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 Technical Support Q&AWhy Subscribe To Your Youtube Channel and RSS Feed?Why Should I Buy A 2-Cycle Motorized Bicycle? Why Buy A Pre-Assembled Motorized Bicycle? Is A Motorized Bicycle For Me? Can I Pedal-Assist My Motorized Bike? What About The CARB Law? What Do I Need To Ride One? What Is the Best 2-Stroke Oil To Use? How Should I ride My Bike During The Break-In Period? My New Motorized Bicycle Smokes, Why? Can't I Get A Cheaper Motorized Bicycle? What are the 49cc Slant Head/80cc Jet Series Engines? Is the Jet Stealth Really An 80cc Engine? Can I Really Get 150 Miles Per Gallon? Can I Get Spare Parts For The Engine Kits? Why Does My Muffler Have Some Discoloration And Wrinkles? I am Having Trouble Starting My Motorized Bicycle? Can I Ride My Motorized Bike In The Rain? What Should My Chain Tension Be? What Extra Care Goes Into Assembling My Bike? I Received My Bike, What Now? Whats The Best And Worst Terrain To Ride On? How To Preserve The Clutch. How Do I Know My Clutch Is Adjusted Properly? Riding Your Motorized Bike With Long Pants. Riding At Night And Bicycle Must Haves. How Do I Attach My Coaster Brake? Why does my bike run rough, stall, and have power delays? Why does my chain keep loosening? Bolt loosening and sprocket changing. Why does gas leak from bike after it has been sitting? What tools should I take with me when I ride? Why Subscribe To Your Youtube Channel and RSS Feed? Subscribing to our Youtube channel will give you access to videos we accumulate and feel are relevant to the upkeep of motorized bicycles or bicycles. For example you may want to know how to adjust your V-brakes or clean your carburetor on your motorized bike. We may have a video saved in our favorites that shows you how to do it. You will also be notified when we publish new videos! RSS feeds are a little different. Subscribing to an RSS feed is completely free and makes the internet come to you automatically! If you are interested in staying informed about new items for sale, new FAQ'S, or price discounts, subscribing to our RSS feed will send this updated info to you automatically! Subscribe & Befriend us on  Subscribe today!
Why Should I Buy A 2-Cycle Motorized Bicycle? Also believe it or not they are the most economical option for power-assisted bicycles in the area of purchase cost, maintenance and horsepower. They get up to 150 miles per gallon with relatively easy maintenance. They have very impressive horsepower, run very well when ridden by larger riders and climb inclines better than the 4-cycle and electric bike kits in the same price range. The purchase price is less than there 4-cycle cousins and the electric bike counterparts, which take unwanted time to charge. Most importantly they are street legal in most states. Why A Pre-Assembled Motorized Bicycle? Is A Motorized Bicycle For Me? When you purchase one of our motorized bicycles the hard and frustrating part of assembling the bike is professionally done for you. There are several extra steps that we take to ensure your motorized bike is and stays as maintenance free as possible. After your first ride you will discover that these motorized bikes are lots of fun and you will want to ride it as often as your schedule permits. They are virtually trouble-free and can really help you save gasoline at the pump, but they do require basic maintenance. Maintenance on these bikes is pretty simple and very inexpensive. The details are explained very well in the instructions manual located at the top left column of this page, which I encourage you read thoroughly. In a nutshell checking the nuts and bolts on the motorized bike frequently is a part of basic maintenance. We will continue to build our bikes to the highest standard, however to keep your new motorized bikes reliability top notch and at peak performance upkeep and maintenance will be your responsibility. If you have any questions feel free to chat live or send an email. We want all of our customers and potential customers to have the support they need to stay happy with their purchase. Can I Pedal-Assist My Motorized Bike? Yes you can. In fact to accelerate faster or on stepper inclines this may be necessary. With these motorized bikes you can ride as a bicycle only, ride as a motorized bike and pedal-assist if you like, or ride completely as a motorized bike. What About The CARB Law? *Due to the "CARB" laws and regulations of California we do not sell motorized bicycles or engine kits to California residents at this time. What Do I Need To Ride One? In most states motorized bicycles are considered pedal assist and require you to be 16 or older and wear a helmet. Laws differ by state so you are responsible to investigate your local laws. What Is the Best 2-Stroke Oil To Use ? Carefully following this process is very important to the longevity of you engine. As mentioned in another FAQ we slightly break-in your engine during the testing and adjusting phase, but this is not nearly enough to meet the break-in requirements. What is recommended is during the break-in period, which is the first 3 gallons of oil/fuel mixture is that you use 2-stroke engine outboard oil. The reasoning is that 2-stroke engine outboard oil is probably the best and quickest way to break-in the engine while supplying great protection to the engine. After the 3rd gallon of gas your engine should be nice and comfortably broken-in and you should notice the power increase as it will pull noticeably harder throughout the RPM band. At this point you can continue to use 2-stroke outboard oil, which is fine but for the best performance and longest lifespan of the engine we recommend using "2-stroke motorcycle oil" or it will be called 2-stroke oil for "air-cooled" engines. This oil is really designed to make your air-cooled engine last the longest and run the smoothest under the conditions it will experience. This oil provides superior engine protection for the various changes in RPMs that your engine will undergo. 