I'm unfarmiliar with this -- Can someone go into detail about the friction drive? Or provide a link to an explanation?
Also, to whoever posted (i'm too lazy to look) about the trailer, that's a great idea and I'm going to do that.
Hi, I'm planning a huge adventure, please help!
- Thread starter crowley1027
- Start date
I'm unfarmiliar with this -- Can someone go into detail about the friction drive? Or provide a link to an explanation?
Also, to whoever posted (i'm too lazy to look) about the trailer, that's a great idea and I'm going to do that.
Heh, that's what I was gonna say, or CL ride share might even be cheaper if you're diligent and luck out. A decent pedal bicycle would be more reliable considering at least half the $2K budget would be gone building a decent MB.
crowley, these are friction drives:
dax friction drive - YouTube
, for less hassle I agree about going towards a 4-stroke. Can just gas up anywhere without worrying about mix. and some China engines go through quite a teething process before their happy.
dax friction drive - YouTube
, for less hassle I agree about going towards a 4-stroke. Can just gas up anywhere without worrying about mix. and some China engines go through quite a teething process before their happy.
Take the bus? Really? Really? 
I think those whom would laugh off an adventure like this with such a "practical" suggestion may be missing the point, profoundly.
I would think it obvious that anyone that would consider a cross country trip on a bicycle, motorized or otherwise isn't interested in spending a couple few hundred bucks to be trapped in a tin box, constantly assaulted by the piercing wails of squalling children, trying desperately to cling to sanity as you sit squashed between packed rows of bovine drones all sucking the same stale perfume of unwashed carcasses and diesel fumes, unable to do anything but watch another gas station roll by, bleating helplessly in frustrated anguish for four days straight with the most excitement you can possibly look forward to being struggling in vain to open your complementarity bag of peanuts...
If you even get a bag of peanuts.
A journey into the unknown as the OP suggested isn't about the destination, isn't about budget or any "practicalities" - it's about the adventure of getting there, as the title suggests. To wander the countryside, to partake of what this land has to offer, to be one with the wind, the road, the weather. To learn of yourself and the others you may meet, to not just see new places but to relish, to be part of them for no other reason than to to challenge yourself, to learn to see, to know of more than the same old stretch of endless superhighway, with it's identical rest stops dotting the countryside, with yet another McDonalds the only thing to break the monotony.
Sure it's risky, you'd better not even attempt such a trip unless you accept the fact that you may not make it, that you will spend time cold, wet and miserable, that there will be times where you feel lost and alone, that at any point you may be forced to abandon everything you've with you, that you may have no other choice than to hang your hat where you are, or to suck it up and buy that bus ticket home...
Yet what adventure would there be if there was no risk, no challenges to face?
Do it, wander this beautiful land by whatever means you can. Build yourself a motorized bicycle and if the motor quits, pedal it. If the bike quits, walk. If your feet can take it no longer you can always bail, the learning experience, the sights, sounds and smells worth every penny invested, the wisdom earned, the insight gleaned worth so much more than the price, what meager possessions you have with you, what you would stand to lose so much less than what you will gain. I've nothing but the deepest respect for anyone who would even contemplate getting off their sofa to go live for a moment, to break away from the discovery channel to go discover for themselves, to dare to dream of something different, to stop whiling away the hours, days, the years of your life playing video games to just go play.
To stop watching to go do.
If you're tethered by responsibility, obligations, time and debt - sure, getting there may be the only priority, the only option. If you're scared of change, inured to the tedious monotony, complacent comfort your only interest - then no, such a risky proposition isn't for you and that's well and good, for you... but please don't nay say for it's sake alone, don't hamper another with your limitations, ones you've chosen for yourself. Dare to dream if just for a moment, if only vicariously through others, imagining for even just a second you were not so hampered, that you too could savor the rare, exquisite taste of freedom - if you could but try, to think of what may lay in store for such an adventurer, to warn of real dangers, to appreciate the challenge, to actually appreciate the depth of experience.... who knows, you just may find you're not as trapped as you thought, you too may find a moment to break away, to go do something for a change - or at least help a guy along his way.
Two grand, a small price to pay for a life worth living, even if for just a couple of months. What there is to see, to do, to learn - these things will last a lifetime, well worth the investment even if the bike blows up, if all you have to show for it when you get there is some pictures, a handful of stories and memories rich with experience. To regret not even trying a far worse consequence than the loss of a few dollars and a bike.
Don't listen to those that would scoff, they've no idea what there is to be gained.
