Classic & Vintage - so who wants to yell at me

im putting an 8cc motor on my 1974 Raleigh ltd 3 i feel its necessary to show my "biker" friends what a real motorbike looks like. i have a matching pair of these raleigh's his and hers. but i think its gotta be the male bike that will make for a better conversion. so is anyone angry about this and who supports the decision ill post pics once its done.

80cc

hey i"ve been looking into trying one of the motor kits just for the fun of it. When you get it done please post pics and info.where did you order the kit from.

take 'before' pics too.

good luck and make sure you put good brakes on it!

To me, these look like something out of Lawrence of Arabia

http://www.spookytoothcycles.com/content/view/146/1/

Why stop there?

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=563712

15-20 years from now, we'll all have one.

being the former owner of a 90cc Honda, I think a 80cc 2-stroke is too much motor for a Raleigh frame. I'd try the 48cc (and maybe even a stronger frame for that engine, too).

http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv132/bicyclerampage/001.jpghttp://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv132/bicyclerampage/198.jpg

heres the pair and just the male

What's your first name? We'll henceforth label all conversions to motor kits with it, and lament the passing of a cute, furry baby animal - like a platypus, maybe.

+1 for a smaller engine.

Keeping it under 50cc will allow you to be classified as a moped and you won't need any special licence to drive it. In NJ at least, you need a motorcycle licence for anything over 50cc and it has to be registered, insured and inspected. A Moped only needs to pay the registration fee and its good to go, no inspection or insurance needed.



...go green and quiet and do it with an electric hub motor instead :thumb:

**edit**
technically (this is geeky) if you used an electric motor it would truly be a "Real" Motor-Bike. Using an Internal Combustion Engine technically makes it an "Engine" Bike, because Motor = Electric.

so is anyone angry about this and who supports the decision ill post pics once its done.

Sure, I'm angry, but not about your conversion. There's the state of the economy that has my knickers in a knot.

Neal

The brakes on that Raleigh are inadequate for what you are attempting as even a 50 cc engine will propel a bicycle up to speeds of 30 mph.

im thinking of replacing the brake lever to an all metal assy. trying softer pads, new cables. anyone got any ideas what would you do to stop this thing. maybe ill just go with the smaller motor.

I don't think it's a good idea. If you're going to do it, do it with a Ross, or an older Schwinn with a freewheel built into the bottom bracket.Have the chain go from the centrifical clutch to the inner sprocket.That way you can stop pedaling when the motor is running, and off you'll go. I wouldn't (maybe) destroy a nice old Raleigh on this type of experiment.

Since you get most power from the front brake...

You could find a used front drum brake like this (http://www.danielkopald.com/bikeography/DBS/03b.jpg), a new one like this (http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/HU407B10-Sturmey+Archer+X-Fd+Front+Drum+Brake+Hub.aspx), or better yet a whole wheel with the drum brake so you wouldn't have to re-lace. You could probably fit quite a range of wheel sizes in that fork and any of them would work since you don't have to worry about brake reach.

Alternatively, you could replace the fork (and headset) with a 700c disk brake fork (http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/FK409C16-Dimension+Cross+Fork.aspx), then use a front disc brake. Unfortunately this is kind of expensive because you need a fork, headset, wheel, and hydraulic disk brake.

As for the rear...

A Sturmey Archer drum brake hub might work, I am not sure how you plan to connect the engine but it would be neat if you could set it up so you could use the internal gears of the hub.

Who needs brakes?

Take a look at this project by Mountain Bike pioneer Paul Brodie http://www.flashbackfab.com/pages/excel00.html It is a reproduction 1919 Board Track Racer with a 1000cc V Twin stuffed into a bicycle frame. Over a hundred miles an hour on the banking and NO BRAKES:twitchy:

vjp

Who needs brakes?

Take a look at this project by Mountain Bike pioneer Paul Brodie http://www.flashbackfab.com/pages/excel00.html It is a reproduction 1919 Board Track Racer with a 1000cc V Twin stuffed into a bicycle frame. Over a hundred miles an hour on the banking and NO BRAKES:twitchy:

vjp

They don't let SUV driving soccer moms on the track... that's why the bike needs no brakes.

The Raleigh's wheels are too narrow for motorized transport, especially with an 80cc engine.
You'll damage the front rim on the first two inch deep pothole you hit - or even going over the slight bump entering a driveway.
There's a good reason why all the motorized bicycle conversions have balloon tires.

Yeah, trade that Raleigh to some collector for an old 3 speed Schwinn hornet and swap the fork for an MTB fork with cantilever brakes.

The 80cc might be ok as it is only 66cc.the chinese companies use a different method for measuring their engines.thats why some kits are advertised as 80/66 ccthe bottom of this site explains it better
http://www.shop.motorizedbikeparts.com/product.sc?categoryId=1&productId=32

80cc?
May we suggest the Pratt & Whitney J58? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:J58_AfterburnerT.jpeg)