Yes, these engines are that simple. I've never opened one up myself. but sooner or later I will. A lot of the members here rebuild their own. There's not much choice for that matter; motorbike mechanics are about as common as hen's teeth.
Reliability has been no issue at all for me. I bought mine back in the spring. I was riding in late April. I used it as my primary transportation all summer. (parked my car and hardly started it all summer. a bit of a mistake; it's now all stiff and sore. I have to drive it around the neighborhood to get the brakes, for instance, working smoothly. I'm still working on that.) during that time my 14 yr old daughter was using it as well for her paper route. It came back every time just fine. Once or twice there was an issue, but never anything serious.
this all sounds pretty optimistic. I'd better throw in a disclaimer; these happy times are not Cadillac quality. I think that there are a few lemons every here and there. I don't give it a lot of worry because costs are so low that I figure I can afford to get burnt every now and then. But the lemon factor is probably one very good reason to go with a vendor with a good reputation. It still won't be easy; as a newbie you might not be sure if the engine that shows up at your door is a lemon or not. I don't know how to advise you on that other than to communicate your concern to the vendor as quicly and accurately as possible and to listen to, and act on, his advice as well as you can. Those vendors here who are upstanding are definitely not out to sell you garbage. But if they are dealing with a warranty matter they are justified if they wish to have a clear idea of just what is wrong.
I don't know (but I believe) that some of the e-bay vendors will send you carp and let you drown with it. That's "some of the e-bay vendors". Probably not all of them. but I don't know how to separate the sheep from the goats.
As for cables; I've found a way to splice cables together. With this, you can make them any length you want. I wish I had a working camera; I could post photos that would make it all clear. Sometime in the next 24-48 hours I'll send you a private message with a description. Hopefully I can give the right idea in words. But even if not, this is only a minor matter; somehow or other you'll be able to get the cables you need.
You've mentioned that you've been injured. If, for instance, your hands aren't working as well as you'd like this might make your whole project more difficult than we'd all like.
It might be that you'll have to hire help. but if you find someone with just a bit of brains and the ability to work with tools, then you ought to be able to get everything done without many headaches at all.
I hope I've answered all of your questions. Now I'm having trouble remembering all of them. But if not, I'll come back.
