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plinko

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May 15, 2010
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My last ride bit the dust at 1200 miles.I ride em hard and I gotta say It was not the grubee gt5 engine's fault this time.More like rim failure,frame failure,And vibration.I rode 50 miles from my home and my rim spokes busted out and my frame bent by where the wheel connects to the dropouts and had one big crack.I decided that after 1000 bucks total for replacement parts,3 engines,and 2 bikes costing 250 bucks.I am sticking to pedaling until I either decide to do a nice expensive rear mount 4 stroke,morini build, or a moped.Money and labor I spent on this **** I could have bought something better and more reliable.This 50 mile breakdown and walking 18 before hitching 2 different rides and getting home at 5 In the morning Made me realize I need to build something reliable or diss motoredbikes altogether and buy a good used moped since laws here classify mopeds and m.b.'s as the same.No more cheap china frames and china junk engines for me.Good luck to all those on here and May you not have the misfortune I had on breaking down and the frustration I dealt with from 8 am to 5 am the next day.I had to diss my ride On the side of the road and I will never settle for cheap quality again.
 
I don't blame you. Check out Tomos mopeds. You can get them with or without peddles, and their not cheap China junk !
 
I obtained an old Puch moped (basket case) with the idea that my gas/electric will become a customized Puch.
In putting the Puch back together and cleaning it up, I am real impressed at the quality of this 1977 bike.
Other than missing parts- here are the things wrong I found-
Aluminum handlebar locking bit, stripped out (should have been iron).
Dynamo has 2 bad outputs.
Engine sounds like bearings toasted and piston hard to move in bore-(probably run with straight gas).
Spokes and wheels are real heavy duty, drumb brakes. Guess I will adapt a Techumseh 6 hp to it eventually.
The Tomos is based on the Puch I believe.
Maybe the site should include Mopeds?
The big difference is Mopeds are a bear to peddle and the seats are not conducive to it either.
 
I'm not ready to ditch my motorized bike. I'm using the friction drive kit from BMP and engine from Harbor Freight auger. No problems at all until this past weekend when the carburetor almost fell off the engine while I was using it on the auger. No thread lock and vibration from the auger is my speculation on that one. I posted a separate thread about that yesterday. Anyway, due to starting off with a descent bike and some costly components I've added to my bike, I have probably $900.00 in my build. For $300.00 more I could have bought a Tomos moped with peddles, and it would have been something of better quality to start with. It would at least be something that was designed to be motor driven, with heavy gage wheels, spokes, brakes, frame, electrical system and so on and so forth. I've been pleased and lucky so far. But I always make sure my cel phone has a good charge and take it with me when I ride. Not unusual at all for me to go 20 miles from home. I know one day I'll probably have to peddle home or call a friend with a truck or SUV to come get me. But why worry ? Cars break down too. Nothing man made is fool proof ! I have no regrets about my motored bike, but my next one will probably be a real factory built moped.
 
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Puch Build

My son got a 1980 Murray Puch from the dump. It's pretty rough so I started out planning to rob parts from it, but like others was impressed with the quality of these things. So another project born. I'm amazed at the parts availability.

Had no spark, but that was fixed with a pointless CDI magnito/ignition from:

http://www.1977mopeds.com/

It now runs but I can't ride it for lack of cables/controls. Just ordered a cable set and 70cc kit (cyl, piston, head, carb, pipe) from:

http://www.treatland.tv/new-puch-peugeot-motobecane-vespa-moped-parts-s/88.htm

I still prefer my Tanaka/friction MB so far because the peddle mode is much more useful and it weighs 50 lb. instead of 103 lb. dry. I'm sure for the money I'm sticking into this moped, I could buy a used 50cc scooter but what fun would that be?

2Fat
 
Yeah ! Peddle mode on a factory built moped is about useless for sure ! I have an older retired friend that is 100% Italian. He's always liked me from the first time we met back in the 70's beacuse I drove a Fiat. He's into rebuilding Vespa scooters big time. I've been meaning to get in touch and talk Vespa mopeds. They're not to hard to find, but are not cheap by any means. I figure on buying a new modern moped. A little afraid of buying a vintage model due to not knot knowing much about mopeds to start with and don't want to get into something that I can't find parts for.
 
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Sorry things didn't work out for you. I hope you find the solution that best suits your needs and as cost effectively as possible. Sounds like a hard lesson in the meaning of the phrase 'false economy'.....when an initially inexpensive item begins the mission creep of breakdowns and replacements until you got more $ into it than the better item would have cost up front.

Happens with tools too if they're used hard every day. Which is why it's tough to get reliability as a daily commuter out of a HT set-up without major revision and even then it's questionable.

