what's out there regarding motorized bikes?

[spinman]

I've got a friend Skippy who's 60 and has some siatica (sp) issues. i'm setting up a huffy cruiser for him, but he feels he may not have the capability of riding without some help. He suggested adding a motor.

I really didn't want to make a big mess of things with adding an 80cc motor, as i've seen kits on fleabay.

What do you all suggest for someone who needs a little help gettin' up those hills. Electric? Gas? Turn key bikes?

Thx

Spin

 

[maddogrider]

http://bikeberry.com/

 

[kinks]

check out http://www.motorbicycling.com lots of info

 

[NLCTVWguy]

http://www.piratecycles1.com/info.html

These guys are in Worcester, Mass. They re-engineer the cheap Chinese kits to address all the weak points and difficult items, using machined aluminum, made-in-USA parts.

Not expensive, good quality, and nice work. Turnkey bikes to kits. And great people to boot.

--Rob

 

[sojudave]

As mentioned above, http://www.motorbicyling.com is an awesome site and all the folks there are real cool. As far as kits go, I recommend checking out http://www.thatsdax.com they have a good reputation and their two stroke kits are solid. I'd recommend using the two strokes, they are lighter and are easier to pedal when the clutch is engaged.

Watch out for the final drive sprocket. The inner diameter of the sprocket will have to be cut out to accomodate the dust cap on the hub or you will have to cut down the dust cap to get it to fit. Pick your poison on that one. The dust cap is easier to cut. Make sure you run the bike at 20:1 fuel/oil mix for your first tank, then it can changed to 32-40:1 after that. I would check and see what is recommended on the container of oil that you are buying. You also want to be able to put your tensioner about half way between the dropout and the crank on the bottom chainstay so be sure to cut your motor chain accordingly. Be sure to use quite a bit of locktite on your motor mount bolts and sprocket bolts and always check for tightness after every couple of rides. I'd go ahead and tack weld the muffler cap.

I am saying all of this based on experience. If you have anymore questions, you can hit me up here or ask the guys on motorbicycling dot com. I got a youtube channel too if that might help. http://www.youtube.com/5cud6uddy . Good luck, they are fun as ayche eee double hockey sticks.

 

[spinman]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I talked to Justin @ Pirate Cycles. Nice guy, and his bikes sound cool, but i think the maintenance involved with these 2 stroke engines is more than my 60 yo bud could handle.

We're gonna stick with setting him up with my Huffy cruiser with a 22/44 sprocket/chainwheel ratiio.

Hopefully his back won't go out. :shock:

Spin

 

[deorman]

I was going to recommend looking at Golden Eagle kits. Not cheap, but easily installed and nearly maintainance free. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to connect to their site for a couple of days now. :?

 

[icyuod2]

what about one of those new battery powered front hubs with a lithium battery.

again, not cheap but easy to operate/ take care of.

 

[spinman]

"....what about one of those new battery powered front hubs with a lithium battery. again, not cheap but easy to operate/ take care of....."

sounds intriguing. gotta website to look at?

Thx

Spin

 

[sojudave]

You're looking at at least 300.00 for a kit but I think that is with the SLA batteries. Lithium Ion battery packs are gonna cost quite a bit more. You could rig up a friction drive set up using a weedeater motor. http://www.motorbicycling.com has quite a bit info on this set up in the do it yourself section.