Is this bike suitable for motorization?

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Yash

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Hey guys, new to this hobby. Recently got very interested in this whole thing and have been reading as much as I can on the topic this week. I've found a bike that will most certainly fit an engine inside the frame, but my main problem is that the tubes might be a little thin. The wheels are 28" but I'll probably change 'em to 26". Frame is made out of steel, but the tubes aren't very thick according to some old documentation on the bike, since it's one of those lighter bicycles with thinner tires (which I'll change). It's also made in Russia.

I'm thinking of mounting a 2-stroke 80cc engine on it, just to clarify.

96981388_1_800x600_shoseen-velosipedbegach-28-gr-kozloduy.jpg

96981388_4_800x600_shoseen-velosipedbegach-28-sport-knigi-hobi.jpg


I can upload more pictures, but these should be enough.
 
Read about fenders in the newbie threads. Take precautions.
IMO those caliper brakes are insufficient for stopping the bike if it is to be used on public roads.
How do you plan to change the wheel size, when you have only the central hole for mounting caliper brakes? Can you find some wrecked old kids' suspension forks and cut the whole arch support and v brake mounts off them and attach to the bike with jubilee clips or something like that?
IMO it could be easier to start with a newer bike..
 
Read about fenders in the newbie threads. Take precautions.
IMO those caliper brakes are insufficient for stopping the bike if it is to be used on public roads.
How do you plan to change the wheel size, when you have only the central hole for mounting caliper brakes? Can you find some wrecked old kids' suspension forks and cut the whole arch support and v brake mounts off them and attach to the bike with jubilee clips or something like that?
IMO it could be easier to start with a newer bike..

I've quickly glanced around, but I now understand they can be dangerous. Thanks for the heads up! I'll definitely read more about them.
I'll see how well they break, and I can either replace them with new caliper breaks or just tighten them up. I'm not really into coaster breaks and I'm not familiar at all with disk breaks, so I think I'll go with calipers.
I'm not really experienced with bike modification and repair, only know how to ride them. ;) But I think I'll manage to modify the frame to fit in the caliper breaks for the smaller wheels. If not, I'll have to stick with 28", but I'm not fond of the thin tires.

I think I'll be buying this bike, out of all the bikes I've found so far this one seems to be the best in terms of functionality and aesthetics. I'm not really into the look of the new bikes (and my budget is tight), and considering I'm in Eastern Europe I don't really have access to the sleek beach cruiser bikes here. We have some similar-looking bikes, but beach cruisers aren't really popular from what I've seen so far. Maybe I'm just missing some store / website though, who knows.

Thanks for your input, man. Every little bit helps. :D
 
I've quickly glanced around, but I now understand they can be dangerous. Thanks for the heads up! I'll definitely read more about them.
I'll see how well they break, and I can either replace them with new caliper breaks or just tighten them up. I'm not really into coaster breaks and I'm not familiar at all with disk breaks, so I think I'll go with calipers.
I'm not really experienced with bike modification and repair, only know how to ride them. ;) But I think I'll manage to modify the frame to fit in the caliper breaks for the smaller wheels. If not, I'll have to stick with 28", but I'm not fond of the thin tires.

I think I'll be buying this bike, out of all the bikes I've found so far this one seems to be the best in terms of functionality and aesthetics. I'm not really into the look of the new bikes (and my budget is tight), and considering I'm in Eastern Europe I don't really have access to the sleek beach cruiser bikes here. We have some similar-looking bikes, but beach cruisers aren't really popular from what I've seen so far. Maybe I'm just missing some store / website though, who knows.

Thanks for your input, man. Every little bit helps. :D

IMO and it is just my opinion! I think you need to be familiar with bicycle maintenance and repair before even considering adding an engine to one. Safety is always the most important thing.
Beware of worn rims. Rim brakes will wear down aluminium rims over time and eventually the rim can split. I had that happen once, 40 miles from home. That wasn't fun!
Caliper brakes use the central hole mount. U brakes use a pair of posts which are level with the tyre (approximately 1" above the rim). Cantilever brakes and V brakes use a pair of posts approximately 1" below the rim. If a bike has cantilever brakes it can be changed to V brakes with ease. IMO, V brakes are the best rim brakes.

I would love to see a real Riga motorised bike from the factory that was in Riga, Latvia. They are the original. Perhaps you can even find one to buy. Anyway, don't rush to buy a bike. Something better may come along soon. :)
 
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IMO and it is just my opinion! I think you need to be familiar with bicycle maintenance and repair before even considering adding an engine to one. Safety is always the most important thing.

