New to Motorized Bikes

DUGMAN

New Member
Local time
10:16 AM
Joined
Mar 29, 2008
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6
Hi my name is Doug.
I was looking at motors for bicycles last night on line and decided to educate myself a little before I purchase one. I live in Hawaii were there are alot of hills.I have a couple of bikes I am looking into converting. One is a Mountain bike and another is a hybride. I weight about 235 lbs. Would appreciate any info or suggestions for links that will help me make a decision as to 4 stroke or 2 stroke and brands ect.
I know it was mentioned not to ask which motor to buy but maybe someone can point me in a good direction as to what to look for. What to stay away from ect.
Thanks
Doug
 
G'day Doug & welcome to MBc.
Members would be happy to help and yours is an involved question so could u start your own thread cos this might take awhile.
 
Welcome aboard, Doug. My brother lives on Kauai. We also have a couple of Hawaiians as forum members. Which island are you on?
 
Welcome, Doug!

If you don't mind, I'd like to jump in. I bought a GEBE kit with a Tanaka 40 engine. I was told it is a good engine for hills.

In all the research I've done, I came to the conclusion that a 2 stroke is preferable to a 4 stroke. Sorry, that's been months ago and I honestly don't remember why but that seemed to be the consensus of all the people I spoke to.

The battery operated have some real limitations. One is you are limited in the number of miles you can ride before you have to recharge. Another is the weight and the cost. The heavier ones are cheaper. At the other end of the spectrum are the lighter, longer-lasting, lithium-ion-polymer batteries than run a good $2000 plus. I don't think that's a good trade off.

I stayed away from the friction-drive because it's hard on the rear tire.

Anyway, good luck and hope this info helps.

Mary
 
Thanks Mary for the input. I was wondering about the friction motor systems.
Hi Mickey. I live on Maui out in the country.
 
welcome to MBc i am sure you will find the anwers to all your questions...good luck and happy motoring...
 
You're welcome, Dugman. The friction drive tends to chew up rear tires. Not good if you're out in the middle of nowhere :)

I'd steer clear of engines made in China.

Mary
 
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You're welcome, Dugman. The friction drive tends to chew up rear tires. Not good if you're out in the middle of nowhere :)

I'd steer clear of engines made in China.

Mary

It sounds like I should look into Robin , Tanaka, or maybe Honda? Can you recomend a dealer. I noticed that Golden Eagle has Tanaka and Robin motor. Any other you would recomend?
 
I don't think you could go wrong with a Tanaka from Golden Eagle Bike Engines. Julia and Dennis are excellent to deal with. There is an area on the left-hand side of this page under "Sponsors". If you click on their icon, it will take you to their site.

I don't know if you've got the bike(s) yet. There are some measurements you need to take into consideration before you decide on a bike. I bought a used Trek Navigator but only after verifying that there was enough clearance for the kit. It will discuss how to do this on their site. BTW, I love my Trek. It's a comfort bike. Fun to ride.

If it were me, I would do some reading/research on this board under rack-mounted kits and in other areas as well. There are lots of different opinions and information available that will guide you in making a decision.

You will probably fair better with a sturdy rear wheel, 12 guage spokes. An engine will put a lot of stress on that wheel and spokes may break if you don't have a strong wheel. As it turned out, my bike came with 12 guage spokes but unfortunately, I didn't realize it at the time I ordered my kit from GEBE. I bought the extra wheel when I really didn't need to. I also had to change out the cassette as it didn't fit with the kit.

Golden Eagle is the only one I've dealt with. Stratton is another but they don't have the Kevlar belt as that is GEBE's proprietary/patented idea. I think they have chain drives. I think the GEBE is the best of all of them out there.
Mary
 
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