Why have things not improved?

I am neither fat nor lazy, but due to a disability, I can no longer pedal a bike very far. I still ride motorcycles, both dirt and street. And I still love riding bicycles, as long as I don't have to pedal them.
Hey don't take offense, I singled no one, majority means over 50%, which means bigger than either your or my one butt, America is up to 63.2% at last count, stats are used in predicting monetary return, if there's more fat people you HAVE to take that, and their behaviors into account.
Syphonza is partly on to it.You have to remember, we all are WAY into this, but the majority of Americans aren't even WAY into bicycles, better put, just because you're jazzed about something doesn't mean anyone else is, or ever will be regardless of how cool.Examples in other fields, musical fields look at the Yamaha G10C and the Zeta Mirror-6, unbelieveable things, ultra cool, ended up costing the end user $10,000 for one unit, few sold, many pissed investors.
Do you gamble?That's what's it's about, for the most part you'll see add-ons but no innovation-invention, it's not worth it at this point in America.
OK the speeds you want to go on a bike, you need a DH or Freeride, disc, or drum brakes, sealed bearings.Common bicycles won't handle high speeds for long.You're going to have to build it all yourself, the only way to do that is either find, or have made, a small wankel, but remember wankels are inherently fuel wasters.Other than that crazy gearing systems, or find and old Sachs bike, and have a machine shop breakdown the engine, and create a sportier one in the same case.
 
Oh and litigation in America, Can you imagine, you make a MAB, it goes 50mph+, someone dies on it, who do you think they'll come after?They're trying to make loopholes that mak a firearm manufacturer liable for the users actions, don't think that would happen to MAB's?
 
The Chinese kits do what they are supposed to; meet the law for motorized bikes in most locations. 50cc, 30mph, etc. Plus they meet the cost most users want to pay. Quality is sketchy, true, even the hardware is a bit suspect, but I see improvements in the 3 engines I have that were probably build over a 3 or 4 year spread. These are a wonderful simple and cheap learning base for anyone who wants to learn about gas motors and mechanics. Everything on them can be improved, lightened, smoothed and replaced cheaply. Want to see what porting the heck out of it will do? A new cylinder is only $15. Want to lighten a piston? Want to cut a new chamber design? All hugely affordable. A 14 year old kid could afford and have a great time with this engine with only a handful of tools and a few spares. I know this 55 year old kid is.

Steve
 
Well I got sick of 66cc motors there to much trouble so I got a 49 cc 4 stroke and it's good not as fast take off or top end but reliable till now the gear box is broken so I got a 49 cc pocket bike motor 2 stroke and it is grate really great leaves the 4 stroke and the 66 for dead so small and compact but so fast. And cheper then all of the rest if I had a shift kit it wood do 80 kmh there is one on you tube that does I believe him after I made my one . I think it is the way to go so far
 
Pocket bikes are illegal on the road in Wisconsin. It is another interesting option. If it is illegal, you can simply remove the motor from the pocket bike frame and mount it onto your bicycle and boom legal now. You gotta love how the law is written sometimes. :p
 
It's tempting to use cost as the issue, but what about those $5000 electric bikes? I still say a very nice gas powered motorized bike can be built for $1000. Now that I think about it, it is not so much the quality as the design problems. Suppose you could buy that $200 or even $300 bicycle with proper engine mounts already welded to the frame, a proper chain tensioner/idler pulley (which would probably require some type of brace welded between the seat stay and chain stay, and a toothed, spring loaded roller) and a sprocket already properly attached to the rear wheel? That would solve a lot of the problems right there. I think the Chinese engine kits could be substantially improved from a quality and design point for a couple hundred $$$ more. You could have a decent MB for under $1000, and even a shifter bike for $1000 or just a little over. And there would be no clamps, no spacers, shims, wrapping things with rubber, etc. It would all fit together perfectly, just like it came from the factory already made. I thought things might be going in that direction a few years back when you could buy a bicycle that was designed to be motorized. It even had the gas tank built into the frame. Then it disappeared. I can't even remember the name of it.

As a Harley rider (my bike is actually mostly stock) I have seen what can be done with aftermarket Harley parts. You can build an entire bike without using a single Harley part. And you can build it in any style you want. And unlike OCC, you don't have to cut or weld, just bolt the parts together. I remember when gopeds and pocket bikes were that way. You could buy one and modify it, or build one from the ground up, with parts designed to go together.

As for scooters, there is an allure to MB that scooters simply don't have. In my state, legal motorized bikes (48cc, top speed of 20 mph) have most of the rights of a pedal bike, the most important being the right to use bike lanes. It is impossible to ride a 50cc scooter in town around here. They are not legal in the bike lane, and they are way too slow to be ridden in a traffic lane. And to me they are huge, awkward things compared to a MB. And there is very little potential to modify them. The Honda Ruckus and Grom are about the only scooter and small motorcycle around that people are spending more to modify than the bikes cost new. I think it sure would be cool if you could buy all the made to fit goodies for motorized bicycles that you can for those bikes.

