A bike for finding tarantula and snakes.

[bakaneko]

Im going to try to unpack a few points in order:


I like idea of a fat tire bike but I Know that I couldn't fit a 49cc or 79cc without having to cut the frame on most fat tires. Welding wouldn't be out of the question on future builds but I don't think I want to have to alter the frame on my first build.

As far as engine size, the 79 cc vs 49 cc wouldn't make that much of a difference to me. As long as I could get up to say 18-20 mph. 49cc would make it street legal, 79cc would not be street legal but this bike would be spending verrry little time in residential areas so its not a huge concern to me. I guess in my mind I just assumed that a 79cc engine would be more likely to carry me and a bike trailer up a fair incline than a 49cc engine would.

Get that bike Distantworlds suggested. Its like a great deal for something like that (maybe black friday weekend so order it now) as its a mountain bike that actually fits both a HS-142F and Predator 79. It has big 2.25" semi knobby tires which means it can probably fit a 3" eventually (gotta check that) for that nice look, duo disc brakes (great for safety), gears for upgrade to jackshaft kit in future, front suspension forks, and looks pretty damn cool.

When I did my HS-142F on a mountain bike, I did it on a 26" mountain bike with a similar design with a much smaller frame that I had to literally remove all the plastics from engine, file down parts of it, and tilt it slightly to make it fit; i doubt you have to do any of that work for this one.

If you were to get the HS-142F you will need to get a better clutch; the stock is a joke and will pop unless you geared it for like 15mph. There are threads on upgraded clutch ($40-50).

EDIT: Its a 5'4"+ bike. I assume you are not a hobbit. Even me at 5'6" (on drivers licence ) can ride it with seatpost at lowest.

 

[brc995]

FIrst off, hot damn. Thanks for all the replys! I went to bed and came back with two pages of posts to read! I'm 5'10 and about 190 lbs, my last bike was actually a hardtail 29er mtn bike with a large frame and it fit well (It would have actually made a great candidate to motorize). I really like that mountain bike that distantworld posted.

Since i'm not concerned with top end, i'm thinking of just doing 49cc with a sproket above 44T. I like the idea of the HD-142F but I dont like that you guys have already pointed out that there are some crap parts on the kit, like the transfer case. Arnt there any kits out there that have a good engine and good parts lol? There's a good shot that I could find myself 30 miles from any sort of civilization so reliability is super important.

So In my mind, I'm thinking the Schwinn Santis looks like a great candidate to motorize. Front and rear disks, a front shock, and real offroad tires already out of the box.... Because I don't plan on doing anything too crazy with this bike, I think it would hold up. Like i said I'm really just looking to put around the desert with my camera and snake hooks.

 

[brc995]

Unless anyone can give me a reasons not to go with the Schwinn Santis I think I will purchase that tomorrow, just to get this whole project rolling.

 

[Frogslayer]

Well, you shouldn't really go with a 4 stroke mostly because of the converter or centrifugal clutch (both have the flaw I'm about to describe). The reason being is they are meant for riding like accelerating under load, not cruising casually at low speed. They work well for most road situations. I can think of a few they suck at, like stop and go traffic and congested hills. And even If you gear it for low speed, your engine rpms will be high to keep the clutch engaged. More noise=less wildlife. Just not a very good casually ride around slowly stopping often kind of set up. Ask the guys that ride these it's way more wear on the clutch to ride slow and slip the clutch than to ride at speed clutch fully engaged. You can't have engaged clutch and low rpms. Just my rant about the whole situation.

Oh and E L E C T R I C!

 

[brc995]

Well, you shouldn't really go with a 4 stroke mostly because of the converter or centrifugal clutch (both have the flaw I'm about to describe). The reason being is they are meant for riding like accelerating under load, not cruising casually at low speed. They work well for most road situations. I can think of a few they suck at, like stop and go traffic and congested hills. And even If you gear it for low speed, your engine rpms will be high to keep the clutch engaged. More noise=less wildlife. Just not a very good casually ride around slowly stopping often kind of set up. Ask the guys that ride these it's way more wear on the clutch to ride slow and slip the clutch than to ride at speed clutch fully engaged. You can't have engaged clutch and low rpms. Just my rant about the whole situation.

Oh and E L E C T R I C!

I know you've been saying electric and I agree it actually makes the most sense but my reasons for not wanting to go electric are two fold. Really, what it boiles down to is I think motor in frame bikes look so much cooler. 2ndly I like the idea of filling up my tank and brining a 1/2 gallon of gas and being able to travel 120 miles in day if my heart wants..... All that being said I could be convinced on electric. I know plumb nothing about them because for the last two weeks all I've been looking at is gas motors and how to install gas kits.

 

[Frogslayer]

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This rear hub with this battery on this bike I got for $84 on black Friday would be ideal in my mind. $125 for the e hub kit, $250 for the battery (damn it this is what's holding me up from another sweet electric) and we'll say you got a bike on sale some where for $100. (26 inch bikes and parts are just way cheaper that's why I went with that). You could get 2 batteries and be at $725. Unless you find a better deal on a bike. I went with sla batteries and made a little 36 volt series for $45 on my wife's e bike.

 

[Frogslayer]

Also if you do run out of juice electric bikes are 5 times easier to pedal home than a gas bike with no gas. I know from hard earned experience lol.

 

[Frogslayer]

If you go the e hub route you honestly could go for a 36 volt hub to buy less expensive batteries. I just think you might want the 48 volt to pull a little trailer (another thing the 4 stroke clutch systems would not be good for).

 

[Frogslayer]

Unless you know of a four stroke manual clutch that would allow you to puts around at 1500 rpm.

 

[Ralpho]

Unless anyone can give me a reasons not to go with the Schwinn Santis I think I will purchase that tomorrow, just to get this whole project rolling.

Well the Schwinn has more moving parts and the derailers might not be great and you gotta think about sand and dust getting in the cassette assembly. The Onex genesis 29 has thousands of positive reviews and runs about $150. The bars are a funny size so need different bars for the throttle grip to fit and a front brake can be added. The four stroke kits are geared to go under 30mph, above 30mph with out a shift kit and you'll rev too high. With the coaster hubs they need a big center hole in the sprocket for the rear sprocket to fit. I drilled mine out with a hole saw.