Review of Livefastmotors chain drive rack mount

[bgoates]

I recently bid and won a Livefastmotors 2 stroke rack mount chain drive mot kit on Ebay Gas Bicycle Honda MOTOR Motorized Bike Moped Scooter NR - eBay (item 310039652752 end time May-07-08 12:00:00 PDT)

The pics on the Ebay description is for a completely different motor (ie 4 stroke) and the descriptions says that the 2-cycle kit may vary slightly from picture.

The kit arrived within days with no installation instructions. The kit was packaged fairly well but not well enough for the motor not to have smashed the kill switch. The supplier has promised a quick replacement. In the interim I will try to run without a kill switch.

The installation instructions on the website Livefast Motors: Bike Motors - Instructions are for the four-stroke engine which is significantly different due to the placement of the gas tank. The two-stroke which I received has the gas tank on top and therefore the engine mount is different. About 80% of the website instructions are applicable. However, I did receive a flat piece of metal and there is a braket on the engine which I can't firgure out how they fit. The vendor has promised to get back to me...

If anybody is familiar with this kit I would appreciate hearing from you.

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

Re: Review of Livefastmotors chain drive reack mount

Thanks for the warning....er, I mean review.

Sorry to hear it's not going all that well. Please keep us posted on future developements.

I will say I for one will enjoy learning about this bicycle motor type right along with you.

What are you having trouble with at the present time?

What kind of two stroke engine is it? Did you order the two stroke, or were you expecting the four stroke? Pictures?

In the end, REMEMBER THE FEEDBACK SYSTEM, that's what it's there for.

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

Re: Review of Livefastmotors chain drive reack mount

100 clams for shipping!?! ouchy...

 

[bgoates]

Re: Review of Livefastmotors chain drive reack mount

I spent about 4-5 hrs today assembling the Livefastmotors chain drive 40cc 2-stroke rack mounted kit. It would probably be a 2 hr job if I had the proper instructions or were to do another. I basically ended doing a lot of things twice to get it right. The kit comes with a toolkit which is nice and all the parts (and some that you don't need).

I think the kit looks good and is not as complex as the Chinese frame mount, ie no muffler, carb, clutch, twist throttle, gas tank, wiring or air filter to assemble. It does have a gear box which isn't bad....especially if you had instructions. I used loctite or nylock nuts on all bolts.

Performance: with the centrifugal clutch and only 40cc does not produce the get-up-and-go as the 70cc Chinese engine. It helps to peddle to start and the acceleration is not as quick. I don't know how it would compare to the 50cc Chinese engine. I haven't clocked the top-end speed but I would guess it is slightly slower compared to the Chinese 70cc. I'm running at 5000 feet in Utah which is quite higher than my 3000 feet at home in Alberta. The elevation difference would also have a significant impact on performance. I haven't tried it on any hills...I hope to tomorrow. It sounds about as loud as the Chinese 70cc.

Summary:

weakness:
1) No instructions. The instructions on the internet are for a different motor and the mounting is significantly different due to the placement of the gas tank.
2) The pictures on Ebay are not the same engine. It does say this in the description but it would be nice to have the correct pictures of the engine kit you are actually buying.
3) $95 for shipping and handling is a questionable practice. Obviously the vendor is building in a fixed profit margin through the shipping. It makes the total price to be $185 to $250 depending on what you bid....comparable to the Chinese 70cc total price.
4) Shipping was quick but kill switch was smashed because the engine was laying on top of it.
5) It has a very small gas tank

strengths:
1) The kit would be simple to put together if one has instructions.
2) The kit is less complicated than much of the competition
3) The vendor shipped a new kill switch the same day he was notified...not questions or hassles.
4) Performance is not bad for a 40cc centrifugal clutch unit.
5) I think it looks good.
6) Comes with a tool kit

I built this unit for my college age son for transportation from home to university. He is not mechanically inclined and doesn't have the time to tinker. I think it will suit his needs. I would also recommend it for ladies who don't like working a clutch.

It will be interesting to see how it handles hills.

See YouTube - motorized bike rack mount for video

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

Re: Review of Livefastmotors chain drive reack mount

Exellent review....could you possibly give us an update once your son puts some miles on it?

 

[sisdavid]

Re: Review of Livefastmotors chain drive reack mount

When people put things on ebay with a high shipping cost they can place the item and spend less money because their listing price is less, but the shipping is more in other words it is a strategy so they do not have to spend so much putting item on ebay. I guess, make sure always check shipping cost.