At the very least your post serves as a reality check for a site like this. Some enthusiasts might come thinking that with a hundred dollar chinamart bike and another hundred and a half in a HT kit they're going to get a quality touring machine or something. Truth be told most, not all of course but many of the folks who build up MBs put very few miles on them, maybe zip around the neighborhood a little, an errand run here and there, etc., totaling a couple-three hundred miles or so a year. Not that there's anything wrong with that, they have fun especially for the price of an HT kit.
But day in day out get on it and ride reliability for commuting probably ain't gonna be there.

As to mopeds (and BTW there are some good moped sites out there already IE: mopedarmy), they have their place. Sometimes I think people get the wrong ideas with MBs though and would really be happier with a moped, scooter or small motorcycle.

But I like MBs for the very reason they are bicycles and pedal well. Kinda why I've always wanted decent bikes to begin with and favored finding good used bikes that overhaul and hold up well, then motorizing them with the thought of detracting as little from the sweet functionality of the original bicycle.

It's why I've been a stickler for keeping the bike as light as possible. When an MB gets over 50 lbs I lose interest.

A decent bike with a quality engine/drive assembly is just the ticket for me. I put over 3000 miles on my MBs last year and and am on track to do the same this year.
 
Sorry things didn't work out for you. I hope you find the solution that best suits your needs and as cost effectively as possible. Sounds like a hard lesson in the meaning of the phrase 'false economy'.....when an initially inexpensive item begins the mission creep of breakdowns and replacements until you got more $ into it than the better item would have cost up front.

Happens with tools too if they're used hard every day. Which is why it's tough to get reliability as a daily commuter out of a HT set-up without major revision and even then it's questionable.

At the very least your post serves as a reality check for a site like this. Some enthusiasts might come thinking that with a hundred dollar chinamart bike and another hundred and a half in a HT kit they're going to get a quality touring machine or something. Truth be told most, not all of course but many of the folks who build up MBs put very few miles on them, maybe zip around the neighborhood a little, an errand run here and there, etc., totaling a couple-three hundred miles or so a year. Not that there's anything wrong with that, they have fun especially for the price of an HT kit.
But day in day out get on it and ride reliability for commuting probably ain't gonna be there.

As to mopeds (and BTW there are some good moped sites out there already IE: mopedarmy), they have their place. Sometimes I think people get the wrong ideas with MBs though and would really be happier with a moped, scooter or small motorcycle.

But I like MBs for the very reason they are bicycles and pedal well. Kinda why I've always wanted decent bikes to begin with and favored finding good used bikes that overhaul and hold up well, then motorizing them with the thought of detracting as little from the sweet functionality of the original bicycle.

It's why I've been a stickler for keeping the bike as light as possible. When an MB gets over 50 lbs I lose interest.

A decent bike with a quality engine/drive assembly is just the ticket for me. I put over 3000 miles on my MBs last year and and am on track to do the same this year.

Well, This grubee least lasted a while.The other raw engine I had blew at 300 miles at 20 mph.And with constant bolt stripping,parts,rebuild kits,sometimes not getting what you ordered for 3 months,shipping costs,and so on. I just can't afford It no longer.Don't get me wrong.If I luck out and find a hard core american made bicycle with a real frame and a stihl 5 horse engine or luck out on a morini.I will build one for shows.But,I live In rough country and the roads are not well maintained.Least with a moped I can get around with less frame damaging vibration because they have a suspension.Look kinda geeky,But,I am worried about getting from point a to point b without breaking down In the middle of toad sprocket hollow 50 miles from home. I am buying a puch or peugot moped for now and I am gonna dress up the body somewhat to make It look a little more modern. I need reliability right now and a product that has Italian or quality replacement parts available without having to order online. I'll do another build one day.But for right now I have to forget the motored bike and do a moped. If It's just a hobby and you ride very little.It's alright.For those like me who ride 2000-4000 a year.I can't endorse It. Not to mention not all us have 2000 bucks worth of tools and parts or the garage,experience,Or especially the time to be broke down while having to get to work. Good luck to everyone.May you fare better than me.
 
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Plinko- today I was cruising some moped site and it was mentioned that the scooters are more reliable than the mopeds, the poster mentioned that when they go for a ride the mopeds are the ones that break down while the scooters don't.
This was news to me.
And it was commented by a moped guy.
He also said something to the effect that the 'peds go a few thousand miles and need rebuilding.
These things are toys for me, so longevity is not much of an issue. It will take many years for me to do that kind of mileage.
How about a real 4 stroke small cycle? Or maybe a Honda or Yamaha 'ped?
 
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