New Project- Vintage Motorized Bicycle!

M

Mike Stroz

New Member
I just picked up a new project today, it's a 1950's Raleigh Robin Hood bike that someone put a 1950's REO lawnmower engine in in the 60's with some sort of jury-rigged direct drive system with no clutch, and it uses the original 3 speed hub. I tried to post a couple pics, but it didn't really work... It says they are too large for the website to support...
 
Sounds interesting!
Best way to post photos is to upload them to Photobucket and then post the direct link here.
 
Or you could open the photos in Microsoft "Paint" and re-size them so that they'll fit here.

'Cause we wanna see those pics!
 
I just uploaded the pics to photobucket, so here they are (hopefully)! I tried out the engine today and it started on the first pull! I also looked closer at it, and I think it has a clutch off of the lawnmower the engine is from, which isn't salvageable.The tires and pretty much everything else that's rubber is completely shot, but apart from that it looks pretty darn good! Hopefully the bike shop has new tires and tubes for it so I can get it driving soon!

http://i1045.photobucket.com/albums/b458/MikeStroz/image_zpsnfngun5l.jpeg

http://i1045.photobucket.com/albums/b458/MikeStroz/image_zpsd3qldrzg.jpeg
 
Wow! What a bike! I like it.

Still.......I do hope you'll spend some time thinking about whether that bike is safe or not. Consider that sprocket and chain. They'll be about 1/2 inch from your toes, shoelaces, ankle, and so on.

Now......I'll bet you already have considered that. And I'll bet there are ways to make that risk acceptable. A chain guard or something.

But I'm also wondering about those wheels. It's a good guess that those tires have been flat for years. That means that the inside of those rims have been exposed to the air. They could be nearing 'rust-through'.

I think I'd advise stripping that bike down to individual parts and evaluating the condition of the frame. I'd be fairly likely to replace everything else.

Another piece of bad news; if it's an old Raleigh frame then it'll be difficult to get parts and components to match.
 
The REO engine is unique because it drives off the cam instead of the crankshaft. That makes it 1/2 speed and reverse rotation. Great little motors using a single cam lobe to operate both valves. May have to use a belt slip clutch system unless you can find a centrifugal unit that engages at lower rpms. Nice looking bike and I bet you can get it going. REO stands for Ransom Eli Olds of Oldsmobile fame.
 
Edit on parts availability. Difficult only in America. Doug Pinkerton, one of Britain's leading old bicycle experts and engineers is helping me with my Genuine Vintage Fake, and he can supply absolutely everything you need.
 
Thanks for all the input! I'll definitely look very hard for any weak spots in the wheels before I even attempt to ride it. I believe it has the clutch off of the Reo mower upon closer inspection, but it needs to be replaced. As for the safety, the clutch had a cover at some point, so I'm going to try and source one of those, but I think I'm going to leave it as-is otherwise. I found the perfect tank off another old mower I had for parts that I'm going to hook up to the rear rack like a moped, and I'm going to do some sort of thumb throttle like it seems to have had originally. It should be fun and pretty scary!
 
now that's a treasure,
did some one say naval jelly?
i have had problems with pics also, i'll need to get my high tech son to do it.
love the REO and the band too.
do have you have a colorr in mind?
 
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gooseneck said:
now that's a treasure,
did some one say naval jelly?
i have had problems with pics also, i'll need to get my high tech son to do it.
love the REO and the band too.
do have you have a colorr in mind?
Click to expand...

I think I'm going to leave it all as-is once it's working, I kind of like the "patina" look.
 
What kind of clutch does it have? Have you had it running yet? Them motors had the clutch on the cam shaft and the rpms are half the crank rpms, or reduced. And the rotation may be different ..............Curt
 
It's got the original clutch from the reo mower the engine came off of, and it has part of the drive system from the mower too. I have had it running for a short time and it seems to run good. I don't think I can convert it to a centrifugal clutch or anything else without a complete redesign, so I need another REO mower clutch.
 
That might be hard to find, do a search on the net and will lead you to ebay if there is one. Good luck ..............Curt
 
Does anyone know if there are any centrifugal clutches that engage at lower rpm's? Or an adjustable one? I think I might be able to make something work if I get one that engages at maybe 1300-1500 rpm. Maybe I could replace the top pulley in the original clutch system with a centrifuga clutch and keep the bottom pulley fixed in place?
 
You could put one on the jack shaft and double the rpms that way,just put half the size pulley on the jack shaft, as the engine..................Curt
 
I like it!

Looks a lot like the 1970's Schwinn Continentals I've been using. Straight frame tubes and skinny tires.

What size wheels/tires are those?

I converted mine from 27" to 700c. So now I can use fatter tires (about 40mm) than before, since the only thing I ever see for 27-inchers is 27 x 1 1/4. My bike only uses little weed wacker motors and tops out around 30mph. Still, I gotta watch out for every bump in the road.

With your big motor and stiff frame you will really have to be careful with skinny tires. If you blow out a front tire from hitting a hole (a rim flat), the tire goes flat instantly and can easily cause a wipeout.

Like you said, scary!
 
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Hey Mike, that Raleigh's frame and handlebars are similar to mine.
Here's a pic of my latest project. I'm trying new things, so this prototype is rough and crappy looking, like the piece of scrap aluminum for the motor lift/lock lever.

You can see the 700c wheel on rear and a 27-inch in front. This rear tire is only 38mm but I can go a little fatter. When I get all the new ideas mocked up I will give it a nice paint job and put my newly-built RhynoLite wheels on. Riding season is just about over for me and soon this bike will be torn down and fixed up for springtime.
 

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