At least, I think it was Boondawg who posted info a while back about motorized bicycles.

Anyway, someone posted a chopper looking motorcycle with an engine so small it was practically a motorized bicycle and not a motorcycle. I was hoping they could post up the link, or link to the thread if they remember it.

I cannot find the thread but I've recently become interested in learning more about motorized bicycles as (relatively speaking, compared to a project car, anyway) cheap father-son project. Also something that will give me the opportunity to hone my mechanical and welding skills.

Here's a video that gives a good idea of what I'd want to do:



Although I thought it would be cool to do one of those OCC Chopper bikes, like these:





Motor kits start at about $100:

http://kingsmotorbikes.com/

At $180, the jackshaft is the most expensive part but it seems like having multiple gears would be a worthwhile investment, especially in the hilly community I live in:

http://www.sickbikeparts.co...1d5b414c26d4f849dfd7

[This message has been edited by OKflyboy (edited 01-05-2010).]

Yeah, someone here was doing that chopper as a school project, I think.

I have been looking into that kind of stuff for awhile, just never found the exact project I wanted.

Now i'm looking at some of those old-school looking stripped down "Bobbers".

Kindda like this, which is the real deal:


Like These, which they got in kits now:

[This message has been edited by Boondawg (edited 01-05-2010).]

quote Originally posted by Boondawg: Like These, which they got in kits now:

Yup, those are what I remember. Thank you, sir!

I was completely obsessed with this a year or two ago. If you want to buy one, you can probably get a good kit on eBay for $100. Make sure its 80cc or higher , and search either bicycle engine, moped engine, bicycle motor, or moped motor. They will all bring up this kit. The ones I almost bought had big bright letters over the picture saying the engine size.

I LOVE the Hardknock Bobber Kit (Thanks again, Boonie, for reminding me) but I'm wanting to be in the <$500 range and at ~$2K, its too steep for me. So we're going to have to stick to Motorized Bicycles.

I dug the mountain bike I mentioned out of the snow. Its toast. The years haven't been kind. (I loaned it to my brother when I left CA, and it got stolen from him then recovered. He gave it back to me several years ago but its been sitting since, not to mention it wasn't in great shape after being recovered.) I had forgotten how bad it was. I might be able to rob some parts off of it, but to bring it back to the dead, especially enough that I would trust it with a motor attached to it - not likely...

Anyway... I've been looking at ready-made Chopper Bikes. There's plenty of OCC Schwinn Choppers to be found in the area, but they're all the child's sized ones. Commercially produced adult-sized chopper bikes seem to be pretty rare, and when you do find them, they fetch a pretty penny...

So I guess if I want to motorize a Chopper style bike, I may have to make my own. Enter Atomic Zombie. They're the guys on Instructables that are always debuting new El-cheap-o DIY Chopper builds. Well they have a pretty cool design called the Vigilante, made out of square tubing. Aside from some possible mounting issues with the square tubing (the Motor kits all have mounts for round tubing, of course), this might be right up my alley (and I think I would ditch the car tire, too. Probably wouldn't be the easiest for a little 2-stroke to get spinnin')

Couple of different versions:

[This message has been edited by OKflyboy (edited 01-06-2010).]

Yup, I would dump the car tire!

Now you are getting me all fired up!

I have a motorbike sitting in my living room. I can grab some pics if you're interested.

I've been interested in building one for about a year now and built mine over a couple weeks at the end of last semester. I bought a cheap old road bike off craigslist, a 80cc engine kit from SpookyTooth (its a grube engine, apparently one of the better chinese 2 stroke "happy time" motor kits available), new tubes and tires from my local bike shop, new seat from wally world, and started bolting stuff on. I still need to wire in the kill switch but after that I'll be ready for a tank of gas to see if it works.

So far I'm at about $250 in parts. In retrospect, I wish I had just bought a new bicycle on which to mount the motor as I wouldn't have had to bother with tires and whatnot. A nice basic cruiser frame bike can be had from wally world for about $100 in the color/style of my choosing off their website. Slap on a $100-150 motor kit and some lights and it could be done in a day instead of hassling with old parts that I'm weary of running 20-30 MPH.

