Bicycle motor aka Moped conversion

[Custom85VT]

Has anyone bought one of these kits (available on eBay etc.) or had any experience with them or something similar? I am giving one of these serious considerations as a project to make a grocery getter or work shuttle.

[clockdaddy]

I haven't bought one of these kits, but years ago several bikes has something akin to this bike conversion.
The motor is simple, durable, and dependable. Repairs are almost unheard of IF you keep your fuel clean and properly store it in the winter. I don't remember what the mileage was, but it was impressive.

CD

[primalmu]

I'm waiting for this to finally be released: http://revopower.com/

[Custom85VT]

Yeah I saw those a few moths back. Trouble is it looks a little complex (for this shade-tree). :D

[Custom85VT]

BTW - Vids of the above picture kits:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EF2YDIgLlIo

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ONEHRw3ciRs

[motorcycleinfo]

You can get an electric "hub motor" and controller that you can adapt to bicycles or small motorcycles or just about anything. A friend has converted a minibike frame and it goes 50 mph on batteries, but recommends using a frame that has suspension for next time.

[Custom85VT]

Thanks I did see those, but they are WAY expensive, 4x the gas motors.

[Custom85VT]

I went to the DMV an asked and they said as it was a bicycle it cannot be titled, so no license plate is required, so no insurance is needed!!!! So I bought a kit on eBay (only 150$!! incl. S&H) and it is on it's way here. I had an extra bicycle in the attic that I will convert into a Moped with a removable basket and everything to make a grocery getter (of course with my own "Custom" touch! Apes?). Supposed to get 150 MPG and go 30-40 top speed. Certainly make an interesting project!!! :cool:

[Goliath616]

Cool Custom, keep us updated and lets see some pics of the build. I might have to do this so I can go ride with my kids down by the river, there is a bicycle/walking path that follows the river, I bought an old Schwinn 3 wheeler to ride there, but I would prefer a motor on it :D

[Custom85VT]

FYI and if anyone cares I have almost finished fabrication on the scoot project. Had to cut the frame and weld in a new bar. I made a custom springer seat and a custom rack. I got it running a few days ago and it runs like a raped ape (my new favorite saying, thanks ???). I’ll put wooden slats on the rack, stained and routed, old-school style. Then one last ride before disassembly and painting and powdercoating. Then some more pimping low-rider style and hopefully back to riding in time to beat winter for a few last rides.

[louturks]

My bike,
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/blippo/PC010004a.jpg

[Maico Shark]

Wow...you guys are way ahead of me. The designs are so different but I feel you'll have big money invested so that just buying a factory made moped might be cheaper in the long run.

[cjren]

i tried this with a stand up scooter and an old shwinn,
i mounted the motor over the wheel. i wasnt as smart when i did this and i didnt realize the chain on the scooter and the bike chain were differnt sizes, the guy at a local car shop wouldnt spot weld a new gear on the engine and my dad threw it away.

but ive seen the kits for sale, just make sure you have the right size bike for the kit.

[louturks]

I have 3 electric bikes. I like riding them a whole lot better.

[Custom85VT]

...I feel you'll have big money invested so that just buying a factory made moped might be cheaper in the long run.

Total investment (for me) 170$
Smile on my face for being a little kid with a new toy...priceless.

If it was a factory moped I would need to pay sales tax, title fee, license and insurance. Also know as burning a large pile of money. Since it's a "bicycle" I do not. Not to mention that (good) scooters & mopeds are demanding a kings ransom these days with the gas crunch skyrocketing demand.

[Goliath616]

I plan on doing something like this to an old '72 Schwinn 3 wheeler I have (hopefully I can to it this winter)

[jordanhoff]

custom did you get the 49cc or the 80cc?

[Custom85VT]

custom did you get the 49cc or the 80cc?

Funny you should ask as I did a lot of investigating before buying and there are no such thing as 80cc. All these Chinese (larger) kits fall around 65-69 cc’s (mine is 65.9) so the sellers round that up to 70 so it falls under to 70-80 category. So they feel it is legitimized to CALL them 80cc. So don’t waste your time and money thinking you will get an 80cc, because you won’t. :mad: I bought one listed as 66cc and saved 20-40$ over the dishonest sellers.

Quotes from actual seller when questioned:
yes you are right but it's close enough to be called 70cc and 80cc. 66cc 70cc and 80cc is all the same.
--------------
The exact displacement of these motors are 69.7cc and fall under the 80cc class motors produced by our factory in China.

[Custom85VT]

DONE!!! :cool:

[guineapig]

THAT


is cool!!
Top speed? :) I get about 33 mph outta my 49 cc.

[Custom85VT]

I have no way to test top speed yet. Doesn’t seem like much more that yours (for a 66 cc) but plenty for the rickety-ness of the bike. I keep wanting to put it in second gear!!!! :eek:

[firepong]

Damn, I need to do this stuff to my bike lol. I've got a 2006 Mongoose EC-D, which has single disk brakes on front and back. Would be a wild ride, lol :p

Sadly, I don't see any way in hell how to mount the engine to the frame without having to cut it up, which I am definitely not going to do as that's one expensive bike.

EDIT* Those little motors have a second gear?!? You people seriously need to figure out a way to put a speedo and a tach on there lol :D

[Custom85VT]

^ Yes the kits all say fits any bike but that is BS. I had to cut my frame. If you look close about 7 inches down from the neck (@ spark plug) the bar needed removed all the way down to the seat post. Then I had to weld in a new bar (under tank) in order to retain integrity. Not an undertaking for your average layman.