Any half decent bicycle & trailer will do, I would recommend a rear rack mount, chain drive four stroke for it's simplicity, quiet operation and longevity. Belts and tires wear out too fast for friction or belt drive to be the best option & much as I do appreciate the HTs, they are too loud and unreliable for the longest of trips, a rack mount easy enough to rid yourself of should it fail completely... but even that doesn't really matter, it's the doing, the trying that counts with whatever you've got, whenever you can. I wish you only the best of luck man, may the wind be always at your back, that friendly smiles & dry campsites greet you wherever you go.
I think those whom would laugh off an adventure like this with such a "practical" suggestion may be missing the point, profoundly.
I would think it obvious that anyone that would consider a cross country trip on a bicycle, motorized or otherwise isn't interested in spending a couple few hundred bucks to be trapped in a tin box, constantly assaulted by the piercing wails of squalling children, trying desperately to cling to sanity as you sit squashed between packed rows of bovine drones all sucking the same stale perfume of unwashed carcasses and diesel fumes, unable to do anything but watch another gas station roll by, bleating helplessly in frustrated anguish for four days straight with the most excitement you can possibly look forward to being struggling in vain to open your complementarity bag of peanuts...
If you even get a bag of peanuts.
A journey into the unknown as the OP suggested isn't about the destination, isn't about budget or any "practicalities" - it's about the adventure of getting there, as the title suggests. To wander the countryside, to partake of what this land has to offer, to be one with the wind, the road, the weather. To learn of yourself and the others you may meet, to not just see new places but to relish, to be part of them for no other reason than to to challenge yourself, to learn to see, to know of more than the same old stretch of endless superhighway, with it's identical rest stops dotting the countryside, with yet another McDonalds the only thing to break the monotony.
Sure it's risky, you'd better not even attempt such a trip unless you accept the fact that you may not make it, that you will spend time cold, wet and miserable, that there will be times where you feel lost and alone, that at any point you may be forced to abandon everything you've with you, that you may have no other choice than to hang your hat where you are, or to suck it up and buy that bus ticket home...
Yet what adventure would there be if there was no risk, no challenges to face?
Do it, wander this beautiful land by whatever means you can. Build yourself a motorized bicycle and if the motor quits, pedal it. If the bike quits, walk. If your feet can take it no longer you can always bail, the learning experience, the sights, sounds and smells worth every penny invested, the wisdom earned, the insight gleaned worth so much more than the price, what meager possessions you have with you, what you would stand to lose so much less than what you will gain. I've nothing but the deepest respect for anyone who would even contemplate getting off their sofa to go live for a moment, to break away from the discovery channel to go discover for themselves, to dare to dream of something different, to stop whiling away the hours, days, the years of your life playing video games to just go play.
To stop watching to go do.
If you're tethered by responsibility, obligations, time and debt - sure, getting there may be the only priority, the only option. If you're scared of change, inured to the tedious monotony, complacent comfort your only interest - then no, such a risky proposition isn't for you and that's well and good, for you... but please don't nay say for it's sake alone, don't hamper another with your limitations, ones you've chosen for yourself. Dare to dream if just for a moment, if only vicariously through others, imagining for even just a second you were not so hampered, that you too could savor the rare, exquisite taste of freedom - if you could but try, to think of what may lay in store for such an adventurer, to warn of real dangers, to appreciate the challenge, to actually appreciate the depth of experience.... who knows, you just may find you're not as trapped as you thought, you too may find a moment to break away, to go do something for a change - or at least help a guy along his way.
Two grand, a small price to pay for a life worth living, even if for just a couple of months. What there is to see, to do, to learn - these things will last a lifetime, well worth the investment even if the bike blows up, if all you have to show for it when you get there is some pictures, a handful of stories and memories rich with experience. To regret not even trying a far worse consequence than the loss of a few dollars and a bike.
Don't listen to those that would scoff, they've no idea what there is to be gained.
Any half decent bicycle & trailer will do, I would recommend a rear rack mount, chain drive four stroke for it's simplicity, quiet operation and longevity. Belts and tires wear out too fast for friction or belt drive to be the best option & much as I do appreciate the HTs, they are too loud and unreliable for the longest of trips, a rack mount easy enough to rid yourself of should it fail completely... but even that doesn't really matter, it's the doing, the trying that counts with whatever you've got, whenever you can. I wish you only the best of luck man, may the wind be always at your back, that friendly smiles & dry campsites greet you wherever you go.
Last edited:
I'd offer the same advice to a young fellow that I'd offer if it were my own son asking:
Get yourself out there in one piece.
Get yourself out there in one piece.
You know, If you wanted to take a bit of a drive this weekend, you could swing up to NB and check out what I've been building, and possibly catch my friend Steve at work in his shop, Moto Throwbacks.