2-stroke air cooled oil also provides superior protection during wide-open throttle as well. Be sure to read the instructions manual in the pdf file at the top of this page on page 7 about oil/fuel mixture and other important info. In a nutshell the first 2 gallons should be 16:1 so 8 ounces of 2-stroke outboard oil to 1 gallon of gasoline, never run more than 8 ounces of 2-stroke oil to 1 gallon of gasoline. The 3rd gallon should be 20:1 so 6.4 ounces of 2-stroke outboard oil to 1 gallon of gasoline. On the 4th gallon and throughout the lifespan of the engine you may run 2-stroke "air-cooled" oil 25:1 which about 5.2 ounces to 1 gallon of gasoline. Do not run it leaner than 25:1 How Should I ride My Bike During The Break-In Period? Ride it moderately varying the throttle at different speeds. Try to vary your speeds from low speed to about 1/2 throttle. It is strongly recommended you do not run the engine at wide-open or full throttle during the break-in period, which is the first 3 gallons of oil/fuel mixture. Try to keep you speed under 20mph during the break-in period. All the internals of the engine need time to seat and be lubed properly at a comfortable rate. Running the engine at wide-open throttle during the break-in period creates abnormal wear inside you engine reducing its life and performance. With all this said do not be afraid of your engine, they are really durable and are designed to run strong so after the break-in period is finished, ride that thing! My New Motorized Bicycle Smokes a little, Why? Don't be alarmed, the white smoke is the rich 16:1 oil/fuel mixture. This is perfectly normal with new engines upon start-ups and becomes faint after a few minutes of run time and opening of the choke. Once the engine warms up you should notice a dramatic decrease in the amount of smoke if any at all. This will not be an issue at all after the break-period when you move to leaner oil/fuel mixtures. Again let me remind you that a 16:1 mixture for the first 2 gallons of gas is to ensure a proper and comfortable break-in for the engine. We want all our customers to enjoy as many trouble free miles on their motorized bikes as possible.... Can't I Get A Cheaper Motorized Bicycle? Yes you can and it will probably cost you more in the long run to keep it running. We are well aware that there are others who sell the cheapest department store bicycles that money can buy and motorize them. Good for them and bad for you the customer because bottom-line "you get what you pay for." Typical problems with these kinds of bicycles are that the rear hubs experience problems after moderate use; wheels need truing often due to cheap materials, as well as other problems. Ultimately the customer is pissed off because they bought a lemon and unless you have the time and know how to rebuild hubs and true the wheels you will have to pay a bicycle shop to do it. Now you add in the fact that you have a motor on this cheap bike which is going to see a lot more miles than normal use from pedaling, you can begin to see how all these problems can be accelerated quickly on a low end "so called good deal" motorized bike. We don't want to sell junk we would rather you go somewhere else. We have a different approach, which is to use brand new never used reputable bicycles and engine kits. We use the latest upgraded motor kits along with professional experience installing them. We even go a step further and go through our assembly process to continue to search for improvements. All motorized bikes that we sale we fully test, adjust and slightly break in before you receive it. We want you to be riding and enjoying your bike as much as possible not repairing it. We provide great quality products at very competitive prices. We have seen competitors offer similar options that cost $600-$800 per motorized bike plus $100 shipping and handling. In the near future we will offer a wider variety of motorized bikes with upgraded braking systems, gears and body styles. What are the 49cc Slant Head/80cc Jet Series Engines? All of our engines to date are 2-cycle engines that are EPA approved. They help reduce environmental pollution and are specifically designed for bicycles. We use the most up to date and top of the line kits. As of early 2009 we now carry both the 49cc Slant Head & 80cc Jet Stealth engines. Latest Throttle Lever Design. 2 Db Quieter Than Original Muffler (Jet Stealth Only). Much Better Design Than Flimsy Metal Clutches, Makes Clutching Much Easier. Increases Life & Durability Of Engine. Is the Jet Silver/Stealth Really An 80cc Engine? It is marketed as 80cc engines but in fact it is more like 68.6cc engines. There is no such thing as an 80cc 2-cycle bicycle engine. We refer to it as such because it is widely referred to as an 80cc. Benefits of the 68.6cc engines over the 49cc are more power for inclines and larger riders while getting about the same gas mileage. Can I Really Get 150-Miles Per Gallon? 