I
Irish John
Guest
That's a very sad tale Pat and you don't need to tell me what sort of engine you had. I guessed it from the first sentence. The 4-strokes aren't like that and you can get reliability from them.
But let's all be honest...the motto here is: YOU HAVE TO BE WILLING TO TURN A WRENCH. Period. Even with the best kits...if it's not the motor, then the bike itself may need tweaking...it seems to me that there is always "something" to do...but for me that's good - it makes it a hobby.
I ride my bike to work just about every day, so you CAN make it reliable. It's all in how you look at it. For comparison, I went to a motorcycle shop a few weeks back...you want a brand new Suzuki 250cc cruiser type bike? $3200....and you get total reliability. We are paying less than 10% of that to motorize a vehicle meant for humans, not machines, to power. You must be reasonable and expect to do maintenance and up-keep.
Again, for me, it's fun and relaxing...
Irish,
That's crazy - 3 motors? 55 minute run to work? The first thought I have is how fast are you going? How is your bike geared? Are you running it full throttle to get there faster?
I think maybe you would be better off with a scooter or car for that big of a daily commute, maybe? I ride about 5 miles each direction to work...that's not bad at all, and if the motor dies, I know I'm not THAT far from home or the office...but 55 minutes? That's pretty far of a stretch - and I can certainly understand your need for reliability. Now that you have a good motor (what did you get anyway?), you should still concern yourself with the BIKE. I'm not sure it would be a fair statement to say that bikes are made to handle this job at all...but at the same time, I was watching the "Tour" last night for a bit, and they were averaging over 25 MPH...but then again, they were also on $5000+ sponsered bikes. THOSE should be pretty dang reliable, but now you're in that Motorcycle is smarter for the money area again...
I dunno, I'd be wary of such a long ride. I would also make sure I geared down my bike, so that it's happy cruising at the speed you want to go, and I hope that's UNDER 30mph.
Large is right - 20mph and the motor should chug along forever until it's out of fuel...