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Wheelbender6,

I'd think a vintage kart motor (McCulloch, West Bend, etc.) would be IDEAL on a setup like this. I forget what my old MC101B was in displacement, I think somewhere around 10cid or approx. 165 cc give or take a little. The little West Bend 580 was around 100cc or so and at about 7hp would be sweet in a bike! PLENTY fast and yet not so brutal as to tear up the drive-train.

This would make a true "motorcycle" which could be licensed.

All-in-all, a really fun ride!

Yeah, the one I saw was built from a high-quality downhill mountain bike... Those things reach INSANE speeds (near 100) on rough terrain so it probably wouldn't be any worse (actually MUCH better) than the old Whizzers of my youth on balloon-tire Schwinn frames. We got them up to over 40 when we were lightweights ourselves... LOL!

The thing that impressed me on the video was that the bike could be pedaled using 10-speeds, AND also ridden with the motor using all 10-speeds. It just seemed to me to be some brilliant yet simple engineering! Lots of spinning gears and chains and it all worked reliably! Probably broke all sorts of "unlicensed" laws but still a neat ride!

Here's a pic of a nice conversion I found on the Net... Shows the setup of being able to use pedals or power with the gears functional... Pretty cool!  Almost has the look of a 1950's bobber!  Replace the tank with a vintage extra-small motorcycle "peanut" tank straddling the frame, add small vintage bucket headlight and tail-stop light, and Woo-HOO!  Be still my beating heart!  It's 1950 again and the Whizzer went high-tech! 

Only real negative I can see with it is it's TOO easy to steal!


I don't see any reason this couldn't be titled, licensed and insured in any state allowing "home-made" bikes to be titled except for places it might violate emissions... Like California?

For a hundred bucks or so per year, you could have some REALLY cheap, street-legal transportation around town!

Kat, Wheelbender6,

I must agree... There were a number of loyal German patriots involved in Hitler's war, and believe Rommel was one of them. Old-school regular German Army as opposed to Nazi party ilk...

I spent nearly two years in Germany from 1968-69 and made many friends among German nationals. Of the older generation, many had admiration for Hitler wanting to fix up the economy, and stabilize the government, but were appalled at his method of obtaining dictatorship, and his using hatred for Jews as a vehicle for "unification". Sort of a good example of "the road to hades is paved with good intentions"...

The Learning Channel once featured some of these fellows' stories. One German Luftwaffe ace (probably Adolf Galland) was so disturbed by the thought of dogfighting new, inexperienced Allied pilots that he had a habit of warning them over the radio in English who he was and that he had them in his sights, giving them a chance to bail out before he destroyed their planes.  In a live interview after the war, Galland plainly stated that as a fighter-pilot, he was obliged to shoot down as many enemy planes as possible, but was not obligated to kill the pilots.  I'm sure many rookie Allied pilots were thankful for that attitude, but went right back up next day fighting in a new plane... Not something Der Fuhrer would likely have approved of... LOL!

He also once encountered a severely damaged American bomber heading deep into Germany. The straggler was going the WRONG way and the German ace could not in good conscience shoot the crippled plane down. He got the pilot's attention (Oh, brother! I'll bet he did...) and motioned him to turn around and ESCORTED him back to Allied lines!!! Then turned around and high-tailed it back to German air-space.

You don't find THAT kind of chivalry among Nazis...

War is bad for all involved, and brings out the WORST, and the BEST of many who are skilled at it!

Ride safe!

Leo

Wheelbender6,

To this old geezer, that pictured bronze bike and the "kit" bike are TRUE mopeds.

When I was young, a "moped" had to have a motor, and pedals. Hence the term: MOPED. Most were really funky European stamped-steel imports with stone-age motors and hideous cosmetics. A few did look cool, especially our home-grown American WHIZZER.

Terminology of the 1950's dictated a moped had to have pedals and be capable of being ridden motor-off by pedaling. If it was a light-duty "bicycle-type" vehicle with a motor, but had NO pedals (like a Whizzer "Sportsman") it was a MOTORBIKE.

If it had a step-through frame and small wheels, it was a SCOOTER. (Cushman Eagles and Mustang bikes were considered scooters even with gas-tanks between your knees).

If it had big wheels, a tube-steel frame and a motor with gears, it was a MOTORCYCLE... (Exceptions being some weird Euro-cycles with pressed-steel frames) like the JAWA 2-cylinder, single combustion-chamber 2-strokes... Weird, but still motorcycles.

