Front Engine Install On A Suspension Fork?

Has anyone mounted a front engine on a bike with late-model front suspension(not the springer fork)?


I was gonna convert my girlie bike to twin Mitsubishi friction driven engines. The bike already had rear Staton setup, and my thinking was "More is better." Years ago, a Rockshox fork was installed on it to lessen the shocking impact of an electric hub and 80 lbs of batteries. This e-bike had too many disadvantages, so I stripped the electricals and converted to gas engine.

When I tried to mount the engine bracket onto the suspension fork, it was a no-go.

Has anyone successfully made custom brackets for this combination? There is VERY little "meat" on the suspension fork's "bridge" to build on.

FWIW, because I couldn't install the front engine on the girlie bike, the twin Mits engines were subsequently mounted on a new Raleigh 7-speed cruiser with solid front fork. Due to the extra weight and solid fork, the ride is VERY harsh. As soon as I find resolution to this issue, I'll move the girlie's bike's suspension fork over to "Mr. Hyde," my dual-engined monstrous creation.

Thanks for any help.
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Honey, it's just a bicycle. and i REALLY need it to excercise, and to ride it to work.(hehe)

Should be a piece of cake. Mount it as if you could only mount to the axles. I.E. two straight legs to the axles. Now fix two arms (to wrap the forks if wanted and) tied to the front V brake braze-ons. All MTB type suspension forks I've see have them. The two arms are just for the mount to "hold on". All the weight to be carried on the straight legs.

If you wanna get fancy, make the mount from a nice looking fork with the steerer cut off. One with a curve to the legs will give a better angle mating with the dropouts on the suspension fork. You'll have to grind off both sets of lawyer lips.

The whole shebang should look something like a rear triangle rotated up.

You will probably have to use a rear axle or skewer (stronger) to get the length of axle needed.

Good luck.

Ted

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Thanks for tips, Ted.

What are "lawyer lips"?

I intend to use legs to support the rear motor mount. The front struts will act as a hoist to raise/lower the engine.

Lawyer lips are the ridges on the bottom of vertical dropouts that keep the wheel from falling out if the axle or QR loosens up a little. The )&(*)*&%^ things that make you back off the nuts almost all the way to get the wheel off. Obvious name.

Older bikes didn't have them.

Let us know how this works. I haven't actually done it but no reason it shouldn't work just fine.

Ted

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Thanks for explaining, Ted.

The axle struts, v-bosses, downtubes and downtube brace should be enough connections to make the front engine install on a suspension fork. Right now the engine mounts on a solid front fork, and the ride without suspension is VERY harsh. All the stuff in my front basket want to jump out when I hit a crack in the road.

After doing some research, I found a front pannier rack for suspension forks. This one is cheap enough, and should help make the install easier:

Front pannier forks. What do they do to low speed maneuverability? You know . . . performance issue at the Roadeo.

Ted

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Speaking of the Roadeo. I used to live in Houston. They have lots of COBs. Cops On Bikes. Ever watch them on their fixies? Stop dead at a light or stop sign without falling over?

Can you do that? I sure can't.

They stay up by twitching the handlebars back and forth. You wouldn't be able to do that with an engine or panniers on the forks (if you can do it now).

Ted

PS You forgot the pannier rack link.

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Yes, I've seen the avid bike riders on fixies or light bikes at the lights, balancing at a stop. Neither I nor this bike "Mr. Hyde" can or want to do that.

Manueverability is something ya don't have with a front engine install, especially with a basket full of groceries at a crawl. Balance and center of gravity is way off. However, once this heavy bike gets rolling, the ride is awesome, especially with both engines in midrange at 20 mph. It handles like a 1967 Chevy Impala with a 427" big-block engine, aka land barge.

It really fits the description of a moped, which is a motorized pedacycle.

To park the bike and keep it from tipping, I use a standard bike stand AND a rear bike stand. I also tie a nylon rope from the right handle bar grip to seatpost, because the left-side handlebar wants to kiss the fuel tank. And the entire bicycle wants to lay flat on its left side.

I think I need a Whizzer rear bike stand.

The pannier rack weighs less than a can of soda, so extra weight is negligible. I won't use panniers because it draws unwanted attention from casual roaming thieves.

I've got my trusty front basket, which also doubles as my shift gate and positive shift stop for the lever that raises/lowers the engine.

You need a setup like the old Schwinn lock on the head tube. It locks the fork. I see them every now and then. Most even have the keys.

Ted

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