Are motorized engine kits better or building one yoursef is better?

Antonio3

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So my question is if the everything included kits are better or if you make your own by buying separately parts.
I live in eastern europe so buying the quality kits from usa sites is out of question(over 150$ just the delivery)
So im left with the kits from ebay uk that are only 100$ but they are from china and im questionable about theyr quality
Im planning on building a bike for cross country traveling so i will be carring some weight on the bike(tent,bedroll,other stuff)
And i am afraid because the engine quality or parts its gonna break down and its not worth buyng it,so is building a bike with parts bought separately is better?
And some recomandations of either good kits or good engine/parts?
Thanks,also sorry for my bad enlish
 
Those kits bought in the UK are most likely the same stuff we get here in the US. They're all sourced from China with a base cost of approx. $60 per kit when bought in bulk. Sure, there's a few US importers who do a lil bit of quality control on stuff before they sell it, and some who import separate pieces of engines and assemble them, calling the end product "made in the USA". For the most part, it's all the same stuff tho, and a bit of a gamble especially if you're building one of these for use as main transportation. You could buy 2 kits from the same seller and the 2 engines may have completely different attitudes.

If you're looking to have fun and a blown engine is no big deal, buy with confidence! With some tinkering and less-than-motorcycle expectations, these aim to please and will teach you some valuable gearhead skills.
 
I would get a bare engine if you can find one, and build the peripherals from parts bought elsewhere. And customise the engine. :cool:

If you can't find a bare engine then just buy a kit and throw a lot of parts in the scrap pile.


Opinions vary, and your question is vague. "Which is better?" depends on who is asking.
If you post a thread in the "introduce yourself" section you can provide lots of detailed information about you,.
ie
your current bicycle, local terrain, intended use, workshop equipment, mechanical experience /expertise, etc etc. and your budget if you want one.
You'll find the most important threads for the generic ebay engine builds stickied at the top of the Introduce Yourself section too.
 
If you have to ask, then most likely you are half way in the dark as to what is needed and how they fit together. At that point you would probably be better off buying a kit and struggling to put it together. If you know what parts you need, and are confident that you can piece meal parts from various places, then start doing some reading and see which of those parts are of the best quality and order pieces and parts. But in the end, if you are buying the cheapest parts, not looking for extra quality, the kit will save you money and time.
 
The kits on ebay UK, actually ship from Germany in my experience, and are the worst quality. You will laugh when you open the box and see how badly made it is. :seenoevil:🤪😂


I did choose to modify the engine, and buy a spare + extra spare parts, as well as replace or omit most of the " kit " of peripheral parts, and replace nearly all of the parts on my perfectly functional bicycle.
I didn't know anything about the engine or how it worked when I joined the forum. I didn't get the engine until long after I joined the forum; but I have built piece by piece, from the road up.
So I'm biased.
The information you need to learn to build a bike piece by piece is all on this forum, and you only need to have some bicycle mechanic skills to begin. Then just read a bit (a lot) before buying anything. It will be more expensive, of course.

But if you follow the instructions for older/cheapest ebay engines that are stickied in the Introduction section, it will be reasonable cost and reliability (if you carry certain spare parts and tools for it), depending exactly what you mean by "cross country with weight".
 
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I kinda viewed the kit installation as a right of passage lol. yes you find out this piece or that is total garbage, but you learn why (really quick haha) if it's not obvious. so I had a kit and every month or so I upgraded and modified just about everything external, and little bit internals.
if you're cheap and wanna get riding and putt around quick, get a kit and redo it over time, spread expense out.
long term, just get a motor and cdi, then pick all your pieces and build the whole bike from scratch. you'll be very proud!
I rode 2 happy months with the bone stock kit I think. got a good one I think *phew*

I think 90% of everyone here went thru a kit phase starting out. THEN you decide it's just garbage you don't even want lying around lol and just buy components now from here and there for their motor of choice.
- worst part of kit = sprocket and mount!
 
My first one was a trash picked mountain bike with a cheap $90 kit. Worked goid after changing most of the bolts and 3 or 4 gas tanks. Next 2 bikes were full custom and have plans for 3 more. I got bit hard with this hobby lol.

But yeah, start with a kit and upgrade as you go. Doesn't cost much more, in most cases the kit or just the engine is a $10 - $20 difference.
 
Being in Eastern Europe opens up some resources for old bicycle engines sold in your country from years ago, you also could try like others have suggested to source a garden implement engine and make your own drive, but you need to be really good at fabricating and making unrelated pieces work harmoniously together.

The Chinese engines are a crap shoot. You could get something half decent, but if my case is any example, the bike engine I bought would have been a failure with anyone else not as mechanically inclined.

You want to take a long road trip on this bike? before you spend anything on the bicycle engine, make sure your bicycle is in decent enough condition. Would you trust this bicycle to take you across all of Europe and back under your own leg power? If so you I'd still expect that adding an engine to will shorten it's life span considerably.

I have a motorized bike I put together with an old automatic clutched weed cutter engine of about 30 c.c.'s The engine is from Italy, made in the early 1980s sold by McCollough here in the US as the Pro-Scaper 30. Friction drives are suprizingly easy to make work, although mine is really more complex than you generally need to build..
 

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elegant in the simplicity! I'm sure nothing could be more reliable haha
 
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