A guide to choosing a bike to be your new Motorbike

 Hi again! Well you say you want to build a Motorbike? Here are a few ideas, things to look for, and things to look out for!

 My most recent bad candidates for motorbike, were a Raliegh Super Course (too tall for me, and too skinny, and I did not like the geometry while riding it as a bike) a Schwinn Caliente 10-speed (got this bike all together, rode as bike, and when I put sprocket in the rear the chain hits the frame!) the next possibility was a german made 3 speed similar in appearance to a Schwinn Speedster.

 Well I've got to tell you, the badly warped rear wheel, non-existant wheel lip (more on that later) and narrow chainstay (the lower bars that go to the axle) made this a poor project. So, with those 3 failures in mind, let me tell you a few things to look for! A widening of the chainstays behind the seat post is necessary for chain clearance (I plan later to cut, and weld the 3 speed in that area as a custom build) a rear wheel that has a noticeable lip of the center hub protruding beyond the spoke flange (this is to "register" {mount} your drive sprocket on) as you measure up the frame you will need about 6.5 inches from seat post to lower tube at about 6 inches up, and about 16 inches total height from the bottom bracket (crank tube) to the upper bar. After this, it needs to be a boys type bike, or you need to install a new upper bar, and you should choose a bike that you can easily install a front brake, if not already present.

 24 inch boys cruisers are cool but hard to find, 26 inch cruisers are the easiest to find and build (the derailer models actually simplify the rear wheel and chain tensioning) the little Schwinn stingray bikes work good but it is a very close fit. Old style "lightweight" bikes can work (26x1 3/8 tire size), but watch out for chainstay clearance problems. 24 and 26 inch mountain bikes can be an easy build, but I won't use the aluminum frames and the large diameter frame tubes, and oval tubes make it necessary to fabricate a front motor mount. This is ok, if you wish to make the mounts, but I am not comfortable with drilling any holes in the lower tube, of any bike, and especially not a motorbike, as the vibrations, and increased speed will add to the stress of the entire bike.

  Your next choice will be what engine, if you have any questions, be sure to use the "contact us" button and we will be happy to try to answer any questions you mite have, See you later! Ride Straight! Mike