1) 1998 Kona "Muli-Mula" Mountain Bike (Zap Power Systems electric motor),
2) 1997 Trek Mountain Bike (Zap Power Systems electric motor),
Engine Kit Price:  $400 each (1996)
Pros:  Quiet and clean
Cons:  Not enough power for the hills.  Low top speed, limited range.
































3) 1998 Kona "Muli-Mula" Mountain Bike (31cc Honda GHX31 Staton Friction Drive Kit),  
Engine Kit Price: $550
Pros:  Clean and quiet
Cons:   Heavy, not enough power to climb hills.

4) 1998 Kona "Muli-Mula" Mountain Bike (50cc Honda GHX50 Chain Drive Staton Kit),  
Engine Kit Price: $750
Pros:  Clean and quiet
Cons:  Super heavy!  Not enough power for the hills.  The engine is so back heavy and top heavy that the bike wobbles and is somewhat scary to ride.  The big downside of the Staton kits is the weight of the gearbox.  The gearbox is completely bulletproof, but weighs a ton!


"The Bum Trike"
Generic Tricycle and Launtop LA170 diesel engine (Yanmar Clone)
Engine Kit Price: $300
Pros: None
Cons:  Since the engine rotated counterclockwise, it was necessary to use a "jackshaft" to couple the motor to the rear axle of the trike.  It is extremely difficult to get a jackshaft aligned properly without using precise machining equipment to build the mounts.  Trikes are very unstable, and this one was a disaster.



5) Texas Rangerette Bike (Dimension Edge 2 Stroke Motor)
Engine Kit Price: Engine was free (retail value $469)
Pros:  Engine kit was lightweight, easy to install.
Cons:  The kit had a strange mechanism for engaging the drive wheel.  We couldn't get it to work very well, as it kept burning up the back tire.

6) 1990's GT Mach One  (50cc Honda GHX50 Chain Drive Staton Kit),
Engine Kit Price:  $750
 
Pros:  Engine was quiet and clean.
Cons:  Engine was too heavy for the bike, which made the bike unstable.


7) 2005 "EZ Tad" Recumbent (50cc Honda GHX50 Chain Drive Staton Kit)
Engine Kit Price: $750
Pros:  Engine was quiet and clean
Cons:  The EZ Tad is the most unstable and dangerous vehicle that I have ever ridden.  It was treacherous even before the motor was installed.  My friend rolled the trike over and the exposed chainring chewed up his leg.  He looked like the victim of a shark attack.  I would not recommend this trike to anyone. 

8) 2006 Felt Torch (50cc Gru-Bee Whopper Stopper II Kit),
Engine Kit Price: $370
Pros:  Engine is quiet and clean.  Much lighter than the Staton kit.
Cons:  This was a difficult kit to adapt to the torch.  The 3 speed rear wheel had to be replaced with a single speed wheel that had a smaller hub diameter and coaster brake.  Beware of the "band brake"  that is sometimes advertised with the special hub.  The band brake did not work well at all.  The clutch lever needs to be engaged whenever the bike is moving.  Clutch engagement is hard on the gearbox.  All of the force applied by the motor is applied to a small shaft with a key.  Occasionally, the key strips out, requiring a 2 hour repair job involving a gear puller.  Not fun.  Not enough power for the hills.  The kit only works with cruiser bikes that have big frames. The gearbox is so wide that special cranks need to be used.  The first generation of extra wide one piece cranks fell apart.  The second generation of three piece cranks were so shoddy that they were almost unusable.  I spent a lot of time trying to keep the cranks from falling apart.  I would not recommend this kit.


9) 2007 Felt Iron Bolt (50cc Gru-Bee Whopper Stopper II Kit),
Engine Kit Price: $370
Pros:  See Felt Torch above
Cons:  See Felt Torch. above


10) 2007 Schwinn Jaguar (50cc Gru-Bee Whopper Stopper II Kit).
Engine Kit Price: $370
Pros:  See Felt Torch above
Cons:  See Felt Torch. above

11) 1997 Schwinn "Apple Krate" (Live Fast Motors 40 cc two stroke friction drive motor kit).
Engine Kit Price: $350
Pros:  The kit was very easy to install.  The motor has lots of power.  The kit will install on just about any bike.  I highly recommend this kit.  The krate is surprisingly stable, considering its small size and unusually small front tire.  Great for small trips.
Cons:  The tire roller does not work very well in wet conditions.  The engine is very loud.

