First post / First bike!

[Dougman]

This is my first post to the forum and would like to say hello! Today I just bought my first motorized bike off of Craigslist for $150 bucks. I would have built one but space is an issue right now. I don't know the engine displacement but it's a 2 stroke and it needs some work. The chain needs tightened, exhaust needs put back together and tightened, throttle control is loose on the handle bars (and the screws are stripped:frown, the clutch is a bit loose too and the bike needs cleaned up but overall isn't too bad and test drove pretty good.
I look forward to learning on this forum and let me know what you guys think!

 

[RumblingV8]

Not a bad snag for $150, even if it needs some work. Here in the southeast region of PA all there is on CL is a bunch of overpriced crap.

Looks like the muffler fell off? That's actually how i ran my first bike because i had pedal clearance issues and I decided to just chop the muffler off until i could weld it on in a position that worked right.
A few more things i notice from the picture is the chain, tensioner and sprocket. It looks like the rag joint is missing some bolts? I would replace those and make sure it's aligned properly. A wobbly sprocket could be causing the chain to be jumping off. Due to the size and height of that tensioner i would say you might want to take a few links out of that chain too, so that you don't have to have such extreme adjustments, and make sure that the mount is straight so it's not pulling the chain off the sprockets.
First thing I'd do is check all the hardware and maybe upgrade it if the previous owner did not, and go over everything with loctite and make sure it's all snugged down. You never know how much attention was put into assembly unless you do it yourself, and it's better to be overcautious than not cautious enough when buying from someone, especially if it is coming to you with stripped screws and broken parts.

 

[bikejock]

Looks like my first 2 stroke I had a couple of years ago. I sold it for $100 so looks like who ever sold their bike to you got more than I did LOL. Mine was like that bike but in white and with a different rear rack. Wish I kept the pictures of it but that was way before I became a member here.

Currently working on a 4 stroke cruiser build this time around.

 

[Dougman]

Looks like my first 2 stroke I had a couple of years ago. I sold it for $100 so looks like who ever sold their bike to you got more than I did LOL. Mine was like that bike but in white and with a different rear rack. Wish I kept the pictures of it but that was way before I became a member here.

Currently working on a 4 stroke cruiser build this time around.

Did you sell it to a guy near Cranberry?

 

[Dougman]

Looks like my first 2 stroke I had a couple of years ago. I sold it for $100 so looks like who ever sold their bike to you got more than I did LOL. Mine was like that bike but in white and with a different rear rack. Wish I kept the pictures of it but that was way before I became a member here.

Currently working on a 4 stroke cruiser build this time around.

Did you sell it to a guy near Cranberry?

 

[bikejock]

Did you sell it to a guy near Cranberry?

Naw. Sold mine to a guy from Oakland CA. I can tell it's not the same bike because I got a pretty good photographic memory.

 

[Dougman]

Well today I tightened the exhaust and because the external thread where the nut goes on was partially stripped I used a few flat washers to cover the stripped area and put the nut on top of them to get the exhaust on. The tailpipe should have a thread for the muffler but it looks to have been cut so I'll have to get out the welder to piece that together. I also cleaned everything up and was going to tighten/realign the chain but it's going to be tricky because the tensioner is welded in place and of course it isn't aligned right. With how it is now the chain is too loose but it's too tight to remove any links. Ill probably end up cutting the whole tensioner that's currently welded off and bolt a new tensioner more toward the rear sprocket to get the chain where it needs to be. Also as far as the bolts on the rag joint; the bolts are all there despite what the potato of a camera may have sugested. I'll try to get some pictures as soon as the weather and my schedule permit.

 

[darwin]

Be careful on the tensioner mounting if you use a cheap one. They can twist into the spokes and ruin your day. Congrats on the purchase, if it overwhelms you sometimes it's best to start from scratch and do it your own way. Kits are cheap so are pawn shop bikes.