I would love to see a real Riga motorised bike from the factory that was in Riga, Latvia. They are the original. Perhaps you can even find one to buy. Anyway, don't rush to buy a bike. Something better may come along soon. :)

Oh, I'm not completely clueless about bikes and their repair / maintenance, I just know the basics - tires, breaks, chain, etc. Mostly because I've never had to repair a bike extensively, just flat tires and screwed up breaks. But I fully agree, safety is number one!

Latvia is far, far away though, since I'm in the Balkans. Doubt I'll be able to get my hands on one of those. :D

I know myself too well and I'm quite impatient to start working on this. I'll scour the internet for more bicycles but for now I think I'll settle with this one. I'm still waiting for the seller to respond, and I'll ask him / the delivery company for the option to return the bike if I don't like something about it.
 
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Beware of worn rims. Rim brakes will wear down aluminium rims over time and eventually the rim can split. I had that happen once, 40 miles from home. That wasn't fun!
Caliper brakes use the central hole mount. U brakes use a pair of posts which are level with the tyre (approximately 1" above the rim). Cantilever brakes and V brakes use a pair of posts approximately 1" below the rim. If a bike has cantilever brakes it can be changed to V brakes with ease. IMO, V brakes are the best rim brakes.

Learned a bunch about brakes today (and to not write them as breaks :D) thanks to you man, I thought it was just coaster, caliper and disk at first. On my normal bike I've got V brakes and they do a pretty good job.

Anyways, what's your (and other people's) opinion on the frame of this bike? Is it sturdy / thick enough by the looks of it?

Also, is it possible to modify a frame for a motorized bike by cutting and welding it, without having the whole thing break down because of the engine vibrations? And is there a recommended tire type, as in wide or thin, for motorized bikes?
 
Yeah idk where everyone is.. I like new project threads. :)
The frame is probably quite sturdy enough. Hard to tell the guage (wall thickness) of the metal from a photo, but age and being made as transport rather than racing makes me think it will be fine. The wheelbase is long so should help it to be stable at motorised speeds. The bend in the fork will absorb some high frequency road bumps so that your hands don't tire. It is taller than necessary as you are not going to be pedalling.. But idk if that would be a problem. It's forward slanted rear dropouts should be good for getting the correct chain tension with less fuss. I quite like it in a lot of ways.
Yes you should be able to weld that frame as it is steel, unlikely to be any kind of special heat treated or whatever, just high tensile steel. It really needs tig welding or brazing (I think I can see in the photo it has the sleeves at the joints because it is brazed, not welded). I had someone MIG weld a bike frame repair for me once and though it worked it was not pretty by the time he finished filling the holes back in that he burned in it! I hope you would look into getting the mounts for v brakes if you are going to modify the frame.
I never read about brazes failing due to vibrations, and it has survived this long, I think it is really okay as it is apart from the old style caliper brakes.
You should still think about making some modifications to your engine to reduce vibration for better comfort (and the health of the engine at higher engine speeds) anyway.
Frames built to take wider tyres generally have more clearance to get the motor chain through.. They can have a straighter return (lower) side of the chain, which means less strain on the idler pulley when you bump start the engine.
It looks like the rear wheel has already been replaced, that is good. Spokes should be stainless steel (shiny) not cheap wire (grey).
The tyres look like maybe 622x32mm which is fast and economic, but they (32mm) are the size I use on my touring bicycles, on roads and being careful and pumped up to 70/80psi, but loaded up with a lot of weight.
I think there's a happy medium on the tyre size you actually use, but that depends on your weight, your roads, your riding style.. 622x47mm might be preferable for motorising if there are unavoidable bumps in the roads, but only you can know that. You might need a 3" tyre mountain bike to protect the rims and your spine but it would get many less miles from the tank of fuel- what suits you will depend how you ride and where!
 
