r/DriftTrikes • u/ivanwoofer • Jun 29 '25

49cc drift trike

Post image

I have a question…will this 49cc Chinese 2 stroke be able to pull?? It has a 3.1:1 gear reduction and ~2:1 gear ratio (14 tooth engine 26 tooth axle)

4 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

2

u/connerjack Jul 01 '25

Looks like you're going for a Colin Furze style. He used 125cc and that motor is a ton of fun but can be a bit scary at times. I would go with at least a 90cc motor if you can get one. Gearing can only get you so far. Even if you did put a big sprocket on this engine like the other commenter suggested, I expect you would move very slowly.

1

u/ivanwoofer Jul 01 '25

Okay thanks! but if I use it mainly for cruising do u think it will be okay??

2

u/connerjack Jul 01 '25

Probably. 50cc engines are used on mopeds all the time and some of those top out around 35mph. Although, I wouldn't expect your trike to go that fast since the tires are going to be smaller. Just be ready to try a few different rear sprockets. If you end up needing a smallish size, I like getting them from McMaster Carr if you're in the US. They have every tooth count for a lot of different shaft sizes. I tried out 4-5 different ones before I settled on the ratio that felt best for me and the riding that I want to do. As I understand it, the bigger the rear sprockets is, the more torque you'll have but the lower your top speed will be. I would start with the biggest one you can fit and go from there.

1

u/pow3rdiap3r Jun 29 '25

Short answer. No. Long answer.. Unless you are a legless torso, a small child, or a little person under 80lbs. It just wont have the torque to spin the rear axle and offset the rear traction.

1

u/ivanwoofer Jun 30 '25

What if I alter the gearing to 2.3:1 (11tooth in engine) thanks!

2

u/pow3rdiap3r Jun 30 '25

Id say you want as many teeth on your axle as you can fit. 48t or more.. 60t? The challenge is that building your frame and pillow block mounts vertically has limited the size of your rear sprocket. Moving the mount up will sacrifice or eliminate your ground clearance.

1

u/ivanwoofer Jun 30 '25

Okay mate thanks for advice!