How should I motorize a Sharkfire bicycle?

[henrodstone]

Hey Guys,

My son has a Sharkfire bicycle that he got for Christmas back in 2005. Unfortunately, we live in a fairly hilly area and with the bike being a single-speed, he eventually quit riding that bike and for the past few years and it's just been collecting dust in my shed so I thought for this year's Christmas, I'd put a little engine on it and give it to him as a present, the problem is, I've never done this before and I have no idea what type of engine to get or anything! So I was wondering how many of you guys have had experience motorizing Sharkfire bicycles and what engine and other parts you used.

Thanks!

 

[dougsr.874]

Can you post a picture of the bike????

 

[wheelbender6]

A 2 stroke will fit in the frame, but I'm not sure if a thumper will fit. At any rate, I would add a rear derailleur (axle mount) and multicog rear wheel to help with the hills. Sometimes, it's easier to just buy and old mountain bike at a yard sale and transfer the needed parts.
That Flora-Bama area between P'cola and Mobile bay is one of my favorite parts of the country. I'd love to live there again.
Here is a pick of the Sharkfire.
http://www.overstock.com/Sports-Toy...r-Morpheus-Aluminum-Bike/2681415/product.html

 

[henrodstone]

Yeah, a buddy of mine has a Golden Eagle Tanaka 32cc engine on his Giant bicycle, but besides that, I don't have any knowledge on rear derailleurs or multicog rear wheels, so attach some links on your next post to help me out a little bit.

Here is an album of the bike in question:

https://motoredbikes.com/media/albums/sharkfire-bicycle.1746/


Thanks!

 

[henrodstone]

Thanks for the reply, I'm probably going to get the Golden Eagle Tanaka 32cc engine, I've got a friend who has one and it works pretty well, but all this stuff about rear derailleurs and multicog rear wheels I don't understand, put some links on your next post so I can understand what you're trying to say.

I've got a photo album that has pics of the bike on my profile.

Thanks!

 

[wheelbender6]

It would be better to better to concentrate on installing that GEBE kit for now. You can always do the derailleur thing later if you still need it.

 

[henrodstone]

I don't think I need a derailleur, wouldn't it work just fine with the single-speed? but what I'm more curious about is if things like the drive ring and the belt would fit properly on the stock wheels, and I'm assuming the engine mounts between the upper and lower rails so would my son's lower leg brush the engine or even worse get cooked by the heat of the engine and/or the exhaust?

So, those are my main questions at this time.

Thanks!