Pick Bike Or Motor Kit First?

BikerInFla

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Apr 16, 2011
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Hi All,

Building my first MB and looking to Wally World to purchase my
26" Beach Cruzer ...

26" Huffy or Schwinn

Schwinn of course more but is it built better to hold the motor + vibration issues.

Buying a 48cc motor kit

Thanks

Rick:devilish:
 
First hand experience here...

Can't say either is better built, the better the bike the more reliable it will be... as in you get what you pay for!

First thing you should do when you get that new bike home from wally world is GO OVER EVERYTHING and make sure EVERYTHING is tightened and adjusted correctly!!!

Remember... some kid in the back room is mass building these things and has to meet a quota

Personally, I would go with the Schwinn
 
Sounds like you have a good plan and the Huffy or Schwinn will work. Whatever you choose, add a front brake if it doesn't have one. Adding a BMX caliper brake to the front doesn't cost much, will clear your fender, is easy to install and can prevent a painful accident.
To answer your question about choosing motor or bike first; it depends. A China Girl 2 stroke will fit in darn near any frame. If you like a four stroke motor, you are limited to a frame with a lot of open space, like a beach cruiser. If you want a rack mounted motor, almost any bike, including full suspension, will do. There is no correct answer that fits everybody.
 
which ever bike you choose, do as "wheresmydog" said...go over EVERYTHING.
this means take apart both the front and rear axles, clean the junk grease off the bearings and re-pack the bearings with good quality bearing grease. also, do the same with the headset bearings and the crank bearings as well.
make sure all bearings are adjusted properly when you put everything back together and you should be good to go for awhile. when they assemble these big box bikes, they are literally thrown together and they use the bottom of the barrel grease on the bearings...literally.
by personally going over the wholr bike before you even put a motor on it, will ensure that the bike itself is ready to go.
do not just go buy a bike and throw a motor on it....you'll be asking for problems later on down the road.
 
wow .. thanks guys for the responses ...

will make a stop at the auto parts store after purchasing bike to get
some top the line grease.

Sounds like vibration is an issue as well from my readings here .. think
I will visit the local hardware store to change the standard bicycle machine nuts to the ones they call "serrated flange nuts" .. little more resistant to
vibrations

Thanks again .. will keep you posted on my progress

 
i noticed on the huffy cranbrook it comes with the heavy duty spokes and mine was packed with good grease when i bought it i got a friend that assembles bike in walmart i brought him a grease gun full of heavy duty lithium grease the red stuff it a synthetic type and it is awesome when he installed it he took the axles loose filled them full and he even says it rolls a lot easier than with the other grease ............
 
i i got a friend that assembles bike in walmart i brought him a grease gun full of heavy duty lithium grease the red stuff it a synthetic type and it is awesome when he installed it he took the axles loose filled them full and he even says it rolls a lot easier than with the other grease ............

This right here shows the lack of experience by the wal mart biike builder. Filling the hubs full of grease is not how to correctly pack a set of bearings. Hubs full of grease can actually do more harm than good because too much grease can make a coaster brake not work.(if it has a coaster brake.).
The correct way to grease wheel bearings is first, take the whole hub assembly apart and clean all of the existing grease off of everything.
Then, pack the bearings by pressing the bearing face into a pile of grease in the palm of your hand, allowing the grease to fill the bearing cages.
Put some grease in the sprocket housing where the sprocket threads in (for the rear wheel), and put some grease on the bearing races....that's all you need.
the axles do not touch the insides of the hubs, so having the axles in contact with hubs full of grease does not do any good at all. The bearing cones support the axle, the hub doesn't
actually.
 
Then, pack the bearings by pressing the bearing face into a pile of grease in the palm of your hand, allowing the grease to fill the bearing cages.

Effective, but messy. I like to throw a blob of grease into a zip-lock bag along with the bearing. Work the grease in the bag into the bearing. It gets the grease in there and less ends up on my hands. Save the bag of grease for the next bearing.
 
Effective, but messy. I like to throw a blob of grease into a zip-lock bag along with the bearing. Work the grease in the bag into the bearing. It gets the grease in there and less ends up on my hands. Save the bag of grease for the next bearing.

yep this way will work as well....as long as the grease gets packed into the bearing cage.
I don't mind getting my hands dirty.
 
Bike or engine first? that is the question...
Id say bike first, then you can measure the frame to see what kind of engine you want, i've been building alot of 4 stroke beach type cruisers lately, they make for very dependable strong bikes.
I agree with everyone's advice on going over the entire bike before riding it.
those nuts you were reffering to are called
Nylock nuts, because they have a nylon insert that wont vibrate loose, and are worth the extra cost and effort.
BIG A$$ BRAKES! front and rear, as good as you can afford.
Have the wheels re trued, you would be surprised how loose they are from the factory.
Mind your final gearing(rear sprocket) you dont want to over rev a tiny little 2 stroke to much it kills engine life.
Ask lots of questions.
Good luck
BBB
 
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