New, and exited to be part of this community!

[JourneyManDan]

Salutations every one, Daniel here from Sunny South Florida! New to the forums as you can see, but I have been "lurking" reading up, researching and just general browsing around for a long time on this site.

I have to say, I rarely become a member of forums, but this forum seems to be extremely warm, welcoming, knowledgeable and experienced and all around awesome people. No "bs" answers here, or anyone pretending to know what they are talking about, which is something very very rare on the internet.lol

...any one who is into MB's is obviously doing something right in life! haha

I LOVED reading all the long distance journals. Simply fantastic documentation...I actually plan on documenting my future treks as well. Very inspiring stuff, and not to mention I will have learned from so many people who have done long distance rides well before myself.

I am fairly new to motor biking, but not biking or engines in general.

off the bat I actually have a question regarding the frame of bike Im using for my first build.

This is my awesome trusty and solid trek I picked up at a pawn shop for 150 bucks.

Bike is in awesome condition and rides so smooth...

I would love to mount a 2 stroke on this bad boy, but I was wondering if doing so would be feasible on a bike with a thinner tire width. In terms of distance, will this bike be able so handle extended rear wheel spin like some of the cruisers or mountain bikes on here? The frame is solid, everything is solid, no rattling no flaws I just want to make sure this is a suitable frame for such a mount.

I mean, I suppose this question can almost be foolish to ask, since I've seen basically any type of bike set up with a motor on it...i just want a opinion from some one with experience.

Any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks again!

 

[wheelbender6]

The steel Trek is a good choice for a frame mounted 2 stroke motor. If your tire size is 700c, you can still get tires as wide as 40mm. If your wheels are 26inch, you can get a tire as wide as 2 inch before it begins to rub the motor chain. I run 26x1.75 tires with a city tread.

 

[JourneyManDan]

Thanks wheelbdnder. this is a nice and tall frame, so I'm exited and pleased to know I have plenty of room when it comes to mounting.

In regards to my tires,

1.would you suggest I replace them with wider ones out of it being necessity?

2.How would my current tires fair with a engine powering the wheel?

Thanks,
Dan.

 

[PatrickW]

Welcome to MBc, Dan. IMO the skinnier tires and wheels, altho plenty tough, would always have a feel too flimsy for me. Not to say that they are actually flimsier, but that is just the way I would perceive them. Since that bike is in such nice shape, I would probably leave it just the way it is, polish it regularly, keep it in top mechanical condition, and ride it thru the park and Florida Atlantic Univ. Campus with some nice young co-ed. Then I'd look at house and garage sales for a cruiser type bike to motorize. Now is the time to look, when students are going off to school, and ma & pa have taken this chance to clean the garage.

I don't worry about it much...I ride a recumbent trike. My build is quite well documented in the Powered Trike Forum, under "Trailmate Meteor & Gas Power." Oh, and 'Yes,' we do have a very close knit group. Nobody, but nobody flies under the radar with some purple prose, criticism, or disrespect for another member. Everyone works hard to turn out a build that is good looking, thoughtful, and creative. And we are all friendly toward each other. If you seen to have a problem with another member...please let me, or one of the mods or Admin right away. You can always send a Personal Message. Good Luck.
Patrick

 

[JourneyManDan]

Thanks patrick! lots have changed since I have originally posted this. I decided I'm going to most likely get a friction drive set up for various reasons that seemed to suit the way I would treat this bike. I work right near the FAU campus in jupiter. its good to know i have some one in south florida with knowledge of motor bikes!

 

[suitcasejefferson]

I have and recommend the Staton friction drive kit, with the Robin-Subaru EHO35 engine. I put one on a Huffy Cranbrook, and it works great. I weigh 220, and opted for the 1" roller. I get plenty of speed out of it (for a bicycle, I also own motorcycles, and if I want to go fast I ride one of them) this gives you the experience of cycling, without having to pedal. So far the Huffy rear wheel has held up past 300 miles.

This kit (and pretty much all friction kits) have their pros and cons. The cons are it won't work well in wet weather, the gas tank is way too small, and if you use the wrong tires, and/or don't inflate them properly, they wear out tires fast. But if you get a good tire, and keep it inflated to max pressure, maybe a little more, and adjust the tension of the roller against the tire properly, it won't be an issue. People have gotten over 1500 miles out of rear tires. I have a Chinese HT gas tank on my Cranbrook. It is not connected to anything. I fill it up, then when the tiny tank on the engine runs out, I use a small bottle to transfer gas from the HT tank to the engine tank. Just hold it under the petcock, and turn it on. People have run fuel lines from this type of tank to the plastic tank on the engine. My method works for me for now.

The pros are simplicity, no chains to break or come off, reliability due to that simplicity, the fact that my kit can be used as a rear luggage rack as well, plus I have a large pannier mounted on the right side of it, which is well supported by the seatstay and the support bracket for the kit. On longer trips I could also use a front mounted basket, and a backpack.

I recommend a 4 stroke engine, they are a bit quieter, and you can get gas for them anywhere, you don't have to carry 2 stroke oil and something to mix it in. They can also be run at full throttle all day. But like I said, with the tiny gas tank, they (and you) will get a lot of breaks when you have to stop and refill it.That doesn't really bother me, it's a bicycle. If you need to get somewhere fast, find another way.


As for the HT engines, I just can't get past the poor quality of the kits, especially the rag joint sprocket and super cheesy clamp on chain tensioner. There are better ways of attaching the rear sprocket, and if you have a 26" wheel, you can get heavy duty wheels with the sprocket already properly attached. You can also get sprockets that attach to disc brake hubs, which is probably how I would go. I'd get a super heavy duty rear wheel for a downhill mountain bike. But now the cost really starts to add up. I know of one company that sells ready made MBs for over $2000, and they have that cheap flimsy tensioner. I have found a way to mount a spring loaded chain tensioner from a late '70s Yamaha dirt bike, which uses a nylon rubbing block instead of a roller, but it would have to be welded to the frame, requiring a steel frame.