Just put together a moped bicycle. Need input on good upgrades.

As some of you know I was assembling a bicycle to moped conversion kit for the pasts five months for a cheap form of transport. I got the thing running but I have ran into a few issues with this kit. Well I only payed $200 + $30 shipping on this thing. Driving it is a blast! More power than i thought. But some of the parts seem like flimsy parts from some Asian country. Not to say Asia is good with auto parts. My current problem is the damn idler wheel located at the bottom of the frame near the rear wheel holding the bottom of the engines drive chain up to prevent the engine drive chain from coming loose. Well this is the sight I bought it from:www.biketomopedkit.com

can you post a pic of the part you want to beef up
i might be able to help you then buddy

I had a 4 Horsepower Briggs & Stratton powered mini bike as a kid, it would do 40 mph with a modified pulley.

What a blast...

Anywho..

What is the problem with the idler ? You didn't mention any details...

Because you are essentially using a bicycle chain with power, the chain is developing slack all that much faster.
This is why they have the idler/tensioner. The chain is taught under power and becomes loose under idle as when you back off the power.

Unfortunately because of the nature of the design, in using a bicycle with a longer chain that is normally using a derailleur to balance the tension, the chain tensioner is necessary to keep the tension and the chain on the sprockets.

As with a derailleur the amount of tension is due to a spring, you could change the spring out and apply more or less tension...

A good bicycle shop should be able to help you out....

reply to post by nh_ee
My problem with the idler wheel is that when i was first driving the thing the idler wheel is it got shredded by the chain and the support arm for the wheel moved down damaging three spokes. Do you know if someone makes a good sprocket style idler wheel? my stock idler wheel is made of nylon. But the fact that it broke from not moving with the chain may be something I didn't do right.

reply to post by ed1320
the part that broke is the small nylon pulley like wheel that you attach to the rear fork of the bike.

reply to post by ed1320
this is the part:nylon idler wheel

It sounds as if the idler was chewed up because it was working against the motion of the chain vs guiding and flowing with the motion of the chain.

Recheck your instructions and/or
Perhaps even take a picture of your build and send it to the people who sold you the kit for verification.

reply to post by paranormal78


Hey there, a fellow motorbicycler on ATS. I had the same problem on my build. I eventually just tightened down the tensioner untill it didn't roll anymore. been driving it since october still doesn't roll, no problems.. just make sure the chain is just loose enough . I can show you my builds on Motorbicycling.com shoot me a message if you have more in depth questions.

I'm Bobaganoosh on there as well. Join up and shoot me a friend request.

never tried to post a pic, here goes nothing. I built this and one other over the easter weekend.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/c9af905317c1.jpg[/atsimg]


built for my little brother. lots of custom welding and design.


[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/3e8e59af7218.jpg[/atsimg]

my first customer bike.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/509147bb42e7.jpg[/atsimg]

My personal bike. driven since october 2010, on my 4th gallon of gas now.

My favorite supplier is lynn he runs custommotoredbicycles.com. had a great how to there on making a spring loaded tensioner. Sprocket tensioners start at a hundred bucks and aren't worth the time or money.

Some tips I learned the hard way. Reinforce all fender mounts if you have fenders. Find alternative reflectors and remove the ones from your wheels. There are balance issues in the 20+ mph range. I prefer the full synthetic 2 cycle oil, Echo or comperable brand with 50 to 1 ratio. Good lube and your bike will haul butt. The more you peddle assist, the smoother your acceleration. Use mid-grade gasoline. Grease all bearings at least once every couple months. Lights lights lights,drivers don't see you, and when they do they don't realize how fast you are going. Check all your nuts and bolts regularly. The rear wheel tends to torque to one side. Use an alternative clutch cable guide. The factory guide eats your cable no matter how much you lube it. I'm sure ill think of more later. Its just really awesome to help out a new mb'r, especially a ATS MB'r. Grats and enjoy your newfound addiction.

Thanks for the advice Bobaganoosh. And cool coustim work on your bikes! Would you concider selling one to me? I need smething more comfortable than the one I got. Right now myengine is on an old 1990's 2000's Taiwan road bike with a lack of features. I Want something that looks cool to.

reply to post by paranormal78


If you're looking for quality bikes, jbikes.net . They have Macargi, Felt, Firmstrong, and a couple other good companies. These are about the best deals on quality bikes I've seen. If you're not looking to spend that much cash, hit some pawn shops. Especially if you live in or near a college town, many students pawn their bikes for summer break. You can come across hellacious deals if you go that route. Not to mention that time of year is just around the corner. Oh, on jbikes, I haven't used them yet. I plan to very soon to build a couple more bikes, I'll let ya know how they do on service and shipping. The thing about buying beach cruisers, which is the style of bike i prefer, when they are shipped to you in piecies, it's not uncommon to get dented fenders, lost parts and other mini nightmares. Ironically I've been dying to build a road bike. They have to be faster than beach cruisers, and much easier to build. Plus, I can't wait to install my first jackshaft kit. It's a kit that pipes the drive chain down to your peddles so that you can utilize the shimano gear and shifting mechanism of multi speed bikes. General rule of thumb, for every tooth you remove from the sprocket you add 1 mph to top end. Factory supplied sprocket is 44 teeth, capable of 30 mph max on my particular build. Now gearing down to the 21 toothe sprocket on a multi-speed, do the math. Peddle assist the the whole way, yikes that's fast on a bicycle. I do appologize for rambling, but the capability of these little things never cease to amaze me. And regardless of what bicycle purists say, they are still a workout. A cheap, practical win win.

It sounds like the 21 tooth sproket bike is one hell of a ride Bobaganoosh! I have a 44 tooth sproket drive. But i am now wanting to upgrade to a 21 tooth. What i might do to make thing easy for upgrading is the bike shown at www.the motorized bicycle.com. This company is selling a coustim motorized beach crusier all black including the engine. you can have the option of a chopper style handel bar installed. the bike as about $700. i might just by that bike from them or use your option in your reply.