Motorized bicycle build

Discussion in 'Member Casual Chat' started by FatBack, Apr 15, 2022.

  1. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    Here in Florida you can operate a gas motorized bicycle on public roads if you have a driver's license. It doesn't require a motorcycle endorsement except for over a certain cc's.

    I was looking for one of those cheesy China motor kits to convert a regular bicycle when I saw this. It wasn't cheap but look at it!

    Try to give my old vehicles a rest and stretch my gas money I went ahead and got it. It's a four-stroke motor 79cc which equals 3 horsepower, with a jack shaft built into the frame and it has a 0.75 gallon gas tank which is also a part of the frame. Manufacturer claims it will get a hundred miles on that three quarters of a gallon.

    26-in Wheels with the stupid fat 4-in tires. Disc brakes front and rear and a suspension fork.

    Right out of the box it was pretty easy to put together. I only needed to put the front wheel on, attach the handlebars to the stem, and attach the pedals.

    The motor is pretty easy to install only four bolts. Then you have to hook up the kill switch which is only two wires, put one chain on which was simple enough it came with a master link and was already cut to size.

    I've been doing bicycle mechanics and fabricating bicycles for the better part of my life. As far as a build goes it's very simple as most of the work is already done for you.

    Anyone who was fairly mechanically inclined should have no problem with one.

    IMG_20220414_152235_2.jpg IMG_20220413_163352_4.jpg IMG_20220413_151600.jpg
     
  2. MJ Davies

    MJ Davies Well-Known Member

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    Nice man! 100 on 75. Wow!
     
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  3. James California

    James California Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    :bleh: :buggered: ~ The streets of Florida will never be safe again ... :disbelief:'

    maxresdefault.jpg
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2022
  4. (original)late

    (original)late Banned

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    I have had an ebike for a few years, it doesn't burn my leg.

    I love it, at 70 I can't ride my old bikes, but this helps enough that I can do 10 and 20 mile rides. Which drops my blood pressure, makes me feel better.
     
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  5. MJ Davies

    MJ Davies Well-Known Member

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    James, James, James. ROTF.
     
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  6. David Landbrecht

    David Landbrecht Well-Known Member

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    Recently built myself a 1.1 hp electric bicycle from a new, front suspended mtb and a 48v motor and battery. All together under $1000. Will do 45 kph. Pedals just fine as a conventional bike, but can go at least 60 km on pure electric (it has a throttle). Quiet, odorless, powerful, fun.
     
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  7. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    He won't burn your leg on this one either it has a muffler cover. My only beef with the e-bikes is the batteries.

    It's just like a cell phone, when it's brand new your battery holds up pretty good but about 6 months down the line it starts being less efficient and holding a charge for less time.

    I have personally seen it with a 20 inch fat tired ebike I've been using over the last several months.

    If they could get that battery thing straightened out that would be good. But until then I'll go with gas. If I feel the need to I can strap a one gallon can on the cargo rack and be sure I won't run out of gas anytime soon. Your battery goes dead on you 6 mi or so from the house you're just SOL.
     
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  8. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    This set me back $1,260. But there was no sale tax and shipping was free so that was a plus.

    I thought about it for a little while before pulling the trigger because that's not an insignificant amount of money to me anyways....

    Throwing in your time and labor you could scarcely source the components separately and build this yourself for less money.

    E-bikes are fun but I like to hear that engine :)
     
  9. (original)late

    (original)late Banned

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    Cheap batteries suck.

    I've used mine for 3 years, and I'd guesstimate they've lost 10-15% of the original capacity.

    Most of the summer I do the same 20 mile ride, I've never come close to running out of juice. I could do a 30 mile ride, and that's enough for me, assuming I get in good enough shape to do 30 miles.
     
  10. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    Now granted the one I am familiar with is a 20-in Wheel size it also has the 4-in fat tires.

    I'm sure it would be much more efficient with reasonably sized tires. There's 4 in tires are great when you want to roll anywhere like sugar Sand or snow, but they are not the greatest for riding on the roads. All around here they're not a bad idea because they don't believe in fixing potholes...

    Our potholes have potholes, and those potholes have little baby children and grandchildren. Lol.

    If I would have designed this motorized bike I think I would have stuck with two and a half inch maybe 2.75 tires. That really is plenty of tire even for a mountain bike.

    My landlord loaned me the e bike. He paid $1,000 for it so you would think it should have some pretty decent batteries.

    But then again I'm very familiar with the cost of bicycle components and how they can be quite a bit more expensive than the average person might think for quality components.

    I'm sure a higher-end e-bike could easily cost several thousand dollars.

    And I'm sure part of that upgraded purchase is decent batteries
     
  11. Grau

    Grau Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Very Impressive!