[cjren]

im gonna try and do this to a tricycle this winter

[cjren]

so i did a little research and found a adult tricycle for 100$ on craigslist and a old beatup moped for 50$ maybe this will come together nicely :)

[firepong]

Lol, nice. I would have tried to find a wrecked 250 Ninja or something and get the motor out of it, but that's just me :p. If I had a tricycle, I would make sure to put something bigger than 70cc in it as you have better breaking power on 3 wheels, instead of 2 :D

[cjren]

well hopefully someone on here can help me.
i pretty much don't know what im doing at all here but dont want to buy a kit to do it.
so i get an engine but then what do i do?

[firepong]

First, you need to decide where your going to mount the engine. Second, after that, you will have to get the acceleration and everything put on the bike, which shouldn't be that hard. You will just have to find a long enough cord to do the job. If you are mounting the engine in the middle of the bike, then the one from the moped might work just fine. Don't know exactly as I don't know what kind of moped or tricycle you got.

Cheers man, hope it comes out good. :D

[SPEDcial Forces]

Custom85, hoy did you mount the back board on that thing, and how much weight do you think it could hold?

Anyways, I have no clue where I'm going to college, so if I go somewhere more urban I might just do one of these for my two wheeled fun.

Is there any way to hook up a multi-speed transmission to one of those little 80cc two strokes? Also what about gas tanks like one with sort of a cafe racer look? I'm actually not a fan of the cafe racer thing on full-sized motorcycles, but it's pretty cool on mopeds/motorized bicicles.

Lastly, It might be nice to use Smaller, fatter BMX wheels to lower the center of gravity for cornering.

[Custom85VT]

Custom85, hoy did you mount the back board on that thing, and how much weight do you think it could hold?

I completely built and designed the ‘back board’ from scratch. So it mounts on the existing holes/points already on the frame. It is strong enough for me to sit on (lightly) but I would not ride on it. You can buy aftermarket bike racks to fit most bikes that would serve you well.

Is there any way to hook up a multi-speed transmission to one of those little 80cc two strokes? Also what about gas tanks like one with sort of a cafe racer look?

The kit (I used) comes pretty much complete with everything you would need, but the sky is the limit if you have the skills and tool. You could drop a VW engine in there with a glass fishbowl tank.

Lastly, It might be nice to use Smaller, fatter BMX wheels to lower the center of gravity for cornering.

High-speed cornering will/should never really be an issue (unless going down a VERY steep hill!). I used a “mountain” bike and it seems well suited for all terrains and situations, but you could experiment with a variety of configurations.

P.S. read post #18 as there are no such things as (real) 80cc kits.

[SPEDcial Forces]

Thanks for the reply. Me and some of my idiot friends were screwing around with bikes, and I may turn one of those pink little girl bikes into a drag racer...

I also tested out (and crashed) my friends electric bike. The thing was only like a 1/4 horse, so I was racing him (he was on a BMX bike, which was actually a pretty fair race if I didn't add my own pedal power to the motor) and I was going to try to overtake him in a corner, but I realised I was bound to hit him, and I lay on the breaks way to hard, lost traction, and skidded out.

Note to self. Never do that when I get a full sized motorcycle...

[Bantl1jj]

i burnt my leg so bad on one of those junk bikes that it wasnt even worth it to ride it. still have scars to this day and its been over a year. also it had way too much power and would rattle the bike to pieces and rattle the engine off the mount. complete 100% waste of time. but it was fun while it lasted

[Steve Young]

EDIT* Those little motors have a second gear?!? You people seriously need to figure out a way to put a speedo and a tach on there lol :D

No, the point is that they don't have gearboxes. You used to be able to get bicycles with Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hubs (New Zealand, I mean, and hence Australia and England too), and 3rd was overdrive. I see that the motor chain drives onto the left side of the wheel, but if you could figure a way to lace a 3-speed hub into a rim so that it was driven from the left, not the right.................heh, heh, heh!

[SPEDcial Forces]

So I just got one of those crappy 66cc motors, and I knocked the crank out of this old huffy children's frame I had lying around and got it to fit. I need a few more pieces of mounting hardware but I am well on my way to owning my first ride...

oh. how big a life insurance policy should I get?

[Joec03]

My aunt just bought an electric bike, ended up costing her a small fortune. For the money I'd say just get a small cc bike.

[charliechaindrive]

Hey coustem, id loose the tensioner those things are bad news. Unless you plan on replacing spokes inyour wheel a lot id just shorten the chain. These little 2smokers are nicelittle engines and you can pull alittle extra power out by doing a few things (pull of the carby and look in the manifold, id be willing to bet cash that there are weld/casting slag's stuck inside) and by ordering a "poo pipe", they make the whole bike quieter and with the stock pipe dangling down there the vibrations will eventualy shake the mount studs out of the cylinder. And if you realy want more speed, grab a puch high compression head and slap on there. Or just remove the head gasket* and you could balance the crank or trim the piston skirts.

~Chaz


*you can make a new one from a soda can

[Mindfulpassages]

Will the engine burn up faster though if these mods are made to make it go faster..i remember old Tecumseh engines, ungoverned , really going fast but also getting hot..maybe on these engines it's no big deal. Let us know if there's any negative to doing the mods for speed.

Best,
mindful


Hey coustem, id loose the tensioner those things are bad news. Unless you plan on replacing spokes inyour wheel a lot id just shorten the chain. These little 2smokers are nicelittle engines and you can pull alittle extra power out by doing a few things (pull of the carby and look in the manifold, id be willing to bet cash that there are weld/casting slag's stuck inside) and by ordering a "poo pipe", they make the whole bike quieter and with the stock pipe dangling down there the vibrations will eventualy shake the mount studs out of the cylinder. And if you realy want more speed, grab a puch high compression head and slap on there. Or just remove the head gasket* and you could balance the crank or trim the piston skirts.

~Chaz


*you can make a new one from a soda can