zbox 4 stroke==what do the 4strokers think of this kit??

[Irish John]

Hi John,
3 separate kits from 3 different sellers ( not including MMB)
the first picture is the zbox kit,
in my next post (on page 1) are two other kits,
one person in Sydney
the other located in canberra (rear wheel included in kit) thats the guy I was talking about.
Here is the pic again- the seller is ozmotorisedbikes.
(Yeah these cranks are a TAD short also by the looks)

Yeah Warren has helped me immensely throughout my HT journey , he is a top bloke.

my intention of this page was to gather info regarding the differences ,
pros & cons of each kit, i thought it was clear that through my words and pictures that we're not just talking about zbox.

The info gathered is great and super informative and has helped my decision big time.
Jase

I don't like the kit in that picture - wheel looks OK but what is the freewheel hub actually like? The exhaust is that silly one that sticks out like ***** on a smooth-haired dog. Don't buy it Djase - people would point at you and laugh. MBB imports sell the HS with a cable operated choke which I find unacceptable although I like the Grubee gearbox. Don't get a 3 piece crank and mount the 4-stroke on a cruiser with 2 good brakes. That is my advice and I can tell you that I can't get a 4-stroke kit in anywhere that I don't chuck out a lot of parts. Any HS engine is good but at least Warren's are the standard type with hand lever for choke. The Grubee GB is good. The 56T sprocket you Don't want with a Grubee - you want a 50T or 48T. With the Hoot you don't want a 44T but a 38T. I'm buying bits from all over to make bikes because I don't like any kit much. Look closely at the photos to see the junk that's included. The one in your post above is a really useless kit and I strongly recommend you avoid it because it's the absolutely worst exhaust ever. Warren & MBB have good exhausts as standard. Neither have a 1 piece crank - No Aussies have that. They are made in China and the Grubee dealers can get them but they don't know enough about their kits to do that. The 3 piece will work but it's as ugly as that exhaust and it's made for European bottom brackets. Bicycle-Engines.Com have a choice in their kits but they ran out months ago and are still out of stock. They are all pretty slack really and they seem to sell just as many whatever crud they sell. I think the buyers are not very clued up and I sometimes wish I was selling to people who were as bad at discerning quality from crud.
I can't tell you about the Hoot GB until I get around to testing it but I don't expect it to be anywhere near as good as the Grubee.

 

[Simon_A]

Jase, Irish John, okay in summary, which is the best kit?

 

[Irish John]

Which is the best kit

Well of all the 4-stroke kits I'd buy from Bicycle-Engines.Com every time and I'd tell jeremy on the phone what I want sent in the kit. I'd get a dual cable brake lever (preferably not attached to the throttle & kill switch) and a single piece crank with bearings and their standard exhaust but they have the poo poo pipe as an extra (you still get the standard one) and I'd ask him to throw out all the Chinese junk to lighten the load and ask for a discount on air freaight with no chain or bolts etc.
Failing that if I bought from Australia and I have done so I would ask ZBox to supply me with the HS engine only cos it is the one with the old hand operated choke. I'd get the Grubee gearbox & engine mounting tray from MBB imports unless there was another supplier. You can buy the Honda kit from them which has all you need minus the motor but bear in mind it comes with that ghastly 3 piece crank as do all Australian kits. Bicycle -Engines.Com haven't any 1 piece cranks left in stock cos I bought them all at discount.
No I wouldn't buy a kit from here. I'd wait for the Bike-Engines shipment to come in from China and buy from them and I'd tell the guys here why I'm doing it. I don't want their crud and especially their cheap cranks. ZBox's HS motors are the same as what you get from the US and ZBox's exhausts are the same as Grubees and NOT the really useless ones shown in the picture above. If I was really stuck I'd buy a tray and gearbox and freewheel sprocket from MBB and get the rest from ZBox. Watch out with the Grubee freewheel sprockets cos they are defective in that the flange holding them together needs to be loctited in with threadlock - that is very important and it should have been done in the factory. There is no happy way through this because wherever you go you will get a lot of uselss crud but you do need a 11T freewheel sprocket, adjustable mounting tray and a 48T sprocket. MBB can't offer 48T sprockets, ZBox can't offer adjustable mounting tray or freewheel sprocket but can offer everything else except those two things.
Nobody can offer a 1 piece crank. Then you have the problem of buying a decent bike that has proper front brakes and springer forks and I only know of one source for that and it's $820 cos the importer can charge what he likes. I do know how you can get good bikes by another method at a much cheaper price but I won't disclose it because these distributors have a protected monopoly and would take action against anyone trying to go around them. I'm slowly finding ways to not have to rely on these cowboy kits and it has taken me months of work to achieve it. I reckon you should wait until the US shipment arrives and go with them. There is no simple answer to your question but I may soon have a kit with no Chinese parts except the sprockets and the throttles but I have a supply of 2004 Starfire throttles which are metal and not nylon\plastic. Actually you might try Dax or Staton because they seem to offer something half decent.
In summary none of the kits are best - they vary from very crud to very very crud to downright appallingly crud.

 

[greguk]

Hoot gearboxes works http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3MaFwzFTso&feature=related but nobody know how it's with their reliability.

 

[djase10]

Thanks Irish John for your comprehensive information.

You have done the hard yards finding out all this, (hows your phone bill mate )

so,

2 stroke is still my after shave of choice ,

Cheers
Regards Jase

 

[Irish John]

Thanks Irish John for your comprehensive information.

You have done the hard yards finding out all this, (hows your phone bill mate )

so,

2 stroke is still my after shave of choice ,

Cheers
Regards Jase

Thanks Djase but I wrote that just as I was being fleeced by the Indonesian in Medan who was going to send me 3 Schwinn D7s by air freight. I was at the height of my madness and didn't give enough weight to the old adage that if it's too good to be true it's a scam!

 

[jlebh1]

hey was talking to warren and he said he will not have the 4 stroke kits again untill they finish making ones with a clutch like the happy time 2 strokes