BGF has hongdu solex clones

OK Ill bite, what is it? How big is it? Is that a gearbox with it?.......more details please and pics. Is that a head light on the front of that thing? Looks like a reservoir on the left side for fluid, kinda reminds me of a hydraulic pump.

bandito said:

OK Ill bite, what is it? How big is it? Is that a gearbox with it?.......more details please and pics. Is that a head light on the front of that thing? Looks like a reservoir on the left side for fluid, kinda reminds me of a hydraulic pump.

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I could be wrong, but it appears to be a clone of a French Solex front wheel friction drive motor. First made before WWII, I believe, they were quite popular and were made for a long time in France, then more recently the company has changed hands several times... made for a while in Hungary I think, then maybe China? Not sure. The Solex still have many enthusiasts and they come up for sale now and then on eBay. It is mounted on a pedal bicycle and there is a shifting lever which engages the engine once you get rolling. Economical and kind of under powered, they were well made and are still sought after. The Japanese made Tanaka front wheel friction drive engine was a similar and simpler design, sold in the US under the name Bikebug, Taz Sptiz, Sears Free Spirit and something else I forget they were popular here in the 60' and 70's. At only 26cc they were kind of on the wimpy side for my needs. I still have a couple that run or did when I quit using them and have lots of parts. The photo you see shows a headlight built into the engine, which is how the Solex was made. The Tanaka had no headlight. Installation is pretty simple with no real modifications to the host bicycle necessary other than the front part of the front fender has to go.
SB

Is there a link?

I'm a tad curious

Just looked at the auction listing. If it is truly a clone, the solex motorbike was well proven by it's longevity. If it is pretty close in design and quality (the big if) then that would be good. Set up is much easier than a 2 stroke kit and there isn't much to go wrong. An advantage for anyone wanting to peddle and for this engine to be assisting the peddler who wants the excercise but also some assistance on hills, this could be a sensible choice. One thing I really liked about the Tanaka motors I had was that when you shut off the engine and disengaged it from the wheel it was absolutely silent, unlike our experience with the chain drive motors. There's a good bit of noise coming from the chain passing through the engine, if what one wants is silent running. I guess i would characterize it as the solex type arrangement is more like a bicycle than a motorcycle, whereas the HT kits mounted on a bicycle make it a little more like a motorcycle than a bicycle. So it seems to me. Anyway, there's nothing wrong with friction drive so long as one doesn't mind some slippage in wet weather. For the Tanaka motors I made my own drive wheels. Others using these motors had the same problem since the company no longer made them. Some people made them from skateboard wheels, driving the bored out wheel onto the aluminum core of the original rollers. I made mine with epoxy (found jb weld in large containers) casting them in orange juice cans. The cans were then peeled away when it was dry. Some were smooth and to others I added fine sand I sifted from the nearby lake. This gave the wheel more bite, but also wore down the wheel quicker. But it worked in the rain. It might be that with this motor you will end up improving on the drive wheel, or at least making it work better in wet conditions, especially wet climates. It can be done. Tanaka originally sold two versions of the roller, one with grit embedded in the rubber and the other without.
There's a very good yahoo group of solex enthusiasts. No doubt some of what they know would be of benefit to you. Good luck with your new motor. Please give us updates. How many cc's is this clone? (I couldn't bring that up on the auction... just studied the picture.) It's probably a pretty nice setup. The Tanaka gas tank attached to the wheel at the axle if I remember right. It later occurred to me that the carb would have liked it better with the tank higher up, like behind the seat, maybe, or even have a peanut tank as backup or additional fuel. Share pictures please.
SB

It is a 49cc engine....

Is there a coralation between Solex and Velosolex?

Velosolex 2200 from 1963


I would assume there is... but lol @ assumptions

keep us posted on the outcome!

BarelyAWake said:

Is there a coralation between Solex and Velosolex?

Velosolex 2200 from 1963

I would assume there is... but lol @ assumptions

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Yeah, its the same critter by a more formal name, I believe. That thing sure looks front end heavy, doesn't it? At one time I had an American set up with a tanaka friction drive over the front wheel and the front wheel itself was an electric pancake motor. Three lead acid batteries mounted behind the seat. Once rolling and started it was OK, but that one was heavy mother to peddle. It was also top heavy with two hundred pounds of Silverbear on the seat along with everything else. It was nice on hills when the Tanaka wimped out and I kicked in the electric. Gas throttle on the right and electric throttle on the left. The Solex frame and wheels are pretty heavy duty for a peddle bike, but one missing it's motor would be nice with a four stroke or HT in frame... or, gee, I guess maybe a solex clone might fit up front pretty nice. At one time I wanted one. But not any more. Redoing old American made balloon tire bikes is way too much fun. Besides, I don't speak French in spite of having attempted to learn it a little from two years of high school French. First year teacher was an ex marine and I mainly did push ups. Second year was a Cuban guy, Captain Ruban Delgato, who we cadets (I was in a military school) called Ruban the Cuban. His English was so bad, I was never too sure about his French, mostly I learned how to say "I don't know". Je ne cest pas. Something like that. Velosolex never came up as I recall or I might have paid more attention.
SB