But... if you want a project to build the frame from scratch and take your time with it to fiddle on a neat project with a kid, then that would work too. A motor bike has a lot of room for interpretation/improvisation The jackshift kit is very cool as well, but be aware that its essentially adding a transmission and you may need to check your local laws about whether doing so renders your bicycle a moped and will then need to be registered. Motor bikes are already in a gray area as far as laws go already, depending on where you're located.

There are several forums that can help as there seems to be for everything these days.

Edit: Oh, you're in Oklahoma... laws are pretty lax there I can find the article but OK recently defined specific laws for motorbikes saying that basically they can go anywhere a car can go as long as they follow car laws. The only thing specifically off-limits are toll-roads, not like you're crazy enough to run one one anyway...

[This message has been edited by Alibi (edited 01-06-2010).]

What I don't get about that chopper is the angle iron extending well beyond the weld points on the frame and forks. It just looks like a hack job to me.

If you are building a chopper, why not make it look good? It doesn't cost more.

Just my .02

Arn

quote Originally posted by Arns85GT: What I don't get about that chopper is the angle iron extending well beyond the weld points on the frame and forks. It just looks like a hack job to me. If you are building a chopper, why not make it look good? It doesn't cost more. Just my .02 Arn

I think it was a design choice. I think it looks good on the front fork, but the extended lower horizontal tube does look weird, I agree.

Now thinking of just going ahead and ditching the pedals and making a moped out of it from the get-go. Will have to research OK moped/scooter laws as bit more first...

quote Originally posted by Alibi: Edit: Oh, you're in Oklahoma... laws are pretty lax there I can find the article but OK recently defined specific laws for motorbikes saying that basically they can go anywhere a car can go as long as they follow car laws. The only thing specifically off-limits are toll-roads, not like you're crazy enough to run one one anyway...

Yes, please post pics and any info you care to share. I'd love to hear it. And if you could find that article that would be awesome. I've been reading the OK Motor Vehicle Code and it appears that a motorized bicycle would be considered a Moped, which is subject to Vehicle registration and most Motorcycle laws (including a motorcycle license)

quote Originally posted by OKflyboy: Yes, please post pics and any info you care to share. I'd love to hear it. And if you could find that article that would be awesome. I've been reading the OK Motor Vehicle Code and it appears that a motorized bicycle would be considered a Moped, which is subject to Vehicle registration and most Motorcycle laws (including a motorcycle license)

I believe anything under 49cc is treated as a moped.
My understanding is if you have a drivers license, you are good to go for anything under 49cc, moped included.
No motorcycle license required.

[This message has been edited by Boondawg (edited 01-08-2010).]

quote Originally posted by Boondawg: I believe anything under 49cc is treated as a moped. My understanding is if you have a drivers license, you are good to go for anything under 49cc, moped included. No motorcycle license required.

quote Moped Defintion A moped must have fully operative pedals for propulsion by human power, an automatic transmission, and a combustion engine with a piston or rotor displacement of fifty cubic centimeters (50 cubic centimeters) or less, regardless of the number of chambers in the engine, which is capable of propelling the bicycle at a maximum design speed of not more than thirty (30) miles per hour on level ground. Moped Registration and Titles Mopeds are required to be registered. Titles are required to be applied for within thirty (30) days of obtaining ownership. Titles cost $11.00. Titles may be applied for through the Motor Vehicle Division, or at any of the over three hundred (300) motor license agencies (tag agencies) located throughout the state.Once all requirements for title issuance have been met and the transaction entered, title certificates are generated overnight at a central location and mailed out to the record owner (not the lienholder, if any) the following business day. Moped License Requirements Moped operators are required to have a Class A, B, C, or D license.

Ah, right you are. I read that wrong last night...

Here is the link, in another good forum too

http://www.motoredbikes.com/showthread.php?t=19023

I'll grab some pics soon, but I haven't figured out how to get them onto my ancient laptop since my "new" one had a catastrophic failure...again... in less than a year....

Build thread started:

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum6/HTML/071259.html