I would really like to put a motor on my bike, very new to this. (1987 Schwinn Prelude, 40+ cc's)

[Nolan Boyer]

Will My frame be okay for this kind of work? Any sort of engine/part recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Any sort of general explanation of how the whole thing works would be nice also.

 

[crassius]

you'd be happier if the wheels had 36 spokes

 

[wheelbender6]

That's a really nice vintage Schwinn. What Crassius said. The wheels on a light weight road bike will not likely hold up with a chain driven kit.
-I would consider a friction drive on such a bike. The friction engine drives the tire, rather than the hub, so spokes are not stressed much more than when you are pedaling.
-I would also remove the drop handle bars and use a flat bar. Its much easier to ride in traffic and the flat bars provide more space for mounting kill switches, throttles, mirrors, etc.

 

[Will'smotobikes19]

Yeah, don't see alot of motorized road bikes with the super thin tires. Wouldn't be an ideal frame. They do make aluminum frames with built in gas tanks you could start with that just need to get some forks, bars, headset and tires/wheels I'll post a link as an example. The advantage is aluminum frames are lighter, the disadvantage is they aren't as strong. Does look pretty cool. I want to build a road legal one someday would probably use a 49cc 4 stroke and figure out the charging system or one of the 48cc 2 strokes. Would have to be after my big bore 2 stroke build. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Felt-Phant...229725?hash=item36146270dd:g:6KIAAOSwXYtYx0fi

 

[Tyler6357]

Wider tires will last longer, those thin tires will burn out quick. Mountain bike and cruser frames work better.

 

[FurryOnTheInside]

The tyres don't look all that narrow to me. I have 32mm (1.25") x 700c tyres on my MB and they feel good.
I do however agree that there's so many things that should be changed that it's probably not really worth using that bike as the starting point.
The long narrow tube frame could have issues with being flexy. It's also a narrow O.L.D. (125mm rear dropouts?), so the motor chain might not clear the stays, and it probably won't accept wheels with disc hubs unless you bend it, which isn't ideal.
You don't have to have a disc compatible hub for the attachment of the rear sprocket but it's nicer. Without having a disc hub for the rear sprocket you would definitely want 36 spokes.
A disc brake is good for the front since you'll be able to go very fast much more of the time.
Besides its a beautiful classic road bike, and it "wants" to stay as original as possible.
I have a flat bar road bike myself that I opted to not use for the MB project, it just has too many little issues, and it's nice to still have it as a bicycle. Instead I used a large hybrid (town bike) and still ended up changing every part except for the bottom bracket, seat post & clamp, and the headset!