Reasons for riding Motorized Bicycle

My reasons for riding motorized bicycles are:

1. My left knee and foot aren't so great anymore.

2. I recently re-discovered that I like working on, modifying, and building (or should I say "piecing together") bicycles.

3. Gas motorized bicycles offer extremely high fuel economy. I'll also mention my (36v 450watt 10AH battery) electric bicycle that costs me a cent (or less) a mile to operate (range is about 20 miles per charge). Meanwhile, petroleum fueled vehicles cost about an average of 0.15 cents a mile to operate.

4. Then there's this post (from miked826) that I can sadly relate too when it comes to commuting in large metro areas:

"I took a Santa Monica bus to a LA Metro Bus to go home today. Distance traveled was 8.4 miles. Elapsed time was 2.5 hours total, having to wait for the buses, plus the total # of stops. I think I could have actually walked home faster, if I wasn't so over walking anywhere. LOL".

Yep, I'm done with sitting in traffic in my truck, or waiting for and then sitting in traffic on a public transit bus (my BART/bus commute was almost as bad as MikeD's in Santa Monica). Man, was I glad to get out of the Bay Area.
 
man that is crazy. that's why I moved to an island. I grew up in the dc area and same way trying to get to work on the beltway.
 
I'm always complaining to myself that my bike ONLY goes 40 MPH. I don't really complain to myself anymore.... after that bus ride I took. Now I know why most everyone was sleeping on the bus when I got on. LOL
 
miked826 said:
I'm always complaining to myself that my bike ONLY goes 40 MPH. I don't really complain to myself anymore.... after that bus ride I took. Now I know why most everyone was sleeping on the bus when I got on. LOL
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only 40!!?? thats enough to blow your wig back .....if its not pasted on right LOL reddd thats probably about top speed in a car on the 405 freeway.
 
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Mine only goes 29, on flat ground, wound up, with no head wind, but I can only pedal the bike about 12mph without the motor, so that is at least twice as fast as I can pedal it and more than 8 times as fast as I walk. :-) motor assisted bicycle riding is awesome.
 
Well I'm new to these bikes so don't know if I will like but I like to ride but limited to certain roads because of hills so I think I will like the motor on the bike to help out on the hills hope it pulls me I am 220 lbs can you pedal with the motor running if it needs help just have some questions thanks guys.
 
kdaddy1980 said:
only 40!!?? thats enough to blow your wig back .....if its not pasted on right LOL reddd thats probably about top speed in a car on the 405 freeway.
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I have no doubt that 40mph is faster than the average speed on the 405 at almost any given hour of the day. That's the irony in all this. I can't legally ride on the 405. There are times of the day, on a few major streets where "Wide Open Throttle" 40 is just a bit too slow for comfort. I need to be able to cruise at 45 mph with a little power in reserve. Which is why I'm making the jump to a 97cc Lifan motor. I'm gonna reduce the overall gear ratio a bit as well to try to accomplish that feat.

This is what "40" looks like on Venice Blvd. in some traffic, on the weekend. LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-559UeQzyos
 
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pedalslow said:
Well I'm new to these bikes so don't know if I will like but I like to ride but limited to certain roads because of hills so I think I will like the motor on the bike to help out on the hills hope it pulls me I am 220 lbs can you pedal with the motor running if it needs help just have some questions thanks guys.
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Sure, you can certainly pedal to help the engine --- in fact, many suggest it in certain circumstances such as going up steep hills. With that being said, I've never had to 'help' my bike up a hill.

Good luck in your new adventures!!
 
PedalSlow, there are a lot of options for motorized bicycling. You've come to the right place. Depending on what you use (what style drive system and engine) you may have to cooperate with the motor. Going with lower gears for the pedal system, and a lower gear ratio (or smaller drive roller) for the engine system will help a lot. Just figure out the maximum speed you "need" to go, and work from there.
 