150 MPG is based upon rider weight, gearing and how much of a lead foot you have. An average size person can reasonably expect 100-120 miles per gallon riding normally. That's about 50-60 miles per gas tank because the gas tanks are half gallon. These bikes come geared for all around best riding, enjoy... Can I Get Spare Parts For The Engine Kits? Yes, if you have purchased one of our motorized bicycles we have got you covered, just ask. As for the bicycle itself most any local bike shop will have the parts you might need. Why Does My Muffler Have Some Discoloration And Some Wrinkles? Some installations require the mufflers to be custom fitted the bicycle. During this process there may be slight discoloration or some wrinkles on the header part of the muffler. This will not affect performance but is necessary for installation. I am Having Trouble Starting My Motorized Bicycle? Always keep in mind when you receive you're motorized bike from us that the engine is brand new and needs to be broken in properly. When you want to start your bike open the fuel valve and press the tickler a few times. Make sure the choke lever on the carburetor is always completely up especially in colder weather, trust me this will save you frustration. If after several attempts to start the bike and no luck move the choke lever down about a 1/4 of the way peddle up to speed and try again. Repeat this process until it starts minus continuous pushing of the tickler. After the break in period you can usually start the choke about in the middle and you will notice your engine will not be as touchy about the starting choke position. In both cases once the engine is warm push the choke all the way down so your engine can give you full performance.... Operating Your Motorized Bicycle, Video Click Here. Can I Ride My Motorized Bike In The Rain? From our research we have found mixed opinions on riding in the rain. As for the motor aspect, everything is sealed like a motorcycle but it is the electrical parts that will need protecting from the rain. My opinion would be to wait for more motorized bike friendly weather, you are not going to die if you don't ride your bike that day even though it may feel like it. You will have to use you best judgment on the severity of rain whether it is a light drizzle to just downright pouring. If You decide to ride in rainy conditions here are some things you need to consider. The ignition or the little black box that gets spark to your spark plug need to be rain proof by either covering with a plastic bag or silicone the opening where the wire comes out. You also want to put dielectric grease on all electrical connections to rain proof, as well as wrap connections with electrical tape for added protection. Finally on the bottom left side of the engine where the wires go into the magneto you want to silicon the opening to completely waterproof. Oh, also there is a computer chip inside of the throttle handgrip that controls the engine kill, so this will need some rain proofing as well. Have fun happy motoring. What Should My Chain Tension Be? There should be a range of 1/4 - 1/2 inch play. It has been our experience that this is acceptable chain tension. If you make adjustments your chain does not need to be super tight but needs to be aligned properly with the rear sprocket as well as adequate tension. This is the main reason we have upgraded the chain tensioner clamping nuts and bolts for you. What Extra Care Goes Into Assembling My Bike? We do several things to make sure you have and enjoyable experience actually riding the bike instead of making time-consuming adjustments. I Received My Bike, What Now? I recommend You locate the local motorcycle/scooter and bicycle shops. The motorcycle shops should have the right spark plug for your engine. Use only spark plug model# NGKB5HS. If you decide to use a different spark plug you need to be very careful and know what you are doing or you could damage the engine. The bicycle shops will have other things you will need throughout the life of the motorized bicycle that are more bicycle related. Whats The Best And Worst Terrain To Ride On? -Riding your motorized bike on pavement is the ideal choice. AVOID or be careful on gravel because it is very slippery and can be dangerous to ride on. Stay off of soft dirt because it will greatly strain the engine. The engine is not geared for soft dirt. Riding on hard dirt roads is ok but the carburetor filter will probably need cleaning more frequently. -Streets and any hard pavement is ideal riding terrain which is really what these motorized bikes are designed for. The smoother the pavement the better. -Treating the bike as a motor cross bike, including harsh off-roading and jumping is strongly not recommended and can damage the motorized bike. As stated previously these are really street machines. Do not ride your motorized bike on highways or freeways. -Light grade hills are ok, but it depends on the riders weight and the grade of the hill whereas some San Francisco style hills are too steep. We plan on offering different gearing for people who live in hilly areas in the future but for now, when riding on hills you must use your best judgment and listen to the sound of the engine. If it is straining too much then the hill is to steep. You must also pay special attention to clutch slippage when riding on hills. Burned up clutch plates are not covered by our warranty because it is user error not a mechanical malfunction. How To Preserve The Clutch. -When you ride you always want to pedal up to