914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
10/30/13 6:45 a.m.

NMNA - Located near Albany, NY

http://albany.craigslist.org/bar/4071095665.html

Graefin10
Graefin10 Dork
10/30/13 7:07 a.m.

First, I see no front brake in the bottom picture but the top picture seems to have a rear caliper brake. Supposedly these things can go 30-35 mph. I would want the best possible F&R brake for emergency stops.

I have an Ebay page open right now looking for a reasonably priced 49cc 4stroke engine kit. So I am interested in building one myself. From what I've seen a 4stroke engine is the way to go. I have seen some builds with a cvt transmission, however, I don't know how that's done.

How many of you have one of these? Did you build it? From your experience, what's the best system and the best kit available?

DaveEstey
DaveEstey UltraDork
10/30/13 7:48 a.m.

Mine was a 60cc 2-stroke. I built it in college. Very easy, but you'll spend time modifying it to make it work better - fiddly but not hard. Mine did better than 40 mph clocked by my buddy on a motorcycle behind me.

Graefin10
Graefin10 Dork
10/30/13 8:04 a.m.

In reply to DaveEstey:

I see you have F&R brakes.

What sort of things did you have to work on?

Did it ever break down requiring you to order new parts?

Did you use it a lot or not so much?

How did it do on hills?

What brand kit was it?

Would you recommend it?

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
10/30/13 8:24 a.m.

In lieu of a CVT transmission, how about a centrifical clutch with a sprocket on the side?

DaveEstey
DaveEstey UltraDork
10/30/13 10:40 a.m.

I see you have F&R brakes. - Sure do, and you need them!

What sort of things did you have to work on? Replace some of the crap hardware. The rear sprocket mounting is a little fiddly. Clutch will need a lot of adjustment.

Did it ever break down requiring you to order new parts? Nope.

Did you use it a lot or not so much? Used it a ton in college. It got vandalized after and never was right again.

How did it do on hills? No problems. You do need half a pedal stroke to get going from a stop because the clutch isn't very strong. A heavier spring would likely solve that.

What brand kit was it? Don't remember. It was chinese and you could tell.

Would you recommend it? Absolutely. I was a hoot.

DaveEstey
DaveEstey UltraDork
10/30/13 10:43 a.m.

failboat
failboat SuperDork
10/30/13 11:12 a.m.

my dad is giving me his old schwinn bicycle. one of them old school road bikes with the loopy handle bars that a hipster would probably kill for. It would be fun with one of these kits on it haha.

You'll need to log in to post.

Our Preferred Partners
See7RAVlzyWoFFPNAbfOcRhECWFWI6KsqHP6DipOYf23AwwVviWuHkgkOJZC6WZs