Good afternoon,
Very long time lurker, this will be my first post, and will soon be my first build thread. I've built about a half dozen happy times over the last several years, a few for myself and a few that i've helped friends build. Not for profit or anything, I'm just fascinated with all things that have an engine and engines themselves, especially two-wheeled ones. Although they certainly got me hooked and I genuinely enjoy lots of tinkering, I've concluded that I am going to build a 4-stroke and will probably not turn back. I've always loved enduros and have owned several, both new and old school, 2 and 4 stroke, and have always preferred the performance, reliability, and ease of maintenance of 4 stroke(not to mention the sound and lack of a smoke trail).
Anyhow, within the next couple weeks, I'll be building a 4 stroke cruiser. 2 of the happy times i've built were on wally world cruisers and was thoroughly unimpressed with how unfit they were for motorization(especially a $99 huffy, lesson learned). I've spent the past few weeks checking CL everyday for a suitable cruiser and in my current area (College Station) almost all of the bikes are mountain bikes or road bikes. I really prefer the appearance and riding position of a cruiser when motorized and think it would compliment the 4 stroke nicely. This post originally was for suggestions regarding a few potential bikes to build on, but the person who replied to my wanted ad for an older cruiser on CL with 4 vintage cruisers failed to mention he was about 10 hours away- much too far of a drive for a project bike. So I'm back to square one hunting for a suitable cruiser. Was going to delete the thread, but I don't think that's possible. However, I'm still going through with my build and will post pictures and updates as I obtain a bike and all the parts!
I'm still doing a little debating as to which kit to go with. It's either a 4G from Bicycle-Engines which I've heard lots of praise about, or the mysterious 7G copy. The main factor being the $50 price difference as I have a limited budget, and if the bike i'm selecting needs a good bit of money and work into it, i may have to go with the 7G. I have no problem replacing a bushing or clutch every now and then, but of course I'd prefer not to have to. I know its kind of uncharted territory at this point, and yes I've done numerous searches and have read every thread regarding the 7G. Please correct me if i'm mistaken, but it seems that they both have the oil-lite bushing which requires oil-baths as regular maintenance and proper belt tension to keep happy, or cobra freak's bearing mod to replace and never have to worry about it again. But I also see that many of you have racked up thousands of miles on the latest 4G without any major repairs, time will tell for the 7G i suppose.
Though someone will always have a bad experience or opinion of any product, and many will have great experiences with them and be too busy to write or review said product.
I know that B-E is more reputable, and has good customer service from what I can gather, and that gas-bike is quite the opposite, but in my HT days I did order a few kits from them with nothing missing, received in timely manner, etc. no complaints. But I did read on here from a few of problems with the 7G mounting plate being inferior, which definitely is a concern.
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EDIT: 2 possible local bike candidates at the moment.
-First, a Schwinn "Shipyard" is what the seller is calling it. Looks like a "Deliveri" model, he says it was actually used at a shipyard as an employee's transportation. Apparently he got it as just a frame and forks, took it apart, and repainted it, put it back together. I like the look, and if you all think a HS/4G would mount right up to the frame, this is the one I would go with. I believe the top red plate is usually just bolted on, but he says it was welded on, which would pose a slight challenge for fitting a fuel tank there, but hopefully it was just tacked and can be removed. Heck, maybe its thick enough to use as a wall of the tank after removal, and if not, at least a template. He's asking $100
-Second, a single speed schwinn sanctuary "ridden twice". Looks brand new. Both have just coasters, so i'd be fitting at least v brakes front and rear. He's asking $95 and probably won't negotiate much since its $175 new and is still new, but you never know. I know people usually have good results fitting an HS in these frames without modification, correct me if i'm wrong.
Any thoughts?
----------------------
I apologize for making such a long post, but now you all know where I stand and my intentions. I hope I broke the text up into enough paragraphs as to not be hard on the eyes, if not, let me know and i'll break it up some more. I really appreciate any help or insight you guys can offer, you've already all helped me immensely with tons of excellent information.
