With a free bike and a $130 engine kit you can put one together for, well, $130. My last kit cost me $20. I did a customer build almost 2 years ago. He rode it maybe 5 times then the neighbor ran over the guy's bike. So he took everything back off the bike, brought it to my house and sold it to me for $20. I'm riding that one now. If I had put it on a free bike that build would have been only $20.
fatdaddy.
fatdaddy.
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I've built several bikes for less than $150.
Just scrounge around for a good bike.
Just scrounge around for a good bike.
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Hey maniac, I'll go ya one better than that. A good friend of mine was going through real hard times. He had got hit by a BIG truck on his motorized bicycle, spent some time in the hospital, and of course lost his bike. So I told him to find a bike. He got one for free, then I went through my shop putting together all the best used parts I could find. The next day he was riding his new, (completly USED,) bike. So basicly it didn't really cost anything. Come to think of it, He still kinda owes me for that one,LOL.
fatdaddy.
fatdaddy.
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My second build cost me $150 in '08. It was a simple chinagirl with a 34T on a 26" diamond-frame MTB. Quick, compact, nimble and light!
I loved that motor assisted bicycle, but I ended up destroying it in a nasty accident in '09 and died on the operating table for a minute.
Ride well, not like your bike (or you) are disposable!
I loved that motor assisted bicycle, but I ended up destroying it in a nasty accident in '09 and died on the operating table for a minute.
Ride well, not like your bike (or you) are disposable!
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Glad yer still with us Aleman. I've dumped a bike here and there but never almost died. The God's must be smiling on you.
And come to think of it, My tadpole recumbent was put together with used parts in my shop and a $15 go cart frame. A LOT of labor, but the actual cash outlay was, well, $15.
Fatdaddy.
And come to think of it, My tadpole recumbent was put together with used parts in my shop and a $15 go cart frame. A LOT of labor, but the actual cash outlay was, well, $15.
Fatdaddy.
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Well done. One of the forum sites had a contest for the cheapest motorbike build. They looked better than i thought they would.
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I'm a little confused. The title of the thread is not a question, nor is one asked in the OP. Did I miss something? Since we are on the subject, let me put my $0.02 in. If you have to build it cheap, make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN you build it right. There is no better way to risk an accident than on a cheap bike that is hastily slapped together (and I'm not saying any of the accidents described here were due to poor mechanical skills). That being said, there is nothing wrong with a cheap bike if its put together right. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Any motorized bicycle is only as good as its mechanic. A good mechanic can turn a cheap bike into a dream ride. A poor mechanic can turn a dream bike into a pile of parts. My current bike was certainly not cheap, but nothing custom ever should be. I've got close to a grand in it. I thought I knew a good deal about building bikes when I started, but have managed to learn a lot more along the way. My bike was not 100% mechanically sound when I first finished it, although I tried my best to make it so. Thankfully I did not make any life-threatening mistakes, and I've since corrected most of my mistakes. The last two are due to be corrected tomorrow.
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You're right BBB, I probably wouldn't recommend that a newb try to put together a bike for $15. But an experienced builder with a lot of extra parts in the shop could almost do a build for free.
And the title IS "ULTRA CHEAP LOW BUDGET motorized bicycle." Suggesting the idea of others posting their own ultra cheap low budget builds.
My every day rider probably has around $600 invested, It would be a lot more without my years of experience with motorized bicycles.
I remember what my Pop's always said, (RIP.) If you don't do it right, Don't do it at all. That, and I'm a little lazy. I HATE doing something twice, so I try to do it right the first time.
fatdaddy.
And the title IS "ULTRA CHEAP LOW BUDGET motorized bicycle." Suggesting the idea of others posting their own ultra cheap low budget builds.
My every day rider probably has around $600 invested, It would be a lot more without my years of experience with motorized bicycles.
I remember what my Pop's always said, (RIP.) If you don't do it right, Don't do it at all. That, and I'm a little lazy. I HATE doing something twice, so I try to do it right the first time.
fatdaddy.
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Its too bad custom bikes arent that cheap and easy. For the person who does a lot of custom bikes, maybe, but not for the rest of us. My current build was my first custom bike, cost me $800 and took me 4 months to complete. My next bike if I ever do get to build it is going to be a whizzer clone engine, sent to n.c. for the necessary improvements, on a vintage frame with all the best parts I can find. Its not going to be like this build with all the best parts I could find cheaply or quickly just to get it done, its going to be done right, not just for quality but for 
of mind and to give a vintage build the proper respect it deserves. Its certainly not going to be a quick build. It wont even be started for at least a few years yet, and it may take a year or more to complete once it is. Its definitely not going to be cheap. I'm estimating somewhere in the $3000 to $4000 range. Considering that the reproduction whizzer kits alone cost about $800 plus $150 shipping, and I dont even know right now what all the other parts I will be wanting will cost. I may look into the package deals that sportsman offers, or pick and choose from his website what I want.
of mind and to give a vintage build the proper respect it deserves. Its certainly not going to be a quick build. It wont even be started for at least a few years yet, and it may take a year or more to complete once it is. Its definitely not going to be cheap. I'm estimating somewhere in the $3000 to $4000 range. Considering that the reproduction whizzer kits alone cost about $800 plus $150 shipping, and I dont even know right now what all the other parts I will be wanting will cost. I may look into the package deals that sportsman offers, or pick and choose from his website what I want.