speed and then engage the clutch to accelerate, which will greatly increase clutch life. Never try to accelerate from a dead stop it is harder on the clutch and will reduce its life. Don't ride the clutch too much when accelerating because this creates unnecessary friction. Those of you who know how to drive a manual transmission know what I am talking about. -You always want to pay attention to signs of the clutch plates slipping. This is the fastest way to burn up the clutch. We have properly adjusted and tested the clutch before you will receive it and you want to make sure it stays that way and you should see thousands of miles out of it. How Do I Know My Clutch Is Adjusted Properly? -Your clutch is in adjustment when you can leave your bike running on the kick stand and it does not want to run away and you don't hear the clutch plates grinding from slightly engaging. -Your clutch is adjusted when you are riding and there is no slippage, especially on inclines. Clear signs of slippage are excessive engine rpm and noise with slow movement. -When you accelerate the clutch should engage firmly when you completely release the lever. -You will have to make minor adjustment throughout the life of the clutch, but most if not all can be made without opening the clutch housing. Adjustments can be made by the threaded insert on the clutch handle for fine adjustments or the position of the clutch cable in the lever on engine for larger adjustments. Riding Your Motorized Bike With Long Pants. Even though both chains on the bike are exposed and pretty well out of the way of harm, it's a good idea to roll your pants up so bell-bottom type pants don't accidentally get caught in the chains. We place the engine in the lowest position in the bicycles frame for the best balance and center of gravity. Therefore the bicycle side chain guard does not fit once the engine is installed and the generic engine drive chain guard requires some fabrication to fit these frames, which may scratch the paint. We will leave the optional chain guard installation to the customer and send them with your kit. Personally we think they look cooler without them.... Riding At Night And Bicycle Must Haves. You must at all times of the day wear a properly fitting bicycle helmet and have basic front and rear bicycle reflectors for visibility. If you ride at night you must have your front and rear lights on. I recommend getting a rear bicycle light that has a flashing option. This works great for visibility during the twilight hours of the day especially around cars. I would leave the rear light flashing when it is dark so other motorist sees you better. How Do I Attach My Coaster Brake? When you receive your bike the coaster brake will be fully attached. Why does my bike run rough, stall, and have power delays? For your first 2 gallons gas you should be running 16:1 gas to 2-stroke oil. This is a little rich but it will add increased protection to your engine during the early break-in period. If you have added more that 8 ounces of 2-cycle oil to one gallon of gasoline thinking more is better, this could be the problem. Check your spark plug and if it is wet/oily black then you are running too rich. Some black on the spark plug is normal during 16:1 but not excessively. To clean spark plug Take some fine sandpaper and gently clean the points until you see clean metal. Rinse spark plug thoroughly with carburetor cleaner and it should run like new. Re-gap the spark plug to .028 - .034 of an inch if necessary. We leave our carburetors at the factory setting. If you live in significantly higher or lower elevations than Chico, Ca a very simple carburetor adjustment may be necessary. Why does my chain keep loosening? When you purchase one of our partially assembled kits we precut and fit the chain for you. Your chain may still stretch so just adjust the tensioner wheel vertically as needed. When you are out of vertical adjustment slide the whole chain tensioner toward the sprocket, which will create additional tensioning. Don't forget to tighten those tensioner bolts well. After you have adjusted any of the tensioner bolts and re-tightened I strongly recommended you add more non-permanent thread locker behind these tightened bolts on the tensioner wheel nut and clamping bolts. When you receive your bike from us we do this for you but after you have loosened any of the bolts we have locktited you need to retighten and add more locktite for additional safety. Be sure not to over tighten because excessive bolt tightening can lead to bolt stripping. Bolt loosening and sprocket changing. Your motorized bicycle will experience a fair amount of vibrations, which is normal. When you purchase one of our bikes we will "locktite" the sprocket nuts and bolts for you to completely eliminate loosening. Loosening of the sprocket should never ever happen! When you receive your bike from us adjusting the sprocket nuts and bolts is strongly not recommended. In fact you will more than likely throw it out of alignment. However if in the future you decide to change your sprocket to a different size to suit your performance tastes, then make sure you retighten the bolts in a star formation really good, but be careful not to over tighten them because you will strip them. Make sure your sprocket is aligned properly so when the tire spins your sprocket should not look like it's wobbling. Put some non-permanent thread locker behind the tightened nuts. This way the bolts cannot vibrate loose because the tread