Ride was way too short but really fun on an absolutely beautiful morning. GPS indicated a whooppy 20mph average with a top seed of 30 mph! Just watching the country side.
The Simplex rides great, though not a great low speed handler 20mph on up is wonderful riding. One reason is it's extended wheelbase, 6" stretch over stock design coupled with a little extra positive lead on the girder/leaf fork. Longer wheelbase is easy to build into a shop fabricated frame like I built for the Simplex, and it's not hard to extend most off the shelf cruiser frames that are so popular to motorize as this forum proves.
The Schwinn chopper guys and innovative forum builders like Jeff Wolf have fabricated wonderful yet simple extension drop plates that are bolted and or welded to the existing drop plate/tubes (seat and chain stays) to increase wheelbase by 3 to 4 inches. Properly attached these drops accomplish and improve several aspects of a motorized bike build. The primary improvement is overall ride stability at increased speeds. Bike frames, including forks, are designed for pedal bike speeds so the addition of motors that are capable of doubling those speeds is now common and greatly exceed the original bicycles design parameters and this is a life threatening problem. Every frame is not a good candidate for lengthening in this fashion, total weight, including the riders weight, needs to be examined as does engine power & speed potential. The frame may need additional grommets in strategic locations for strength etc. Frame material, aluminum or steel and composition are also relevant.
Lengthening also allows the builder to mount wider tires, allows more room for chain clearance, sprocket/ hub/brake rotors etc. to be mounted thus simplifying some common motorized bike build problems. It isn't a one fixes all solution though, just simplifies some of it. If your sick of dealing with vertical drop frames; lengthen using horizontal axle drop configuration for your extension plates and add axle adjusters...makes wheel adjustments and chains less problematical.
I've a couple of bikes that are excellent candidates for lengthening with extension plates my hybrid, being my favorite test mule, is first in line being a short wheelbase & a bit cramped for alterations I'm considering for brakes, wheel and tire setup. The extra length (4") should also help center the bikes point of balance....finally! If not I'm thinking of adding a leaf spring (down sized) to the girder fork like is on the Simplex to add weight up front along with suspension. With the rear wheel mounted further aft I can add an air shock saddle suspension like on the Simplex as well.
Rick C.