My Dream Of Owning MB Went Bad - Part II

[OCLandspeeder]

Read the details of the Vendor review.

http://www.motoredbikes.com/showthread.php?p=228114#post228114

 

[Busaman]

Man, what a bummer. You seemed to have kept your composure well. I would have been like that tire commercial where the old lady throws the tire through the window to return it. Good companies are built on a solid customer service, they wont last long if this is their standard.

 

[icyuod2]

when the time comes to send it back. may i suggest a $100 worth of duct tape?

individually wrap every nut, bolt and part in 3 or 4 roles .
ya don't want anymore of it getting damaged on the ride home.
a few layers of cinder blocks in the bottom of the 16 boxes you'll need to send the bike home, should keep the boxes upright.

 

[OCLandspeeder]

Thanks but it is already packed in better shape than when I got it. However, after 4 weeks of waiting for a response, I don't believe Santa Cruz Green Motors wants the MB back at all.

Not really sure what to do at this point. Sell it?

 

[clay]

fix it and ride it

 

[Will Snow]

I would agree with Clay. My suggestion is to let things cool down,wait a good period of time to be sure Santa Cruz is not going to ask for the bike, when you have the time, go to work on it. As you know they are simple, parts are cheap and can be fun. I don't know how long you can be exspected to wait and keep storing it at your place. Maybe if you send a email giving them notice to pickup within 30 days or the bike will no longer be available to them.???? I shouldn't think you would be exspected to keep it in your storage until their jolly well ready.

At any rate, there are some good motorized bicycles out their and if you are still interested, keep reading some of the postings on this forum, there is some good information.

Sorry things got off to a bad start for you.

 

[mlcorson]

Send a certified letter asking for return instructions from them by certified letter within 30 days. Let them know, absent a response, the bike is forfeited. No need to get wordy, just ask for return instructions. Now that you have the money, you're in control. Most states have consumer trade laws that will back you up.
31st day? Sell it.
-Mike

 

[OCLandspeeder]

SC Green Motors finally came to their senses and sent me a return label to ship the MB back. They waited until near the 30 days when the case was settled. So when Fedex comes and picks up the package this week, it would be the end of this ordeal and I will wash my hands of it.

The good thing is, I learned so much about these MB's, going through my troubled one with a fine tooth comb. They really are quite simple. I think what would be awesome is to find a good, used, chromoly framed, high performance road bike with the 700c wheels and tires and mount one of these motors in it. The light weight bike would and efficient 700c wheel/tire combination will make one go real fast. And because of the better components, even the older ones, and the frame geometry, it will be better able to handle the higher speeds. I'm not sure we most people use Beach Cruiser frames and low quality comfort bikes to motorize. I get the feeling these are less suitable to the higher speeds. Just saying.....

 

[Scotchmo]

...
The good thing is, I learned so much about these MB's, going through my troubled one with a fine tooth comb. They really are quite simple. I think what would be awesome is to find a good, used, chromoly framed, high performance road bike with the 700c wheels and tires and mount one of these motors in it. The light weight bike would and efficient 700c wheel/tire combination will make one go real fast. And because of the better components, even the older ones, and the frame geometry, it will be better able to handle the higher speeds. I'm not sure we most people use Beach Cruiser frames and low quality comfort bikes to motorize. I get the feeling these are less suitable to the higher speeds. Just saying.....

The 700c road bike could make a good fast motorized bicycle. Most of them are designed to maximize the efficiency of the human motor and reduce wind resistance. Comfort is secondary to low rolling resistance, reduced weight, and optimizing the rider position for increased muscle output. When you add a gas motor that puts out at least 4x what the average human can sustain, things change. With the gas motor, you rarely pedal. The small gains in reduced rolling resistance offered by the narrow tires are drowned out at the higher 30mph speeds. Under human power it is difficult to maintain 20mph over rough roads. With the gas motor, 30mph is possible under many road conditions. Even though you can theoretically go faster on a motorized 700c road bike, in reality that is not the case. The fatter tires of the cruiser make a big difference in ride quality at higher speeds over varying road surfaces. They can also last longer on a motorized bicycle. The 2.125 wide cruiser tires are about the maximum width that will easily work with the HT motors. I considered going with 1.75 wide tires to give a little more tolerance on chain clearance but was unwilling to give up any ride quality. Suspension also becomes more important at the higher speeds. I like the simplicity of solid forks, but I just installed a springer fork on my motorbike to take out some of the jolts. You will find that since you are not pedaling hard, you will want a more upright riding position. On my pedal road bike, I stay on the drops to fight the wind resistance and keep my speed up. On my motorized bike, I stay fairly upright since the motor is providing the “effort”. Knowing all this, you might still want to build the 700c bike for its particular properties. Oh, and we often choose low quality bikes because we are cheap, or we don’t want to hack up a good quality specimen. I have done a lot of cutting, welding, and modification that would be technically and psychologically difficult to do on a more exotic, higher quality bike. For me, it is about the process of building it and trying new things as much as having a usable motorbike.

 

[mlcorson]

Scotchmo:
This is good advice. As an example, I have a cruiser style bike with a rack chain drive, 2.125 tires. Nice comfortable ride. Suspension forks? Wouldn't be without em. I just recently put a friction drive on a 700cx38 higher end Specialized hybrid. Sporty bike, handles great, However, the ride is really much rougher, and I wouldn't choose that bike for anything more than a short hop or joy ride. When you're under pure pedal power, it seems, you're body is more aligned with the frame to handle the jolts better. Under motor power, I don't feel as leveraged, or as well braced against the frame. I agree with you all around. If you like, jazz, a four finger pour of scotch and an occasional cigarette...we just might be brothers.
-Mike