I'm seeing a LOT of these gas-powered motor kits online for sale on Craigslist and Ebay. They are generally 80 cc and claim to get about 200mpg. They are 2-stroke and, yes, they make a bit of noise.

Before you flame me, please give me the straight scoop.

I'm interested in one of these kits for fun. I'm getting a cheap beach cruiser and am considering one of these motors. They are generally under 150 dollars and claim to reach speeds close to 45mph. Now, I have no interest in going that fast, but I can legally ride it where I live. I can get to work by dirt trails 80% of the way, and small residential streets the rest of the way. Totally safe and pretty much car-free. The ride is three miles, mostly through the woods on hardpack dirt trails and grass, etc. And the noise won't bother others much since the ride is pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

Anyway, sorry to drone on, but I couldn't find a gas-powered motor thread, only ebikes (which I'm also interested in).

Anybody know what I'm talking about or can give advice? Do these gas-powered kits actually work, or is it a 125 dollar box of worthless junk?

Thanks

Here's an example:

Try this
www.motoredbikes.com

Thanks, friend. That is exactly what I was looking for.

I looked at one of those (Honda 2-cycle) at the beginning of my quest for some motor power on a bike.

My problems with that situation included the folowing:
1) Too noisy. Can't conceal the motor noise while using it on a trail.
2) Too stinky. The motor releases gas fumes like a lawnmower. Somewhere along the way, I was told that I would arrive to work stinking like gas fumes.
3) Still have to pay for gas, which is more expensive than electricity.
4) Not environmentally friendly. The emissions from one of those in one hour surpass the emissions from my car in a week. These are actually lawnmower motors.
5) Just as heavy, if not more, than a decent electrical motor.

I would put up the investment for a decent electric bike, either a simple e-bike or getting an electric motor to fit the one you have. (I considered putting Bionx on my Beach Crusier, but it made more sense to put it on a more efficient bike. Still using the Beach Cruiser for short commutes, though.)

My needs are met by an e-bike but I believe they both have their place. The gas motor bike is generally cheaper than a moped and has further range than an electric bike. The rack mounted gas motor (like the Honda) is usually a higher quality motor than the chinese knock-offs.

Thanks guys.

I joined a motorized bike forum, as suggested, and learned that these guys seem to spend a LOT of time on maintenance, which is not what I had in mind.

I like tinkering with things myself, but not if I'm going to use it as a serious commuter vehicle. And besides, I wondered about the gas-smelling clothes. I wear nice clothes to work and don't want them to smell.

That said, I have quite a quest ahead of me for the right electric kit. I found a 395 dollar one that is made by Wilderness Energy (a brushed motor, 36 volt) with SLA batteries from a company in Boise, Idaho (found it on Ebay, of course). If it's reliable and gets me the four miles to work, that would be great. I have three rather large hills that are about three hundred yards each. I can peddle up them in second gear or third without stopping, but by the time I arrive to work I'm hot and sweaty. That's great for a morning workout, but not for work. I can't shower at work and I have to be ready to teach the kids when the bell rings.

I do not plan to modify my Trek 7100 at all. I love that bike. I can ride it everywhere. It's light, shifts fairly well, and the gears get me up all the hills around here. It's a great workout. But I don't want a workout on the way to work.

Think a 36 volt brushed motor on a beach cruiser can get me 4 miles with a moderate amount of hill climbing?

It probably will. Depends on what you mean by moderate hills, your weight, battery, chemistry, amps, etc.
My first bike was a BL36 Wilderness kit with 12amp batteries that would carry my 240 lbs and a very heavy bike about 18-20 miles with no pedalling. However, my terrain is all flat.
Maybe a little more description and folks will chime in.

EDIT: Try this for info
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/vie...t=hills#p81957

Anything bigger than 50cc has to be registered as a motorcycle to be street legal in Texas. That means licsence, registration, insurance and inspection. You should check your local laws closely.

The engine you need to look for are the much better 2nd Gen II series engines, not the older type as per your picture.



I got one and it's lovely

Just what the world needs. Another internal combustion engine on the road. You do realize that nothing is more polluting for the power it produces that a small engine of this kind.

True, that's why I prefer to ride my electric assisted tricycle most of the time.

Nice score on the engine Sianelle. Looking forward to seeing your ride.

Do you have a reference for this? I see people saying this all the time but I wonder if it's actually fully true or just one of those commonly accepted myths. I would agree that the Chinese 2-stroke motor posted in this thread is probably not great for emissions but I have a hard time believing that a 4-stroke 35cc Honda motor is that bad.

Also you say nothing pollutes more for the amount of power it produces. My observation is that there's enough power in a small gas motor to easily propel one person on a bike, does that pollute more than a car being used to propel that same person?

I'm not trying to be a troublemaker but I find there's a lot of absolutes quoted when it comes to the environmental realm, but not always the facts to back them up.

I had to sell my much beloved 1980s Suzuki 500 twin because I wasn't able to manage riding it anymore due to this illness I live with. This wee Chinese engine is going to allow me to ride further than I can go on my electric tricycle in terms of round trip distance travelled because I don't want to use an outsized lumpy great decadent car just to transport little ole me around the district.

Just as a by the way, the so-called 80cc engines just aren't; - it is a complete myth. These Gen II Chinese engines come in 50cc, 60cc and 70cc sizes. The 70cc engine is my choice for my bicycle because I think it's better to have a little more capacity when it comes to country road distances. I'm not at all interested in speeding about as it happens, but I do tend to carry fairly handy sorts of loads on my bikes.

