I saw a motorized bike today .

[deacon]

For a couple of year I have sat on my porch which faces one of the busiest old streets in my smallish town. I have watched the growth in the number of motor scooters and often commented to my wife about then.

Today she said, "Did you see that." No but I heard the sound of a two stroke exhaust I thought. "It was a motor bike like the ones you used to build." Since I built a lot more friction drive than kits I wasn't sure what it was.

A few minutes later it came back the other way and sure as heck it was a kit bike. It was the only other one I have seen in this town. Too cool I thought.

 

[bluegoatwoods]

It's good to see others. In my experience, though, they never last long. I can think of a few right off hand that I saw a total of one time. Last fall I would see a couple of guys in the next town over who, to give them credit, rode right through winter and into the spring. But then they disappeared.

I've been at it for five years now and I suspect that I'm the only one within many miles who's in it for the long haul.

I think that 4 out of 5, maybe 9 out of 10, people who buy a kit think that they'll be just starting it up and riding for years. Then they get discouraged at the frequent and inevitable breakdowns and give it up.

I'm sorry for them; they miss the opportunity to have an actual personal relationship with their 'steed'.

 

[deacon]

I built probably twenty five friction drive bikes. I ended my gasoline career in the hospital with seven broken bones one was a collar bone. It was a 97cc engine fitted with a 2 inch drive wheel that did me in. I had this really fancy drop clutch that was all the fashion for us home builder for a while.

I was coasting down a big hill when something went terribly wrong. I remember thinking I need to drop the motor, and the next thing I knew I was having a MRI. Literally I woke up in the can.

I had to promise my wife I would stop riding two wheelers, so I ride a trike now with an electric motor. There is a lot wrong with them, but there is also a lot right with them. Much less detailed maintenance and repair for one thing.

Every once in a while I fight off the urge to slap a small engine on the front wheel of my trike. Actually I have a small generator from harbor freight I bought so I could charge my batteries. I tested it and it works fine but I have never used it. There is always a plug handy where I go. I look at it and dream.

 

[KCvale]

I ended my gasoline career in the hospital with seven broken bones one was a collar bone.

Pretty much the same story here, I have my paid help do most of the riding on new builds, I just take the final quality assurance ride and stick to my neighborhood for the same reason, I have broken my right clavicle (collar bone) twice in the same place and the last one never healed right so it always hurts and another wreck might just do me in.

I had to promise my wife I would stop riding two wheelers, so I ride a trike now with an electric motor.

Same here.

960W 6-speed electric shifter that will run 25MPH which is more than enough for my needs.

One thing to keep in mind about the popularity of 2-stroke 2-wheelers is it is not hard to be scared away from them.

 

[bluegoatwoods]

Oh boy....you're in a tough spot, aren't you?

The wreck was bad and you promised your wife that you'd give up two wheels. But the temptation lingers.

Sounds a bit like being drawn-and-quartered.