Thanks again,
GulfCoastCruiser
(Kyle)
Very long time lurker, this will be my first post, and will soon be my first build thread. I've built about a half dozen happy times over the last several years, a few for myself and a few that i've helped friends build. Not for profit or anything, I'm just fascinated with all things that have an engine and engines themselves, especially two-wheeled ones. Although they certainly got me hooked and I genuinely enjoy lots of tinkering, I've concluded that I am going to build a 4-stroke and will probably not turn back. I've always loved enduros and have owned several, both new and old school, 2 and 4 stroke, and have always preferred the performance, reliability, and ease of maintenance of 4 stroke(not to mention the sound and lack of a smoke trail).
Anyhow, within the next couple weeks, I'll be building a 4 stroke cruiser. 2 of the happy times i've built were on wally world cruisers and was thoroughly unimpressed with how unfit they were for motorization(especially a $99 huffy, lesson learned). I've spent the past few weeks checking CL everyday for a suitable cruiser and in my current area (College Station) almost all of the bikes are mountain bikes or road bikes. I really prefer the appearance and riding position of a cruiser when motorized and think it would compliment the 4 stroke nicely. This post originally was for suggestions regarding a few potential bikes to build on, but the person who replied to my wanted ad for an older cruiser on CL with 4 vintage cruisers failed to mention he was about 10 hours away- much too far of a drive for a project bike. So I'm back to square one hunting for a suitable cruiser. Was going to delete the thread, but I don't think that's possible. However, I'm still going through with my build and will post pictures and updates as I obtain a bike and all the parts!
I'm still doing a little debating as to which kit to go with. It's either a 4G from Bicycle-Engines which I've heard lots of praise about, or the mysterious 7G copy. The main factor being the $50 price difference as I have a limited budget, and if the bike i'm selecting needs a good bit of money and work into it, i may have to go with the 7G. I have no problem replacing a bushing or clutch every now and then, but of course I'd prefer not to have to. I know its kind of uncharted territory at this point, and yes I've done numerous searches and have read every thread regarding the 7G. Please correct me if i'm mistaken, but it seems that they both have the oil-lite bushing which requires oil-baths as regular maintenance and proper belt tension to keep happy, or cobra freak's bearing mod to replace and never have to worry about it again. But I also see that many of you have racked up thousands of miles on the latest 4G without any major repairs, time will tell for the 7G i suppose.
Though someone will always have a bad experience or opinion of any product, and many will have great experiences with them and be too busy to write or review said product.
I know that B-E is more reputable, and has good customer service from what I can gather, and that gas-bike is quite the opposite, but in my HT days I did order a few kits from them with nothing missing, received in timely manner, etc. no complaints. But I did read on here from a few of problems with the 7G mounting plate being inferior, which definitely is a concern.
------------------
EDIT: 2 possible local bike candidates at the moment.
-First, a Schwinn "Shipyard" is what the seller is calling it. Looks like a "Deliveri" model, he says it was actually used at a shipyard as an employee's transportation. Apparently he got it as just a frame and forks, took it apart, and repainted it, put it back together. I like the look, and if you all think a HS/4G would mount right up to the frame, this is the one I would go with. I believe the top red plate is usually just bolted on, but he says it was welded on, which would pose a slight challenge for fitting a fuel tank there, but hopefully it was just tacked and can be removed. Heck, maybe its thick enough to use as a wall of the tank after removal, and if not, at least a template. He's asking $100
-Second, a single speed schwinn sanctuary "ridden twice". Looks brand new. Both have just coasters, so i'd be fitting at least v brakes front and rear. He's asking $95 and probably won't negotiate much since its $175 new and is still new, but you never know. I know people usually have good results fitting an HS in these frames without modification, correct me if i'm wrong.
Any thoughts?
----------------------
I apologize for making such a long post, but now you all know where I stand and my intentions. I hope I broke the text up into enough paragraphs as to not be hard on the eyes, if not, let me know and i'll break it up some more. I really appreciate any help or insight you guys can offer, you've already all helped me immensely with tons of excellent information.
Thanks again,
GulfCoastCruiser
(Kyle)
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