Just wanted to post that I've been commuting to work and back, about 14 miles round trip, for the past 3 weeks. I'm riding a Honda 4g build that I bought complete from Spooky Tooth. I believe my frame is the "Stealth" although I have white side-wall tires which I like.

My impressions:
- The engine is very quiet compared to a 2-stroke
- The timing belt drive is also quiet, and appears to be well machined and of high quality and precision.
- I'm in Tucson, and so have been having to keep it at 20 mph when traveling, but I've opened it up a couple of times and gotten up to about 30 mph before it really topped out (44 tooth rear sprocket). The engine gets pretty loud at 30 mph though from the rpm.
- The engine starts easily with the re-coil starter. Only about 5-6 pulls on the string to start when cold. Just one pull if the engine is still relatively warm.
- I don't know the exact miles per gallon I've been getting. But a full 2.5 liter tank gets me to work and back the whole week, plus some minimal weekend riding. All for about $1.60 in 89-octane gas. Its nice not having to mix oil into the gas. One less thing to carry and worry about.
- The low end torque isn't the greatest so acceleration is fairly slow from standing at a stop light. I often give it a few pedals as a helper. Once it gets up to about 10 miles per hour, the power kicks in.
-The engine vibrations play games with nuts and bolts. A couple of days ago, one of the pedal crank arms completely fell off because the nut holding it on had loosened over time! I'll be using some mild Loctite from here on out, and suggest others do the same.

Overall, I'm glad I bought it. I've only got 10 hours on the engine now. I'll check back after the first 100 hours of run-time and tell you how its going.

~Kevin Coffin

Hey Kev,

I just got one myself a complete Hot Shoe Racer though,I ride mine to work as well but not as many miles maybe 6 round trip,thanks for the tip on the loose bolt I try to check them as often as I can,keep me posted on how your ride is treating you,later.

Hector

How do these 4 strokes compare in size to the 2 strokes?
I'm trying to estimate how much space these kits need and if the frame I'm thinking of will work.