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Here is my original low-buck build, The Pig.
$128.00 kit (found a deal that week)
Free bike from the curb (I regularly scrounge on garbage day)
Free alloy rims and rear V-brake from parts bike
Homemade basket from a shopping cart
Bars and pedals from a wasted freestyle BMX donor
$10 pocketbike tuned pipe from the scooterstore junkpile
$25.00 BGF 36tooth sprocket (waste of cash since it was already worn out after only three weeks)
Automotive plug wire (free from pull a part while buying a starter. It fell in my toolbox accidentally)
$20.00 HD #40 roller chain (enough for two bikes per box)
Probably 20-30 hours labor building everything (free since I did it myself)
Total cash outlay: Less than $185 bucks
Sold it recently for $400 after riding it for two years problem free!
$128.00 kit (found a deal that week)
Free bike from the curb (I regularly scrounge on garbage day)
Free alloy rims and rear V-brake from parts bike
Homemade basket from a shopping cart
Bars and pedals from a wasted freestyle BMX donor
$10 pocketbike tuned pipe from the scooterstore junkpile
$25.00 BGF 36tooth sprocket (waste of cash since it was already worn out after only three weeks)
Automotive plug wire (free from pull a part while buying a starter. It fell in my toolbox accidentally)
$20.00 HD #40 roller chain (enough for two bikes per box)
Probably 20-30 hours labor building everything (free since I did it myself)
Total cash outlay: Less than $185 bucks
Sold it recently for $400 after riding it for two years problem free!
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College towns are a good place to find good deals on bikes. A lot of the college kids around here buy a bike to ride for the semester, then they dont want to have to carry the bike home, maybe they drive their dad's honda civic and they dont have room. So then you get a good deal on a cheap bike and/or parts galore.
Also, like bbb hit on, there are a lot of people manufacturing solutions to simple mechanical problems with the stock kit, such as chain tensioners and upgraded mounts etc rather than spending hundreds of dollars piecing together custom parts for the dream build, you can fab them yourself, then you have brilliantly engineered upgrades for way less than a grand. I believe that if you are looking for a cheap well built bike that this is the solution.
I think some people believe you have to build a few bikes before you can get the cheap one right, but there is room for growth as a community and no one should be stingy about sharing practical knowledge on what can collectively improve motor assisted bicycle build quality.
Also, like bbb hit on, there are a lot of people manufacturing solutions to simple mechanical problems with the stock kit, such as chain tensioners and upgraded mounts etc rather than spending hundreds of dollars piecing together custom parts for the dream build, you can fab them yourself, then you have brilliantly engineered upgrades for way less than a grand. I believe that if you are looking for a cheap well built bike that this is the solution.
I think some people believe you have to build a few bikes before you can get the cheap one right, but there is room for growth as a community and no one should be stingy about sharing practical knowledge on what can collectively improve motor assisted bicycle build quality.
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I just took a look on Sportsman's site. He offers a frame, fork and tank kit for the whizzer for $1250. A grand basically for the engine kit bumps the cost to 2250. He offers wheels for $125 for front wheels and $85 for rear wheels. So thats another 210. so about $2500 plus whatever it costs to ship the engine back and forth and have the work done to it, then other small items like a seat, handlebars, pedals, etc.
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And this has what exactly to do with a low budget thread?
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Read the rest of my posts. This ties into what I was saying before about custom builds NOT being cheap (wish they were, but then everyone would have one). And by custom, I dont mean something that started as a stock kit bike and was slowly upgraded. I mean built from the ground up without a kit. No offense to the kit guys, its just not for me anymore. But whatever you build, just build it safe.
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I thought this thread was about trying to get a good deal on a Happy kit and putting it on a free or cheap frame. For less than $200 you really can't beat how much fun it is.
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Sorry BBB, I still love ya bro, but this thread isn't about custom builds. Yer right, A custom build can run into the thousands. THIS thread is about low budget crap. I do agree that with ANY build safety is first and foremost, But after those concerns are met just having fun is the second requirement. And if you can do it all for cheap then more power to ya.
fatdaddy.
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MORE ULTRA CHEAP LOW BUDGET BUILDS PLEASE.
I don't wanna see anything that is not, at the very least, SAFE. But if you can show bikes that ya put together on a tight budget, Put it HERE.
fatdaddy.
I don't wanna see anything that is not, at the very least, SAFE. But if you can show bikes that ya put together on a tight budget, Put it HERE.
fatdaddy.
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built this up for a friend short on cash $140 total cost. The only things we bought where brake pads and the engine kit I had everything else lying around.
not very pretty but extremely functional. The SHA carb was added later as well as the pipe (a 40$ for both parts which made it a whole lot more fun to ride)
P.S. I know we need to tighten the chain... he rides it a LOT and wont listen to me about replacing the stock chain with something better that wont stretch.
not very pretty but extremely functional. The SHA carb was added later as well as the pipe (a 40$ for both parts which made it a whole lot more fun to ride)
P.S. I know we need to tighten the chain... he rides it a LOT and wont listen to me about replacing the stock chain with something better that wont stretch.
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