So there you have the trivia of useless definitions from my long-forgotten youth... LOL!

And, yes, today the laws only determine what is a "moped" by displacement, top-speed, etc. To me however, that bronze-colored bike on your link is the TRUE personification of a REAL "moped"... Yup.

Pedal/ride safe!

PS: A while back, I saw a video of a home-built "moped" that was REALLY neat... Built from a 15-speed mountain-bike, it used a small 2-stroke chainsaw motor with centrifugal-clutch chained to the largest pedal chainwheel (sprocket to us)... This allowed 10-gears to be used and the derailleur worked fine under power, OR pedaling. The powered sprocket somehow was able to freewheel, or ratchet, so the pedals only engaged when actually pedaling, and the pedals could remain stationary while under power.

Pretty ingenious I think! Danged thing would do around 50-mph with only 3 or 4 horsepower! Gears ARE nice to have!

Mighty frisky moped!  Since quality mountain bikes attain speeds WAY over 50-mph in downhill competition, I would think the wheels, tires, suspension and brakes would be adequate, especially around town surface street speeds.

OK boyz n' gurlz...

I've posted some neat stuff I've done that worked, so others could try it.. We ALL do that.  But once in a while, I do something not so bright, and posting THAT experience can help others too...



So...  A few days ago I got my new rear whitewall tire installed.  GREAT!!!  So I went to my favorite spray-wash to give "Minnie Mouse" her annual spring cleaning.

When finished, hot-wax and all, shammy and helmet under my arm, I hurried to move out of the stall to let an impatient posse of Red-Neck 4x4 jockeys in to de-mud their monster trucks.  Fast walking the Mouse, with wet, waxy hands, wet, waxy scooter, slippery pavement at funky drainage angles and I let my feet go out from under me and the bars slip out of my hands and CRASH!  Down went Minnie. Why do they ALWAYS fall AWAY from you instead of TOWARD you so you can stop the fall with your body?

FIRST time I ever dropped a bike.  I suppose that's a pretty good record for near sixty years of riding, but somehow that doesn't make me all THAT happy.  I should have been less hurried and more careful.

MERCIFULLY the right saddlebag cushioned the entire rear half of the scoot, preventing the seat, plastics and muffler from hitting the pavement.  Really STOUT saddlebags!  Sure paid me back the $8 I paid for them on eBay!

The right-hand mirror took ALL the impact, shattering the ABS mount and destroying the mirror paint.  That was the ONLY damage, and I'm thankful for that.  I unplugged the power line from the mirror, retrieved all the bits of plastic mount and carried everything home in the trunk.  Poor thing looked like a dead plastic rat.

Like a jigsaw puzzle, I reassembled the mount with epoxy (like broken glass, all the pieces fit perfectly together...) and reinstalled the mirror, with some chrome trim covering the ruined paint.  Wow, the power mirror still functions correctly, and I put 50 pounds of twist on the mirror with no breaking of the epoxy.  I will order a new mount though... Yeah, they are STILL available!

Valuable lesson learned here.  When WALKING any bike, be as careful as when you're RIDING it.  Once it slips from your hands, and falls away from you, it's doggone hard to stop it!  Especially when you're on your butt on the other side... LOL

I spent a good hour reflecting on how I let this happen, and contemplating all the plastic, upholstery and exhaust parts I'd now have to be replacing without that nice, stiff saddlebag to intervene.  Makes me think maybe saddlebags are worth having even if you never use them except as "air-bags" for your plastics... 

So ride safe, and make SURE of your grip, stance and balance when walking your bike.  Accidents and damage can happen just as suddenly walking as when riding...

Leo (really, REALLY glad this was NOT a new Indian Chief) in Texas

PS:  I did get some advice from a crotch-rocket boy in the next stall.  He kindly helped me pick the scoot up, and advised: "Bummer old-timer!  I'd just break off the OTHER mirror so it looks even... That's what I did with MINE."  Noticing his big bike looked like it had been dragged a mile or so down a gravel road, I simply thanked him for the advice and for helping out... 

HeHeHe... I didn't know that either, but found out when I looked up "Sawfish" on the Net...  Had to see just what kinda critter it was... LOL!

I've been trying to figure out what looks so familiar about the Hammerhead... Hmmm... Finally remembered what it is: The doggone thing's face reminds me of "Sid the Sloth" from "Ice Age"... LOL!  It's those eyes hung way out there on the side.  Oh well, goofy-looking or not, old clawhammer can DEFINITELY put the bite on you!