Greetings from Northern Cali

[916tim]

Brand new to this game, 50 year + motorcycle rider. Building my first gas bike. HS 49
powered. Still waiting on the donor bike. I'm using a fixie style single speed diamond shape frame (only because it seems everyone else uses cruisers). Looking forward to many smiles per mile.

 

[bakaneko]

It is fun stuff. Just make sure you have proper brakes - at least front and back rim brakes. If this is a 2-stroke engine, you can get a kit online that combines the brake engage of the front and back into one lever. I don't know about others but it is hard to engage both brakes all the time due to pulling in the clutch for 2-stroke. So, I moved the front brake lever to my throttle handle and put the back brake lever next to the clutch. If I have to brake hard I will pull in the clutch and hit both. For normal braking, I just manually pull in the clutch without locking and hit the front brake with the free hand. On motorcycles your back brake lever is engage with the right leg luckily...

Ideally, disc brakes are best. There are some bad stories about coaster brakes...

 

[aquielisunari]

Hi Tim. Welcome to the site and the world of motorized bikes. I'm still a newb but I have learned that stock isn't good. The stock tensioner? Prone to slippage. I chose an engine mounted tensioner. All bolts and nuts should be replaced with higher end nuts and bolts and Loctite is your friend. The stock sprocket attaches to the spokes on the left hand side. I went with a hub mounted sprocket. It still utilizes the spokes but also securely attaches to the hub. I think it significantly reduces stress on the spokes and lengthens the life of the rear wheel. Are you a heavier rider? Go for a 48 or 50 tooth sprocket. Lighter? You might choose the 40 or 36 tooth.