Apple's First Proper Motorized Bike

Hello folks, its been awhile but I am back, and this time I have come prepared for the struggle of setting this thing up. First change, I am getting a proper 2-stroke kit, a chain drive mechanism rather than a friction drive. Next, I am getting a new bike for this project, a cheap Roadmaster bike. The parts will not be here until January, so there is a slight wait for the actual thing to be set up.

I am still new here, and I could definitely use suggestions for tuning and such, so... if anyone has any suggestions, please fire away. Thank you for your time!

-Apple

 

[Bonefish]

Your going the wrong direction. Friction Drive kits are more reliable than the 66/80cc china girl 2 stroke kits. Your next step up from a Friction drive kit is a Staton Chain drive kit or a GEBE.

 

[GreasyChris]

what are your goals for this build? speed? reliability? both?

 

[Apple]

Your going the wrong direction. Friction Drive kits are more reliable than the 66/80cc china girl 2 stroke kits. Your next step up from a Friction drive kit is a Staton Chain drive kit or a GEBE.

My first attempt at this was a 25cc weed-eater bike, so I mean a step up from that specifically.

what are your goals for this build? speed? reliability? both?

My main goal is to have a reliable vehicle to get around. While speed would be nice, the longevity of the engine is the main thing I am worried about.

 

[Bonefish]

If you get a Friction Kit from Staton with a Honda GX35 engine, It should serve you well. Better than that would be a Staton Chain/Gear drive. I'm just trying to save you some headaches. I have been there and done that.

 

[Apple]

Thanks mate, I appreciate the help. I already ordered the chinese one, so I am gonna stick with that for my first bike, maybe if I decide to do more, I will give that a shot. I do love the look of friction drive, and they seem simpler to operate and construct, I've just had bad luck in the past with them (i have no doubts its because of my own stupidity but still)

 

[Frogslayer]

The kits are easy to install and set up. Roadmaster bikes suck man. Did you order it to your house? Hopefully it comes disassembled. Take apart every bearing. Front wheel, rear wheel, bottom bracket, headset and clean the s**t out they call "grease" and put some decent grease in there. Is it a 29 or 26 inch?

 

[CrazyDan]

The roadmaster will, without a doubt, come with caged bearings. Remove these. They will be in the headset (2 cages), bottom bracket (2 cages), front and rear wheel (2 more cages each). Take your caged bearings into a local bike shop and have them measure your bearing diameters. Buy the amount of bearings in each cage minus 1. Pop the bearings out of the cage and mix them with the appropriate sized bearings and place them in the correct locations. Boom... reliability increases 10x. Caged bearings love to mangle themselves.

 

[Apple]

The kits are easy to install and set up. Roadmaster bikes suck man. Did you order it to your house? Hopefully it comes disassembled. Take apart every bearing. Front wheel, rear wheel, bottom bracket, headset and clean the sh*t out they call "grease" and put some decent grease in there. Is it a 29 or 26 inch?

26 inch wheels, I am getting the mounting done as we speak, although I have run into a problem. The rear wheel mount is at an angle so the tensioner cannot be installed properly, but my chain still has to be tensioned because, you know, loose chains=bad time. And to top that off, the chain nearly comes in contact with the frame in 2 spots, one extraordinarily close.

The roadmaster will, without a doubt, come with caged bearings. Remove these. They will be in the headset (2 cages), bottom bracket (2 cages), front and rear wheel (2 more cages each). Take your caged bearings into a local bike shop and have them measure your bearing diameters. Buy the amount of bearings in each cage minus 1. Pop the bearings out of the cage and mix them with the appropriate sized bearings and place them in the correct locations. Boom... reliability increases 10x. Caged bearings love to mangle themselves.

I will do this as soon as possible, currently I do not have the money to buy a new set of bearings, that will be my first bit of upgrade work I guess. Thank you for the advice!