Best Motor For Long Distance Trip?

LandSFan

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The question's in the title. What do you guys think. What has the endurance and power for several thousand miles? Consider money to be no object with regards to this question.
 
The question's in the title. What do you guys think. What has the endurance and power for several thousand miles? Consider money to be no object with regards to this question.

Something with a B, an M and a W in the name. :D
Just kidding, you're asking about MBs I know.

As to endurance, the Japanese made engines IE Robin/Subaru, Honda, Mitsubishi, Tanaka all have good reps for reliability and endurance. There are others, Morini, Whizzer, the Huash line like those used by EZM.
I have some Robin engines and heard said are worthy of between 600 and 1000 hours of use, depending on who you listen to. 600 hours X avg. speed 20mph = a lot of miles.

The question on power is relative with many variables. What gets termed "power" is a product of engine output and gearing with drive train considerations for specific applications. Most motorized bike engines are small because of weight issues, under 100ccs for the most part with the majority probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 50ccs.

If money is no object you could have a fresh engine cached along the way somewhere waiting, coupla' wrenches and a half hour. :unsure:
 
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If I was going to head out tomorrow, I'd use the Tanaka 33.

Pending a couple of guy's experimentation's going on right now, waiting for the phone call with details, it might be the Robin Subaru 35 with the new air cooled clutch. That is, if they can get it up in the 32-35 mph range.
 
beach cruzin's hp-carb tanaka pf40 is pushing 10k, maybe it's past that...14T...with no signs of giving in any time soon. he's been doing 20-30 miles a day, with some runs exceeding 130miles. an easy 32mph cruise, he's hit 38mph in the cold sea air.

keve's hp-carb tanaka pf33, small rider on a light bike, has about 2k and is the fastest thing up here, 14T, pushing 40mph with a tailwind. obviously, 30mph cruises are boring for him.

my "new" tanaka pf40 (slightly over 1k) with HP carby/ADA-juicebox & the vented clutch is pulling the heavy s-2 up to 36mph with the 13T @ about a mile/ounce. it runs 30-33mph without breathing hard at all...i'm looking forward to many thousands of trouble free miles.

i've observed a few robin-subaru eho35's in action, and if they were my cuppa tea i would not hesitate to strap one on & hit the road.
 
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Yes, the Tanaka Pure Fire 40.0 cc 2.2 hp and others listed above are industrial high quality engines. The Tanaka comes with a two-year commercial use warranty.

http://www.staton-inc.com/Details.asp?ProductID=3127

Sounds like alot of 2 stroke fans on this site. Me too. I wanna hear that piston firing every stroke !

I have a light weight French road bike with a Mitsubishi TL 23cc Staton friction drive.

The kit is so light , 14LBs, that I ride for miles sometimes without running the engine.

I almost don't need it on the flats and sure don't need it going down hill.

It sure is nice on slighty uphill rides which is about all the hills are where I live.

So I think a real lightweight simple friction drive setup may not get you there as fast but if you run out of gas it's easy to pedal.

I have a couple of Mitsubishi TLE 33cc engines too. Sometimes I think they will out live me. Awesome motors !

I want to take one apart and see the insides but I have never seen one that doesn't run.

Some of the Mitsubishi TLE motors are yellow and black and say John Deere on them. Mitsubishi made them for John Deere.
 
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I vote for Mitsubishi TLE43 engines.

On my twin-engined bike I can run WOT for at least 10 miles at 35mph with headwind, lean-white conditions and 9,000rpm.
 
i've got it narrowed down to a tanaka 40cc or a mitsubishi tle43. at this point, whatever is the cheapest i think i'll go with.
 
yup, window-shopping is a good way to go, to an extent...a PF40 or a TLE43 is a good start...now, drive-train & the actual chassis itself need looking at.

please...PLEASE...do yourself a favor: read read read! you still have a ton of work to do, and asking the age-old "what's the best?" will only get you so far. you have to know what you're buying, you shouldn't just ask us to "vote" for your parts. you say you wanna travel, so that's how i'm talkin' at ya.

for example, my engine & gearing decisions cost me mileage but gained me huge advantage in chassis strength & load capacity.

check out the review areas, read "the garage" & learn what's already been learned, about the pluses & minuses of different drive components, and about building a bicycle that's gonna rival a moped or light motorcycle in comfort, stability, and most importantly, safety.

and, buddy...i'll mention once & hope you heed well..."whichever's cheaper" is NOT a good policy when you start building the drive-train and chassis.

btw-i swear by golden eagle, as people and as product you can't get better than gebe. that's only my opinion, there are many here...have fun.
 
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yeah, you're right. not a good motto to live by. i'm still going to end up spending at least 500 buying a motor though. i've been to the golden eagle website and i really like what i see. i've talked to some people over the phone, read reviews, watched videos, etc. the tanaka 40 cc seems awesome. the thing is, i have to buy two of everything. it's me and my boyfriend building these bikes and making this journey.

what about the bikes themselves? what do you guys suggest? not to simply ask you to "vote", i just want some insight from people who have done what i am trying to do. it's part of research, ya know?
 
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