A modern honda civic motor has several important updates in technology in the past 40 years, none of which have been applied to a honda 35cc motor:

-switch from carburetor to fuel injection
-add a catalytic converter
-switch from non-electronic to electronically-controlled fuel injection

Quite a few of the latest small engines now have catalytic converter type exhaust systems. The Chinese bicycle engines don't and I'm not trying to say that they do.

Good answer, these are the things that I had in mind too. So that is to say it's the lack of these control pieces that cause small engines to have more of an emissions impact, not just because of their size.

Of course there's still the argument that it makes more sense to propel one person with 35cc instead of 1800cc. Even if the car has better emissions, it consumes more gas and therefore the refinery that produced that 'extra' gas is causing more harm than the little engine is.

As an example though, the Honda GX35 is EPA and CARB compliant and on a bike will net roughly 150-200 mpg, so it's not trying to sneak into the party. Whether you think that the EPA and CARB are too lax is another question all together.

That sounds like a really good solution, as long as you can lift the motor off the wheel, so there is no drag while riding home.

Electric energy can be more cleanly produced. Depending on the area where you live and the grid you are on, the benefit may vary. I'm sold by the $0.15-0.25 per day that electricity will cost, as opposed to having to go to the pump (about $2.00) several times a week. It reduces the hassle factor, as well, since I can charge the battery at home and not stop at the gas station. Plus, all those stinky ole fumes. I just don't want to deal with it. I also figure that if the fumes are making me stink, they must be doing something negative to the air around me.

No absolutes here. I'm still learning, myself. I'm trying for what is most practical for me. I just don't see those little lawnmower motors being a long-term practical alternative.

I agree that each person has to find what's practical for them. I've divided right now between gas and electric so I don't see myself making a decision either way for a while. Everything you say though would have an equivilant argument on the gas side - $2 in gas will net 75 miles or more of range which is enough for many people to go a few days without 'the hassle' of having to do anything extra (ie, plug in the bike every night) - It's more of a hassle to run out of electricity while you're out and about, than to go to a gas station, fill up and keep riding as long as you need to.

I think the smell factor is probably exaggerated. Once again these cheap Chinese kits are pretty rough but they have a pipe that dumps out the exhaust underneath the pedals. Many of the other kits run cleaner, are rear-mounted or have exhaust pipes that extend further back on the bike. More refined engines should produce less stink.

I really love the concept of electric, but there's a few deal-breakers at the moment (cost, weight, range) that I think will improve over the next few years. Hopefully the current interest in ebikes will drive down the price for people willing to wait a bit longer.

Being a 35 year motorcycle rider with over 300k miles street cred - I decided a long time ago that smaller is the key. In fact I would like to see laws that require people 1st pass a m/c qualification before ever being allowed behind the wheel of a large heavy vehicle. Why let the most inexperienced or mentally challenged people have the most dangerous equipment to the motoring public?

I don't mind small gas powered bikes. Yeah, they have "green" issues too but the VOLUME is so much less while the safety for OTHERS so much more! Anybody who drives So CA freeways sees it all the time - 20 to 30 cars/trucks with a single person in them for every one that has a passenger. If all those were replaced by bikes/motorcycles - gas or electric just think how much more room we would all would have?

Having raced motorcycles in my youth I can also say that it's much better to bounce off another bike/rider than even a small car.

electrics are good, I love 'em but I also have the jones for a GE kit someday too! Already got the Subaru 4 stroke waiting for the budget to buy a kit.

Like I indicated in my last post, one of my biggest hangups with electric kits is the price; not cheap to get into and the battery is only going to last for a few years so there's the ongoing cost too.

Gotta love that Robin Subaru engine, aparently super reliable. Hope you're able to put it use one day. I know over at the motoredbikes forum, there's guys already starting to build gas-electric hybrid bikes to get the best of both worlds.

You probably found all the answers to your questions on the motoredbike forums by now. Great forum.

More like 150mpg with the 69cc engines that are called 80cc.

More like low 30s, high 20s. They don't survive life much above 6000 rpm.

The only reason I am going electric is because motorized bikes are currently illegal in Hawaii (thanks Segway). It looks like the laws may be fixed next year, but it looks as if engine powered bikes will not be included in the fix. So I'm going electric.

IMHO, the pollution is insignificant--long story short--global warming is caused by people and their engines. It's a myth, yet it's already the law! Prominent scientists agree with my stance, politicians disagree. I know who I'd rather trust, but this is a topic for another thread.

I think this is better than a moped, and should really only be used as a motorcycle. weather is environmentally friendly or not, its better than using a car if you want good distance range out of it. I think of it like a good alternative to use to save money from the gas pump monster. Electric E bikes are more for fun for short distances (IE normally 20 miles +/-) and gas is more for a longer trip like going to a relatives house thats 50-60 miles away. either way, i think of it like a motorcycle without the luxury. and global worming is fake. trust the Scientists, not the media. but that argument is not for this thread.

If you're not opposed to gas, an actual scooter might be the way. If you get a real engine (not the lawnmower types), it will emit less fumes. I was considering and test driving several scooters before I stumbled onto the concept of an electric bicycle. My real motivation is being able to really pedal home, so the electric option for mornings was better for me. If you are simply looking for cheap transportation, an outright scooter might do the trick (whether powered by electricity or gas).

One more thing. I didn't like the throttle situation on the gas motor I looked at. Apparently, to get any assistance, I would have to continuously push on the thumb throttle. It seemed like I'd have a real sore thumb in pretty short distance. I like the pedal-activated technology in some of the electric models I've seen.

I realize that cost is an issue, so I can't tell you what to do. Even considering battery costs, the electric seemed like a better long-term solution for me. Once again, that had to do with my personal needs and preferences.