 

[bgoates]

Re: Review of Livefastmotors chain drive reack mount

I rode about two hours today on this bike. Overall it does a good job. Nice speed and not too bad on the hills. Their are some pretty long steep hills here in Utah and with peddle assist it doesn't do too bad. Utah drivers are the worst I've ever seen and one has to be extremely careful of them.

I got lost of thumbs up..(some from cute young college girls). Overall the kit isn't too bad but for me I prefer the higher power Chinese kit. I might try Dax kit as my next build.

 

[mnrider]

any updates on this motor kit? I was thinking of getting one for my lady so she would come out riding with me. They are going for 350 including shipping right now so I was wondering if it would be worth the money or should I go with a HT engine.

 

[bgoates]

I'm not sure what an HT engine is but my son has put many miles on this kit and is happy with it. Side by side it is faster than my China girl on the flat but I have better climb performance. The only problem we have had is the key to one of the drive sprockets came out and we had to fabricate our own. Another issue was the starter pull rope broke which was an interesting fix. He really yanks it when he pulls the rope. I would still recommend it for someone who doesn't want to fuss with a manual clutch.

 

[mnrider]

Thanks, That is the kind of info I was looking for. Ht engines are the chinese 2 stroke that you can find everywhere that get mixed reviews. Iv never heard of china girl, is that a brand name?

 

[Dave31]

Thanks, That is the kind of info I was looking for. Ht engines are the chinese 2 stroke that you can find everywhere that get mixed reviews. Iv never heard of china girl, is that a brand name?

China girl is what we call the Chinese 2-stroke here at the forum....we do not like the HT

http://motorbicycling.com/f28/happy-time-804.html

 

[mnrider]

sorry Im new, so what are the problems with the kill switches on the china girls

 

[Dave31]

sorry Im new, so what are the problems with the kill switches on the china girls

You can call it the HT if you would like, we just wanted to name it something different...all for fun

They usually dont work, they sometimes ground them self or just fall apart

 

[mnrider]

thats ok im sort of a follower. china girl it is! Ive seen 80cc motor kits for about 150 shipped but worry about the reliability, Ive never been very good with motors but am pretty good with other mechanical things so it may not be a problem. This for the lady though and I dont want to be constantly be fixing her ride. Are these kits all pretty much the same? are some better than others?

 

[Dave31]

thats ok im sort of a follower. china girl it is! Ive seen 80cc motor kits for about 150 shipped but worry about the reliability, Ive never been very good with motors but am pretty good with other mechanical things so it may not be a problem. This for the lady though and I dont want to be constantly be fixing her ride. Are these kits all pretty much the same? are some better than others?

Here is a link 4 ya......http://motorbicycling.com/f4/kit-best-1764.html

 

[Jemma Hawtrey]

I like the kit - it looks very professional and as you said very clean.. the only thing that would bother me personally is how close the motor is to the back of seat and therefore to the rider... did you feel any heat from the engine?

A major feature of the GEBE kit is the ability to swap out engines so long as they have the relevant clutch fitting (either 52/78mm versions). Do you know if its possible to retrofit another engine later? such as a two stroke 40/47R or something similar?

Jemma xx

 

[misteright1_99]

Re: Review of Livefastmotors chain drive reack mount

100 clams for shipping!?! ouchy...

You think thats bad, look at the shipping for his clamshell hub adapter, can't weigh more than 1lb and shipping is $25. parcel post............

 

[deacon]

It is the same engine not a brand name

 

[turbo/chaos]

well i bought 3 kits from them the 4 strokes suck more then a redneck ho and the 3 stroke man it can fly had to instal it by ear and it was a pain but by the second one it was easy and yet with a 56t gear on the wheel it will do 45mph and yet i am 250lbs but but there is no warrenty and alibaba.com sells them for 145$ but you have to buy 5 at a time and yes it works great in friction drive gives the same output like a chain drive so if any one whants a cheap kit lets all pitch in and get them for cheap and forget the 350 a kit when it is only worth 200-250 not no 350 thank you reading
oh yeah stock kit with the 48t gear will break 50mph insane to the point of no return

 

[Motormac]

thats ok im sort of a follower. china girl it is! Ive seen 80cc motor kits for about 150 shipped but worry about the reliability, Ive never been very good with motors but am pretty good with other mechanical things so it may not be a problem. This for the lady though and I dont want to be constantly be fixing her ride. Are these kits all pretty much the same? are some better than others?

Powerking has nice kits now,I think they have made a big effort to improve the quality of their engine kits, mine ran great out of the box.Get the limited edition 80 cc.(actually about 70cc). there are things you can do to improve them a lot more, but you can learn that from this forum. Good Luck!