How goes it

[no_i_am_aj]

So my car took a dump and I love it too much to get a new one. So I bought an engine kit for my bike. I commute at least 56 miles a day for my job and it is getting frustrating. I have been interested in doing this for quite some time now and what better time than now. (or excuse, my woman hates me spending money on "useless projects.") My car is going to cost at least $3000 to fix, and this bike kit has me right at the $350 mark in my available $400 budget.

I love customizing things, and really enjoy going fast. Fabricating things is the best. So I really look forward to this project/toy/alternate transportation. I have a lot of ideas, and a lot of plans so far. I hope I can accomplish my goals for this with out spending "too much money." Ie. my woman and I have differing views on what that means. Once my car is fixed my budget will open way up.

 

[wheelbender6]

Welcome to the forum. Are you going to commute to work on the motorized bike or just run your errands?
I did several 50 mile round trip commutes, but not every day. I usually needed a day (after work) in between motorbike commutes to tighten bolts, adjust the chain tensioner and clutch. If you tighten and adjust things, you normally will not break any parts. I also used a 3 liter fuel tank, because my China girl would use a lot of premix when travelling against strong headwinds. I had to face strong winds from the south in the afternoons.

 

[no_i_am_aj]

I'm hoping to use it to commute on the daily. Thanks for the advice, I deal with wind frequently here. Some days its really strong, most times its mild. Do you think if I upgrade hardware it will help me keep things torqued enough?

 

[Timbone]

Sorry,but my 5 months experiment with my motorbike leads me to seriously doubt that this is the correct tool for the job. I cannot imagine commuting 28 miles one way on a motorized bicycle. Believe me, my 12 mile one way commute is always an adventure as too many things can go wrong.

If you cannot replace your car, then you need a real motorcycle. Or, I suppose,you could move closer to your workplace. I'd prefer a 28 mile bicycle ride to work over a MB ride. The motorized bicycle is a short range vehicle for sure.

 

[dougsr.874]

I agree withe Timbone, if you make it you'll be very lucky....

 

[Timbone]

I may not know all that much about motorized bicycles, but I do know about bicycles. A cheapo Walmart bicycle, like most other bicycles, is simply not designed to carry all this weight at racing bike speed. Things will break.

Factor in the inherent lack of reliability in a dinky, no name 2 stroke engine with a clunky clutch design and you will see the problem. 28 miles is a long shaky ride!

 

[no_i_am_aj]

That's my life story. My cheapo walmart bike has gone through several upgrades as it needed maintenance in the last two years. I have a 28 mile commute one way, in West Texas, after a 12 hour shift biking another 28 miles gets tough. For the cost of a real motorcycle I could just fix my car. Plus, I don't have a motorcycle license. So some times you just gotta roll the dice and ride by the seat of your pants. But, if my bike grenades, my boss is really cool and I'm sure he will help me get to work. To me this is just like any other project. An opportunity to experiment and learn.

 

[no_i_am_aj]

One time I rode a honda hobbit 900 miles non stop other than gas, food, and sleep. That was an adventure. At least honda's are reliable.

 

[Fabian]

I commute at least 56 miles a day for my job [and...] and this bike kit has me right at the $350 mark in my available $400 budget. I hope I can accomplish my goals for this with out spending "too much money." Ie. my woman and I have differing views on what that means. Once my car is fixed my budget will open way up.

With a $400 budget, you have a snowflakes chance in hell of the bike being reliable for a 56 mile commute.
You'll need a really big budget to make the bike truly reliable.

I'm not saying that it can't be done, because it can, and my motorised bicycle is a pillar of reliability and would handle the 56 mile commute without any problems, though it requires a heavy maintenance schedule; on average being 1 hour of maintenance time for every 4 hours of operation.

Having said that, i have spent (over 5 years) approx $11,000 on my motorised bicycle.

Not sure if your $400 budget will get you very far with regards to reliability, but it will get you far enough down the road for the bike to be unreliable on a regular basis.

 

[butre]

just this year I've spent $1500 on my motorized bicycle. you can get a nice reliable motorcycle for that price any day of the week