    When you said that you can operate a gas powered bicycle on "public roads", I assume that does not include the Interstate highways. Is that right?

    I've already wrecked 4 motorcycles and numerous bicycles long ago when I used to race bicycles and could ride a bicycle over 200 miles in 10 - 12 hours depending on the number of flat tires I had to fix along the way.

    A few questions:

    1. Do you know the top speed yet?

    2. Does this motorized bicycle have gears?

    3. Why do you dislike the 4" tires?

    Finally, please be careful and good luck.
     
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  12. (original)late

    (original)late Banned

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    Yeah, me and the wife both have ebikes, and the current price is well over 2 grand. My wife has the better bike, it's a Trek Verve 2, and I just looked at the price, it's $2800 now. There are good ebikes for less, but there are always compromises.
     
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  13. pitbull

    pitbull Banned Donor

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    Why has it pedals and no footpegs, like on a "real" motorbike?
    If the tank is empty, right? :)
     
  14. pitbull

    pitbull Banned Donor

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    Another Florida man with the same bike:
     
  15. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    I think it has a lot to do with the laws. If it has pedals I believe it's legally classified as a moped. And exempted from being classified as a motorcycle and requiring a motorcycle endorsement on your license.

    I was tempted to actually spend a few thousand more and get a street legal dirt bike but I figured I might kill myself on that more easily lol.

    And of course then I would have to go to the next county over and spend a weekend giving this old fat biker guy a couple of hundred dollars to ride his 200cc motorcycle around a course to get an endorsement
     
  16. (original)late

    (original)late Banned

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    They have an astonishing amount of drag. Just try one, you'll see what I mean in 2 seconds. And then when you get offroad, it's even worse.
     
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  17. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    It's very similar but not quite the same. Made by the same company out of California. That bike has the same motor but it has the smaller tires. And it doesn't come with the nice front and back cargo racks. But I do believe the frame is essentially the same with the Jack shaft and the built-in gas tank except the spacing of the frame is probably different because it takes slightly smaller Wheels. I had actually considered buying that one instead, it is a few hundred bucks less.

    If anyone is interested in these bikes or the company look at gasbikes.net.

    They're shipping was fast and free and their customer service is good. They answer phones and they actually know about their products.

    Full disclaimer, I have not been paid to endorse them but I'm satisfied with their products and service.

    A couple of my friends are thinking about buying one, I should call customer service and tell them they owe me some store credit for the referrals!
     
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  18. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    1. Top speed is 25 but you can adjust the governor and get 32 out of it. They don't recommend changing the gear ratio by the sprockets because it's hard on the jack shaft and the bike was made mainly for off-road so it's not very fast but it has a lot of torque.
    You could conceivably get more by changing the gear ratio but I'm not going to. Cruising along at 30 is plenty fast enough for me.

    2. It has no gears but just a centrifugal clutch like a go-kart motor. Which simplifies it for the average user.

    3. The 4-in tires are kind of Overkill and they are heavy. But of course when you have a motor to push them and you don't have to pedal them that doesn't matter as much. Pedaling 4-in tires is fun as far as where you can go but not so much as far as peddling them because as bicycle tires go they're pretty heavy. but they are great for off-road and the crappy roads like we have around here.

    I do plan to get a helmet.

    And no you can't go on interstate highways.
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2022
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  19. pitbull

    pitbull Banned Donor

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    Sounds plausible.

    To make a dirt bike street-legal, I think you have to add lights, also brake light, turn indicator, mirrors, speedometer, horn, and so on. Bicycles obviously don't need that.
     
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  20. Melb_muser

    Melb_muser Well-Known Member Donor

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    And buying the batteries by themselves appears to be disproportionately expensive.
     
  21. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    That's why you let the motor spin them bad boys! :)
     
  22. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    They certainly are.

    Everything has its pros and cons right? On a gas bike you may have little things that will need to be replaced or maintained fairly regularly but won't be very expensive individually.

    But an e-bike can probably go all the way until the batteries need replacement with very little maintenance, but when it comes time to pony up for those batteries you're probably going to pay about 30% of what the bike cost up front.
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2022
  23. (original)late

    (original)late Banned

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    A 500 watt battery is what our bikes take, and they have gone up. They are around $700 now.

    Ouch.
     
  24. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    Another reason I'm not interested in electric cars until they can make those batteries more cheap and efficient.

    There's some decent bicycle battery set you back that much imagine what a car battery cost.

    Probably something like 12,000
     
  25. (original)late

    (original)late Banned

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    I have a Prius, the big battery is $4K. It's a 2010, never needed a battery, and it's fine.

    It wouldn't surprise me a bit if 12K was what a Tesla battery cost.
     

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