The only bad thing about these old Maytag engines is they don't have a lot of power. So you have to make sure you get your gearing right to be able to move at a decent rate.
Way cool build! Would be really neat to get together with a group of bikes like these and have a group ride. I can just imagine the heads turning and the jaws dropping!Yes, a very nice cruising speed! My first bike has a Briggs WMB motors in it (1/2 horse). I got it up to almost 30 once, but it really likes to stay around 20. Not super fast, but I could pull a stump with that bike, it has a lot more torque than it has speed.
Yep they use to take a old generator and cut the houseing out of the bottom portion so the arneture run against the wheel. Mine even has the arneture turned down in the center to match the wheel curve got to be the easiest set up to build. The engine fits in frame and belt runs back and you just lift the generator to stop or go............CurtA generator as a friction drive? That sounds awesome!
CB2,Heres the basically finished build. Still have to get a key for the drive roller shaft and some Coleman fuel and I will be ready to ride. Some where along the way I must have lost some spacers on the right motor mount at the frame. I kept finding slight alignment issues and just worked around them. Now that the tool box is mounted its obvious as the door wont clear the flywheel now while it did before. Oh well deal with it later. Have been pedaling it around a bit over the weekend. Rides very well. Plenty of clearance around the motor and even though there is 35+ lbs of motor fairly high it really doesnt feel overly top heavy. Very stable and the long spring seat is super comfortable. Bike looks better than the pics, color is hard to photograph.