G'day from SA!

Hey again everyone. After a lot of frustration with getting stuck on little things that anyone with some bicycle knowledge probably would have avoided, I have finally completed my build!
It goes to show that someone with absolutely no bicycle knowledge can build a motored bike with a SBP shift kit with a little help from the internet, bike shops and SBP.
Today I took it for its first lenthy ride of about 15kms through some very hilly areas and it didnt miss a beat. The fresh engine doesnt rev very well at this stage and riding the bike with its 9 speeds is akin to driving a truck. Using the gearing and not much throttle it gets up hills and up to speed along the flats without too much hassle.
At this stage the only minor problems I am having with it are that the carby leaks fuel all the time, the bottom bracket seems to come slightly loose all the time and the engine doesnt seem to rev much kind of like it runs smooth under certain conditions then misses at other times though Im not sure if this is just the way a 2 stroke is.

Anyway here are some pics.









Sadly I didnt get many pics of the build process as my camera was flat and I couldnt find the charger. It was a reasonably straight forward process although I did have to modify a lot of things and fabricate a front engine mount. My dremel rotary tool proved to be an invaluable aid in my build.

Stupid things I got stuck on were

-Bottom bracket. With no clue on bikes I had no idea of the difference between my hollowtech octalink cranks and the cup and axel type required for the build. This meant I went from my octalink, to a sealed bearing setup before I realised something was not right and emailed SBP who promptly informed me about needing a cup and axel setup.

-Getting the 415 chain shortened. Neither bicycle shops nor motorbike shops wanted to deal with this chain. I ended up getting it the right length but broke my chain breaker in the process.

-Fitting a cable to the 9spd grip shifter. For some reason I just couldnt get the ******* to go in. So I got i had it fitted at a bike shop who cut the cable too short. I then had to go back and have another fitted.

-The cable that came with the clutch was too short and I fitted it incorrectly the first time around adding to the WTF? factor.

-I initially couldnt get the bike to pedal smoothly but after some advice from SBP I modified the master link on the 415 chain and completely dissassembled and resassembled the shift kit and got it working nicely.

Thats about it. Thanks to SBP for the speedy replies and to the SA bike shops that helped me out.
 
Last edited:
G'day everyone,

My name is André and I am from South Australia.

... I was a little shocked at that display of customer service. So I have now decided to build my own.

So far I have ordered:

-Avanti Illusion hybrid bike
-GT5 GEN 4 (bad boy) 80cc
-SBP shift kit deluxe
-shimano compatible 3x9 carbon grip shifts.

I am praying this package is going to work and that I have enough ability to be able to put it all together! Cant be anyworse than working on a car right?
With this package assembled I hope the 40km round trip for work will be a pleasureable experience rather than the nightmare I go through everyday catching a bus and then trying to scab lifts from the suburbs to my hills home where busses dont run.

Cheers André
Welcome to the forum Andre.

I'm a commuter MABer, so I'm very interested in your package. I'm using an Avanti Pioneer, but I don't know how that compares with the Illusion. However, the Pioneer is perfect for my needs. Incidentally, last year I was riding 40 kms round trip to work in Hobart - few more hills than SA I suspect.

Don't worry about your inexperience. When it's all working, you'll look back and say; "What was there to worry about?"
 
Last edited by a moderator:
We are fiitting a jack shaft kit to a bike soon.
I'm having sleepless nights just thinking about it.

NOTE TO SELF.
get a life.

Its exciting stuff :D Once I got started I pretty much spent every spare second I had until it was complete.

Welcome to the forum Andre.

I'm a commuter MABer, so I'm very interested in your package. I'm using an Avanti Pioneer, but I don't know how that compares with the Illusion. However, the Pioneer is perfect for my needs. Incidentally, last year I was riding 40 kms round trip to work in Hobart - few more hills than SA I suspect.

Don't worry about your inexperience. When it's all working, you'll look back and say; "What was there to worry about?"

I lived in worked in Hobart for a couple of months so I know what you mean! I was amazed at how hilly the CBD itself is. Riding to the summit of Mt Wellington would be a true challenge! Adelaide isnt too bad but I live at the top of a hill and the road up is about 3.2km long with no shoulders.
 
... I lived in worked in Hobart for a couple of months so I know what you mean! I was amazed at how hilly the CBD itself is. Riding to the summit of Mt Wellington would be a true challenge! Adelaide isnt too bad but I live at the top of a hill and the road up is about 3.2km long with no shoulders.
The NSW RTA will be releasing discussion paper soon proposing increase in power-assistance to 250 watts.

Useless.

Keep your eye on the forum and weigh in when ready. I had an email from the RTA last week. They appear to have sidestepped the MAB community altogether, although they had previously given an undertaking to regard my interest as a stakeholder.
 
Back
Top