Serious question about Chinese engine kits ??????

Esteban

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FIRST, I don't mean this to be taken as an insult to the members or the forum ! That said,,, I read everyday about more & more problems most all of you have with the Chinese kits. Seems like the mounts, gaskets, kill-switches,carbs, chains, chain idlers, are failing for many of you. OK, then ?? Was price the main reason you bought one of these kits? I know of many motorized kits that are well manufactured, with many trouble-free miles. YES, they usually cost more.
Are you pleased with spending $200 [ plus/minus] & still having to work so much, & be creative of solutions for problems on these kits?? Do you wish you had bought a better one ? It just seems to me like the old saying, " You get what you pay for ", is evident with the cheaper Chinese kits.
 
Hello

What are the "good" Kits? I like the engines that mount in the frame, are there any "good" kits that mount in the frame?

Forrest
 
You ask a very fair question Esteban.

These kits are cheap junk. But they are also a lot of fun!
I enjoy tinkering and working on things, and these
little engines provide plenty of that. So I don't mind.

More than anything, for me it's the "cool factor" of
such a neat little bicycle engine.

I would buy a higher quality engine, if one existed that
mounted, looked, and operated in the same fashion,
that was not about $1000 (aka Whizzer). :eek:
 
I agree with Standard Issue. They are cheap and I guess you could say almost disposable. I look at it this way...If you are going to fork over the cash for a quality engine like a Whizzer, you might as well just buy an old Honda Spree scooter for the about the same price.

I paid out the nose for my 48cc round head ($300.00) but I was told they were of better quality than any of the other similar kits. So far I haven't had any trouble...knock on wood.

Dan
 
to me, the gearhead factor is part of it...nice thing is it's all done a budget, so it's no more than a slightly expensive hobby.

it's also become reliable transportation in the bargain!

once the myriad problems (not so many, really) are addressed, there's not usually a need to re-do...i've been engine-trouble free for many hundreds of miles now.

pre-build upgrades & preventive wrenching is the key to getting everything you can out of the chinese 2-strokers 8)
 
yes, I agree that these kits are poorly manufactured
but where else can you have so much fun tinkering and re-designing stuff for this low a price
once you accept they are cheaply made (but cheap$$$) you'll enjoy the riding a lot more
 
the KITS are junk, but the engines seem to never fail :D ITs always little stuff like chain tesioners and gaskets that can be fixed in no time.

They are alittle pricey for the quality, but if you're a gear head like us, the trouble of the kit IS the fun of it :D
 
Dang man, that's why I wrote the "Optimize" post....I haven't had to do a thing to mine since I bought it...then I bought another- same thing, did all the little stuff up front, and she's good to go. I have several hundred miles on them both and I regularly loan one out to Randy the K to ride.

The answer would be "Yes, I am happy I bought it." Well worth the money, in fact I've blown 200 dollars on a lot less fun that lasted a lot less time.

I found these bikes while trying to find a suitable alternative for the 1700 dollar Whizzer....let's see, that's somewhere around A WHOLE BUNCH OF THESE Happy Time kits for the price of one Whizzer!

I'm goin' ridin'. :D
 
well so far I have had one bike fail before the engine :D

This is at 650 miles or so. I would venture to guess that most bikes would die before the engine did ultimately... at least the elcheapo bikes that are useful for this kinda thing :)
 
budget...style (the "cool factor")....function....creativity (look around this site :eek: some way outside the box thinkin' going on here!).....
hones your problem solving skills.....did I mention budget? :LOL:

the truth be told.....I like the building & tinkering as much as the riding.
 
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