Introductions - New guy into vintage bikes and motors.

Hey everybody. My name is Jon.

I'm a college student into vintage bikes and motors and motors on vintage bikes.

Hi Jon--visit the Classic & Vintage forum, and we'll get you going the right direction :).

What kind of bikes have you got?

Welcome to BF!

East Hill

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t162/dminorwa/pinkstar.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a71/atthecyo/Best1.jpg

Those are my first builds. I just sold one of them.

Am I looking at them correctly? The gear is actually in the rear hub? They look pretty sleek...

East Hill

Thanks, appreciate the kind words. The engines are chinese made 2 strokes. They're cheap and simple to work on, but not known for being incredibly reliable.

My next build is going to be a 4 stroke Honda engine, which should theoretically last for years. The rear sprocket is attached through the spokes to two half-moon shaped metal brackets, wedged between thick black rubber spacers. The spokes are ziptied together to relieve stress, and we haven't popped any spokes yet. My next build is going to have heavy duty 12 gauge spokes.

This probably wouldn't work with a mixte, would it? I like your choice of bikes...do you leave the bikes essentially as is, with braze-ons and what not, just in case someone wants to remove the motor in the future?

East Hill

Nothing done to the bike's is permanent, luckily. You can remove the engine and everything in about 20 minutes (takes about 15 hours to install, though). The only thing permanently altered is the the little hole drilled into the handlebars for the throttle assembly, which would be covered by the grips anyway.

What's neat is, if you have the clutch held in (there's a button to lock it in, too), the bike can be ridden like a regular old bike. So when I'm going around campus I ride it like a regular bike, but as soon as I hit the streets I'm off using the motor. They really are a perfect way to get around your average college campus.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask. I love talking about them.

Also, I don't think a Mixte would work, due to the lack of clearance. Diamond frames work the best because of their shape (the motor bolts right on). Cruiser frames work well, but you need to make a custom front mount.

Do they need to be licensed for riding on the public road?

East Hill

Also, I don't think a Mixte would work, due to the lack of clearance. Diamond frames work the best because of their shape (the motor bolts right on). Cruiser frames work well, but you need to make a custom front mount.

I didn't think so...too bad. I have two mixtes, and one on the way...

East Hill

Do they need to be licensed for riding on the public road?

East Hill

The engines I have are under 50cc, so in most states they're street legal without any sort of licensing. Cops generally leave us alone.

Very cool bikes!

Somehow they remind me of insects (and I mean that in a good way) :)