Gas Bicycle Schwinn Cruiser Six

7 September 2009:  Life seems to be have gotten in the way of writing about this build.  I have managed to get it all together.  Actually ended up with the Thatsdax motor going on the bike.  One of the rear mounts on Mark's engine is broke off inside.  I have not had a chance to get it out.  So that left me with the Thatsdax kit.  This is probably a good thing since there is a lot of vibration on this bike.  I think that it related to the relatively small tubes on the frame, everything is only one inch.  I found a paint that matched the maroon on the bike and a clear gloss that works out to make the tank that color.

The open space for the motor is very large so I built both front and rear mounting brackets.  My front bracket consists of  a couple muffler clamps, two eye bolts,  a very large bolt, and a bit of heater hose.

So far this set up seems to work.  I have crafted a rear mount that is a knock off of SBP shifter kit.  I am probably going to rework it to allow the engine to be off center  to the left of the frame so I can use a bolt-on rear sprocket.

One of my main reasons for buying this bike was the great rear rack.  I modified it to sit a bit higher. All this took is adding a 4 inch rod to one end of the bracket and moving the side mount up a bit.  I put a Cateye tail light, which I managed to lose in one day.  I am looking for a mirror but in the interim I fabricated one from a real cheap mirror and a long piece of  aluminum tubing.  It is working okay but it is one of those mirrors that makes everything appear farther away.  For front lights I decided to use another Serengeti flashlight and the NiteRider off of my Skyliner.  

The gas tank is mongo huge.  I think on the cruiser frame that it looks OK.  When the engine is broke in I should be able to go 125 miles on one tank of gas.  I am using Krylon clear glaze to get a nice shiny tank.   I only hope that the glaze can handle the fuel.

I haven't really gone many places on the bike.  Mostly just up to grocery stores and liquor stores.  I really like the cruiser style handle bars.  My neck keeps getting stiffer and sorer all the time.  That has really limited me doing anything.  I am lucky if I can put an hour into working on the bike on any given day.

I have pretty much decided to put the Skyliner up for sale and keep this bike.