Where to begin..

[Jehy]

Hello! I've been researching bike motors and kits and such for the past while and it sounds like the generic China ones aren't the way to go. I even looked into electric but that looks rather expensive.

What I want to be able to do is ride logging roads in the Mountainous BC Canada, I guess that's grades of up to around 30%. Which means I'd probably need a shift kit from what I understand if I go gas. My budget is about $650 not including the price of the bike, but since I'm going off road lots, full suspension seems like something I really should have.. Except if I go with full suspension then fitting any sort of engine inside the frame probably gets impossible.. And it doesn't sound like friction drives would have enough torque for what I need. Since most of the riding will probably be offroad I'd have no problem going over the 49cc legal limit either.

I would just go with investing in a dirt bike but I cant deal with licencing and insurance to drive it on the road. If I bought a NON-street legal one, I wouldn't have any way to transport it to the trails since I don't have a vehicle.

So, does anyone have any suggestions for where to begin in creating a full suspension motorized hill climber bike for under $650?

 

[butterbean]

Under $650? Unlikely at best. I've got a grand in a single speed, but it will climb walls and cruise at 30mph. It's not exactly meant for off-road. And no, you don't need a shift kit if you have an engine that makes good power. Utility engines work good.

 

[butterbean]

www.smallengines.ca/ecom.asp?pg=products&grp=586 have a look at these. They're in Ontario, but they probably ship.

 

[Jehy]

How many cc's would you suggest for climbing hills? Perhaps even with a trailer..

 

[2old2learn]

It will boil down to torque and HP. In hilly country your going to want some kind of shift kit. You will also want to do some research on 2 stroke vs 4 stroke and chose which one seems to offer you your best options for your needs. Chances are your first MB wont be your last one.

 

[butterbean]

He doesn't really need a shift kit unless he wants to go faster. Any single speed motorbike will climb hills with low enough gearing.

 

[Jehy]

Well I'd probably like to be able to go 30mph on a flat in addition to going up these hills. I weigh about 180, but I have plans to pull a trailer up these logging roads for a project of mine sometimes, could be up to an extra 100lbs. I guess if I'm not using a shift kit it comes down to a question of how many cc's would I need to have a top speed of 30mph and as much torque as I need. A 4 stroke engine seems like the better option because of the more gradual power curve, and the quietness but I'm open to both especially if i can get more bang for my buck with a 2 stroke.

Working with engines and all will be a total learn as I go process, total newbie here, but for engines like in that link, I would need to buy a centrifugal clutch for it right? And get that hooked into a chain. But how do I connect the clutch to the engine if I don't have a welder? Come to think of it there is an old lawn mower with 159cc kicking around at my place..

 

[KCvale]

Welcome to the forum.

What I want to be able to do is ride logging roads.
I guess that's grades of up to around 30%.
Which means I'd probably need a shift kit from what I understand if I go gas.

My budget is about $650 not including the price of the bike,
Since most of the riding will probably be offroad I'd have no problem going over the 49cc legal limit either.

So, does anyone have any suggestions for where to begin in creating a full suspension motorized hill climber bike for under $650?

I may be able to help as $650 is a really good budget for just the motorizing part of a good bike.
The trick is the price of a good bike suited for your needs.

Soft-tail (rear suspension) bikes do come in non-intrusive rear shock mounted versions.
Several mountain bike makers have them actually,
but you can't direct drive with them unless you can get the drive chain to be centered in exact same place as the pedal chain, so yes a Jackshaft system is needed.

This soft tail torque monster was a few years ago and on a GT LTS-1 frame.

The Specialized Epic also sports a different soft tail design and dual disc that works but has no room for gas engine.
That sports a really expensive 1KW electric shifting drive on a $2K bike.

I don't think you need a soft tail though.
Gears and a solid off-road bike with a good front shock and brakes will keep you safe and happy.

This customer didn't even want gears, just an awesome bike that climb a telephone pole even if it only did 15mph flat out so I made his this.

Again, expensive off-road bikes meant to take off-road abuse.

A good 2-stroke and shift kit is ~$400.
If $650 is your TOTAL budget including a bike that will take fire road riding you best start looking for better bikes and stay out of Walley World ;-}

 

[Jehy]

Yeah $650 is excluding the price of the frame. I can really get a good 2 stroke and shift kit for $400? Because yeah that'd be good. I could see the last bike working for me. I guess my budget including the frame and everything total is $900. But if I'm paying that much I'd hope that the motor would be of really good quality and all. From what I understand the Chinese ones require alot of TLC. When you say a good 2-stroke what kind are you referring to?

 

[KCvale]

Yeah $650 is excluding the price of the frame.
I can really get a good 2 stroke and shift kit for $400?
When you say a good 2-stroke what kind are you referring to?

I have always like real Skyhawk GT5A 66cc 2-stroke engine kits made in the Yuan Dong engine factory.
The 2015 EPA certified ones are just now hitting the states to authorized dealers, I don't know about Canada but there is this distributor in Oregon.
http://www.bicycle-engines.com/2-Stroke-Engine-Kits/
$185.

They should have theirs soon.

As for a shift kit the SickBikeParts 2-stroke shift kit is $199.95
http://www.sickbikeparts.com/catalo...ducts_id=86&osCsid=u21svupk5gpqi6qr34kiqsg2h7

They are all however tricky to keep running well and out on the trails I don't like having to 'bump start' every time I shut it off in the dirt.

If you have the stature for a 4-stroke I'd go that route.
Pull start, automatic clutch, and they will run all day in absurd temperatures on regular gas.

A fat tire 4-stroke shifter makes for an awesome forest road romper even in the rain, stow, sand and mud.

This is not completely ideal as the front fork is not a shock fork, but it is geared to climb most anything and still let you do 30mph on the flats.

And there is the ultimate in 4-stroke motorized bicycles, the MotoPed.

It is kick butt 4-stroke dirt bike, with pedals...

I put an 86cc 4-stroke with 4-speed internal semi-automatic clutch gears and full suspension designed to take licking and keep on ticking.
That is way of your price range though, the rolling frame without an engine is $2K.

It is tough though.
My son hit a car that cut him off at ~25mph and neither he nor the bike sustained anything other than minimal damage.
The drivers insurance paid of $1,500, it's fixed and runs perfect and I have it up for sale for $1,500.
Find a deal like that in Canada and you score big.