Hello everyone! New bike, new engine, new hopes to be dashed!

Tasukeru

New Member
Local time
5:24 AM
Joined
Jul 29, 2010
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Hey everyone, I'm fairly new to the advent of putting a motor on a bike. Though I suppose that's how they came up with early motorcycles... Anyway. I'm saying hello and hopefully I can get some help with my first build. My name's Mike, I live in San Diego and have been quite curious, intrigued one could say about motored bikes and read the forums here and elsewhere a good bit.

I recently went out and purchased myself a bike because my dad was adamant about not putting a crazy motor on our (his) bikes. The link to it is here http://www.rustyspokes.com and I'll get some pictures up too.

I also purchased a Honda GX35, after reading and talking to a few people regarding the Chinese two-stroke and four-stroke engines.

What I need to know, is, what kit would be good to install the engine? Do I need a kit, or can I just buy all the parts? I realize the suspension would loosen the chain which in turn could pop off and cause some horrific accident to occur, and that a chain tensioner would aid in nullifying that.

Waiting to get learnt,
-Mike
 
I'm new myself so I'll leave the technical stuff to others. First thing is take off the fenders! The front one could kill or hurt you very bad. Good luck with the build and WELCOME to the group!

Terry
 
Pictures!

Finally got some pictures up:

C360_2010-08-03%2018-25-30.jpg
C360_2010-08-03%2018-25-06.jpg
C360_2010-08-03%2018-24-09.jpg

Didn't know what exactly to take pictures of... Figured out that frame mounting isn't going to work because the GX35 is way to wide and I don't want to meddle with my peddles. So it looks like I'll be going rack with either belt or chain, leaning to chain. Probably going to build some sort of 4 legged rack off the swing arm to hold up the motor.

Any tips or info on the build or kits/parts? I can get some more detailed pictures too :geek:
 
If you want a belt drive system I recommend a GEBE kit.
As often as it rains in San Diego you could also go with a BMP friction drive kit.
I mention the rain because friction drives tend to not work well in wet weather.
 
Thanks for your posts guys I had the same issue and I tried to installed the motor to my bike because of your instructions here.
 
I'm sorta steering clear of friction drives, I don't like how much wear they could potentially put on the tires. What's the main difference between belt and chain driven systems? I need to keep everything on the back swing arm because of the rear suspension. Thought it was really groovy, but it's turning out to be a pain so far.
 
Belt= virtually no maintenance and no greasy mess.
Chain = longer life with proper maintenance. Products such as WhiteLightning chain lube or Maxima Chain Wax greatly reduce the greasy mess.

Chains do "stretch" with wear and must be re-adjusted to compensate.
Chains are also easier to install as you can just "fish" them onto the sprockets and connect together with the master link. The belts really are not that hard though, you just have to remove the rear wheel each time which is easy enough.
Belts are quieter than chains and typically have less rolling resistance when pedalling with engine off, unless the chain system has a freewheel sprocket on the rear wheel. (note freewheel sprocket will not make chain quieter)
Chains are easier to find at a store in town. Belts must be ordered from a vendor.
 
Alright, the GEBE looks pretty decent. One thing though, do belt drives need gearboxes? I was searching around and found that Staton inc has a reputable chain drive with gearbox. I'm fine with either chain or belt, but pedaling without too much resistance is a priority, as I'm looking at this bike as "A bike with a motor" not a motored bike.

Also, is there a difference between speed and horsepower that the chain and belt drives deliver?
 
The GEBE does not have a gear reduction. It does not need one.
The Staton system does. The Staton system also has gear howl.

There is a little difference.
The chain systems can handle more horsepower, but unless you are going to run a 4 horsepower engine in the future, the belt can handle your GX35 no problem.
There are more gearing options with a chain drive system, but GEBE has done alot of homework with the pulley sizes they offer to offer up a good range of choices.

FWIW speed requires horsepower.
Torque gets you moving and relates to how quickly you get up to speed.
Horsepower relates to keeping you at speed and how fast your ultimate speed will be.

Gearing for torque will always have a slower top speed.
Gearing for speed will always take longer to get going and require more pedalling from a stop or slow start to reduce unwanted strain on the powertrain.
This is why shifter kits are so popular.
Torque climbs hills.
Horsepower wins records at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
 
Go with Staton

The staton drive hub free wheels which means you can pedal with no resistance.
I have had both the staton and the GEBE.
I say 'GO with Staton" the whine [gear noise] eventually fades
 
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