My 3 builds and what I have learned

Ok since I was kid some 40 + years ago i have always wanted a motor assisted bike, I never knew they existed untill a few years ago while surfing the net. Low and behold I found this community and others like it that inspired me to full fill a dream so i decided to make one,and that turned into 3 builds so far. As we all know they are addicting and fun to build.

I like things simple/cheap and functional as you will see in my attached pictures. Im not after the most awe inspiring builds , just something for a few good laughs and fun to cruise a few miles on.

My first build was on a cheap roadmaster from walmart , the 2nd was a nice free bike from a neighbor and the 3rd was a cruiser also from walmart. All 3 bike frames are adequate and with some tweaking are solid enough for my kind of cruising.

The Good:
#1.they are cheap to build
#2, not many tools required
#3, extremely satisfying when completed
#4, alot of funny looks from people and many questions
#5, gave me plenty of reasons to use my computer for technical info and interesting reads on the forums

The Bad:
#1, you will never be %100 satisfied with cheap Chinese motors or components
#2, they are never legally fast enough
#3, they constantly need to be tweeked
#4, all the awesome frames and motors and mods are way to expensive ,might as well buy a real scooter or motorcycle for the prices some companies get for there completed bikes
#5,there hard as heck to resale and make your money back,thats why i got 3 and not one good one . lol
#6, well to be honest I could go on and on about the bad In my personal opinion if your not ready to spend upwards of a grand or more you will be dissatisfied with your build with in a few short weeks.


My next motor bike will defiantly be either a nice dependable brand name scooter or motorcycle ,Ive built enough things in my life to say im accomplished at it and Im also to a point in life that I realize I must spend the money to actually get a good smooth running bike of one sort or another.

Good luck to all the wonderful inventive people out there starting your newest build, i will be happy to sit this one out and just read and enjoy your pictures.
 

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Nice bikes. I did a roadmaster from walmart and it was an ok bike to do it on. One question though, did it come with the front disc or did you put that on? Mine only has the v brakes and they aren't that great...
 
I added the front forks from a donor bike and it had the disc brake on it, makes for an easier to ride
 
From the tone of your post - you like the building part more than the using part. That is OK, how about building using a better engine platform?
 
I think the donor bike was a mongoose or a NEXT bike from walmart. Similar to this one
http://www.walmart.com/ip/26-Men-s-Mongoose-Blackcomb-All-Terrain-Bike/8399258

My son got a year ago and no longer wanted it,and I liked the disc brakes it had.

@professor,yea I enjoy building them a lot, but its like I posted . I do not feel it is a good investment to spend more than $400 on a toy bike that cannot be made legal in Penn. state without a tremendous amount of hassle and faking a title from a wrecked moped.
 
Yes, I agree about the Chinese products. Over the years I have tried most of the kits available and the Chinese have always been disappointing.

I like the subaru engine best and makers of good kits such as Golden Eagle.They are good if you have a back wheel with strong spokes. I just orded a Stanton kit which I hear good reports of also. You are right, the price goes up as the quality goes up. But that is true with motor scooters and motorcycles. there are some Chinese scooters out there that are a pain to keep running.

This is a hobby that I started back about 30 years ago and still enjoy it. I do buy Chinese from time to time just to see how well the latest kits work. But most of the time I go for quality. I have kept four motorized bikes that run excellent. I would take a 200+ mile trip with any of them and not worry

The bikes are:

1950 Schwinn Black Phantom with a modified Whizzer engine.

Tour Easy recumbent using a custom 9 speed center drive and Subaru motor.

Terra Whizwheel trike using a BMP friction drive and Subaru motor ( just have to hope it don't rain when riding this one).

Mountian bike with a Golden Eagle kit.

I am starting to put together a cruiser using the Stanton axle kit and probably using a Subaru motor again.

I would encourage you to stick with the motorized bicycles but go for quality. You do a neat job on your bikes and I'm sure you could put one together that is extremely reliable.

I have owned some very nice motorcycles and motor scooters over the years and had a great time with them, but sold my last motorcycle a couple mounths ago and just stuck with the motorbikes. I am however, getting pretty old and that is an influence, but this is a fun hobby at just about any age.
 
Thanks Will, that a nice response.

I do like tinkering with my builds and it is fun riding them and having so many people ask me about them,it seems most people have never seen one . That part I do enjoy.

You may be right about going for quality judging by your build list you have some very expensive set ups. The whizzers or look a likes are top on my list to build next if I continue making them.

Yesterday I went out to my shop as I wanted to change my intake billet and do some porting to it , I just stood and looked at it and thought to myself ,what a pain . So I shut the shop door and just took a walk instead. LOL Maybe I just need to side line this hobby for awhile till my interest for it comes back.

Do you have any pictures of your builds Will ? maybe it will inspire me ,I would like to see your phantom with the modified whizzer engine.

Thanks again for the reply
 
That is me, TINKER. I don't get much above that any more but still fun. I also let my projects sit awhile when I don't feel like working on them, sometimes for months and that's O.K. too,

I would finish the Chinese stuff as you did but had some of the same feelings. I would sell them rather than often be disappointed much of the time. Yes, I would loose money when doing that but rather than being discussed, away they go. Take your time in selling, someone will come along. If you have Craigslist in your area, that is a good place to sell.

I tried to cut and past some pictures for you but would not work. I have some pictures on this forum, will see if I can find them and let you know.
 
I found the pictures on this forum.

Black Phantom/Whizzer - You can find it under advanced search

Cold/warm weather trike - find this under powered trikes 03/09/2010

Long range/very reliable/quiet and comfortable 12-09-2010 ( the bike is not finished in these pictres but it did turn out very good ). Aussie added the pictures for me, I don't add pictures often enough to get good at it. You can find this under recumbent powered bikes on this forum.

Schwinn 70cc Is one of the Chinese kits I tried. 09-03-2009

Open road cruiser w/ Golden Eagle kit.

Sorry I could not make this easier but when it comes to pictures I am on the stupid side, that probably includes computer use also. Hope you can find these pictures O.K..

Best Regards

Will Snow
 
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