12) 2008 Felt "M.P" (50cc Gru-Bee Whopper Stopper II Kit)
Engine Kit Price: $370
Pros:  See Felt Torch above
Cons:  See Felt Torch. above
 

13 Cannondale M 500 (61 cc "70cc"Chinese Mid Frame "Flying Horse" 2 Stroke Motor)
Engine Kit Price: $115
Pros:  Very afforadable price.  Plenty of power for high altitude and hills.  Engine is light, relatively efficient and quiet.  Clutch mechanism is reliable and smooth. 10 hours install time. Once everything was installed, it was rock solid.  Works great in wet conditions.  If you have any mechanical ability, this kit is highly recommended.  If not, I would recommend a 2 stroke tire roller kit.

Cons:  Frame needs to be fairly large to accomodate engine.  The "Sprocket Sandwich"  can be challenging to install.  The chain tensioner required a fair amount of work to align.  I used an idler sprocket to replace the included plastic chain tensioner wheel.  Aligning the bolt that holds the sprocket required some welding.

Speed: Uphill: 19 MPH
Speed on Level Ground: 25 MPH


 
14) Cannondale 3.0 Series Mountain Bike  (66 cc "80cc" "Flying Horse" Chinese Mid Frame 2 Stroke Motor)
Engine Kit Price: $115
Pros:  See Cannondale M 500 above
Cons: See Cannondale M 500 above
Speed: Uphill: 17 MPH
Speed on Level Ground: 22 MPH

15) Mongoose BMX with Chainsaw
Engine Price: Free (retail $ 120)
Pros:  Cheap, lightweight
Cons:  Very difficult to install.  A steel tube was welded on the clutch of the chainsaw to act as a friction drive roller.  This worked well for about an hour and promptly broke.  The steel tube should have been secured on both ends.


 16) Peugeot Road Bike (61 cc "70cc"Chinese Mid Frame "Flying Horse" 2 Stroke Motor)
Engine Price: $115
Pros: See Cannondale M 500 above
Cons:  The chainstays on this bike were extremely skinny.  This made mounting the chain tensioner difficult.  The chain tensioner eventually worked its way loose and destroyed the wheel.   We had to weld the chain tensioner onto the chainstay.  After a few days, we had a motor failure.  When the motor was swapped out, the chain was too loose.  Removing a link made it too tight.  A half-link would not have solved the problem, as there would not have been enough clearance in the gearbox for it.  We finally made an extension for the chain tensioner to get the proper chain tension (see photo).  Moral of the story: make sure that the donor bike has beefy chainstays!


17) 1990 Cannondale SM 500 (Live Fast Motors 40 cc two stroke friction drive motor kit)
Engine Kit Price: $115
Pros: The 2 hp engine that comes with the kit works well enough, but we decided to replace it with a 4.2 HP GoPed engine (Chung Yang R420).  These GoPed engines are also used with large R/C cars and boats.  These engines are available from Pro Motion.  The amazing thing is that they can generate 4.2 HP and still weigh only 9 lbs!  Max torque is around 8,000 RPM.  The engine swap went well, as the clutch on the engine is 78mm, flat face, with a 70.7mm four hole mounting pattern.  Since the R420 engine does not have a gas tank, we installed a frame mounted tank.  As with the other frame mounted tanks, we replaced the leaky petcock with a 1/4" barb X 1/4" male NPT fitting and a plastic inline shutoff valve plus inline fuel filter.  We used 1/4" Tygon tubing for the tank, shutoff, and filter sections.  We used an adapter made from  1/4" barb X 1/4" NPT and 1/4" NPT X 3/16" barb fittings.  The fuel line from the adapter to the carburetor was 3/16" Tygon tubing.  There was a 3/16" Tygon tube from the fuel return on the carburetor to the gas tank.  We also added a throttle grip, and fabricated a small piece to brace the end of the throttle cable against near the carburetor.  This bike is the most powerful out of all of the ones we have built.  We love it dearly.
Cons: Super loud, slightly rear heavy
Speed: Uphill: 30 MPH
Speed on Level Ground: 35 MPH