a small generator would be great for a trike,it could power your electric motor,lights,radio and stuff.and it would still be electric power to make it legal. and you wouldnt need 50 batteries to make your trip across town.
Actually, I've seen starters used but it's generally auto generators that are used, not starters, and the insides were rewired somehow. As common as starters are, there must be a reason we don't see them being used more (and they're very heavy). In the 1940s, model T generators were rewired and used on electric vehicles. See the attached pic of part of the 1945 plans for such a machine from the Lejay Manual. It supposedly had a range of 50-75 miles on a charge using one 12v battery. This can still be done but you have to get a Model T generator. They are still out there.some say they will burn, some say they won't.. I would use it in pulses not for extended time. Like run it on the hills but turn it off going down hill. Kick it on to get the speed up on the flats then let the bike coast some before you bring it back on again. that kind of thing. When i was young stupid and poor I used a household switch for my starter button on an old toyota. So you can use one of those as your on off switch.
Now that part fascinates me. How the starter will work. Those should be very easy to find in almost any town.
You're absolutely right, but every day, at least one of these brainchilds comes up. The one where the front hub generator charges the batteries for the rear hub motor while you're riding is my favorite. And the ones where you put a propeller on the handlebars to charge the batteries is right up there in my faves too. There should be one thread here just for perpetual motion ideas.The first law of thermodynamics always applies. That is why this will not work.