One reason I ride is that I'm no longer in a hurry to get anywhere.
my DIY belt drive's set up for max torque at 16 mph and will climb
about anything with minimal pedal effort.I see so much more at 15
mph than could ever be enjoyed at 55 mph in a car. Back roads are
where it's at; freeways suck!
 
Otero said:
One reason I ride is that I'm no longer in a hurry to get anywhere.
my DIY belt drive's set up for max torque at 16 mph and will climb
about anything with minimal pedal effort.I see so much more at 15
mph than could ever be enjoyed at 55 mph in a car. Back roads are
where it's at; freeways suck!
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I want to learn more about the diy belt drive.
I ride because I like to tinker. Plus I like to be the only one to have the bike I have. There's a little street cred in thatcvlt1
 
Okay,
it's rack mounted behind the seat. I took an old dax friction kit
and a 5/8" x 7" bolt from which I cut off the head. I necked that end
down & threaded it to 3/8" 24 thread so to thread it into the clutch
bell. For the other end I made a 3/4" pulley using two Belleville washers
with an 1/8" spacer between forming a tight V for a 3L wedge belt.
This locks in place with a 5/8" nut on either side. I had to grind the inside
nut to !/2 thickness & place a smooth 5/8" washer between it & the bearing.
The sheave was the rim of a 24" wheel notched to fit the spokes &
secured with aluminum strips held by self-tapping screws.
It looks like this: (if i can get it to load) What looks like a pannier is
a stealth cowling over the engine,(tanaka pf4000).
 

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P.S. The blue Huffy died, cracked frame. The drive is now on a
more robust mtn. bike. With this set up you need to pedal up
to 8 mph before engaging the centrifugal clutch or it won't last
long. I wouldn't recommend this setup for urban use, but it's
great on hilly back roads.
 
I got a job 8 miles from where I live. I needed super cheap transportation right away for as little as possible (I used to walk to my old job). I eventually saved up for a car, but saved so much money by riding my motorized bicycle that I never bought a car lol. I live within my means.
 
a good friend of mine said it in a few words yesterday, he races bikes, mountain bikes and road bikes and asked me to ride my motorized bicycle again, I let him a few weeks ago and he enjoyed it. his words were. "this just makes me smile"
 
I rode motorcycles and motorcycle sidecar outfits for many years as my only means of transport until I was told by my doctor that with this illness I have it wasn't a good idea to be riding a motorcycle anymore.
My last bike was a Suzuki 500 twin (Ginny) which had impeccable road manners and was great to ride, but it was so darn heavy to get it up on the stand and if it had fallen over I certainly wouldn't have been able to get it upright again without some help.

My other interest is elderly English bicycles of which I have several and I love riding them, but when I'm not so well and my reserves of energy are low I can't manage to ride very far on them before I'm exhausted and have to stop. The weekend I converted my Indian made Hercules ladies bicycle into a tricycle with a 24volt 250 watt hubmotor started me on the path to a new and different form of powered bicycling of which I am now an enthusiastic fan.
I have always loved reading about the early days of motor bicycling before the First World War and often found myself wondering if somewhere along the way we'd got it all wrong with the way the modern motorcycle has developed. Generally far too heavy and far too complex and my big Suzuki was certainly a case in point despite it being nice to ride.
In many ways a motorised bicycle captures that spirit of the early days of motorcycling. The overall simplicity with what you see is very much what you get and no mountains of plastic shrouding and fairings to dig through in order to find the machine underneath it all. And yes they do make you smile which says it all really.
 

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Intrepid Wheelwoman said:
And yes they do make you smile which says it all really.
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Ayup IWW and Paul. Think that really is the bottom line.

When at a bar or restaurant, I like to offer folks a ride on my bike, to take it for a spin. When I hear them coming back, (LOL, and so far, all have) I turn away from them and say to the folks watching "Look at the smile"

The person who went for a ride always has an ear to ear grin.

Then end up spending an hr waiting for every one else to take a ride. Great fun!


Funny part is I really do want to keep motorized bicycles our little secrete. If every one gets one, we will be normal. ...and that is just wrong.
 
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