@The Aleman - advice much appreciated. At age 69 I don't expect to be around forever.
You've got 26 years on me sir, but I'm old enough to know that in the grand scheme of things, human ego is futile.
I may be enthusiastically vocal in my sarcastic cynicism in some places, but if life is a highway, I'm happy doing 25.
Three of my toys have TAV2 with the steel mounting plate: Cushman Silver Eagle (8HP IIRC) and a minibike with 10 or 11 HP (I didn't build either) interestingly, neither TAV seemed to slip despite the big motors and the minibike was serup very crazy - hydraulic rear brake but only #35 chain plus for some reason there's slop in the second jackshaft's bearing carriers (holes enlarged ?) that shaft wobbles - don't know what would fix that other than new carriers and those are welded to the frame and rear fender. All my stuff is rusting as sets out in a Shelter Logic tent where my cats track mud to every square inch of tubing, whatever and claw the seats. I looked for a picture of my red minibike but to no avail. There used to be one at Oldminibike's forum. That 35 chain stretches quick under the torque. I've got 3 Acme minibike frames needing painting - loading. I'm not a good mechanic.
Not to presume, but really, you're old enough that you can take a look at things and perceive how they work. Mechanical chain drivetrains go back to our interested ancestors a century ago or so ago. Honestly and humbly, being mechanically inclined is is a mindset. If one is interested in how things work, it's never too late to research and learn how things do. Heck, there's YouTube videos for almost everything these days!
Out of the common cheap bicycles at Walmart - are they any you would recommend as being better overall and having better wheels / spokes than av average ?
Well, I'm not up to date on that. I have never bought a Walmart bicycle, even for pedaling, although I have been tempted. I have a story.
The last cheap new bike I bought was at Target, it was fall of 1997. I had just got off the plane from Anchorage flying back home 1-way to San Jose airport with 3 suitcases, and it was the pager days and I couldn't get ahold of any of my people when I had come back unannounced. So, I had an enthusiastic Indian taxi driver take me from the airport to a Target near my old Cambrian Park neighborhood of San Jose.
I paid the taxi driver to idle outside Target and watch my luggage while I went inside the Target, bought a crescent wrench, a metric allen wrench/screwdriver set, a 7-speed Huffy cruiser (maybe the great-grandfather of the Cranbrook), and a bottle of Slime. It all cost me $117. I grabbed my 3 suitcases, paid the taxi driver off, and fixed/Slime'd that bike right there. A tire shop nearby supplied the air. Flipped the handlebars, threw all my bags on my shoulders and rode 3 miles home like a boss. Good times. Anyway, I sold that bike to a small Mexican after rebuilding the bottom bracket twice because of knocking.