Has anyone adapted motorcycle wheels onto bicycles?

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I've been pondering the "next step", even though I've only gone on the first long test-ride of my motorized bike.

I noticed that the 35cc engine at times really struggles--when starting up even minor hills, or into the wind, even if I pedal a bit to get it going. It only makes its full 1.6 HP at higher RPM's, and if it starts under a load it never gets into the higher RPM's. And I read the same kinds of remarks online when I look at user reviews of single-speed mopeds.

Ideally I'd like more power (to allow a passenger and still move ~35 mph reliably) and an automatic transmission, to free up my engine placement possibilities. Adding much more power or a multi-speed transmission unit would put a lot more stress on the rear wheel.... so I think I'd want stronger wheels....

For various reasons I don't like the affordable (-that is, Chinese or India) moped or scooter options. The mopeds are only built with around 50cc engines; the scooters go up to 250cc's but would be very tough to modify for 28" wheels, and the parts support of both leaves me wondering. Most places that sell you the mopeds and scooters don't keep any spare parts on hand, nor do they do service work at all. The Japanese mopeds and scooters are built very well and have good dealer and parts support--but they cost several times as much, making them impractical for my budget.

I wasn't that interested in motorcycles at all until I looked at photos of a lot of antique motorcycles, and I had fun building what I have--but looking back at the amount of money that I spent building what I have now, I'm thinking that starting out with a suitable used Japanese motorcycle and modifying it wouldn't have cost a whole lot more.
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:cool:Yes, Doug, but what fun is that?

you wouldn'y be interacting with us. you'd be on a Japanese motorcycle forum, saying "Why does my Yamaha wobble at 90mph?":D

Myron
 
Worksman Wheels

My local schwinn shop just closed thier (Shop) Buisiness. I was lucky enough to Sqeeze through the door and managed to get a pair of Worsmen Rims The front with the complete hub Brake Assembly. I have a 69' Schwinn Heavey Duti I Laced the back Worksman onto my bendix hub ***. Everyone wants to know how I put motorcycle wheels on my Bike Ha Ha thats how huge these bad boys are. they also accept up to 2.125 Tread which alone makes for a sturdier Donor. These wheels are touuuugh. And I wouldnt put 9 or 10 on these I ran 14 ga. on a GT w/69.7 cc for 2800 miles so far jump it every day and have only broken 6 spokes I mean I have hammered on.The only spokes that broke were due to my chain tensioner spinning in the spokes breaking one spoke and bening one spoke both times. each time I waited a couple of weeks and each time the pressure held on the exhisting spoeks over strained the one closest. other than that these DT 14 ga. are still on'er. But this new schwinn with them worksman oh Baby Is Sturdy.
 
One thing I would warn about the steel Worksman rims is, you cannot use any kind of rim brake with them. The edges (where the rim brake pads would normally rub) are rolled, they are not flat at all. So you're stuck using some kind of hub or disk brake.
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Worksman offers some aluminum rims that are optional, and I don't know if those accept rim brakes or not. There are other wider cruiser-bike rims around, if you would go to the effort of building your own wheels. You might have to drill the other rim's spoke holes out a bit to fit the Worksman 11gauge spokes through, but that shouldn't be real difficult even with a hand-drill.

lennyharp said:
Some of the Downhill racing products are what I am looking at for motorized bike parts. Look at this rim and see if it does not look strong enough without going Motorcycle. They have stronger tires to match. http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?id=11149&page=SUN+MAMMOTH+RIM
Click to expand...
...I have those rims on my (non-motor) recumbent bike, not because I ride it hard off-road, but just because I wanted wider-than-1" rims that preferably matched, and that was the least-expensive model that the shop found that came in both 20" (406mm) and 26" (559mm). Mine are called "BFR"s, which at the time stood for "Big Fat Rim".

Also, I'd bet that a typical moped wheel would be considerably stronger than even a higher-end downhill MTB wheel. Even though they're not engineered for off-road use, moped wheels are still designed for heavier loads overall.
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funny how i just saw this thread...for reference to what you'd wind up with.

my "Sun Metal Products-1982" front drum seems to be a hefty steel bicycle rim laced to an as-yet-unidentified front drum...it's heavy, but it's a real wheel with a real brake & well worth the extra poundage.
 
Just get some nice DH mountain bike rims. I use Sun Rhyno Lite XL rims for skatepark / dirt jump riding and really beat on my wheels.

For tires look to the MTB urban freeride tires.
Kenda K-Rad or Kiniption
Maxxis Holy Roller or Hookworm
Arrow Launch
Tioga FS100
DMR Moto R/T or Transition
Halo Twin Rail
Schwalbe Table Top or Big Apple
Specialized Rhythm or Compound
 
The Wheelmaster will lace 10 gage motorcycle spokes into bike rims/hubs. I chose the Sun BFR Mammoth rim with a Sturmey-Archer X-FDD Dyno-hub and the oversize spokes
 

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It can be done,
After a crash that i had on my first MB, I decided to give my bike "real brakes", so i went to the local motorcycle shop and i brought this complete wheel from a 110cc chinese cub motorcycle. The difference was extreme, not only in the stability of the braking power, but in the grip to the ground; even in rainy days the bike remained absolutely stable.
I have to chop some metal from the fork and the brake plate on the wheel, but nothing big, just some minor adjustments to make it fit right. The fork it a bicycle one, and even after the crash, remained working fine, holding the almost 5Kg that weights the motorcycle front wheel.

This is the picture of the bike with the wheel:

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j174/volker242/1er_encuentro_motorkit/encuentro008.jpg

Regards,

Leo
 
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