Putting a Motor on a Bicycle?

Hi everybody,

My car got destroyed recently and while I’m working on getting that sorted out, I’ve been thinking about trying a moped on for size. I have a new job that requires transportation if I’m going to get any more hours, so I need a away to move around faster than a bicycle. The problem is I don’t really want to spend a bunch of dough on a moped.

I’ve been reading about people throwing motors onto old bicycles. They sell kits to do it, but a lot of people just take old motors from chainsaws and other old tools. Has anyone on T-Nation ever tried this? Does it work? It would be cool to see some designs. Pics would be sweet too.

my suggestion would be to get one with a basket hanging off the back so you can put either the motor or tank there.

There is a guy here in my Town that has an old trimmer motor on his bike. He simply rips the cord when he wants to and goes at it. Not bad speed either, for a small town.

I put on of these together recently. It’s awesome for short distances, but doesn’t go that fast… I guess it would depend where you intend to ride it.

There are two kits - 48cc and 80cc. Most states do not require insurance or registration for an engine under 50cc. But the 80cc engines are unmarked and look the same - so I got the 80cc.

It requires some mechanical aptitude to put together. No two are exactly alike, really - they all require a bit of tweaking etc.

They run on an oil (2-stroke engine oil) to gas mix of 1:16 - for every 2 gallons of gas, I mix in a container of 2-stroke oil (which sells for 5.99). I mix it in a fuel container and use that to fill the bike.

Here is a page detailing my bike transformation :slight_smile:

http://waknine.com/cms/index.php?page=bike

Enjoy… and if you have any questions I would be happy to answer as best as I can.

[quote]wakiki wrote:
I put on of these together recently. It’s awesome for short distances, but doesn’t go that fast… I guess it would depend where you intend to ride it.

There are two kits - 48cc and 80cc. Most states do not require insurance or registration for an engine under 50cc. But the 80cc engines are unmarked and look the same - so I got the 80cc.

It requires some mechanical aptitude to put together. No two are exactly alike, really - they all require a bit of tweaking etc.

They run on an oil (2-stroke engine oil) to gas mix of 1:16 - for every 2 gallons of gas, I mix in a container of 2-stroke oil (which sells for 5.99). I mix it in a fuel container and use that to fill the bike.

Here is a page detailing my bike transformation :slight_smile:

http://waknine.com/cms/index.php?page=bike

Enjoy… and if you have any questions I would be happy to answer as best as I can. [/quote]

Lets say I wanted to bring one of these with me to college in a little less then two years for getting around campus, without driving. Could I just slap one of these on my old mountain bike? How much does the extra stuff weigh? would it be carriable without getting oil and shit all over my clothes?

[quote]wakiki wrote:
I put on of these together recently. It’s awesome for short distances, but doesn’t go that fast… I guess it would depend where you intend to ride it.

There are two kits - 48cc and 80cc. Most states do not require insurance or registration for an engine under 50cc. But the 80cc engines are unmarked and look the same - so I got the 80cc.

It requires some mechanical aptitude to put together. No two are exactly alike, really - they all require a bit of tweaking etc.

They run on an oil (2-stroke engine oil) to gas mix of 1:16 - for every 2 gallons of gas, I mix in a container of 2-stroke oil (which sells for 5.99). I mix it in a fuel container and use that to fill the bike.

Here is a page detailing my bike transformation :slight_smile:

http://waknine.com/cms/index.php?page=bike

Enjoy… and if you have any questions I would be happy to answer as best as I can. [/quote]

Oh man, that looks awesome. Thanks for the scoop.

[quote]wakiki wrote:
I put on of these together recently. It’s awesome for short distances, but doesn’t go that fast… I guess it would depend where you intend to ride it.

There are two kits - 48cc and 80cc. Most states do not require insurance or registration for an engine under 50cc. But the 80cc engines are unmarked and look the same - so I got the 80cc.

It requires some mechanical aptitude to put together. No two are exactly alike, really - they all require a bit of tweaking etc.

They run on an oil (2-stroke engine oil) to gas mix of 1:16 - for every 2 gallons of gas, I mix in a container of 2-stroke oil (which sells for 5.99). I mix it in a fuel container and use that to fill the bike.

Here is a page detailing my bike transformation :slight_smile:

http://waknine.com/cms/index.php?page=bike

Enjoy… and if you have any questions I would be happy to answer as best as I can. [/quote]

Thanks for the pics, how noisey is the exhaust note, gotta get me one of these.