how good r they

photo245

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Nov 11, 2010
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sikeston mo
i do a lot of bike traveling and i just bought a bike motor . I wonder just how good they really are. Will they go good long distances and will they carry the weight i carry it is useally around 50 or 60 lbs of gear? And i weigh 200 lbs i got the 80cc red bat engine off ebay. I wanna know so i can add the extra fuel bottles to my baggage im thinking about getting a trailer for my bike the kind walmart carries for you to put kids in and put alot of my supplies in it .
 
photo, I would advise you that the quality of the HT engines (chinese 2 stroke in-frame mounted) is highly variable.

The first thing you should do with any of them is to replace every nut/bolt/stud/screw in them with quality hardware - the stock stuff is basically pot metal.

Second, do a very careful installation, and use the information readily available through this forum to improve some of the glaring weak points in the stock kits (clutch roller, chain tensioner, etc).

Third, do a careful and conservative engine break-in.

Fourth, before you sling your leg over the seat, check EVERYTHING to be sure it is properly tight.

Fifth, if you are planning to do long distance travel with one of these engine kits as your prime mover, carry a tool kit including some zip ties, some loc-tite, tire/tube patching materials, a chain master link and chain tool, whatever basic handtools you think appropriate, and be prepared to patiently deal with break downs. The question isn't - will there be breakdowns? - it is, what will break down?
 
thats what fot me wondering cause i always travel on bike and i guess if it breaks down depends on what breaks i can always just pedal again i guess i wont be using it full time anyway maybe although it does get hard to pedal with it on there i wonder if i need to go with frictin drive and never mind the motor and sprocket setup type
 
Just one suggestion.....look through the threads here, look at the setup they used. That is the best test.
One word of caution.....this is the internet, so judge carefully.
I personally love my happy time. I ride it recreationally all of the time. If push came to shove, would I depend on it in a tight situation? Is a bear Catholic?
Augi said it best, consider all options. But I would like to add......a Happy Time is not really an option.
If in frame is your style I would go 4 stroke. If it does not matter......then there are many other options.
 
I have been travelling for 3 summers and my 4-stroke Subaru is running fine, though the roller on my Staton friction drive has worn smooth, but runs fine in dry weather. The people on this forum, tend to go with quality systems for touring. I ran into a couple who were using "cheap" 2 stroke kits from King motors (which is having a huge sale, i notice) and Wally world trailers to go from Florida to Las Vegas, New Mexico. They had some fixable problems. So I say go for it, especially it that is what you have, and especially if you realize you can always pedal. Frankly i would probably just ditch my rig if it failed, with a "free bike" sign. Generally were talking $500 bucks, i've already got my moneys worth, in fact it has more than paid for itself in all the beer and food the curious have given me. People routinely ditch more valuable cars. I think it is important to get a free bike or $25 bike from a garage sale. To me that is the point. A motor turns a $25 bike into a $5,000 bike performance-wise. I've blown past the lycra types up mountain passes, though on some terrain they can beat a "heavy" tour bike (clap-clap, polite applause). Last year I went over the "Gila Monster" the same day as Lance. I had a motor of course, but then again he had a 15 pound bike, a police escort, a support crew, a hotel suite, etc, etc, Way to go, Lance! So, just do it. Sometimes i regret just starting with the cheapest kit out there, because there is a learning curve, and my O.K. system took a couple falls, and power-outs, and roller wear caused by a too good Kevlar tire, which grabbed road tar like a magnet. You can always upgrade, later.
 
"just go for it"...yes, there's that aspect to consider, too...there's a genuine feeling of pioneerism to long-riding that just can't be beat.

when it comes to travelling with an HT, well i wouldn't do it but here's my input: i use a 40cc tanaka and carry almost 500lb of GVW, so i know a good-running 48cc HT can do it. i recommend the 48 as having proven itself to not beat itself up as quickly as the larger ones that merely add a bigger bore & piston to the same basic crank. and in the event of total breakdown, you can achieve good pedalling by taking the engine-chain off the rear sprocket but leaving it on the engine for easy re-assembly later.
 
Oops i meant "Sometimes i regret NOT just starting with the cheapest kit out there". A Staton friction drive is pretty cheap, but there are cheaper kits, which could be used as a learning/experience tool, at least.
Augi's more interested in "living out of his bike", and travelling in harsher (more adventurous) climes than I am. So that's a kind of consideration that is important. I am contemplating MBing the Great Divide trail eventually (to get off the roads), but my current rig would be a joke for me, though some crazy young types have done it on a unicycle.
 
say WHAT!? hehe...

whoa there, pardner...trust me, if i could afford a motel every nite, i'd be there. if i could afford to both keep a home & travel, i'd do it. everything i own in the whole wide world goes with me on the bike. i sure ain't no grizzly-man, and i carry a LOT of extra "comforts" no (sane) bicyclist would ever consider...and if the (30mph) ride itself wasn't so gosh-darn wonderous, i'd just take (shudder) greyhound or (2 thumbs up) amtrak to 'suage my wanderlust :)
 
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Photo I would use the Happy Time as a true learning experience. Trust me when Augi says as he, me my husband and a few others all had 1 n they were always breaking something look at my photo album of quays first build.. i cant paste the link on a cell.. But that bike fell apart quick.. a fiore the whole thing incl. the engine was $600 bucks, well I ended up spending 700$ on a bike made by augi using the 4stroke robin/subaru 33cc.. i have used it as a comuter over 8000 miles got a flat once but never engine trouble so all I can say is don't count on it as a comuter but as a sunday drive kinda thingy. Good luck n enjoy the ride.
PS..you do get what u pay for
 
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