TBH, tho I played w/em in the past and had a grand ol' time - I've just had too many problems with friction drives to buy one... new anyway. If one of these ol' girls were to pop up locally at a reasonable price I'd buy it inna second ofc lol

I suppose if you had any pics of yer "american" set up you woulda posted them - but I gotta ask anyway

Pics?

Heavy no doubt, but the Velosolex is surprisingly smaller than it looks in the above pic (same bike/same owner); YouTube - Velosolex Test 1 St.Remy

Ofc there's a bunch of interesting "related" vids on youtube if ya click that 'un

BarelyAWake said:

TBH, tho I played w/em in the past and had a grand ol' time - I've just had too many problems with friction drives to buy one... new anyway. If one of these ol' girls were to pop up locally at a reasonable price I'd buy it inna second ofc lol

I suppose if you had any pics of yer "american" set up you woulda posted them - but I gotta ask anyway

Pics?

Heavy no doubt, but the Velosolex is surprisingly smaller than it looks in the above pic (same bike/same owner); YouTube - Velosolex Test 1 St.Remy

Ofc there's a bunch of interesting "related" vids on youtube if ya click that 'un

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I'll look around on a couple of CDs for an image. I know I have ones of an American with just the Tanaka engine, but don't know if I took any with the additional electric pancake motor. I probably did. I'll add to this thread when I run across it.
SB

silverbear said:

I'll look around on a couple of CDs for an image. I know I have ones of an American with just the Tanaka engine, but don't know if I took any with the additional electric pancake motor. I probably did. I'll add to this thread when I run across it.
SB

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I recently sold my BikeBug engine. Used a 23cc Tanaka engine. Bulletproof operation once I got it restored. The drive roller was a modified skate board wheel. Definitely underpowered and must be used on a straight fork, no springs or shocks. Still, if you didn't mind a little help peddling, it was a very pleasant experience. Disengaging the drive every time you stopped was a distraction, but after you got accustomed to it, it was not so bad.
-Mike
Mike

I had a Bike Bug. Nice and smooth and slow.

I will adopt a wait and see on this ebay item at the price they are going for right now.

Thanks for the pics mlcorson, what a "groovy" setup that was lol

I love the diversity in motorized bikes, there's so many different approaches

Here's a photo from a few years back when I had a Tanaka front wheel friction drive motor on a 63 Schwinn American step through. The drive wheel cover I made from a fender and on it was an LED running light. The front wheel was electric, a 36 volt Golden pancake motor. It the batteries had been in the trailer instead of on the rear rack it would have been less top heavy. Overall it was one heavy bike to pedal any distance at all. It rode well though and the electric boost on hills made a real difference. I also liked that I could shut off the gas engine and go silent with the electric. Before the budget cuts a bike trail through the forest was supposed to have been constructed nearby and I figured with this I could ride on the bike trail to town and back... if any frowning spandex riders appeared I could just shut off the gas motor and either peddle or go electric and not get reported to the spandex police. No bike trail has materialized, so I lost interest in this kind of cumbersome rig. Good thing that Schwinn had a strong front fork as I was asking a lot of it. As Barelyawake pointed out in his post, there are lots of interesting rigs we come up with, some of which work really well and some are more "oh, well". This same bike now has a pull start HT motor, is much lighter, faster and more nimble. Lots mo betta.
SB

I'm looking forward to the feedback on this style engine. I see 2 control levers. One I assume is for throttle, the other for clutch? The elongated handle and nob on the engine must raise it up to disengage? The percentage of tinkering to riding is a going to be a factor to consider. If its got the power, that would be great as the concept is sound. The Bikebug was very reliable.
-Mike

mlcorson said:

I'm looking forward to the feedback on this style engine. I see 2 control levers. One I assume is for throttle, the other for clutch? The elongated handle and nob on the engine must raise it up to disengage? The percentage of tinkering to riding is a going to be a factor to consider. If its got the power, that would be great as the concept is sound. The Bikebug was very reliable.
-Mike

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Yes, the lever with the knob is to raise and lower the engine and if I remember right the Solex motor had a device that somehow or other released compression, so that you could peddle up to speed with the drive wheel lowered against the front wheel and then engage the mystery thing and you had compression again... starting the motor, probably a smoother operation than starting the bikebug.
SB

Postcard from the 1950's showing solex vacationers.