locker is behind it. Why does gas leak from bike after it has been sitting? Make sure your fuel valve is tightly screwed into the gas tank. Make sure the fuel valve is in the off position. The lever on the fuel valve has an arrow on it, make sure it points to the "on" or "off" position. Always turn fuel valve to off position when not in use or it will siphon off your gas. Make sure the fuel lines are secure. What tools should I take with me when I ride? I recommend that you buy the small bags that attach to the bottom of your bicycles seat and store these tools in it to take with you when you ride your new motorized bicycle. It is especially important when you adjust any of the drive side chain tensioner bolts that you retighten firmly and re-locktite. This also includes the wheel nut and bolt. You only want max a 1/2" deflection in the chain between the tension wheel and where the chain is feed to the sprocket. The instructions manual confirms on page 9. Keeping adequate chain tensioning will prevent the chain from possibly jumping of the rear sprocket. This is why we have gone through the process of cutting the chain for you and locktiting all tensioner bolts. So keep an eye on that chain during the break-in period. These adjustments should be made at home. Test riding the bike first in an area close to home whenever you make adjustments is always wise. Always, always take a small Phillips screw driver that will fit the little brass clutch cable adjuster. In the event that you are out riding and it comes loose you want to be able to adjust it back so you will not be stranded. If it comes loose and you don't have the Phillips screwdriver it will be obvious that the clutch has fully engaged and the bike is un-ridable. To properly re-adjust take the clutch cable out of the clutch arm guesstimate where the fitting should sit then tighten good. You will have to push in the clutch arm and slide the cable back in the slot. Test by locking the clutch lever hand grip, if the back tire moves freely when the clutch hand lever is locked and the rear tire locks when the clutch hand lever is release you may be all set. This may take some trial and error. In this case it is best to tighten this part very firmly, a little insurance never hurt. We tighten these fittings extra firm for our customers. So, make sure you always carry a Phillips screw driver for the little clutch cable adjuster. Before You Ride Get Some "Slime" Tube Sealant From The Bicycle Shop. This Is The Reason. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You don't want to be dealing with changing flat tires all the time. On your motorized bicycle you will be covering a lot of new ground, territories and scenery. This is great and fun but also increases the risk of a flat tire. This by no means will completely prevent all flats but it cuts down the odds considerably by essentially adding a thick layer of protection inside your inner tube. The stuff is called "Slime" tube sealant, which you can purchase at your local bicycle shop. For additional protection to the slime you might consider adding a pair of inner tube protection strips that line the inside of the tire, ask your local bike shop. Happy Biking... There is 30-day warranty on minor parts such as; clutch lever assembly, throttle grip assembly, carburetor, driveline chain, gas tank and gas flow valves. We do not warranty the engines, clutch friction plates or any part of the assembled engine unit as a whole. Our warranty only covers mechanical malfunctions, not accidents, water damage, stolen bike or any and all bike parts or damage from user error. We will always honor our warranty provided it is not clearly damaged from an accident or abuse. Again we only warranty parts listed here that are not doing the job they are supposed to, so make sure you follow the instructions. When we install the engines we have already tested them and are confident in there performance. We cannot be held liable for abused engines or other parts. Questions about your new motorized bicycle are always welcome. Local customers are responsible to bring the bike to the store for warranty work and must schedule an appointment first. Our warranty only covers all parts listed above that malfunctions within the warranty period. There Are No Refunds. First Contact us to make arrangements for store visit. PURCHASERS CLICK HERE TO PRINT A COPY FOR YOUR RECORDS  All Of Our Engine Kits Are EPA Approved. Disclaimer We strive to offer the best quality parts. However it is ultimately the users responsibility for the upkeep and performance of their new motorized bicycle. We are in no way liable for any and all personal injuries that may result from operator use. We are not liable in any way for damage to the motorized bicycle or its parts that may result from operator misuse. Our warranty is specific and only covers the parts listed within it under the specified terms and time period. You can read the warranty on the support page. NOTE: certain motorized kit parts such as hand grip styles, clutch styles and mufflers seen in videos and pictures on this website are not guaranteed to be identical to what you may receive in your kit. In the case of mufflers they will either be black or chrome. Rest assured they all perform the same; there is just slight variances our in suppliers. Have fun safe motoring! Copyright  2009 Alternative Transportation. All rights reserved. |
CLUTCH CABLE ADJUSTMENTS
Adjusting the clutch cable to maintain proper clutch function!
