Doors blown off by Wal-Mart bike
 

No, seriously.

2 weeks ago, I was riding into work, and I hear the sound of a two stroke scooter coming up behind me. I wasn't really going very fast, but he must have been going 40 mph (I maybe was doing 25?).

It was a Wal-Mart mountain bike with a motor kit strapped to it. I tried to step it up and hang with him (just because it was a real oddity, and also to see if I could), but no dice. I could gain on the hills, but on the flats, I can't do 40mph for very long.

I still won the race though, because long after I gave up chasing him, I passed him waiting at a bus stop about 5 miles later. Big smile on his face, and I laughed and waved.

Pretty funny. I just hope it doesn't break apart at those speeds, even at a glance I could tell it was a POJ.

Man when I rea the topic I thught either a bike went so fast it cracked the doors off the hinges on the front door of Wallys or some car.

Was this dude on Moreland Ave. Because I think I saw the same guy. :rolleyes:

You had doors on your bicycle? No wonder he could go faster.

More wing span please. :D

"I wish I was more ethnic" :lol:

I had a similar experience once, but there were stoplights involved and the motor was geared so high that after every stop I was hundreds of feet down the road before the thing got into it's powerband. Yeah, I got passed (several times) but it was fun.

it's mighty impressive that you can do 40mph solo on the flats at all. like, mario cipollini impressive.

there's a guy who came into our shop a few times with a similarly crappy bike equipped with a gas engine. it was easy to pick him out because he reeked of exhaust and was constantly coughing. it's one instance where I think driving an automobile probably would have been a better alternative.

We must have seen the same person. It was about 2 months ago, I was waiting at the light at McLendon and Moreland. This guy come flying down Moreland--he was easily keeping up with the traffic. I couldn't tell if it was a gas or electric motor.

Look anything like this?
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r.../motorbike.jpg
Two years ago I purchased a Chinese bicycle engine kit and put it in a cheap Huffy cruiser. After about a year I found an old Raleigh Cruiser frame and transferred the engine kit to it, which is pictured above. It's obvious some really good design went into this special engine. It's really hard to design and build an engine keeping the width narrow enough to fit between pedals. Reliability has also been very surprising, as I have clocked over 5,000 miles on it. Considering I don’t need a tag or insurance to use it on the street and it is rather handy for a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up a few small items. I also don’t arrive sweaty and in need of a shower. It's great when the store you want to visit is further than you really want to bike to and haul stuff back but close enough the car or truck would be overkill. I use synthetic two-stroke oil so it does not smoke or stink like older two-stroke oil did. As for speed, it is capable of going faster than you really want to be going on a bicycle! That’s not due to vibration or instability or anything like that, it's just getting it stopped in a hurry when you're going faster than about 25 MPH.
These engine kits were made for the Chinese made Flying Pidgin bicycle.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...otorpiegon.jpg
And here is a photo of a bicycle engine kit right out of the box.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r.../enginekit.gif

how far is a store "too far than you want to bike to?" - your regional WalMart superstore :eek:?

plenty of kits available on ebay

I didn't get a great look at it. It was a department store bicycle with what seemed to be a small engine strapped to it. This guy rides like Evil Kneivel. :rolleyes:

Huh? I don't go 20 for very long. Remember we're commuting here, not racing! :)

Cool! how many MPG does it get?

Throwing a disc brake on the front would help with that.

I've had an interest in these sorts of powered alternatives (gas and electric) with the economy being crappy and gas prices going up. Would be fun to build and resell for a small profit to help people out who need cheap transportation and can't or aren't willing to do it all under their own power on a bicycle. Just the fact that ya don't have to register it as a motor vehicle and buy insurance is a huge savings in-and-of-itself.

At one time, I had toyed with the idea of going to India and buying up a bunch of old Royal Enfield motorcycles, that were diesel powered. India is one of the only places in the world where there are lots of them. They weren't popular any place else because the diesel engines are lacking in the performance dep't. But whats cool, is they can be converted to run on biodiesel. And a person could get the used cooking oil from a restaurant and clean it up. so it could be used as fuel. I read about somebody who did this with a Royal Enfield, and it got over 150 MPG.

Gas powered bicycles and high-speed electric bicycles are probably fall officially under same rules as motorscooters-- license, registration, insurance.

Actually, many states have moped laws... and this probably falls in that category.

If it's below 50cc, the pedals being there makes it a moped in most states. I know in Ohio, it also has to have a 20 MPH speed limiter.

That said, here in Ohio, you DO need a license, registration, and I believe insurance on a moped, but it's much cheaper.

actualy in many places they don't. Here in great falls if a "vehicle" has a pedal alternative it can be ridden unliscenced and uninsured. There are also certain scooters and motorbikes with engine sizes smaller than a certain amount (idk offhand what size) that only require a regular liscence to own. I've been really considering getting rid of the suburban and purchasing a trike with motor kit or an older style "moped" with pedals for just this reason, save on gas and insurance..hm...ideas...winter would suck though.

Depends on the jurisdiction, top speed, the CC's of the engine, etc. Being able to also pedal it under your own power seems to be a gray area as well, in some jurisdictions.

A fairing on the front to block wind would help in the winter.

Here's "our version" of scooter laws. Not exactly the same as a motorized bike...
http://www.ci.albany.or.us/police/pr...y/scooters.php

More Power! :D

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/1...ymiddlefy9.jpg

Coming from school one day this spring, waiting at a red light, I saw a Mongoose mountain bike ride up the center line and run the light. I figure I'll see him again in a block or two.

A block later, I realize he's really moving. He's in the bike lane on the left, I'm on the right because I hate that bike lane. I give up. I'm impressed, but still think it's odd.

Three blocks later, I hear a bang. A Honda crossed the road and knocked this guy out of his lane. I cross to make sure he's okay - I think he landed on his feet. Bike wheels and car hood are all bent up. Then I see he has a motorized front hub.

I agree regarding pollution. If your goal in riding a bike is to cut pollution, these motors are a bad deal. It's nearly certain that they put out more pollution per mile than a modern passenger car. They're really horrid.

If I had a lot of miles to cover on my commute, I'd put on an electric motor.