JunkyardWarrior

well i made my schwinn spoiler into an e bike first

https://www.austinev.org/evalbum/606

but after awhile i wanted more speed ...i researched the motors on ebay but my wheel was too big and i would have had to make a special mount....plus alot of the parts seemed cheap.....so i made my own kit and used a pocket bike motor

i had some pics on motorkruisers.com but now i cant find the site.....i think the ban on the import of 2 cycle engines killed it

JunkyardWarrior

ok i found the pics ....in order to keep the disc brakes i had to flip the rim then threaded on a sprocket and bolted it to the rim flange.....unfortunatly thats when i had to lose the cranks.....i figured brakes were more important


all of this can be removed and the electrical setup can be put back on

they both had slow take off speed.... the electric had a 20mph top speed.....the gas will probly go over 40, ive had it up to 36 mph and it wasnt topped out....ive only ridden it a few times with the motor cuz the laws were unclear and i had a hard time getting answers about needing a tag, but i never got pulled over

cerewa

To the best of my knowlege, state laws in all USA states would require you to follow motorcycle laws (license, insurance, lights&mirrors, etc) to go faster than 25mph (20mph?) with motor power or motor assist.

But call a lawyer if you really want to know because I might be wrong.

Sianelle 

You always do such interesting things with bikes JW Both conversions are certainly very tidy, - though it must be unusual to have tried out both gas and electric on the same bike.

JunkyardWarrior

im pretty sure its 20mph electric assisted and 35 for moped(pedal+gas motor under 50cc and under 35mph auto drive with no gears)

when i called the tag place i was told for a bicycle with a motor i dont need a tag.....i see them around town without tags......but they look like a bicycle with a motor.....mine looks more like a motorcycle even without the motor....on one of my first rides i saw a cop stopped next to a broken down school bus about a block from my house......told him what i was told at the tag office and after a second cop arrived they both said it was a grey area and to atleast get lights.....the first cop asked me more about what i did to it and how much it cost and how cool it was....ive since added lights and blinkers

i realize im not totally in the parameters of the moped but under 50cc scooters are the same as mopeds when it comes to registering so as said before it made more sense to keep the brakes and lose the pedals...i kept them tho incase i ever wanted to make it purely a bicycle again

JunkyardWarrior

well its a really nice bike and i didnt wanna destroy it......i threw the electric conversion together with scooter parts off ebay and realized id probly have to upgrade them so it was a removable system....plus its an aluminum frame and i had no way of welding anything to it......so anything i did had to be a mechanical bond......i cheated with the gas motor and drilled and tapped alot of little holes but didnt destroy the integrity of the frame

i didnt decide to try the gas motor until after a half a**ed attempt at making the pocket bike electric....while the motor was off i held it in place on the chopper and it fit perfect.....then i couldnt stop myself......now it sits there getting dusty.....i might as well take off the motor and put the pedals back on.....i can always change it again later

and thx for the compliment

Large Filipino

I moderate there!

I have a china kit on my Diamondback but I ride my Schwinn with a 49cc 4 stroke rack mount.
Some of you guys are probably wondering then why I'm even here. I'm here because were not all that bad. There's a speculation that an electric bike is okay but some have been known to go 50 mph!
It's all about the rider. Cruising speed for me when I already rode a few miles and I let my engine take over is 12 to 15 mph. I ALWAYS shut my engine off when passing another biker or I simply don't pass him at all. And I get 160 mpg. What's awesome is that at the pumps,my 1/4 gallon tank takes a dollar to fill up and that's good for 40 miles of continuous engine. I get more cause I don't always have that engine on.
There are a lot of good riders out there. Most of these bikes with the gas engines can't go more than 20 mph without the engine screaming bloody murder. But with my physical condition at the moment those 30 mile one way trips simply cannot happen without my engine.
Here's a pic of my bike I use most of the time for the 4 stroke doesn't need any oil mixing with gas like my 2 stroke china engine does.
And these bikes are not scooters! They have but one speed and they don't like speeds over 20 mph. Yes. People have been known to change their gearing for faster speeds but most of us keep it slow.

tpreitzel

Personally, I don't have a problem with a rider using a gasoline engine on a powered bike. However, you're still paying the same RATE as everyone else, only to be likely charged MORE the next time you fill the tank, because you're conserving fuel only to spend MORE later for the same quantity. Buy in bulk or stop playing the game entirely. The reason you'll likely pay more has LITTLE to do with production and EVERYTHING to do with the valuation of the curreny used to pay for the commodity. In other words, stop the rapid devaluation of the dollar to preserve your wealth. Since the latter won't likely happen until the Federal Reserve is closed and most politicians fired, your move to an e-bike or e-car would be a smarter move in the short term. I don't like the current situation, either, and I refuse to let fools impoverish me if I can find suitable alternatives. For example, does Brown's gas really work? But, a percentage of gasoline is STILL preferable even in the latter case, and again the consumer is still paying the same RATE for it only to be soaked for even more later as the value of the currency plummets.

Large Filipino

True that. So true. I need to go far,though. A dollar in fuel for my bike I need 20 bucks honestly to take my truck there.
But with the advancements of Battery technology,I could see making that same trip on electric and pedal power. That's why I'm here. I need to get on the pedals more! Use my non motorized bike for trips less than 3 miles. Maybe later I could extend that to 10 miles. But for trips over 10 approaching 60 miles at times,I still need my help.

maddyfish

A friend of mine has one, it works fine I guess. Not really faster than me on my normal human powered bike. A little faster up long hills but that's it.
Smelly, smoky, noisey and leaks gas/oil.
If you are handicapped, then electric would be a better choice. If you are able bodied, better fitness would be a better option.

Large Filipino

Better fitness so doable. So doable. I have to admit I've gotten a bit spoiled.

Sianelle 

I do agree with you, but while I find my electric tricycle absolutely wonderful around the local township it's of no real use to me if I want to travel to the next town. I hate having to get the car out for these trips when I'd much rather be on one of my bicycles. Unfortunately my disability means that I can't ride far under my own steam even though I would love to be able to do it. If I was to build myself up a motor-bicycle (or motored-bicycle) then I could ride on two wheels instead of having to drag several hundredweight of motorcar along with me. I don't want a conventional motorcycle, I want a lightweight machine that I can pedal should I want to that also has a small engine to help me out on the long climbs.

maddyfish

^^^^^For travelto the next town, electric is too range limited for you? Is that it? I don't read much about anybody here going more than 30-35 miles round trip. Gas would be the thing then.

Sianelle 

The townships and villages dotted around the Hauraki Plains are just that wee bit too far apart to manage the round trip on an e.bike. Maybe if I picked a day with completely still air and I didn't buy a thing at the shops once I got there I might, just might make it back home so long as a good tail wind sprang up for the return journey.
Lots of folk who were of slender means like me used to get around on various types of powercycle between the wars. Unlike a car a powercycle is sufficently intrepid to ride that it self manages the amount of motored bicycling one is likely to do in any one week. A small two stroke engine isn't ideal in terms of ecological cleanliness, but it certainly is much better than driving about in a car.