Building a motorized bike?

i don't think this actually applies to your thread but i happened to come across this the other day and was utterly amazed and have been wanting to tell youze about it.

(another even less applicable link... but cool... 125 cruise on 18 hp.)

b.w.

"Ken C. M."

It will be a vehicle with a motor - a motor vehicle. There will be laws about registration and about how it may, or may not, be constructed.

Jeremy Parker

x-no-archive:yes

But a dirt bike is not street legal. Or am I missing something.

but I am guessing it would be too heavy. (??) I bet it would fly though.

I respond:

To give you an idea of what to expect, speed-wise, here are some free plans for a minibike which calls for a two-and-one-half horsepower engine, just one-half horsepower less than yours. The speed is claimed to be ten miles per hour:

I think what mj meant to say was "mountain bike" (bicycle) instead of "dirt bike" (motorcycle).

paul d oosterhout I work for SAIC

In the 1950's I had a "Travis Bike Motor". That's the kind that mounts onto the front fork and drives the front tire with a sort of grind stone. It's not something that you'd put on a "skinny tired" bike, but it worked well. Yes, it wore the front tire out faster than normal, but so what? That outfit came with a nice comfortable seat that was a lot larger than normal. It was great for motoring, but got in the way of my legs when pedaling. It would go up to 35 miles per hour, faster than I usually wanted to go on a bike like that. Even though it did pedal pretty easily, it did add about 15 pounds to to the bike. If you really want dual fuel (you OR the motor) then that is the way to go. I think they are still around, and mabye even a version where the motor mounts on the rear wheel. But if I were you, I'd decide which way to go then optimaize for it.

Pete Stanaitis

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stryped wrote:

YOu need to adjust your derailleurs so that the chain doesn't get tossed off the crank when you shift gears. There are limit screws on the derailleur you can adjust. I suggest taking a peek at

. Adding a motor is probably not the best idea.

-------------- Alex

Isn't it a good idea to have it nonetheless? Or does your personal liability insurance cover it?

Jasper

Better yet look at this electric bike.

Its in Canada OK? but you can probably get it in the States too.

Chinise made, 21 speed, 36 volts, full front and back suspention. It has lights, disk brakes, and will go for about 100 Km. (60 miles) at about 27 km an hour.

The name of the bike is Strong. Beleive-me it is. I'm king of the heavy side (265 lbs) .

Went for a ride on one yesterday, and drove-it about 60 km. Since I need the exercise, I peddaled-it a lot. Easy to do when its assisted.

I'm buying one this week (birthday) The cost is $899.00 cdn.

I have an 15 speed that I converted (added) a Zappy 24 volts system (roller on the back wheel.

Being this heavy I only get about 25 km at 20 km. speed.

BTW if they ask you for a zip code (postal code) then use J3R5K6 and you should get there.

Enjoy!!

LOL. Nah, I meant a motorcycle. I guess I did not know that a dirt bike was not legal on the street. But come to think of it, I guess I don't see them very often either. A mountain bike would be my choice. 14 miles one way would not be too bad until it got really cold. Mike

It depends on what you mean by "good idea". My first concern should I be in a serious motorcycle accident is whether I have health insurance on myself, which I do. I suppose my second priority is to have life insurance on myself, which I do.

But do I think the risk of causing massive property damage or injury to someone else on my motorbike is very high? No. Certainly it's not a high enough risk to justify voluntarily doing business with people who bribed the government into requiring me to buy their profit-making product. I can be coerced into buying it, but I won't voluntarily do business with that kind of gangster.

Chalo Colina

I should have mentioned that the mini bike in the plans which I posted the link to is geared for off-road use. Of course, with gearing designed for on-road use, a person could do better, speed-wise. Also, the Yahoo group minibikebuilders has free plans for about a half-dozen different motorcycles of all sizes, including a tricycle. The plans are in the "files" section, with additional links to plans being posted in the archives. Since this is an unmoderated group, there is therefore no waiting period to join and access these plans, and, of course, there is also a number spam posts in the several-hundred-message archive:

I know that locally, health insurance policy applications explicitly include "Do you own or ride a motorcycle?" in the questionnaire, and I'm told that the rate adjustment for a "yes" in that category is steep[1]. I know that Texas will happily sell any insurance company (or anyone else, for that matter) a list of all of the Texas-licensed drivers with a motorcycle endorsement on their driver's license.

[1] health insurance rates here are nothing short of exorbitant already; I haven't been able to afford any for the last 20 years.

Umm. All you have to do is to hit a pedestrian hard enough to put them in the hospital for a while before he dies, or worse, cripple him. It isn't hard, and if the deceased was well-paid, the bill from his family for the lifetime earnings that will not happen will be quite large, and in addition to the medical and support costs.

We just had a case like this, where a student (in a car, but never mind) hit a man walking to the train station (on his way to work in the financial district), then drove away leaving the injured for dead. A friend of my wife's came by just after, saw the crumpled body, and called 911, probably saving his life. The police did catch the student.

I don't know if the man has recovered enough to return to work, but he will have permanent disabilities. I haven't yet heard what happened to the student, but this certainly isn't going to help launch his career.

Joe Gwinn

I wonder...Do you plan on using a mortician in the future. They did the same thing. :)

A motorized bicycle is a great idea for low income people who can't afford to drive a car and can't peddle the distance. For under $300 you can buy an engine kit and a brand new cruiser bike and have a vehicle that will get you to work and back using a tiny amount of gas. I'm about to hop on mine and begin my 28 mile daily commute, and I enjoy the ride.

Q

Joseph Gw> >

This is one place where a little deregulation might go a long way. A century ago, in much of the US, it was still legal for a family to simply bury the deceased themselves in the family plot. I know that there are states where this is not the case now.

Pray that they do not become too popular; if it happens, they *will* be regulated. Depend on it.

3 hp Brigs means a Motorcycle or Moped. It exceeds the 49cc rule and the Electric Bicycle 750W rule. Not a good thing to put on any bicycle since the bicycle has a hard time meeting the safety DOT standards of a Motorized Vehicle.

Electrify it

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