For the cost of getting a HT running halfway decent, you could pick up a motobecane or puch off him and have just as much fun on something less likely to detonate. I'm working on rebuilding a motobecane Moby right now, and they're more suited to that kind of trip after some minor mods.
For the cost of getting a HT running halfway decent, you could pick up a motobecane or puch off him and have just as much fun on something less likely to detonate. I'm working on rebuilding a motobecane Moby right now, and they're more suited to that kind of trip after some minor mods.
Awesome post. That excerpt was especially moving.
Is there any particular four stroke and mounting kit you'd recommend? Would you recommend a particular shift kit as well?
Besides the build which will break down and need parts there are laws in each state on riding MaBsI'm just trying to find the cheapest yet most reliable way to go about building the bike. I have around 2k to spend on the whole trip, and I'd like a little cash for when I hit Cali.
Maybe I should steal someone's chainsaw and rip it apart?
Just kidding, calm down
Be sure you can afford to have down time fixing and be sure you will not get your bike impounded and need even more money to get it out.
However I do like the movie idea and have thought about writing a book too.
Seriously this is 90% idea and 10% practice on a low budget.
I travel about 3 minutes a mile at best so calculate your distance at 3 minutes a mile and the need to stop every couple of hours just to get an idea of the time required.
Six hours a day of riding would be a lot.
Good luck
Thx guys, as you may be able to read between the lines, I've spent most of my life wanderin' this land, lookin' for what there is to see
...but they're not really my personal preference as they do have some (minor) disadvantages.
For the daily driving/commuting I do I find the location of the engine mildly awkward, it's high center of mass a touch cumbersome - while this is irrelevant for a long distance trip as you'd have full packs/panniers to counterbalance/lower the CG, there is the fact you'd not be able to use the rack for cargo, as there's a motor there. These are very minor issues however and for the relative novice not interested in extensive fabrication, but looking for simple reliability - completely acceptable ones *shrug* everything's a compromise.
If it weren't for the OP's set parameters regarding cost, ease & simplicity, I'd recommend a four stroke recumbent for maximum comfort & efficiency, but they too have advantages/disadvantages - primarily being cost prohibitive and/or time consuming to buy or build just the bike/trike itself. If you're courious/bored enough to wonder what I think "ideal" (for myself anyway) for such a distance wanderabout, you could check out the following project;
http://motorbicycling.com/f44/bent-zombie-tribrid-tadpole-trike-build-24210.html
tad pictures - Photobucket
TBH no, I recommended a four stroke chain drive rack mount for it's ease & simplicity & comparatively low cost for it's reliability & longevity - because that's what the OP is requesting. In his unique situation it seems the best option in my opinion as rack mounts are pretty much a bolt n'go (or unbolt n'go if there's no other choice), they're usually a name-brand motor with commonly available parts and they're pretty much accepted w/o question as a motor assisted bicycle by law enforcement...
...but they're not really my personal preference as they do have some (minor) disadvantages.
For the daily driving/commuting I do I find the location of the engine mildly awkward, it's high center of mass a touch cumbersome - while this is irrelevant for a long distance trip as you'd have full packs/panniers to counterbalance/lower the CG, there is the fact you'd not be able to use the rack for cargo, as there's a motor there. These are very minor issues however and for the relative novice not interested in extensive fabrication, but looking for simple reliability - completely acceptable ones *shrug* everything's a compromise.
If it weren't for the OP's set parameters regarding cost, ease & simplicity, I'd recommend a four stroke recumbent for maximum comfort & efficiency, but they too have advantages/disadvantages - primarily being cost prohibitive and/or time consuming to buy or build just the bike/trike itself. If you're courious/bored enough to wonder what I think "ideal" (for myself anyway) for such a distance wanderabout, you could check out the following project;
http://motorbicycling.com/f44/bent-zombie-tribrid-tadpole-trike-build-24210.html
tad pictures - Photobucket
Last edited:
Yeah they do and incidentally GH Freight is a cost effective way to ship bikes even if you're not traveling.
There was a fellow on another forum a few years back who was matching up a Dahon folder with a friction drive just for bus travel. It sounded pretty good actually. He had the idea of using a greyhound travel pass for the big legs of his journey and then unfolding his kit when he got somewhere to get around when he arrived. He said he would unbolt the motor and use a small toolbox designed for storing it in the bus cargo hold. He was looking for ideas on ways to avoid having a permanent fuel tank with fumes and all, like a cheap throw away easily replaced at the next next stop. Don't know it worked it out, he disappeared soon after.......probably on that bus, lol.
Last edited:
