Looking for advice on custom scooter

[cantgo2fast]

I started a summer project a while ago I want to make a custom scooter or motorcycle like thing. Right now all I have is a 5-7hp two stroke lawnmoer engine, electric start, very cool. Works/runs fine everything is apart engine is all by itself. Going junkyartd shopping next week. decided on 2 wheel chain drive, squeeze throttle. Wheels im lookin for are extremely fat(6in+) rear wheel and like 8-10in x 2-4in front. gonna be weird lookin. Biggest problem i can think of right now is gonna be the brakes i dunno if i should go with disc or ome other kind of brake system. I cant use one off a bicycle because the wheels will be too fat. Plus i want more stopping power than a bicycle setup. I will post pics of my sketch in a bit dad has digital camera.

[mike@af]

Use disc brakes definately. Take them off an old scooter, or mountain bike.

[97civiclx]

what i did on mine is just put a brake band around my clutch and that seemed to work perfect. i can email you picsif you want.

[cantgo2fast]

Pix of yours would be awsome([email protected])

[speediva]

For brakes, I would try to find like a beat-up old 250cc motorcycle with brakes still intact. I imagine that should do the trick just fine.

[Jimmiz71]

Crap.. I just got rid of a YZ80 that was sitting in my garage forever.. it had disc brakes front and back... Check with your local used bike dealer they always have tons of shit out back im sure you could get a cheap set of disc brakes off an old scooter or dirtbike there..Junk yards too..
-Jimmy

[cantgo2fast]

Yeah i'm going to a couple junkyards when I can I will defenitely got to this one that is stricktly motorcycles so I hope I will be able to find most of what I need for the drivetrain there. The frame will be totally custom though, which kinda sucks cuz i dunno how to weld, I can always nut and bolt eveything which might be better in the long run. I could take everything apart if something breaks but it will also take longer. does anybody know what kind of rpm a lawnmower engine makes at the blade??

[Integra06]

Originally Posted by cantgo2fast

I started a summer project a while ago I want to make a custom scooter or motorcycle like thing. Right now all I have is a 5-7hp two stroke lawnmoer engine, electric start, very cool. Works/runs fine everything is apart engine is all by itself. Going junkyartd shopping next week. decided on 2 wheel chain drive, squeeze throttle. Wheels im lookin for are extremely fat(6in+) rear wheel and like 8-10in x 2-4in front. gonna be weird lookin. Biggest problem i can think of right now is gonna be the brakes i dunno if i should go with disc or ome other kind of brake system. I cant use one off a bicycle because the wheels will be too fat. Plus i want more stopping power than a bicycle setup. I will post pics of my sketch in a bit dad has digital camera.

Wow, an intelligent being. I would definately use disc brakes. And also, for the frame, learn to weld or get someone to weld it for you. At first, it looks like nuts and bolts might hack it, but in the end you're a lot safer having it welded, not to mention that the frame will be stronger and have less of a chance of having a bolt being sheared off or coming loose mid-ride.

[zebrathree]

Who cares what brakes, just chuck some .50 cals on it.

[Integra06]

Originally Posted by zebrathree

Who cares what brakes, just chuck some .50 cals on it.

That too!

[cantgo2fast]

Im lookin to hit low 40s in this I know ill be able to cuz Ive been in go-karts with 6hp and they do 40 plus ill gear it a little higher. will bare calipers be able to give me serious stopping power that way I dont run into a dog or little kid. And wont they wear fast because of metal-on-metal friction. The other problem with that is I have to make a system to link the calipers to my brake squeeze lever by my handlebars.

[cantgo2fast]

Another thing would it be better to have the brake in front or back?

[speediva]

As for where you put the brakes... all I can offer you is that on a motorcycle, 75-80% of the stopping power is in the front brakes. The remainder is in the rear. It's of course b/c of the rear wheel being the drive wheel on the bike. Not sure if it would work the same way with your scoot or not, but that's what I know... it's only worth $.01 in this case. Good luck. Can't wait to see pics!

[cantgo2fast]

Well unfortunately its probably going to be a while before I have something worth taking a picture of

[Integra06]

Originally Posted by saturntangerine

As for where you put the brakes... all I can offer you is that on a motorcycle, 75-80% of the stopping power is in the front brakes. The remainder is in the rear. It's of course b/c of the rear wheel being the drive wheel on the bike. Not sure if it would work the same way with your scoot or not, but that's what I know... it's only worth $.01 in this case. Good luck. Can't wait to see pics!

The exact same thing applies on a bicycle about the front brakes being most of the overall stopping power. The reason being, you're travelling in a forward direction and the front wheel acts like a hinge between the bike and the ground because the weight shifts forward when you hit the brakes, whereas the weight over the rear wheel is being raised higher in the air so there is less weight for the brakes to stop moving.