Yeah idk where everyone is.. I like new project threads. :)
The frame is probably quite sturdy enough. Hard to tell the guage (wall thickness) of the metal from a photo, but age and being made as transport rather than racing makes me think it will be fine. The wheelbase is long so should help it to be stable at motorised speeds. The bend in the fork will absorb some high frequency road bumps so that your hands don't tire. It is taller than necessary as you are not going to be pedalling.. But idk if that would be a problem. It's forward slanted rear dropouts should be good for getting the correct chain tension with less fuss. I quite like it in a lot of ways.
Yes you should be able to weld that frame as it is steel, unlikely to be any kind of special heat treated or whatever, just high tensile steel. It really needs tig welding or brazing (I think I can see in the photo it has the sleeves at the joints because it is brazed, not welded). I had someone MIG weld a bike frame repair for me once and though it worked it was not pretty by the time he finished filling the holes back in that he burned in it! I hope you would look into getting the mounts for v brakes if you are going to modify the frame.
I never read about brazes failing due to vibrations, and it has survived this long, I think it is really okay as it is apart from the old style caliper brakes.
You should still think about making some modifications to your engine to reduce vibration for better comfort (and the health of the engine at higher engine speeds) anyway.
Frames built to take wider tyres generally have more clearance to get the motor chain through.. They can have a straighter return (lower) side of the chain, which means less strain on the idler pulley when you bump start the engine.
It looks like the rear wheel has already been replaced, that is good. Spokes should be stainless steel (shiny) not cheap wire (grey).
The tyres look like maybe 622x32mm which is fast and economic, but they (32mm) are the size I use on my touring bicycles, on roads and being careful and pumped up to 70/80psi, but loaded up with a lot of weight.
I think there's a happy medium on the tyre size you actually use, but that depends on your weight, your roads, your riding style.. 622x47mm might be preferable for motorising if there are unavoidable bumps in the roads, but only you can know that. You might need a 3" tyre mountain bike to protect the rims and your spine but it would get many less miles from the tank of fuel- what suits you will depend how you ride and where!

Cheers man! Many thanks for all the advice, I'll be ordering the bike soon and I'll try to get it in shape for motorization while I get ready to purchase the engine kit.

Also, how can I reduce the engine vibrations? I'm guessing I'll have to tinker with it a little, or maybe put something soft where the engine is mounted to absorb some of the vibrations? I'm not really sure the latter will help, might even be more dangerous actually if it obstructs the engine mounting, but I'm definitely up for some engine tinkering, it's quite interesting to me.

Oh, by the way, is there any way to bring the bike a bit lower to the ground other than resorting to smaller wheels and modifying the frame? You know, similar to those 1910's motorbikes / board trackers.

I'll be sure to post updates on my progress, might be useful to someone new like me (or entertaining for experienced members :D ).
 
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Weird, my previous post is waiting to be approved by a moderator, but this one got posted instantly, so I'll just copy over what I said to avoid confusion.

Cheers man! Many thanks for all the advice, I'll be ordering the bike soon and I'll try to get it in shape for motorization while I get ready to purchase the engine kit.

Also, how can I reduce the engine vibrations? I'm guessing I'll have to tinker with it a little, or maybe put something soft where the engine is mounted to absorb some of the vibrations? I'm not really sure the latter will help, might even be more dangerous actually if it obstructs the engine mounting, but I'm definitely up for some engine tinkering, it's quite interesting to me.

Oh, by the way, is there any way to bring the bike a bit lower to the ground other than resorting to smaller wheels and modifying the frame? You know, similar to those 1910's motorbikes / board trackers.

I'll be sure to post updates on my progress, might be useful to someone new like me (or entertaining for experienced members :D ).

-----

Actually, I won't be buying that bike, its owner said he has used it quite a lot every day and it's got some considerable wear, so I'll be buying this one instead -
97246524_1_800x600_velosiped-turist-gr-haskovo.jpg

It's the absolute same model, but this one hasn't been used as much, it's in a pretty good condition. The rear wheel is a bit older, front one looks okay but overall it's got less rust and less wear on the whole bike. Well, it will be sent tomorrow and I'll probably receive it tomorrow or on the 3rd. Wish me luck! :D
 
Yes I am sure it will be an interesting thread. And yeah I thought it looked like the same bike! :) It does have the original wire spoked wheels so to drive it from the spokes (kit rag joint) you should really be replacing/rebuilding with high quality spokes.
You have time to read all the newbie/sticky threads and don't forget to use the search function (up in the top right) with words like vibration reduction and crank balancing as there is lots of great information already posted. :)
You will read about fender dangers, the need to mount solid to the frame, and the basic upgrades that "all" generic 2 strokes need.
I'm sure if you can/decide to take brake mounting posts (aka lugs) from scrap/wrecked bikes/forks then you can use any wheel size you like to lower the bike. The quill stem should be able to be dropped quite a bit too, but not too far (mind the taper). Also see if you can get the Sheldon Brown site to work on your device as there are some great tips on bicycle repair/setup/standards there.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/handsup.html

Good luck! :)
 
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