Earlier I brought up Motoped. They are a company that builds high quality (and expensive) motorized bicycles But IMO they are TOO expensive, and not legal on the street in most states. They are designed mostly for off road use. They are basically downhill mountain bikes with a motor. But they are not cobbled together, all the parts are designed to go together. The workmanship is beautiful. More like a small motorcycle than a MB. But I don't see any reason why this couldn't be done on a much simpler level. Just like what most people build, but with parts that are designed and engineered to fit together. Kind of like the recent modern Whizzer, only with 48cc engines.

I actually think that the 2 stroke Chinese engine kits are doomed, and will eventually be banned by the EPA. Fortunately we have high quality 4 stroke engines. I remember back in the '70s when the streets were full of 2 stroke mopeds. There were over 100 brands. Tomos was the last survivor, and they gave it up a couple years ago. There is still one moped on the market, a Chinese made 4 stroke, I believe the brand is Lazer. It looks just like the traditional '70s moped, and costs about $1500. I would much rather have a nice motorized bicycle for the same price. $1500 is nothing for a bicycle. Many downhill mountain bikes are getting close to $10,000.

Sorry about the super long post. But as a motorized bicycle enthusiast, I just can't help but think that it could be so much more than it is, for not a lot more money.
 
Well I got sick of 66cc motors there to much trouble so I got a 49 cc 4 stroke and it's good not as fast take off or top end but reliable till now the gear box is broken so I got a 49 cc pocket bike motor 2 stroke and it is grate really great leaves the 4 stroke and the 66 for dead so small and compact but so fast. And cheper then all of the rest if I had a shift kit it wood do 80 kmh there is one on you tube that does I believe him after I made my one . I think it is the way to go so far

hey Skyash where did you get the 49cc pocket bike engine from? just stripped off an old p-bike? any pics of set up? I like ktm 50cc that Dax sells, but people with more experience have said it's more trouble than it's worth to try mount it on a bike.
 
that's the diff between the hobbyist & the normal person - I'd feel like an idiot if I paid more than $300 total for something no matter how reliable that caused me to leave a 1/2 hour early to get to work on time
 
Hmmm, Things have improved I'd say.
I paid $60 for my first motorized bike, an old 66cc on a beat 26" wheel road bike, derailleurs and back brake not working. That is cheap thrills gentlemen. I bought it to check out if these China Girl motors are any good. It worked like a charm, but then, I had low expectations. I just wanted more range than my electric Schwinn could get me.

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The China Girl Happy Time motor worked wonderfully. Gave me the range and about 10kph more speed for long distance rides. I did have some reliability problems with the China Girl, mainly due to the previous owner's lack of mechanical knowledge, which I think is pretty common. Bolts were loose or stripped, chain misaligned, clutch mal-adjusted, too much oil in the fuel, broken bits everywhere. The spokes were shot and the back wheel bearing gone. All those are not reliability issues, they are maintenance issues.

I bought a used mountain bike and a new Grubee Skyhawk motor because I was so impressed and for the price didn't want to have to clean up the old motor.

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Its dirtier than when I put it together, this thing rocks and I ride it, trails and all.
It does take some knowledge to get the most out of these motors. They are somewhat plug and play but really need some fine tuning and a fair amount of maintenance to keep going well. Stock this motor runs smooth and quiet and will do 50-60kph on the flat and manage 30 kph up all but the steepest hills with a bit of assist. I have no problem running it 50kms on dirt track, all for less than $300 investment. That is really cheap thrills gentlemen. A new motor is cheaper than a battery for my electric.

I'd suggest that the cheap price (and the spelling in these forums) puts these motors in the hands of many nescient riders. It is a good thing that these motors are affordable enough to provide an education for those wanting to learn. Others will blame their lack of success on the simple design and foreign origin.

Electric has some real advantages, but cannot deliver the range and speed that these cheap thrill motors can. Battery technology has a long way to come.

I several hundred kms on my old and new engines. I find something needing a little work after every trip. Loose spokes, low tire, loose drive chain, a bit of grease on the gear, cable adjustment, etc. Hard testing up a hill blew a headgasket.
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A little brains and ingenuity solved this problem and has this cheap little motor running better than ever. Incidentally I drove it home and am still running the same headgasket. These things are so simple I could have repaired it on the side of the road, including planing the head, with only a pocket of tools.

Yup, they take a hobbyist, but are one of the best values and educations I've seen in a while...
 
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