NEW i am planning on building a bike but NEED some advice

[lumley92]

Hi i am planning on building a bike. I would like to use a beach cruiser type bike and a 80cc engine. I dont want to spend any more the around $350. Any suggestions on what a good bike/engine combo would be for me to purchase. I have a lot of mechanical working experience and have lots of tools, but DONT have a welder. I would like for this to be an easy build without having to modify things and run into lots of problems with the engine instal to the bike. PLEASE GIVE ME SUGGESTIONS. THANK YOU

 

[lumley92]

Thanks for the advice!
I am curious, on gasbikeDOTnet they have a skyhawk gt5 angle fire slant head kit 80cc for $149.99 and then a kit with the same name for $179.99
The only difference i see is that the more expensive one has a different carburator. is that the only difference? and i was also wondering wondering why not just get the add on performance carb for $20 with the 149.99 engine? it would still be $10 cheaper and have a "performance" carb.

What kind of modifications or extra parts might i have to do in order to get one of these engines to work on the Cranbrook cruiser. I dont want to have to buy different wheels and things in order for it to have to work.

 

[Matheneyr3]

The performance carb- may not necessarily be the performance your looking for. I ran the stock carb, an broke my motor in first, then ordered the add on. My motor didn't like it, and I was never able to get it to run as well as the stock one. I'm sure it has worked for others, just not me.
I'd save my money, following some advice from Norm here- I have been able to tune that little carb pretty well for my use. Good luck!

 

[lumley92]

So would you guys suggest this kit GRUBEE SkyHawk GT2B 66c/80cc Slant Head (Black Finish) Bike Engine Kit - Gas Bike Motor Kit
and im thinking about using a cranbrook or a schwinn delmar.

 

["the prussian" Shop Dogs]

Welcome to the forum. I rep the shop dogs a rider/builders club in waukegan,just down the road from you. Listen to nougat's advice on the ubolt mount. If you need something welded (ie:mounting plate to ubolt frame ) please feel free to call on me , most of the time you can drop something small in mail and get it back the next week. Or pm me and pop over sometime . I have a small shop set up for mb's
The other main prob people have is mounting rear sprocket corectly. So dependig on wheel and hub you may need a washer turned to fit o.d. Of hub and i.d. Of drive sprockett. This is also some thing we can do for you if you want help ,thats why my buddies and I started a club vs a shop , just more user friendly that way.
Make sure you put your location on map project and read thread on chicagoland rally
Lett me know what u decide to build

 

[lumley92]

Alright sounds cool i think im gonna go with the cranbrook when i start my project here in the next couple weeks. ill let you know whats up when i get into the building stage. Thanks!

 

[matthurd]

i have one of the grubees just like that but in silver and with cns carb. my cns works great but i think im in the minority. the motor runs pretty well but the exhaust studs in mine were very poorly threaded, had to go to autozone and rent a tap and die set, was $95. i got the money back after i returned the kit but if i didn't have $95 for the to hold on to i was outta luck.

honestly i wouldn't want to use a cheap bike. my worksman was $350 shipped, and gave me tons of head aches (but i think i got it just right atm, and that will be sweeeet). but i'd still prefer it over a cheap bike thats easy to set up. bicycles aren't made for this, so you want to get a bike that will handle it the best, to me its a matter of safety.

i'm not saying cheap bikes are always unsafe, but i don't want to chance it personally. regardless of what bike you choose, don't run a front fender http://motorbicycling.com/f30/motorized-bicycle-front-fender-dangers-315.html

i realize you're probably on a budget, but later if you get some extra cash, i suggest getting a good bike to switch it over too.

good luck with your build.

 

[handyjim]

hi i bult a schwinn drifter bike 160 motor 160 love it pics on my post good luck with your buld have fun

 

[windsors03cobra]

I bought a $70 dollar with a nice rack on the back 1969 Schwinn Racer, welded steel frame built in Chicago and damn durable.

Cleaned and greased all the bearings and re-revited the noisy fenders and the thing rolls pretty nice, albeit on 30+ year old rubber.
And the chinagirl engine $140 shipped off ebay fit the frame like a glove. I made a hub adapter/sprocket mount at work and that really was the other key piece for me. If I were to offer any advice it would be to go with a sprocket adapter and dont mash your spokes.

I did not want to use the tensioner/guide but ended up using it about inline with the tire and it has been problem free. I would like to weld a slotted slider bracket to my chainstay and put a small sprocket idler on there. In the meantime I monitor the junk stock tensioner/guide and enjoy the ride.
I only locked up my rear wheel once when I first got it together and before I had the chinagirls chain guard on and my pants got sucked into the drive sprocket. I didnt fly with the rear locked, I unthreaded my pants and went home and fitted the guard.

 

["the prussian" Shop Dogs]

I know from experiance that the cranbrooke hub needs a spacer washer, this allows you to keep sprockett true too hub when tighting rag joint. I have several premade if you pm me and address i send you a free one.