Need advice on buying first motorized bike.

[uhtred]

I'm sure you guys get a lot of threads like this, so thanks in advance for the help--hope I put this in the right section.

Anyway, soon I will be moving to a small town in NC--I could make do with a regular pedal bike like I have been for the last few years, but it would be a whole lot easier to have a motor--you understand.

Anyway, I talked to the guy in the local bike shop about putting a motor on a bike and he explained that most bikes aren't built for that kind of vibration, and end up falling apart in one way or another.

Then I find these websites like Spooky Tooth Cycles that have bicycles made for use with an engine kit, along with the engine kit, at an affordable price. Of course I look around the net to find that their service and product is a bit shaky, at least since they've been under new management.

Okay so I'll get to the point--Can anyone point me in the direction of getting a bicycle that can safely handle a motor kit in the 500-700 dollar range? Sorry if this questions sounds stupid or if the answer seems obvious, but i have no experience with this. How can I get a good and reliable and safe motorized bike for $500-700?

Again, thank you in advance.

 

[Purple Haze]

My advice would be to keep it simple. These things require some tinkering and therefore is not for everyone. Try to find a good quality used bike with a V-frame and steel construction, they are the easiest to build. Then, after you inevitably become hooked, the sky is the limit. Read up on all the posts, mucho great info here!

 

[Barry]

Vertually EVERY bike shop I've been to say's the same thing: "your bike will fall apart, your spokes will fly away, they aren't designed for a motor, etc, etc" But, if you check out the postings here, you'll see that we put THOUSANDS of miles on our builds.

As to your first build, I'm pregidous, I don't like the sound of 2 strokes and don't want to be bothered mixing oil into the gas so, I'm a 4 stroke guy. On the flip side, the 2 strokers fit a wide variety of frames that the 4 strokes will not, are much cheaper, and more powerful.

My $.02
Barry

 

[Richard H.]

How much are you going to ride, how many miles in a year? If it's just local and occasional errands, buzzing around close to home, you can get by with less. If you're going to put serious mileage on a bike, listen to the guy at the bike shop. Even non-motorized bicycles used extensively will suffer serious wear and tear and need constant maintenance.
It's a fairly common consensus among experienced folks who have stayed with this long enough to become seasoned users that a decent motored bike (bike, engine-drive assembly, wheels, tires/tubes and a minimum of lighting) is gonna run $1000. Others might say less but you'll end up replacing everything, including the bike, that much sooner. Buy the best you can afford.

 

[dchevygod]

I built a motobecane 400ht with a 2stroke I built myself. I cant believe how well the aluminum frame holds up. Put on some sturdy wheels though, i had a quality alex rim that came on the bike. Good rim for pedaling but when i put on a gebe drive ring i was snapping spokes like to crazy! Velocity HD 105g spoked wheels are a must. and I think even on a cheaper bike HD wheels will make it good to go. I like rack mount because of ease of install. I have a ht frame mount motor to play around with but i have yet to test it. My custom belt drive works really well, enough not to mess with it. In my opinion get a good beach cruiser and an hd rear wheel and any motor you can afford. Mount the motor and test it before going too far from home. When your confident that it's reliable then try and run it out of gas on a long ride. Test and tune is where its at.