 7 speed Panther- I think it was about $150 shipped a couple of years ago- the great thing about the Micargi is that it has an asian hub whose diameter exactly fits our motor sprockets, and even a ridge stop to keep the sprocket alligned and the correct length from the spokes- Schwinns these days have a high quality alloy hub, but it slants toward the spokes- the sprocket fits over it but it has to be supported solely by a rag joint or optional adapter

still have to use the rag joint to attach to my steel hub, but it's the next best thing besides a hub adapter or modifying a flip/flop hub to attach the sprock directly

The other great thing about a derailleur is that it acts as a chain tensioner for the pedal chain- so that it's easier to avoid using a chain tensioner on the motor chain- more reliable and much less weight- and a cruiser frame gives enough clearance usually otherwise- a mountain bike frame less, and a roadbike can have chain clearance nightmares.

The front shock fork was a later addition, and really helps smooth the ride, with a shock seat post added later as well. As a former racing cyclist, I have my seat set up, and it's a great peddling bike as well as a motorbike.

.rd.
 

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Kat, thanks for the reply, did you have any trouble with that bike such as with mounting the motor? What motor did you use?

Mike
 
2 years ago now- this is a 66 kit from bikeberry and I 've also built a 50 slant kit from boygofast

I use my own mounting technique- I grind/file the front mount until it fits around tube, and replace the studs with longer rear ones or long metric bolts with cut off heads. I bend them outward slightly with the flat of a wrench- DON'T BREAK- yhe holes are actually closer together than the frame tube width, but at the center of the tube, not the top- this gives a little bending room- it's only about 1/16"

when the motors on the frame- scratches the paint a bit- I bend them back and touch paint and clearcoat- I use rubber to dampen vibration top and bottom= Hugs the frame pretty well and doesn't stick up off the frame.

kits now are coming with a

I like the 50 kit I put on a cruiser with 700c wheels to be very light- but frankly the 66's have more power- and it seems that 50cc replacement parts are getting a little scarcer to find- most people now us 66 2 strokes.

Notice with the 700c wheels, you can use regular handbrakes- they still must be chosen carefully- a longer reach is on the back- a more normal reach on the front- but neither extreme and readily available- and there's a wide choice of tire sizes, depending on the width of the rim-
This is an older Huffy frame with no cantilever brake fittings- had a coaster brake I didn't want to mess with either!

I just won't ride anything but alloy rims!

scratg
 

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I know you would have to get rid of the coaster brake, but I highly reccomend getting a single speed bike. This gives yoj a much more massive amount of leeway with chain alignment. You can spread the frame and put washers on the axle, an exteemely easy fix that was impossible with my 7 speed walmart cruiser.

Avoid having problems and taking it to a machine shop for $275 like me. If I knew how much it woulda cost, I wouldn't have taken it to the shop, I would have bought a new bike.
 
I looked at that firmstrong cruiser bike busted nut posted a link for...
it's a nice bike!
and it's got inline brakes front and rear! important!!!
man! if it just had a suspension front fork!
So that looks like abt 600 to 700...
Best
rc
 
I bought a HT kit, Here is a bike that cost $300.00 to build. Everything is new, bike cost $100.00, but you can pick up a used one for as low as FREE or the most I have paid is $20.00 at a thrift store. Choppers were a little more, my son paid $50.00 for one. I have one similar and did away with the coaster brake. Have pad breaks front and rear. With mods to the engine...another $50 or so dollars it's well within your $400.00 budget



Mikes HT bike pictures by Ron-Becker - Photobucket
 
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I will definitely look into a single speed cruiser; i am trying to keep things as simple as possible. Thanks again for the replies, guys! Also, did any of you guys register/insure your bikes to keep legal? How difficult was it?

Mike
 
jetblast96 said:
I will definitely look into a single speed cruiser; i am trying to keep things as simple as possible. Thanks again for the replies, guys! Also, did any of you guys register/insure your bikes to keep legal? How difficult was it?

Mike
Click to expand...

Here in Alabama..no need to do any of that...but wear a helmet.
 
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