Okay the bike is complete. Now it's just a matter of what I am going to do with it. For those of you who didn't follow the build. It is a 26" bike frame, with a 24" front wheel with brake, a twenty inch rear coaster brake wheel, and a Ryobi Weed Eater engine.
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I'm just guessing but it seems to do about twenty miles and hour on the flats of which there are very few in a town called High Point. It will climb most hills unassisted, but on the long hill that bleeds off power, then gets steep at the end it requires a little pedal assist. It is just enough to remind you that it is a bicycle not a moped.
I built this one because the Ebike I ride in the park is too short ranged for anything but the park, or maybe a ride to the mall and back. I live almost downtown in our little town. I tried to ride the Ebike out to the walmart but it left me pushing on the way back. This one did it easily. You can't see it well in that picture but if you go to the build thread you can see that the motor had only minor modifications. So it still has the original gas tank. I have kind of a working estimate of seven miles on a single tank. So I probably will need extra gas on any longer trips.
So far the longest I have done is a ride out to the marina. Round trip it is about six miles. I rode the bike with an absolute full tank and I got home with an inch or so of gas in the bottom. The marina as you might guess is down in the bottom of a soup bowl kind of geography. There is one nasty hill each way. It was a good test of the bike and of me. We both survived it, and breakfast on the veranda overlooking the lake with my wife. She drove and stopped at Hardee's for the best biscuits in town.
After breakfast I rode it home again and declared it a keeper. Since then I rode it to the hardware store for pipe nipples for another motor that I still don't have running. But to be honest I have to admit I'm in no rush to mess with another motor. For several reasons.
First of all:i f this motor blows, craigs list if full of ryobis with bad carbs. Most under thirty dollars. I have two working carbs since there are two style motors switching them out is a five minute job.
Secondly: the bike is built with the lift mechanism attached to the bike. It is totally independent of the motor. Two 3/8 bolts and the motor is off. With a little luck the same frame that is on the motor now would go right onto the 'new motor'. so in a day im back on the road. There are two different syle Ryobi motors so I have a mock up for the other style frame also ready to go.
I guess there is no need to get a spare motor ready unless a good deal comes along near me.
So anyway keep an eye on this space and see what the old fart and the cheapo motor bike is up to next.
So far it is a fun ride and attracts a lot of attention on the test runs. It will not run with the traffic but it will outrun all but the most dedicated bicycle riders. I have been banned from automobile driving not by the cops but by my wife and doctor, so this is my answer. Yes it can kill me, but most likely not the bus full of preschoolers that hits me.
So from time to time I will post observations and stories from the rider of a WW bike.
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I'm just guessing but it seems to do about twenty miles and hour on the flats of which there are very few in a town called High Point. It will climb most hills unassisted, but on the long hill that bleeds off power, then gets steep at the end it requires a little pedal assist. It is just enough to remind you that it is a bicycle not a moped.
I built this one because the Ebike I ride in the park is too short ranged for anything but the park, or maybe a ride to the mall and back. I live almost downtown in our little town. I tried to ride the Ebike out to the walmart but it left me pushing on the way back. This one did it easily. You can't see it well in that picture but if you go to the build thread you can see that the motor had only minor modifications. So it still has the original gas tank. I have kind of a working estimate of seven miles on a single tank. So I probably will need extra gas on any longer trips.
So far the longest I have done is a ride out to the marina. Round trip it is about six miles. I rode the bike with an absolute full tank and I got home with an inch or so of gas in the bottom. The marina as you might guess is down in the bottom of a soup bowl kind of geography. There is one nasty hill each way. It was a good test of the bike and of me. We both survived it, and breakfast on the veranda overlooking the lake with my wife. She drove and stopped at Hardee's for the best biscuits in town.
After breakfast I rode it home again and declared it a keeper. Since then I rode it to the hardware store for pipe nipples for another motor that I still don't have running. But to be honest I have to admit I'm in no rush to mess with another motor. For several reasons.
First of all:i f this motor blows, craigs list if full of ryobis with bad carbs. Most under thirty dollars. I have two working carbs since there are two style motors switching them out is a five minute job.
Secondly: the bike is built with the lift mechanism attached to the bike. It is totally independent of the motor. Two 3/8 bolts and the motor is off. With a little luck the same frame that is on the motor now would go right onto the 'new motor'. so in a day im back on the road. There are two different syle Ryobi motors so I have a mock up for the other style frame also ready to go.
I guess there is no need to get a spare motor ready unless a good deal comes along near me.
So anyway keep an eye on this space and see what the old fart and the cheapo motor bike is up to next.
So far it is a fun ride and attracts a lot of attention on the test runs. It will not run with the traffic but it will outrun all but the most dedicated bicycle riders. I have been banned from automobile driving not by the cops but by my wife and doctor, so this is my answer. Yes it can kill me, but most likely not the bus full of preschoolers that hits me.
So from time to time I will post observations and stories from the rider of a WW bike.
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