KC's Kruisers - Custom Shifter Builds in Phoenix, AZ

Hello again everyone, it has been awhile since I was here.

I was just a rookie builder when I started here back in 2010, not so much so now ;-}

Just a little bit about my builds and my KC's Kruisers Motorized Bike Building and Repair business in Phoenix, AZ.

KCsBikesForumLogo.jpg


I moved into a bigger house with a nice big fully enclosed, carpeted and air conditioned back room with a huge sliding glass door and a 1/4 acre backyard parking lot for my bike building and repair shop and office.

If you are looking for a quality build, upgrade or repair in the Phoenix area I'm your guy if you are looking for quality workmanship and most parts on hand.
Sorry, I don't sell kits, just fully completed bikes and some odds and ends parts like spark plugs, gas caps and exhaust pipe.

If you are looking for a quality jackshafted SHIFTER bike I am your guy no matter where you live.

As of this topic date I have about a dozen shifter builds under my belt including my personal ride and they are all still on the road, there is another being built on the shop floor now and I have a 4-stroke shifter kit to put on my next personal ride.

That will be my first 4-stroke shifter built but I have jackshafted most everything 2-stroke from a simple 3-speed internal like this:

KCbike1-2012.gif


To 7-speed derailleurs like these:

Pant.gif


RedBlackJS.gif


To downright exotic NuVinci high performance works of art like these:

Dust.gif


Caddy3.gif


OK, maybe not works of art, and after riding my bike with a NuVinci for 100 miles I don't like them and don't trust them, I have seen 2 fail with a hi power 2-stroke motor.

They may hold up well with a 49cc 4-stroke, but I found the seemingly constant turning of the shift control both annoying and uncomfortable.

Even a 7-speed shifters seems like too much shifting work unless you get the knack of treating it like a 3 or 4 speed for my riding pleasure.

Personally I like the gear range and ease of an internal 3-speed, if you have the motor for it.

I am not talking a Morini or anything, a newer 66cc Skyhawk or 48cc with an expansion chamber will power you past 1st into 2nd like a rocket, and that will handle most of your normal driving, but it can still carry you up into the 3rd gear, overdrive craziness if you have the power to beat the wind and a bike that handle the speed.

Visit my web site and look around if you are interested in buying a nice custom built shifter just for you and we can talk.
I have a Contact form there and a lot of useful info in my BIKE FAQ section.

Ride on but ride safe, wear a helmet and turn on a front blinking light in daylight.
A good enough front blinking light in daylight traffic and you may never have to see how well the helmet works ;-}
 
Hi there KC, greetings from down under. Read your comments re nuvinci hubs with interest. Looking to 'gear' my new project, and was wondering why everyone seemed so intent on huge gear numbers. My last 2 bikes were gearless 66cc. I couldnt find a hill near here they couldnt go up, albeit down to about 20kmh. Mid-range they were great, top end screaming a bit. What i'm after is to torque up the bottom end a bit, and extend the top end while being motor friendly. Can you suggest good 3 speed internal makes and models and gear ratio's I could look at?
 
Hi Mate ;-}

I have only used the Shimano Nexus 3-speed internal hub to date and though you have to be very careful about how you attach the shift mech to the axle (the set screw has to align with the flat spot on the axle and if you over-tighten it the aluminum housing it threads into will strip) I have never seen ones internals fail and some of my performance builds would pop a frigg'n wheelie and buck you off when it started if you weren't careful ;-}

My latest shifter build is this 4-stroke Nexus 3-speed Big Red.

BigRedDoneRbig.jpg


I have to be careful pull starting it too as it can get away from me in 1st.
But I can putt around in 1st at like 3 MPH and hit ~15 MPH in ~2 seconds.
2nd handles most all of the mid-range speed, even starting out on flat ground for the most part.
3rd will take me to 40+ MPH.

If you are buying a hub however you might want to look at the Sturmey Archer hubs, I talked with them last year and they were expecting to release a new 5 speed internal this year but they have 3, 7 and 8 speed internals available now.

I haven't tried one yet but by all accounts a very sturdy and reliable hub.
 
Hi KC, thanks for the advice and pics, thats a very, very nice looking unit. Have you ever tinkered with extending the shaft out of the gearbox on 4 stroke's, installing a single support bearing and having the crank drive straight off that? It would remove 1 bearing and 1 chain, plus the power loss of transferring thru the jackshaft. I'm guessing there's reasons why this isn't done, just can't see what they are?
 
Have you ever tinkered with extending the shaft out of the gearbox on 4 stroke's?
I looked at that option and it will work with a shaft coupling and as you mentioned a plate with a bearing hole mounted to the base plate, I just don't have the tools to fab a metal plate like that.

I do however have an old 3-part jackshaft frame, the problem will be getting the gearing low enough as the JS has a pretty sizable gear reduction from the motor to the JS.

Of course one better than that is just a direct motor output to the freewheel cranks like this.

ElectricLeftClose.jpg

I can't go into this build yet, I am beta testing a prototype ;-}
 
Thats a nice looking 4 stroke, very nice. What overall ratio do you go for on the 4's with the centrifugal clutch? Is it fairly smooth?
 
I don't know what overall ratio it is with the 4G and SBP shift kit other than it's too low for with this 3-speed hub in the desert. 1st pops wheelies so I usually just start in 2nd and I don't need to pedal help it and 3rd tops out too soon.
It would be dandy in the mountains though.
 
Top of the morning mate, was wanting to get your take on beltdrive. Seems like a killer way to go, quiet no mess and low maintenance and it just looks stellar. I'm a valley native and would like to come check ya out. I used to reside in the slope (Palma park area) so shoot me an address and I'll roll over.
 
 
Back
Top